Every cloud...

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da...

Well the season is over and the as the last of the Christmas leftovers are being digested, some much needed perspective has finally settled into the spot where disappointment and heartache sat just six days ago. The Boise State/TCU game provided everything that fans were looking for (besides a Boise State win) and really could've gone either way. Were we disappointed with the outcome? Absolutely—the way the game ended, with Kellen's out-of-leftfield INT, quickly soured the optimistic mood that most fans probably had going into the last 2 minutes of the bowl, but It is great to be a Bronco fan. Their insistence on trying to break the record for "most bowl game ended with a pick in one decade" certainly sprouts some gray hairs among even the most loyal Bronco fans, but no player or fan should be hanging their heads about the 2008 campaign...it didn't end on the highest of notes, but the future looks bright in the land of blue and orange, and here's some reasons why.

10. 1-point away from a perfect season in what "should" have been a rebuilding year.

9. Will absolutely be ranked in the 2009 preseason polls, setting up a more attainable BCS run.

8. Another undefeated regular season, another WAC title.

7. Ian Johnson surpasses Marshall Faulk for all-time WAC rushing TD mark.

6. Kellen freakin' Moore. Need I say more? Ok, I will...he's got 3 more years with the Broncos and his favorite targets are all back next year (even Titus Young)

5. Byron freakin' Hout. True Freshman linebacker/DE hybrid tore it up the second half of the season and will be a force on the Bronco D for 3 more years.

4. George freakin' Iloka. True Freshman safety didn't have the best bowl game, but the youngster surpassed everyone's expectations this year and was a key cog in the phenomenal Bronco D in '08.

3. Preseason WAC fave Fresno State was beaten soundly by the Broncos to finish the year.

2. Barring a pollster coup...the Broncos will finish the season in the top 15 yet again.

1. Boise State has 77 freshman and sophomores on the squad...most were key contributors this year. Experience and conditioning will only make this team better.

12-1 isn't what anyone expected in 2008, and while 13-0 has a better ring to it, Bronco fans better get ready for a ride because the next few years will be some doozies.

Know your enemy

You should see it when it's empty.

Ah, rivalry week...the one week every year when we stop trying to ignore the "tribe from the North" and start trying to ignore Robb Akey. The Broncos are coming off a cake walk win against Utah State, the Vandals are coming off a surprisly tough win over Bye. Most fans, like me, know too much about Idaho and their antics on the Palouse. Needless to say, there is still a lot to be learned about this week's foe (don't worry, Kellen Moore already knows their defense intimately)...so let's explore through the magic of factoids and childish jokes. For the mutual benefit of the Vandal faithful, I will let you get to know us a little bit too, not that you haven't already drawn your own conclusions...so take notes.

Ten things Bronco fans might not know about the University of Idaho and their hellish hovel to the north

10. In 1871, brothers Asbury and Noah Lieuallen and about 20 families arrived in what is now Moscow, Idaho. The settlers were drawn in by the abundant grassland and availability of timber for building. The abundance of camas bulbs, then used as fodder for pigs, in the area led the settlers to first name the town Hog Heaven. Years later, several U of I sororities adopted that same name.

9. Besides the University of Idaho—Moscow is home to 21 other academic institutions...among them, Mr. Leon's School of Hair Design and the Moscow School of Massage. Surplus baby oil from the School of Massage is donated every year to the football team.

8. The Vandal football team started play in 1893, and went 2-0-1 in their first year with two wins over Washington State and a tie against Spokane AC. It took the Vandals until 1900 to win another game. Ahh, tradition.

7. Idaho's longest tenured coach in their history was John G. "Pinky" Griffith, who coached for 10 seasons in Moscow and went 28-22-2. Griffith left Idaho to coach at Iowa after the 1906 season but returned as Vandals coach in 1910 and took over the University of Idaho's Entomology Department. Prior to coaching, Griffith was a fullback and team captain for the Iowa Hawkeyes' football team.

6. A mule named Idaho Gem, the world's first cloned equine, was created by researchers at the University of Idaho and Utah State University. Later that same year, the school cloned Buddy Hackett to be their basketball coach.

5. The Kibbie Dome, shown here, is the smallest football venue in Division 1-A with a capacity of 16,000. The dome should be full this Saturday, but don't worry, Bronco fans, there's always a little extra room in Robb Akey's mustache.

4. The campus master plan for the University of Idaho was developed by the Olmsted Brothers, founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects and sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York's Central Park. The Olmsted Brothers radical design ideas for the campus included grass, trees, gravel, and trees.

