Still #1

Despite a slow start, BSU is still the leading offense this century/decade. The Broncose average 41.4 points per game, wile second place Texas is at 37.7. I believe BSU can (and will) improve that average Saturday against Hawaii.

More smack (and locker room posting material): "I'm so ready to get a shot at them," Hawaii offensive lineman Brandon Eaton told the newspaper of playing BSU. "I'm ready to blow them out of the water. They don't know what to expect."

Lee Mark's 92 yard kickoff return against Bowling Green moved him into 9th nationally for return yardage. Quentin Jones is not far behind at 14th. BSU ranks 16th overall.

Smack....

Jerry Glanville ion his new defense:

"They'll probably never see anything like it," Glanville said of the Broncos. "It's strictly what I did in pro football. It's not college football at all. ... If you looked at my Houston Oiler film or my Falcon film, it would pretty much be that."

In the same article:

The Broncos have struggled to execute their offense at times against the Warriors' scheme in practice."I've watched quite a bit of football my whole life, and I've never seen anything quite like this," sophomore center Jeff Cavender said. "Leave it to Jerry Glanville to figure out something to stump us."

From the Hawaii forum:

"I wouldn't believe that for a second. "

"As Bobby said 'Boise formations you to death' Probably the most balanced offense in the nation. If they can't pass on you, they have the running game also. And vice-versa. "

"Their O-line is always in position to take out the defenders, everyone where they need to be. "

Well, this should be interesting. Can the new NFL style defense at Hawaii stop BSU's potent (#1 in 1A so far this century according to Sports Illustrated) offense? Or, will the Broncos be able to ground it out against the Warriors like they did against Bowling Green? Stay tuned...

Games of interest this week

to Bronco fans, at least.

Florida Atlantic at LOUISVILLE. Cards by 38, O/U 60½
Temple at BOWLING GREEN. BGSU by 28½, O/U 64½
Washington State at OREGON STATE. OSU by 2, O/U 60½ (hoping for much more than 2)
I guess Georgia's got a bye?

WAC games

Utah State at IDAHO [Homecoming]. USU by 2, O/U 49
Nevada at SAN JOSE STATE. Nevada by 4, O/U 61
New Mexico State at LOUISIANA TECH. Tech by 10½, O/U 52
Boise State at HAWAII. Broncs by 10½; O/U 69

BSU Favored by 11

And the over/under is 70. I guess the "experts" are anticipating a horse race.

On his radio show, Jaff Caves (the color guy for BSU on the radio) says he believes if BSU scores early and/or first, the Hawaii Warriors will fold. He attributes this to the tendency for June Jones' teams to display minimal mental toughness (Hawkins has him beat hands down in that category). Plus, after the 69-3 drubbing last year at the hands of the Broncos, coupled with the fact that Hawaii has not lost to BSU by less than 17 during the past 3 years, will determine their general confidence level.

Interesting item: BSU's starting wideout, Jerard Rabb, and Hawaii's starting QB, Colt Brennan, played JC ball together last year. Both were recruited by Hawaii, but BSU just wanted Rabb. He ended up here, while Brennan (who does look very good) landed on the islands. Some of the folks on the Hawaii forum are a bit pissed about that since they have been losing too many great recruits (that they would have won a couple years ago!) to BSU lately.

Ex-NFL coach June Jones is the head coach at Hawaii, and ex-NFL coachJerry Glanville is the Defensive Coordinator. Interesting how very few former NFL coaches really succeed at college ball (the notable exception being Pete Carroll at USC).

Dogfight Coming

Well, Fresco pounded Toledo - the other top MAC team - tonight. Final score 44-7. Very much like the 48-20 score in the BSU/Bowling Green matchup last week.

I see a real dogfight coming in November when our Broncs travel sown to Fresno. Boy, is that game going to be hyped. ESPN will probably promote it like it was the national championship game.

I just hope neither team trips up before then.

