WAC Football & Basketball blog

The Bulldogs of Fresno State will kick off the bowl season when they face upstart Wyoming on December 19th. The Nevada Wolf Pack will bring a tremendous running game to a national stage on Christmas Eve when they face SMU at 8:00 in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Surprising Idaho will stay in state for the Humanitarian Bowl when they take on Bowling Green on December 30th. The big game for the WAC as usual includes powerhouse Boise State. In what could possibly be the best game of the bowl season, the Broncos will look to stay undefeated as they face unbeaten TCU. The game will take place on January 4th at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Boise State ran their record to 12-0 in a thrilling 44-33 victory over Nevada. The Broncos still have their sights on a BCS bowl game but must finish the regular season with a victory over New Mexico State to further solidify their chances. With Oklahoma State’s loss to Oklahoma, the latest bowl projections show Boise State facing Iowa in the Fiesta Bowl. In the meantime, BSU is the lone WAC school with a logo Snuggie available for purchase. Fans can buy Boise State Snuggie blankets online through DFN Sports site.

The Boise State Broncos avoided the upset against conference rival Fresno State. The Broncos held on for a 51-34 victory. The Broncos move up two positions in the top 25 rankings to #8.

Every major online site is picking Ohio State to edge Boise State for a BCS bowl bid. ESPN.com has Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, while College Football News & Scout.com places Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl with both leaving Boise State in either the home-town Humanitarian Bowl or the Poinsettia Bowl. But Boise State is ranked ahead of Ohio State in the BCS as well as both the AP & USA Today polls. This lead to a bit of research:

- Boise State is 12-0 (8-0 WAC), Ohio State 10-2 (7-1 Big Ten)
- Boise State is currently #9 in the AP, USA Today & BCS rankings, Ohio State is #10 in all 3. The Harris Poll, a piece of the BCS formula, also has Boise State ahead of Ohio State.
- Boise State is ranked #7 by the computer average of the BCS, Ohio State is ranked #11.
- In the past two seasons, Boise State has one more win that Ohio State in BCS Bowl games; Boise State is 1-0 while Ohio State is 0-2.
- The BCS Average for Boise State is .7034, for Ohio State .6340, a difference of .0694. The only other substantial gap this big in the Top 10 is between #4 Florida (.8851) an obvious title contender and #5 USC (.8076), a team on the outside looking in.
- Boise State went 8-0 against bowl-eligible teams (6-6 or better) including a win over BCS #19 Oregon.
- Ohio State went 5-2 over bowl-eligible teams including losses to BCS #5 USC, #8 Penn State and wins over BCS #21 Michigan State and #22 Northwestern.

The numbers do not lie; the Broncos deserve the BCS much more than Ohio State, a team that would make it based on program history/reputation (which is questionable based on recent bowl history) and the almighty dollar. While Boise State fans traveled very well for the Fiesta Bowl two season ago with nearly 40,000 tickets sold, Ohio State fans are known to travel as well as anyone in the nation.

So will fairness prevail in the BCS in 2008? Or will the BCS ensure that the $17 million payout stays with their favorites, the BCS conference teams in an effort to futher the gap between the haves and have-nots? I guess we will find out tomorrow night…

Hawaii’s win over Boise State was surely a big one; it improved the Warriors to 12-0 and pivoted Hawaii to their first-ever outright WAC Championship. But the win also boosted the Warriors in the BCS rankings from #15 a week ago to the all-important #12 spot this week. The #12 BCS ranking is important as any non-BCS conference team ranked in the BCS Top 12 must be invoted to a BCS bowl game. Like Boise State a year ago, the undefeated Warriors look to make their statement to the nation as they are the lone undefeated team in 2007. With just a home game against Washington remaining, the Warriors look to remain ranked in the BCS Top 12 through next week’s game and ensure a BCS Bowl bid.

Saturday night’s game between the #15 Hawaii Warriors and the #19 Boise State Broncos featured a battle of two ranked WAC opponents, both 7-0 in the conference and playing for the outright 2007 WAC football title. Boise State took a 27-26 lead midway through the 3rd Quarter before Colt Brennan and the Hawaii offense took over, scoring the final 13 points of the game for a 39-27 victory. Brennan finished the game 40-53 for 495 yards passing and 5 TDs, as 3 receivers had 100+ yard receiving days and 2 Hawaii receivers, Jason Rivers and Davone Bess, each had 11+ receptions.

With the win, the Warriors claim their first-ever outright WAC Championship finishing 8-0 in WAC play. The Warriors conclude the season as they host Washington (4-8).

DFN Sports partner sites feature Hawaii Warriors apparel & clothing as well as Boise State apparel for fans of all ages.