BYU is looking quite strong. Another team inching up in the polls is Hawaii, the nation's #1 scoring team. Hawaii is 26th in the AP and 27th in the coaches poll right now I think (and should be higher, but their games are so late every Saturday night that I don't think most people even pay attention to their scores). Hawaii has won 7 straight and QB Colt Brennan has now thrown 43 TD passes. He needs 11 TD passes in the final 3 games (against San Jose State, Purdue and Oregon State) to break the NCAA record for most TD passes in a season. Hawaii in its past five games has scored 68, 49, 68, 63 and 61 points.
Boise State got some very bad news. RB Ian Johnson, the nation's touchdown leader, and averaging almost 150 yards a game rushing, was injured in the win at San Jose State and is hospitalized with a collapsed lung. His status for the rest of the season is unknown. The Broncos should be fine without him against Utah State, but winning at Nevada (7-3) the following week becomes very tough. Nevada has won 10 striaght at home and 17 of its last 18.
Full Version: Mountain West Conference 2006
QUOTE(TheOtherFSU @ Nov 12 2006, 10:53 PM) 
BYU is looking quite strong. Another team inching up in the polls is Hawaii, the nation's #1 scoring team. Hawaii is 26th in the AP and 27th in the coaches poll right now I think (and should be higher, but their games are so late every Saturday night that I don't think most people even pay attention to their scores). Hawaii has won 7 straight and QB Colt Brennan has now thrown 43 TD passes. He needs 11 TD passes in the final 3 games (against San Jose State, Purdue and Oregon State) to break the NCAA record for most TD passes in a season. Hawaii in its past five games has scored 68, 49, 68, 63 and 61 points.
Boise State got some very bad news. RB Ian Johnson, the nation's touchdown leader, and averaging almost 150 yards a game rushing, was injured in the win at San Jose State and is hospitalized with a collapsed lung. His status for the rest of the season is unknown. The Broncos should be fine without him against Utah State, but winning at Nevada (7-3) the following week becomes very tough. Nevada has won 10 striaght at home and 17 of its last 18.
Nevada's tough. They smoked Utah State this weekend (well that doesn't prove anything I guess) but in the SL Tribune it said they had 8,000 people at the game. Is that possible? I thought Nevada had a little bit more support than that. Doesn't seem like much of a home field advantage to me.
BYU is running on all cylinders. I can only hope that the Utes can be up for them (we usually are) in two weeks. Utah has been Jekyll and Hyde all year!!
Funny that you brought up Nevada attendance. The Wolf Pack for the last several years have had really odd attendance figures and it seems like the university doesn't know what's going on.
Last season for example, the Nevada-Fresno State game in Reno was announced as a 30,000-seat sellout the day before the game. A lot of Fresno State fans drove up on Saturday without hearing that it was a sellout and couldn't get in or buy a ticket so they either remained in the parking lot or drove home. Keep in mind that this was the week after the 'Dogs had taken USC to the wire in Los Angeles, Fresno State was ranked 16th, the game was on ESPN, and the WAC title was still up for grabs so there was a huge amount of interest. I was at the stadium and it was jam packed... people were sitting the aisles and there were a lot of people who had to stand. It was definitely standing-room-only. And then Nevada announced the attendance in the official box score... 17,765.
Everybody was like, "What? How can that be?" There were articles in the Reno paper about why the attendance figures could be so wrong. School administrators said they didn't understand it. One person at the university said they needed to evaluate whether the stadium indeed seats 30,000. One thing I noticed while there was that the Nevada students literally walk thru a gate without showing a ticket. There were long lines of students rushing the gates and just going inside the stadium as we watched. I guess they don't charge students, but apparently they don't count them correctly either. I remember hearing people later say that students are not included in the actual paid attendance figures since they don't pay. In the Reno paper, administrators were quoted saying that they need to do something about it since it's obviously affecting their bottom line, and the NCAA attendance requirements for I-A aren't being met.
I remember going to Reno about 5 years ago for a Bulldog game, and the attendance was announced at around 14,000 or something. And the stadium that day was half full. So for them to announce last year's sellout at 17,000+ is very odd.
Suffice it to say that Nevada has some woes in their athletic department, not the least of which is getting attendance figures correct.
Last season for example, the Nevada-Fresno State game in Reno was announced as a 30,000-seat sellout the day before the game. A lot of Fresno State fans drove up on Saturday without hearing that it was a sellout and couldn't get in or buy a ticket so they either remained in the parking lot or drove home. Keep in mind that this was the week after the 'Dogs had taken USC to the wire in Los Angeles, Fresno State was ranked 16th, the game was on ESPN, and the WAC title was still up for grabs so there was a huge amount of interest. I was at the stadium and it was jam packed... people were sitting the aisles and there were a lot of people who had to stand. It was definitely standing-room-only. And then Nevada announced the attendance in the official box score... 17,765.