3. Before moving to the Kibbie Dome, the Vandals' football team played their home games at Neale Stadium, an "earthen horseshoe" that was named after UI president Mervin G. Neale. The stadium was condemned in 1969 and burned down by an arsonist that same year. Why are you looking at me? I wasn't born until 1980.

2. Two famous alums of the Vandal football team are Jerry Kramer and Bill Fagerbakke. Kramer went on to fame and fortune as the Intermountain Gas spokesman after his playing career in Moscow was over and Fagerbakke went on to become a starfish. Ok, Kramer was pretty good.

1. Idaho has an all-time win percentage of only 44%. Sure they, won 12 straight against the Broncos in the 80s and 90s, but that was much more anomalous than anything they've experienced before or since. They've never won a national championship, notched an undefeated season or even made a dent in the Division 1-AA playoffs. Despite their "streak", the Broncos lead the all-time series with the Vandals 19-17-1 and it's gonna get more lopsided from here on out. Just remember all this when your revisionist Vandal co-workers try to reminisce about the "good old days".

Ten things Vandal fans might not know about the Broncos and their peaceful hamlet to the south

10. In 1978, after taking abuse from the Vandal mascot at Bronco Stadium and in tears, the Bronco mascot (who was female) was approached by Boise State wrestling coach Mike Young to pull a switcheroo on the Vandal attacker. Young donned the costume at halftime and proceeded to tackle the Vandal mascot and steal his sword. Comeuppance, I believe is what that is called.

9. Longtime radio personality and ex-"Voice of the Broncos" is actually an University of Idaho alum, as is the father of Bronco football, Lyle Smith. This is a lot like if Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine decided to fight for the Rebel Alliance after graduating from Dark Side University.

8. Boise State's second president, Eugene Chaffee (1937-1967) enlisted in the army in 1942 to fight in World War II.

7. During World War II, enrollment at Boise State dropped to 152, but by the end of the war had jumped to nearly 900. Today, enrollment is close to 20,000.

6. Aurelius "Buck" Buckner was Boise State's first African-American student athlete. Buckner attended Boise State from 1944 to 1946, and was on the football team and basketball team, where he was the high-scorer in the 1945/46 season. Bill Buckner, who also lives in Boise, is no relation.

5. Once upon a time the land on which most of Boise State's campus sits was an island. Its most famous resident was Sage Brush Ann (also known as Tarpaper Annie), who lived alone in a modest tarpaper shack. I got nothin'...this one speaks for itself.

4. Boise State is currently ranked the 40th among all universities in merchandise sales just behind Georgia Tech. Boise State is the highest ranked non-BCS school on the list of the top 75 that the CLC releases each quarter and is ranked directly ahead of Mississippi, Stanford, Colorado, Pitt, BYU, and Boston College. Here is an artist's rendering of the owner of the Blue and Orange Store.

3. Many Vandals think that Boise State ripped off their colors and mascot from the Denver Broncos...wrong. Boise State's mascot and colors were picked in 1932 by student Owen Sproat and others after a basketball game. As Sproat put it:

“most of the guys rode horses — it was pretty much cattle country in those days.”

The johnny-come-lately Denver Broncos didn't come on the scene until 1960.

2. Lyle Smith's teams won 16 of 21 conference titles in the Intermountain Collegiate Athletic Conference (now the Scenic West Athletic Conference). Dominance, Lyle Smith be thy name.

1. The Broncos have won ten oops...getting ahead of myself...nine straight games against the Vandals going into this Saturday's game. The last win by the Vandals was a thrilling 36-35 win on the blue 1998 in Boise. Since that fateful date in November of '98, the Broncos have won 105 games and 7 conference championships. The Vandals have won 30 games in that span and have not been to a bowl game since the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl. The Tormey Curse or the Pokey Curse...take your pick.

Lucky number seven

Can I go back to Cal?

San Jose State was game, but the Broncos defense was stellar once again and the offense found a 165 lb. spark in Jeremy Avery and the Broncos ran their record to 7-0. The Spartans offense looked flustered all night long, but the Spartan defense kept things tight for most of the night with a pick-six, endzone fumble recovery and some very solid play from their D-line. With a 33-16 final, the Spartans scored the most points against the Bronco defense since the September 20th game at Autzen, but really can only be held to account for 10 of those points. I will give a lot of respect to the Spartans...they play hard and that defense is for real...if they can find an offense they may be very good. As it stands, however, the Broncos were the better team tonight and will probably not face a stiff test for weeks.

