Fresno
State (7-4) at Boise State (11-0)
Friday 6 pm
--Fresno State pulled away from San Jose State in the second half last
week, coming away with a 24-10 victory to assure itself of a bowl bid..
This season has had plenty of ups and downs for the Bulldogs, who had
much higher goals than finishing second in the WAC. At the start of the
season, the finale against Boise State looked like the game of the year,
but the Broncos have already clinched the conference title outright and
the best Fresno can hope for is a tie for second.
- Boise State held off a solid Nevada team last week in a 41-34 victory.
This has been a tremendous season for the Bronco program, but it looks
like they’ll finish behind Utah for a coveted BCS berth. A win against
Fresno would put an exclamation point on this season and would be the
second time in three seasons the Broncos have gone undefeated. While the
hometown Humanitarian Bowl seems likely, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson
has had success moving WAC teams into better bowl situations.
Fresno State:
RBs Lonyae Miller
and Ryan Matthews have both been slowed by injuries recently. Mathews
may not play against the Broncos, meaning junior RB Anthony Harding will
once again be the team’s main rusher. Key defensive lineman Jon Monga is
out for the year with a broken foot, while starting safety Marvin Haynes
will miss a fourth straight game with a back problem.
Boise State: Boise State has several injuries on the offensive
line with starters Cory Yriarte, Andrew Woodruff and Thomas Byrd all
missing time with leg injuries. They should all play against the
Bulldogs. Star free safety Jeron Johnson will try to give it a go
despite injuring his leg against Nevada, but he’ll be limited if he’s
able to get on the field. WR Titus Young remains on indefinite
suspension for disciplinary reasons.
Fresno State has to … slow down QB Kellen Moore. No one has been
able to do it this season. The redshirt freshman quarterback continues
to be the key to the offense with 23 touchdown passes and nine
interceptions as he has carried the attack at times. Moore threw three
interceptions last week, including two for touchdowns, but those were
aberrations. Fresno State has to get pressure on Moore early on and
force him to move out of the pocket.
Boise State has to … slow down the Bulldog rushing attack. Fresno
can throw, but when things are working well, the offense gets a big day
from the ground game running between the tackles. The Boise State run
defense has been outstanding, holding Nevada’s No. 1 ranked ground
attack (averaging over 300 yards per game) to 144 yards. BSU will take
its chances with FSU QB Tom Brandstater trying to win the game.
Keep an eye on … Fresno State RB Anthony Harding. With Lonyae
Miller hampered by injury and stud RB Ryan Mathews out, Harding had 17
carries for 99 yards and two TDs against San Jose State. Fresno has to
play ball control and keep the score low for it to have a chance against
the Broncos, and Harding could be used as a workhorse, even if he
doesn’t generate big numbers.
The number to know: 6 -- Fresno has lost 6 times in 7 meetings
against Boise State since the Broncos joined the WAC. The lone win came
in 2005.
And the winner is … Boise State 37 … Fresno State 24
Washington
State (2-10) at Hawaii (6-5)
11:05 pm
--The
Cougars are coming off a 16-13 double overtime win in the Apple Cup
against Washington. This has been a very disappointing season for first
year head coach Paul Wulff as the Cougars hadn’t played a competitive
game against an FBS team until last week. Beating Hawaii on the road
would give the program some positive momentum heading into the
offseason.
--Hawaii
crushed Idaho last week 49-17. The Hawaii offense is finally starting to
look like its old self again as points are starting to come in bunches.
The Warriors have scored 91 points the last two games. Hawaii needs one
win in its final two games to qualify for the Hawaii Bowl. Big East
leader Cincinnati visits Hawaii next week.
Washington State:. Starting DB Alonso Jackson missed the Washington game with a
stinger suffered three weeks ago.
Hawaii:
Starting CB Ryan Mouton was moved to safety against Idaho last week and
rolled his ankle in the first quarter. He will probably miss the
Washington State game. RB Kealoha Pilares also left the Idaho game with
injury but may be available this week. Hawaii announced that preseason
starting OLB Blaze Soares, who has been out with a foot injury all year,
will not play this season.
Washington State has to … Pressure Hawaii QB Greg Alexander. The Hawaii
offense is finally starting to click and Alexander is the key. With the
Hawaii running game virtually non-existent, the Cougars must get
pressure on the quarterback to keep the Hawaii passing game from
dominating the game.
Hawaii has to ….Score early. The win over Washington was great
but the Cougars are averaging 13 points per game. Washington State
doesn’t have the weapons to keep up if the Warriors continue to score at
their recent pace.
Keep an eye on …
Hawaii
defensive end David Veikune. The senior is having a breakout season with
12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. He pressured Idaho QB
Nathan Enderle into 3 picks last week and was the catalyst for 7 overall
sacks by the Hawaii front four. Washington State will need to account
for Veikune on every passing down.
The number to know:
18-2 – Hawaii’s record at Aloha Stadium since the
start of the 2006 season. Expect this trend to continue since Hawaii has
a bowl game on the line.
And the winner is …
Hawaii 41 … Washington State 20