Everybody was like, "What? How can that be?" There were articles in the Reno paper about why the attendance figures could be so wrong. School administrators said they didn't understand it. One person at the university said they needed to evaluate whether the stadium indeed seats 30,000. One thing I noticed while there was that the Nevada students literally walk thru a gate without showing a ticket. There were long lines of students rushing the gates and just going inside the stadium as we watched. I guess they don't charge students, but apparently they don't count them correctly either. I remember hearing people later say that students are not included in the actual paid attendance figures since they don't pay. In the Reno paper, administrators were quoted saying that they need to do something about it since it's obviously affecting their bottom line, and the NCAA attendance requirements for I-A aren't being met.
I remember going to Reno about 5 years ago for a Bulldog game, and the attendance was announced at around 14,000 or something. And the stadium that day was half full. So for them to announce last year's sellout at 17,000+ is very odd.
Suffice it to say that Nevada has some woes in their athletic department, not the least of which is getting attendance figures correct.
Can we please rename this the MWC/WAC thread next season? :-)
Congrats to BYU for winning the MWC outright championship with the win over New Mexico. Congrats to Boise State for still blowing out Utah State despite Ian Johnson being out with the injury. The game at Nevada (8-3) will be very tough next week... it's on ESPN this Saturday at 1:15 pm PT... Boise State will attempt to go 12-0 and presumably qualify for a Fiesta Bowl invite. Nevada is playing extremely well, having won 10 in a row at home, 5 in a row overall and outscoring its last three opponents 129-7. The Broncos will need Johnson to be healthy but I'm wondering if he'll even play. Right now I'd say it's doubtful.
And congrats to Hawaii for winning its 8th straight game last night, 54-17 over San Jose State. Colt Brennan passed former BYU QB Jim McMahon on the single-season TD pass record chart after throwing his 48th TD pass of the year. Brennan is now 6 shy of the all-time record with games against Oregon State and Purdue remaining. And Hawaii moved into the Top 25 this week in the coaches poll, giving the WAC two teams. The WAC and MWC are the only non-BCS leagues to have teams ranked this year.
Congrats to BYU for winning the MWC outright championship with the win over New Mexico. Congrats to Boise State for still blowing out Utah State despite Ian Johnson being out with the injury. The game at Nevada (8-3) will be very tough next week... it's on ESPN this Saturday at 1:15 pm PT... Boise State will attempt to go 12-0 and presumably qualify for a Fiesta Bowl invite. Nevada is playing extremely well, having won 10 in a row at home, 5 in a row overall and outscoring its last three opponents 129-7. The Broncos will need Johnson to be healthy but I'm wondering if he'll even play. Right now I'd say it's doubtful.
And congrats to Hawaii for winning its 8th straight game last night, 54-17 over San Jose State. Colt Brennan passed former BYU QB Jim McMahon on the single-season TD pass record chart after throwing his 48th TD pass of the year. Brennan is now 6 shy of the all-time record with games against Oregon State and Purdue remaining. And Hawaii moved into the Top 25 this week in the coaches poll, giving the WAC two teams. The WAC and MWC are the only non-BCS leagues to have teams ranked this year.
Yes - this has definitely become the Mountain West / WAC thread. Congrats as well to Fresno State on their win yesterday. Now it's time to beat the Utes!!!
QUOTE(TheOtherFSU @ Nov 19 2006, 06:00 PM)
Can we please rename this the MWC/WAC thread next season? :-)
Congrats to BYU for winning the MWC outright championship with the win over New Mexico. Congrats to Boise State for still blowing out Utah State despite Ian Johnson being out with the injury. The game at Nevada (8-3) will be very tough next week... it's on ESPN this Saturday at 1:15 pm PT... Boise State will attempt to go 12-0 and presumably qualify for a Fiesta Bowl invite. Nevada is playing extremely well, having won 10 in a row at home, 5 in a row overall and outscoring its last three opponents 129-7. The Broncos will need Johnson to be healthy but I'm wondering if he'll even play. Right now I'd say it's doubtful.
And congrats to Hawaii for winning its 8th straight game last night, 54-17 over San Jose State. Colt Brennan passed former BYU QB Jim McMahon on the single-season TD pass record chart after throwing his 48th TD pass of the year. Brennan is now 6 shy of the all-time record with games against Oregon State and Purdue remaining. And Hawaii moved into the Top 25 this week in the coaches poll, giving the WAC two teams. The WAC and MWC are the only non-BCS leagues to have teams ranked this year.
Who's the cutie???