Quick Hits

• Austin Pettis has some sticky hands
• Jeron Johnson is a stud, but needs to dial it down a notch at times...personal fouls hurt.
• Jeremy Avery is one slick dude and tough, too.
• Dick Tomey needs some ginseng.
• Kyle Efaw should've had a TD.

Know your enemy (for this week, anyway)

Don't get used to this

Boise State heads to bizarro world tomorrow night when they tussle with "first place" WAC team San José State (political correctness dictates that I must put that little swash above the 'e'). The Broncos are coming off a defense-led beatdown of Hawaii and the Spartans are coming off a defense-led beatdown of New Mexico State. Most fans, like me, know little about San José State outside of Jeff Garcia and some recent inexplicably-close games there. Needless to say, there is a lot to be learned about this week's foe (don't worry, Kellen Moore already knows their defense intimately)...so let's explore through the magic of factoids and childish jokes. For the mutual benefit of the Spartan faithful, I will let you get to know us a little bit too...so take notes.

Ten things Bronco fans might not know about San José State

10. San José State University, founded in 1862, is the oldest public university in the state of California. Dick Tomey didn't come around until 1874.

9. Since 1982, San José State's English Department has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest which rewards participants for penning the worst opening sentence to a fictional novel. The contest is named after Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, an English novelist who penned the famous intro "It was a dark and stormy night..." Rewarding intentional mediocrity...hmmm...sounds like an idea the University of Idaho could really get behind.

8. Krazy George Henderson (this guy) is a San José State alum and resident cheerleader. He is credited with inventing the audience wave. For this, Krazy George was recently inducted in my Guys who invented annoying things Hall of Fame, where he will be enshrined next to the inventors of the Macarena, the pan flute, and Richard Simmons.

7. The song Do You Know the Way to San José earned Dionne Warwick a Grammy award and was a top 10 hit in 1968. The follow-up single Do You Know the Way to Rancho Cucamonga was less well received.

6. San José State football has an all-time winning percentage of around 50%. They have won 16 conference championships since 1932, but have not won a title since 1991. The San José State Judo team, on the other hand has won 42 of 46 national championships in the sport.

5. San José State's one undefeated season in football came in 1939 under coach "Dud" DeGroot. They went 13-0 and recorded 8 shutouts. DeGroot was apparently quite a guy, he is the winningest coach in the history of the Washington Redskins franchise, won a Rugby gold medal in the 1924 Olympics, was Stanford's first All-American, held a doctorate, and was once one of the foremost ornithologists (he studied birds) and oologists (and their eggs) in the world. Though not documented, I think he also possessed heat vision and could recite pi to it's 1400th decimal.

4. Former Spartan football player Neil Parry suffered a compound fracture in a 2000 game against UTEP and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee. 3 years later, he returned to the field as a special teams player against Nevada. It is safe to say, no matter who or where you are: Neil Parry is tougher than you.

3. Former head football coach Fitz Hill, who had a very Tom Cable-y 14-33 record at the SJSU is now the president of Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, Arkansas. This appears to be in compliance with SJSU's restraining order stipulating that he stay at least 1000 miles away from the football program at all times.

2. Current Spartan head coach Dick Tomey is vice president of the American Football Coaches Association. He is expected to move to president in 2009, but only if he can hold off fresh-faced challenger Barack Obama.

1. Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia spent his collegiate career at San José State. He is the second most successful ginger kid in NCAA history behind Jared Zabransky.

Ten things San José State fans might not know about Boise State (re-runs this week for close blog followers)

10. Boise State has been in existence since 1932, when it was founded by the Episcopal Church as Boise Junior College. In 1968, it achieved 4 year status and was changed to Boise College, then in 1969 changed again to Boise State College and finally became Boise State University in 1974.

9. The father of Boise State football is Lyle H. Smith. Smith coached Boise State football from 1947 to 1967, going 153-25-6 in that span. Under Smith, Boise State football went undefeated 5 times and won a national championship. Smith chose his own replacement, Tony Knap, in 1968 and served as the Athletic Director until 1981. Knap was pretty good too...he went 71-19 in his eight years with the Broncos.

8. Many think that Boise State ripped off their colors and mascot from the Denver Broncos...well it may be the other way around. Boise State's mascot and colors were picked in 1932 by student Owen Sproat and others after a basketball game. As Sproat put it:

“most of the guys rode horses — it was pretty much cattle country in those days.”

The johnny-come-lately Denver Broncos didn't come on the scene until 1960.