One thing I can't fathom - they were all set to retire David Carr's #8 jersey during the game. (Hurricane Katrina kinda vetoed that ceremony). Now, I realize Carr is probably the best player to ever wear the Bulldog uniform, but isn't this a little premature? At least wait until his NFL team wins something.... or he sets some kinda record....

Good ole John L.

Of all the University of Idaho football coaches, John L. Smith was probably the funnest to hate. Now that he is head coach at Michigan State, he still thinks about beating the Broncos.

Last week, after Michigan State beat Notre Dame for the first time in who knows how long, John L. was asked by a reporter if it was the biggest win of his career. With that damnable cheshire cat grin on his face, John responded with, "It's a good win. But... nothing's better than beating Boise State in Boise."

Now, that comment could only come from a true Vandal.

Ian Johnson

Ian has quicky displayed why he was so highly recruited from Damien High School in La Verne, CA, where he rushed for over 3,600 yards. In short, he is a stud.
Wednesday night against Bowling Green, at times it appeared an entire defensive line was required to bring him down.

Ian on his performance so far this season...
“This is really just a dream come true for me. I came in here last year and there were 14 runningbacks at the time. And I told myself ‘If I can get anything, that would make me where I want to be in life.’ I have always wanted to play college football, and to play with (these guys), and lead the team in rushing, that is just a goal way beyond any goal I have ever tried to reach.”

Back on Track- Finally!

Well, the Broncs finally got back on track at home on the blue Wednesday night. A highly touted Bowling Green team came to town, and left dazed and confused. BSU handily won 48-20 (a score that does not reflect how much the Broncos really dominated the Falcons).

This time 'Z' looked more like his old self, rushing for 3 TD's and passing for another. And, the running back 'committee' was outstanding, rushing for over 300 yards total. Nine players carried the ball, including receivers on some very effective fly-sweeps.

Could this be an indication of a "new" offensive strategy? If 'Z' has a problem throwing the ball accurately, why not just let him pitch it or hand-off to some very fast and agile receivers? The new "grounded" BSU? Why not?

The biggest props in the game have to go to the defense, though. They totally confused Omar Jacobs, a potential Heisman candidate (if not this year, maybe next). Kudos to Ron Collins, BSU's defensive coordinator, for finally cracking the code to the vaunted Urban Meier spread offense. Should we call it a "motion defense"? Or maybe the "spread defense"? Whatever you want to call it - it worked big time. If it wasn't for Hawkins allowing the second string defense to play for most of the fourth quarter, the score would have been even worse.

BGSU has some great fans, reading some of the posts on the BroncoCountry bulletin board. They are high class, and had nothing but praise for our team after the game. I am looking forward to a nice friendly rivalry with them for the next 3 years. I sincerely hope their team does well in the MAC.

Next up: Hawaii

0-2 Is Not! What I expected....

Well, the Georgia game was a big bust. The team came out with fire in their eyes, but could not get anything going. The first half the tale of the day with 'Z' turning the ball over six times before he was benched. Georgia whipped us 48-13.

Now, it's not that I really believe we could manhandle Georgia - especially on their field. But, I really don't think Georgia is 35 points better than us. I think there was still potential for an upset, but that's what I get for thinking.

One positive not - fans who went to Athens, Georgia for the game seemed to enjoy their experience. Georgia has got some very classy fans.

The second game against Oregon State was one I truly expected to win. We match up well with them (except for their extraordinary receiver Mike Hass), and should not have lost this one. Once again 'Z' had fumble-itis, and even with an extremely strong start, our defense was not able to stop OSU when it really mattered. Hawkins choice of going for a TD instead of a FG right before the half-time is a non-issue in my opinion. Yes, it was the difference in the score, but we should have had a couple more scores than we did in the second half. Final score: BSU 27, OSU 30.

Bad news - a week later OSU travels to Louiseville and gets blown out 63-27.