Only two days until the Holy War...the Utes will be up for the Cougars, no worry about that. The Utes have won the last four. So here's a quiz for all of you (well, a quiz for The Other FSU and Cougar Fan, the ones who will be reading this thread): How long since the Utes beat Cougars five times in a row? Hint: It was longer than the Cougars' last five game streak over the Utes, which was in the 80's.
PS is it bad that I'm on here on Thanksgiving???
Ill RepUTE
QUOTE(Ill RepUTE @ Nov 23 2006, 09:32 PM)
Who's the cutie???
Only two days until the Holy War...the Utes will be up for the Cougars, no worry about that. The Utes have won the last four. So here's a quiz for all of you (well, a quiz for The Other FSU and Cougar Fan, the ones who will be reading this thread): How long since the Utes beat Cougars five times in a row? Hint: It was longer than the Cougars' last five game streak over the Utes, which was in the 80's.
PS is it bad that I'm on here on Thanksgiving???
Ill RepUTE
Bring on the Holy War!! It will be a battle. This season will be a HUGE disappointment if BYU doesn't beat Utah. The last time Utah beat BYU five years in a row was in 1959-1964 when they won six in a row. However, for some reason the games couldn't be played in Provo at that time so Utah got the home game EIGHT years in a row! When the game returned to Provo in 1965, BYU won.
1964-65 UTAH 47 BYU 13 Salt Lake City
1963-64 UTAH 15 BYU 6 Salt Lake City
1962-63 UTAH 35 BYU 20 Salt Lake City
1961-62 UTAH 21 BYU 20 Salt Lake City
1960-61 UTAH 17 BYU 0 Salt Lake City
1959-60 UTAH 20 BYU 8 Salt Lake City
BEAT THE UTES!!!!
QUOTE(Ill RepUTE @ Nov 23 2006, 09:32 PM)
Who's the cutie???
Hawaii QB Colt Brennan!
It's too bad that BYU-Utah and Boise State-Nevada are on TV at the same time. I want to watch both.
QUOTE(TheOtherFSU @ Nov 24 2006, 08:10 PM)
Hawaii QB Colt Brennan!
It's too bad that BYU-Utah and Boise State-Nevada are on TV at the same time. I want to watch both.
Hit up the local sports bar!!
OMG! What a game! I think my heart just started beating again. BYU scores a touchdown with no time remaining to win 33-31. Heck of a game IllRepUTE! Good luck in your bowl game!!
Wow... what a finish for BYU-Utah. Luckily, Boise State was winning in a blowout over Nevada so I could turn the channel and catch the final few minutes of BYU-Utah. I thought the Utes were going to win it with that late TD, but I sat there with my eyes glued to the set watching the Cougars come back. That final play was stunning! BYU's QB played it perfectly, and the Utes' defense, well, wasn't that great. The guy couldn't have possibly been any more wide open in the end zone. Great game... tough way for the Utes to lose.
And what can you say about Boise State? To win by more than 30 points on the road at Nevada is incredible (especially after also wining by 30+ at Utah earlier this year). And a 12-0 season and Fiesta Bowl bid? It doesn't get any better than that. Ian Johnson had 149 yards rushing after being in the hospital with a collapsed lung just a week earlier. I can't wait to watch the Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl.
Any idea who BYU will be playing in Las Vegas? I loved my one Las Vegas Bowl experience (back in '99) when Fresno State played Utah. That was a fun bowl to attend.
And what can you say about Boise State? To win by more than 30 points on the road at Nevada is incredible (especially after also wining by 30+ at Utah earlier this year). And a 12-0 season and Fiesta Bowl bid? It doesn't get any better than that. Ian Johnson had 149 yards rushing after being in the hospital with a collapsed lung just a week earlier. I can't wait to watch the Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl.
Any idea who BYU will be playing in Las Vegas? I loved my one Las Vegas Bowl experience (back in '99) when Fresno State played Utah. That was a fun bowl to attend.
QUOTE(TheOtherFSU @ Nov 26 2006, 12:39 AM)
Any idea who BYU will be playing in Las Vegas? I loved my one Las Vegas Bowl experience (back in '99) when Fresno State played Utah. That was a fun bowl to attend.
Most likely the opponent will be Oregon. And hopefully BYU can pay Gary Crowton back for ruining the program for the few years he was in charge.
Boise State celebrates with some Tostitos.
Edited to add: Just finished watching Hawaii-Purdue... what an incredible game. Hawaii was up 17-0 at the half before Purdue came storming back to take the lead and then it went back and forth... Hawaii was down by 8 points late in the game but tied it on a TD and 2-point conversion with 5 minutes left. Then Purdue was trying to rally and threw an INT. Hawaii marched down the field and scored the game-winning TD with a minute left to get the 42-35 win. It was a terrific game.