7. Since 1973, Boise State has won 13 conference championships including 5 straight WAC titles from 2002 to 2006. Prior to 1968, they competed in the JC ranks, and as stated before...were a dominant force at 153-25-6 and winning the JC national championship in 1958. Boise State won the 1-AA national championship in 1980 by defeating Eastern Kentucky and played in the championship again in 1994, but lost to a Jim Tressel-led Youngstown State.

6. Boise State joined the 1-A ranks in 1996...since that time, they have finished the season ranked 4 times (peaking at #5 in 2006) and won 7 conference championships.

5. Bronco Stadium's Lyle Smith Field is the nation's only non-green playing surface. "The Blue" or the "Smurf Turf" as it is affectionately known was first installed in 1986 and is currently in its 4th iteration. Contrary to popular belief...geese do not break their necks after mistaking it for a white lined lake. Jimmy Hoffa is also NOT buried under the field (as far as we know)

4. The Broncos are 62-2 at Bronco Stadium since 1999. Their last regular season loss on the blue was to Washington State in 2001.

3. Boise State currently has 11 players active on NFL rosters. Ryan Clady is the highest ever draft pick from Boise State. He was picked 12th overall in this years draft.

2. Boise State's current QB, redshirt frosh Kellen Moore, owns pretty much every high school football record in the state of Washington. Moore had 787 completions, 173 touchdowns, and over over 11,000 yards passing at Prosser High School. As a junior, he was named the Washington player of the year over Jake Locker, the current QB at UW. He emits awesomeness from every pore.

1. Chris Petersen won the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award in 2006. In 2007, Mark Mangino of Kansas ate won the award.

Well, there you go...now we know a little about each other. Feel better?

Spartan media has as much faith in their team as I do.

Sorry Dick, "close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Among all the hand-wringing and backhanded praise for the Spartans going on this week, I actually found a couple of level-headed takes on the game...but from an unusual source...the San Jose State student newspaper's blog. What was apparently supposed to be a spirited point/counterpoint quickly devolved into the dramatic realization that the Spartans aren't playing a patsy this weekend, and thusly, will lose.

Last week, Boise State’s defense dominated Hawaii. They forced Hawaii’s quarterback Inoke Funaki into five interceptions. Funaki is very comparable to Kyle Reed who threw three interceptions against a soft New Mexico State defense. That spells trouble for the Spartans offense...

It also spells L-O-S-S. According to John Hornberg (who also picked the Spartans to lose), the Spartans held a "top notch" New Mexico State offense to only 14 points last week. Fun fact: Boise State held the same "top notch" NMSU offense to zero points last year, and that wasn't our "good" D. Bottom line: Boise State can and will score more than 14 pts. on the Spartans...and that's all they need to do. The Spartans anemic offense will not score more than 10 points on the Broncos—mark it down...use a permanent marker. Besides the erroneous classification of NMSU's offense as "top notch"...the San Jose guys got it right...the Spartans will lose this weekend and it probably won't even be as close that they think.

Boise State 23, SJSU 6

San Jose Daily Sports

Bronco Nation Podcast 9-25-08

With the podcaster numbers reduced by prior engagements...JT and Drew still manage to trudge through another podcast that simply had to be done. We chat about Autzen stadium, Kellen Moore's perceived greatness, the Bronco secondary's perceived dirtiness and the Vandals perceived crappiness Of course we chatted about players of the week and the upcoming schedule, too. Give a listen.

 The Bronco Nation Podcast - The Vocal Minority [54:40m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

University of Idaho is ranked

No, I this is not the Bizarro world where up is down and Vandals are Broncos...looky at this top-15 ranking pulled down by the Vandals on Google Trends today. The University of Idaho has been riding the wave of uniform controversies for weeks now and have finally settled in just under "naked cyclist". Way to go, tribe from the North...you are one more controversy (and maybe a sleeping porch mishap) from the top 10!

Know your enemy (for this week, anyway)

Boise State will have their hands full this weekend in Eugene, OR when they have their first-ever (hard to believe) tussle with the Ducks. The Ducks survived a double overtime game against Purdue last weekend whilst the Broncos beat the Bowling Green Falcons. Most fans, like me, know little about the University of Oregon outside of Dennis Dixon, Mike Belotti and all that Nike moolah. Needless to say, there is a lot to be learned about our week 4 foe (don't worry, Kellen Moore already knows their defense intimately)...so let's explore through the magic of factoids and childish jokes. For the mutual benefit of the Duck faithful, I will let you get to know us a little bit too...so take notes.

