Tue Sep 2 14:14:41 2008

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Western Athletic Conference News and Notes

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - BOISE STATE: The Broncos won a battle for Gen State bragging rights, to a degree, on Saturday with a 49-7 victory against Idaho State at home. Boise State scored at least a touchdown in every quarter and rolled up a healthy 582 yards of total offense for head coach Chris Petersen in his third season opener. Quarterback Kellen Moore converted 14-of-19 passing for 274 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Ian Johnson played sparingly and was limited to 87 yards and a TD on 14 carries for the victors. The Broncos catch an early break in the schedule this week, taking the weekend off before getting back into action versus Bowling Green at home on September 13. The meeting with the Falcons is just the second all-time for Boise State, topping BGSU by a score of 48-20 in September 2005.

FRESNO STATE: Despite a disappointing first half on Monday afternoon at Rutgers, head coach Pat Hill earned his eighth road win versus a BCS program with a 24-7 victory against the Scarlet Knights. The teams played to a scoreless half, but then sophomore running back Ryan Mathews took over for FSU with three touchdowns in the second half. Mathews, who recorded 14 touchdowns in his first collegiate season in 2007, finished with 163 yards after producing a mere 35 yards on seven carries in the first half. Defensively, Marvin Haynes posted a pair of interceptions for a squad that had a total of just four picks all of last season. The Bulldogs now get a chance to relax a bit as they take off this coming week from competition. However, the squad probably won't lie quietly with a date against Wisconsin at home looming on September 13. These two teams last met in 2002 when the Badgers captured a narrow 23-21 win at home. A year earlier it was the Bulldogs who posted a 32-20 victory versus Wisconsin to open the series with a win.

HAWAII: Without the countless offensive weapons that led the Warriors to their unbeaten regular season a year ago, the squad looked like a shell of its former self on Saturday in a humbling 56-10 loss to fifth-ranked Florida on the road. As if traveling more than 5,000 miles to the game were not enough, Hawaii also had endure more than three quarters without a single score. The Warriors were tagged for as many penalty yards (60) as they had rushing, with the trio of Greg Alexander, Inoke Funaki and Brent Rausch flailing the ball all over the field which led to four interceptions by the visiting quarterbacks. The next opponent for the Warriors should be a bit easier to handle, the team facing off against Weber State at home this Saturday night. This meeting is the first-ever between the teams on the gridiron.

IDAHO: If head coach Robb Akey thought he had a rough time of it a year ago, his first with the Vandals, there's no way he was prepared for the 70-0 spanking the Arizona Wildcats dealt his team on Saturday night. Idaho, which is still tied with SMU for the longest current losing streak in the nation at 11 games, was held to just seven first downs, compared to 27 for the hosts, and a grand total of 112 yards of offense. Nathan Enderle endangered himself quite a bit as he connected on just 10-of-25 passing for 48 yards and was picked off twice. Allowing more than five offensive yards and another 259 return yards on the night, there was never a chance for the Vandals to catch their breath. The Vandals return home this weekend to do battle with the Idaho State Bengals. The most recent meeting between the programs took place two seasons ago, with Idaho taking care of the Bengals by a score of 27-24. The victory was the first of four during a five-game stretch that season for the Vandals. In terms of the all-time series, the Bengals have fallen in 10 of the last 11 meetings and trail Idaho by a count of 27-11.

LOUISIANA TECH: With the impending bad weather approaching Louisiana, the Bulldogs gutted it out in their opener on Saturday and held off Mississippi State in the process with a 22-14 victory at Aillet Stadium. Three successful field goals by Brad Oestriecher (28, 48 and 50 yards) made all the difference for the squad, not to mention a pair of touchdowns by Patrick Jackson. The running back carried the ball 17 times for the team to finish with 62 yards, not to mention pulling in three passes for 17 yards and a score as well. The Bulldogs now change gears and get ready to travel to Manhattan where they will contend with the Kansas Jayhawks. The teams last faced each other in the middle of 2005, with Kansas posting a 34-14 triumph at home.

NEVADA: Operating the pistol offense with the utmost precision, sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick picked up where he left off in 2007 when he was named the WAC Freshman of the Year as he led Nevada to an easy 49-13 win against Grambling State at home on Saturday. Kaepernick was one of four Nevada players to score touchdowns on the ground in the contest, producing three all by himself in fact. Vai Taua, who tallied a game-high 103 yards on 12 carries, added two scoring runs of his own. Kaepernick was 10-of-17 passing for 122 yards and an interception, but with the game so far out reach it gave former starter Nick Graziano a chance to stretch out as well (7-of-12, 75 yards). The Pack now goes from taking on Grambling State to facing the high-powered Texas Tech Red Raiders for the first-ever time at home this weekend.

NEW MEXICO STATE: The Aggies were scheduled to open up their 2008 slate this week with a Thursday night appearance against Nicholls State at home, but due to the weather from Hurricane Gustav the Colonels decided to postpone the contest. Should the game go without a makeup announced in the next week, New Mexico State's season opener will then come against Nebraska on September 13 in Lincoln. The game with the Cornhuskers will be just the third between the programs and the first since 1982 when Nebraska posted a 68-0 win versus NMSU. The first game of the series was a 57-0 blowout by the Huskers in Lincoln as well.

SAN JOSE STATE: For almost three full quarters the San Jose State offense was nowhere to be found, but thanks to a three-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Reed to Terrance Williams late in the third frame the squad showed signs of life versus UC Davis at home on Saturday, even though the ensuing PAT was blocked and left the hosts needing more than a field goal to tie the game. Pushing the limits a bit, the Spartans didn't put themselves ahead for good until there was just eight seconds to play in regulation, this time on a 17-yard scoring strike from Reed to Kevin Jurovich to give the team a narrow 13-10 victory. The competition gets a little stronger for the Spartans as they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln this weekend. The Huskers, who finished a disappointing 2-6 against the rest of the Big 12 Conference last season and was just 5-7 overall, won the only previous meeting between these programs with a 49-13 thumping of SJSU in 2000.

UTAH STATE: Needing something to jump-start the offense, the Aggies used both Sean Setzer and Diondre Borel under center on Saturday night, but neither made enough of a difference in the 10-point loss to UNLV on the road. The pair combined to convert 18-of-33 for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the season-opening setback. With the defeat USU head coach Brent Guy has now fallen in all four of his season openers with the program. The Aggies are out on the road for the second straight week as they head to Oregon to challenge the Ducks. Utah State has lost all three of the previous meetings with the Ducks over the years, bowing by a score of 31-17 in the most recent battle back in 2001. Following this trip USU doesn't leave Logan again until October 11 when it takes on San Jose State in Western Athletic Conference action.