Edited to add: Just finished watching Hawaii-Purdue... what an incredible game. Hawaii was up 17-0 at the half before Purdue came storming back to take the lead and then it went back and forth... Hawaii was down by 8 points late in the game but tied it on a TD and 2-point conversion with 5 minutes left. Then Purdue was trying to rally and threw an INT. Hawaii marched down the field and scored the game-winning TD with a minute left to get the 42-35 win. It was a terrific game.
QUOTE(TheOtherFSU @ Nov 26 2006, 12:39 AM)
Any idea who BYU will be playing in Las Vegas? I loved my one Las Vegas Bowl experience (back in '99) when Fresno State played Utah. That was a fun bowl to attend.
I was at that game too!! Yes it was a fun game to attend...it seemed like every car we passed between Barstow and Vegas was full of Bulldogs! Then we won 17-16!
That was back when we were able to pull out close games....
Fresno State backup QB Sean Norton asked for, and was granted, his release from the school. He is rumored to be transferring to Utah (at least that's what has been rumored so far... nothing concrete yet). If true, Utah is getting an amazing QB. He was Fresno State's first and only First Team Parade All-American, yet he rode the bench all season while Pat Hill went with QB Tom Brandstater, who is pathetic. The Bulldogs' 4-8 finish is the worst record in a quarter century.
No one is quite sure why Brandstater was the chosen one, but it's clear that Norton was never liked by Hill, and Fresno State fans for the most part were outraged that Norton never played. When the Bulldogs were in the midst of their worst start in 77 years at 1-7 overall, Hill decided to finally give Norton a chance. Norton made 2 starts this year, but Hill decided that he wasn't effective enough in those 2 starts, and Norton was pulled and never even got a single snap in the season's final 4 games. Who were the opponents that Norton started against? LSU and Boise State! Yes, the only 2 BCS bowl teams that Fresno State faced. Norton was forced to go against two Top 10 teams and completed 32 of 54 passes (60%) for 408 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Hill's choice (Brandstater), on the other hand, tied a school record with 4 interceptions against San Jose State Saturday and finished the season with 13 TDs, 14 INTs, and a completion percentage of 54%. And Brandstater played against the likes of Utah State, New Mexico State, Idaho, etc. So Norton has better stats against LSU and Boise (both on the road) than Brandstater had all season against lightweights. Talk about unfair.
I'm so ready for Pat Hill to leave Fresno State. The trouble is that now no one will hire him. He's lost 12 of his last 16 games spanning two years, and the Bulldogs have only beaten Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech in that time. Ugh.
No one is quite sure why Brandstater was the chosen one, but it's clear that Norton was never liked by Hill, and Fresno State fans for the most part were outraged that Norton never played. When the Bulldogs were in the midst of their worst start in 77 years at 1-7 overall, Hill decided to finally give Norton a chance. Norton made 2 starts this year, but Hill decided that he wasn't effective enough in those 2 starts, and Norton was pulled and never even got a single snap in the season's final 4 games. Who were the opponents that Norton started against? LSU and Boise State! Yes, the only 2 BCS bowl teams that Fresno State faced. Norton was forced to go against two Top 10 teams and completed 32 of 54 passes (60%) for 408 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Hill's choice (Brandstater), on the other hand, tied a school record with 4 interceptions against San Jose State Saturday and finished the season with 13 TDs, 14 INTs, and a completion percentage of 54%. And Brandstater played against the likes of Utah State, New Mexico State, Idaho, etc. So Norton has better stats against LSU and Boise (both on the road) than Brandstater had all season against lightweights. Talk about unfair.
I'm so ready for Pat Hill to leave Fresno State. The trouble is that now no one will hire him. He's lost 12 of his last 16 games spanning two years, and the Bulldogs have only beaten Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech in that time. Ugh.
Well the Mountain West has already finished its bowl games and I can only hope for some better bowl matchups in the future. There is no reason for BYU to be playing Oregon or TCU to be beating up on Northern Illinois. Our commissioner is awful. Can we have a playoff please?
I can't believe the MWC's bowls are already over so early. That sucks. I have to admit the MWC got some real lousy bowl opponents this year. I don't know if I'd blame the commissioner though. It seems like it's hard for any non-BCS leagues to get quality bowl opponents, though the WAC did pretty well this year (with its 4 bowl teams facing Oklahoma, Miami, Arizona State and New Mexico). The WAC currently has the best record of any leauge (2-0) though it's going to be very hard to reach 4-0. Things could always be worse... the Pac-10 is 0-3 right now and their teams have been blown out in all three by a combined score of 123-59.
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