Ten things Bronco fans might not know about the University of Oregon

10. The University of Oregon has been playing football since 1894. It would have been cool to see all those Dayglo Nike leather helmets, huh?

9. The Ducks, while enjoying great success as of late under coach Mike Belotti, have only won 52% of their football games all-time. The Broncos are hovering around 70%...neener neener.

8. The University of Oregon has won 7 conference championships since 1919 and are 52-3 against the University of Idaho. That last bit wasn't really related, but I thought it was hilarious.

7. The Ducks football venue, Autzen Stadium, is named after it's chief financial contributor and lumberman Thomas J. Autzen...an Oregon State alum.

6. Oregon's first home game at Autzen Stadium was a 17-13 loss to Colorado in 1967—their first win at Autzen? A 31-6 victory over, you guessed it, Idaho (it was the only home victory that year for Oregon)

5. David Ogden Stiers, who played Winchester on M*A*S*H, attended the University of Oregon as did Ann Curry, current host of The Today Show. Also: a lot of hippies.

4. Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight is a University of Oregon alum and remains a huge donor. He enlisted a Portland State University student to design the famous Nike "swoosh" logo...she was paid $35 for her effort.

3. The Oregon Country Fair is held every year in Veneta, Oregon about 15 miles outside of Eugene. Boasting an attendance of over 45,000, it is a great place to hear folk rock, jazz and slam poetry...it is also a great place to see a naked hippie playing a cello.

2. During half-time of the 2002 game against Stanford, the Donald Duck-like Oregon mascot hatched a terrifying and extremely ill-advised roundhouse-kicking new mascot known affectionately as "Robo Duck". Wow...just wow.

1. The cult-hit comedy Animal House was shot on and around the University of Oregon's campus. They say that John Belushi's ghost still haunts the Lillis Business Complex

Ten things that Duck fans might not know about Boise State University

10. Boise State started out as a junior college in 1932 and became 4-year Boise College in 1968. Hal Zimmerman was the starting QB for BJC in 1967 and in 1968 was the starter for Boise College. How many can make that claim?

9. The first U.S. commercial air flight was an airmail flight in 1926 from Pasco, Wash., to Boise on Varney Air Lines, predecessor of United Airlines. The dirt landing strip was where Bronco Stadium is now. Prior to the campus being built, it was Boise's first airport...and before that: a landfill.

8. Boise State offers the nation's only masters of science in Raptor Biology. We're assuming, the kind from Jurassic Park.

7. Boise State's mascot, Buster Bronco shares his name with Western Michigan's mascot. Extra fun fact: Did you know that Idaho's "Joe Vandal" is the first openly gay mascot in the NCAA? Talk about progressive!

6. Boise State's legendary coach, Lyle Smith was an amazing 153-25-6 at the helm of the Bronco program from 1947-1967. He could still beat you in arm wrestling too.

5. Prior Boise State's coaches that have gone on to not be as successful at their next school: Houston Nutt, Dirk Koetter, and Dan Hawkins (this ain't intramurals, Dan).

4. Boise State's famous Statue of Liberty play that they used to defeat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl (or at least their particular version)was notoriously RIPPED OFF by none other than the Oregon Ducks when they played in Ann Arbor last season.

3. Current Defensive Coordinator, Justin Wilcox, is an Oregon alum who played for the Ducks from 1995 to 1999. His father, Dave Wilcox is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame...and played his college ball for Boise State...and Oregon.

2. Boise State head coach, Chris Petersen, is 25-3 as the Broncos' head honcho...he won Bear Bryant coach of the year honors in 2006 and was nominated several times prior to that for the Frank Broyles award...given to the nation's best offensive coordinator. Petersen played college ball at UC Davis, as did Oregon HC Mike Belotti. Petersen served as Belotti's wide receivers coach at Oregon from 1995 to 2000.

1. Boise State, since moving to Division 1-A in 1996, has been one of the most successful teams in the nation...but still have not won a road game against a BCS opponent. *Sigh*

Well, now you know some things about your foe, Ducks and Broncos...and knowing is half the battle.

Korey Hall a part of history

The Vegas oddsmakers surely put long odds on Korey Hall getting the Packers' first TD of the season...but the Glenns Ferry product and Boise State standout LB delivered on Monday night...catching Aaron Rodgers' first TD as the Packers' starter. We all knew that Hall had good hands after watching him snag interceptions by the boatload from his MLB position on the blue...but the diving catch in the endzone at Lambeau last night was mighty pretty. Hall also blew up Darren Sharper on a long Ryan Grant run. See for yourself (TD at the 1:25 mark...sweet block at the 2:30 mark)



You may not get that many more scoring opportunities, Korey...go ahead and do the Lambeau leap next time.

That'll do, Kellen...that'll do

Photo by Joe Jaszewski/Statesman

The Kellen Moore era has begun in earnest and it looks like it may be soon joining other well-known eras such as the paleozoic and mesozoic. Moore looked freakin' great against a game ISU team, but obviously will really show his mettle in the upcoming weeks. Moore's 274 yard, 2 TD day was the best debut we've witnessed in quite some time...let alone from a freshman. Kellen looked poised, confident and showed a great touch when it came to nickel and diming or dropping 80 yard TD bombs. Moore finished the night with no turnovers and a passer rating of well over 200 in the 49-7 drubbing of the Bengals—Nice.

MIA
A few notables sat the game out and will be key returners for Bowling Green (who gave our SOS a boost yesterday by beating a possibly overrated, but still solid #25 Pitt team). Ryan Winterswyk was conspicuously absent at DE, but was filled in for nicely by future star Jarrell Root. Winterswyk has a bit of a knee tweak and may not be a go for the game against the Falcons on the 13th, but "should" be back for the Oregon game (keep your fingers nicely crossed). Kyle Gingg was also absent last night with a minor injury...he is more likely to be healthy for the BGSU tussle, but was not overly missed against ISU as Derrell Acrey recorded 14 tackles and freshman Aaron Tevis recorded 8, a tipped pass and two sacks.

No cause for alarm
Many fans are a little worried about inconsistent line play in the first game...mainly due to the fact that the offense didn't get rolling until nearly the 2nd quarter and the fact that the running game never fully took flight. Let me address those concerns thusly: It was the first FREAKIN' GAME! Let's all take a step back and look at the big picture. Boise State was about half a yard from posting the exact same score against Idaho State last night as they did against Weber State in the 2007 opener. Boise State's O-line is extremely young and untested...were missing behemoth Nate Potter and still allowed a single sack and sprung the runners for some big gainers. I personally thought that the run-blocking last night was not as good as the pass-blocking...but it was nothing terrible...the interior line wasn't opening huge holes, but Kellen stayed relatively pressure free and the run game looked like it could've really taken off if given more time. Also, Doug Martin and DJ Harper played extremely sparingly last night. The D-line looked pretty good...good pressure...a lot of sacks...and if you take out one lackluster drive pretty much shut down the ISU offense entirely. More perspective: In 2006 (considered by some to have been a "pretty good year") Ian Johnson had 89 rushing yards in the opener against Sacramento State. Last night? 87 yards. We're fine, Chicken Little.

Could be cleaner
As I said before, this was the first real live football a lot of these guys have played in months and for a lot of them, the first real live college football of their careers. There were some mistakes made—fumbles, pass interference, missed blocks and poor pursuit angles...but all-in-all this was a solid outing all around. Any mistakes made seemed to be atoned for later on and that is all you can ask of our athletes. Two oddly familiar looking fumbles by Titus Young were atoned for by two beautiful TDs, and bad field position for the Broncos (yep, fumbles) gave way to great defensive stands. Linebackers and secondary played very well...missed tackles were at a minimum and the one long drive given up by the D seemed to be due more to some poor pursuit angles than poor tackling like last year. The D-line was getting a good push, but will need to seal off the ends a bit better...Winterswyk will help with this immensely.

Bright spots
Richie Brockel did his best Mike Alstott impression on two goal line runs. Freshman Tyler Shoemaker from Mountain View showed the coaches that putting him on scholly last week was the right move by hauling in two nice TDs. Derrell Acrey wasn't "supposed" to start this one, but did...led the team in tackles with 14 and looked grrrreat. Jeron Johnson showed that you better think twice before running into him head-on...he isn't going to slow down. Ian Johnson blocked a punt...really. Aaron Tevis is a Colt Brooks clone...and he's only a frosh. One bright spot for the Bengals was their place kicker...he was kicking the crap outta that ball last night. Never got to see our new look kick return team because the balls were sailing out of the endzone.

Passing Grades
Offense—B+
Defense—B
Special Teams—B
BroncoVision—D

Kellen gets Helmet Sticker

Seeing is believing

After seeing what many in Bronco Nation thought unlikely yesterday when Kellen Moore was announced the starting quarterback, I'm a believer...but what other improbable or not-so-improbable things will we see this season? What will we not see? Let's discuss, shall we?

10 things Bronco fans will see this season

10. A freshman as starting quarterback—If you were in a cave in Afghanistan yesterday, you might not have heard...Kellen Moore is the Broncos' starting QB (I'm kinda excited about it)

9. Dominant defense—The Broncos took a step back last season from previous campaigns...we let teams run on us, didn't get a lot of takeaways, looked soft on the D-line, etc.—well that is going to change this year. Ryan Winterswyk and Mike T. Williams can't both be double teamed and the secondary and linebacking corps are hungry. It's lights out for opposing teams this year.

8. Unstoppable run game—Ian Johnson will have a year closer to his '06 campaign and the stable of backups (doesn't feel right to call them that) will keep defenses guessing. Doug Martin, DJ Harper will add the power—Jeremy Avery will provide the elusiveness.

7. Special teams TDs—With runningbacks as kick-returners and the possibility of Titus Young returning punts...Broncos are gonna take some to the house this year. Believe it.

6. Derrell Acrey takes it to the next level—Acrey has been much hyped and rightly so. "Little Ray" is going to add intensity and physicality to the middle of the D.

5. No Huddle Offense—The Broncos have had success with the hurry-up and with the amount of Offensive looks they already bring to the table...the No Huddle should confuse the heck out of opponents. Don't start the "BOISE/STATE" chant when we're on offense, though.

4. 60 points in regulation—The Broncos have hit the 60 pt. plateau numerous times in their history...last year's came in a 4 OT game against Nevada. This year, the Broncos will accomplish the feat in regulation...and the best candidates (or victims) look to be Idaho State or Utah State.

3. A National award finalist—Ian Johnson may be a finalist for the Walter Camp award or Kyle Brotzman may be a Groza finalist—our money is on George Iloka for the House Party 3 award.

2. 11 wins—If the offensive line gels...this is attainable. The offense should be prolific, the home slate is favorable and the defense should be improved. The 11th win will likely come in the bowl game.

1. WAC championship #6—I think we may share this year...we'll get by Fresno on the blue in November, but will let one go on the road against a sleeper. An 8-0 WAC run is not off the table...but luck runs out sometimes.

10 things Bronco fans will not see in 2008

10. A loss to Hawaii—Shouldn't have happened last year...certainly won't happen this year. Brent Rausch is not Colt Brennan and Greg McMackin is not June Jones. One of those is a good thing.

9. An undefeated season—I'd love to view the world through orange and blue goggles, but let's be realistic...an undefeated season is not in the tarot cards this year. Let our boys mature a bit and then look out for the world-beatin'.

8. Idaho finishing last in the WAC—As much as I'd love to see it...I think the Vandals may double their win output from last year. What's 1 multiplied by 2, again?

7. A lot more quarterback sacks—A lot of people think that a young O-line equals a bad O-line. The new look Bronco line will have some growing pains, but with a QB with as quick a release as Moore and with the Tight End packages we employ, Moore should stay relatively safe.

6. A WAC loss on the blue—Fresno State is the trendy pick this year and will give Boise State their stiffest challenge on the Smurf Turf, but the dogs will ultimately fall short and who else has a chance? Louisiana Tech? Pffft.

5. Colin Kaepernick goes off pt. 2—No way no how does chicken legs go off on the Bronco defense again this year.

4. 300 yards rushing by an opponent—If this year's Bronco team isn't motivated by the embarrassing Nevada and East Carolina games they are comatose. With a bigger presence at MLB and veterans on the outside the linebackers will be better, and a healthy Jeron Johnson is gonna bust some heads.

3. Any love from the media—After consecutive losses and being knocked off their WAC perch...the media isn't going to dole out any Bronco love this year. Kellen Moore and co. are gonna have to earn it. What's new?

2. A glut of true freshman starters—2007 saw 5 true frosh play, but 2008 should see less. We may see George Iloka or a few Offensive Linemen get the call, but any frosh playing at the "skill" positions is virtually impossible.

1. BCS roadgame letdown—I am not saying that we are going to win the Oregon game...but I guarantee that you will not see the same type of effort from our boys that we witnessed in Seattle. Broncos may lose...but will do with grace, non-pants-wetting.

If you want to be able to make similar psychic predictions...you must learn how to focus and relaxate. Observe:

Dooley noted: Louisiana Tech WAC football preview

Part 5 of our WAC football preview is here. Today, I am examining the down-but-not-out Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The Bulldogs have been down in recent years, but they are always capable of killing WAC title hopes for any number of WAC teams. With a new coach and a new outlook, the Bulldogs might surprise some teams this season. Then again...maybe they won't.

Ruston, Louisiana's motto is "a city planning for the future"—and while a more fitting motto for the city may have been "only 5 hours from New Orleans" or "no worse than Moscow"...2nd year La Tech coach Derek Dooley is taking the city's mantra to heart and planning for the future of the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech hasn't won a WAC championship since 2001 (at the expense of the Broncos, no less) and has only been on the good side of .500 once since then...but the Bulldogs seem to have renewed vigor under Dooley and are hoping that this year may be the year that they get over the hump.

And to think you could have known only victory on the blue turf
Quarterback Taylor Bennett at one point looked destined to become a Bronco. Things changed... Taylor fell out of love with the blue and went on to a so-so career at Georgia Tech. In a ironic twist of fate Bennett was still able to experience the blue turf in a Humanitarian Bowl loss to Fresno State last year. Now, through the magic of NCAA loopholes, Bennett has departed Georgia Tech and enrolled at Louisiana Tech...where he will likely become the starter. Now, Bennett will again get to experience what playing on the blue turf feels like when the Bulldogs visit Boise on October 1st and thanks to Ryan Winterswyk and Mike T. Williams will also get to find out what blue turf tastes like.

Lookin' for bright spots
The Bulldogs should be better in the quarterback department after the departure of the not-so-aptly named Zac Champion. Champion threw for a mere 13 TDs last season while throwing 10 INTs...he was also sacked 29 times. Obviously the passing stats weren't great during the Champion era...but the 54 quarterback sacks in the last two seasons certainly point to another underperforming unit: the O-line. The O-line performed adequately enough to spring senior running back Patrick Jackson for nearly 1,000 yards last season...but clearly their pass blocking must improve. Thankfully for the Bulldogs...Jackson is back and they have junior RB Daniel Porter to lean on as well. Porter and Jackson may be the third best running back tandem in the WAC behind Boise State's Johnson and Whoever and Fresno State's Matthews and Miller. With consistency in the running game and better play from the Offensive Line, Tech should improve upon last year's 99th ranking in scoring offense...and they must if they want to finish higher than 5th in the WAC. Oh...here's a bit of good news—Bennett was 27 of 44 for 370 yards and 3 scores in Sunday's Fall Scrimmage. Good news for the offense, anyway—which leads us to...

Shrewish Defense League
The Bulldogs were ranked 91st in total defense last season, giving up an average of 424 yards/game. While not the worst defensive team in the WAC...they are far from the best—and their offense was not strong enough to allow for that kind of defensive production. By contrast, the top 2 teams in the WAC last year, Hawaii and Boise State, had national defensive rankings of 34 and 25, respectively. On a better note for the dogs' D, they nearly cut in half the amount of rushing yardage allowed from 2006 to 2007. Also, free safety Antonio Baker returns after putting together an all-WAC season and making 118 tackles. Baker is a solid player for the dogs and will lead their defense again this season...whenever your free safety leads the team in tackles, however, there are problems with the line. CB Weldon Brown will help Baker keep offenses from getting too deep into the La Tech secondary...but both, I'm sure, would appreciate a bit more help from the boys up front.

Dog Days
I truly believe that Derek Dooley is going to be a great coach...I just don't know if it is going to be at Louisiana Tech. Dooley's first year in Ruston saw his team go 5-7, which was a modest improvement over 2006's 3-10 campaign with Jack Bicknell at the helm, but Dooley can prove the worth of his contract this season if the Dogs can go above .500. That said, the Bulldogs face no easy task this year as their schedule is not a friendly one sending them to play at Kansas, Boise State, Hawaii, Army and San Jose State. Throw in tough home games against Mississippi State, Fresno State and a Nevada finale and the it appears that the dogs could replicate last season's record. I am going to go ahead and give Dooley the benefit of the doubt and say that the dogs will go 6-6 this season—I doubt that they'll get by Nevada, Fresno, Hawaii or Boise State in conference and the Kansas and Mississippi games will be toughies...but they should distinguish themselves as better than the bottom of the WAC and will be knocking on the door in another year or two. Though they are a terrible geographical fit for the WAC, I like Louisiana Tech and their fanbase...and I think that Derek Dooley will run a tight ship—whether that will translate into wins or a shot at the WAC title remains to be seen. Maybe next year?

Previous previews:
Utah State preview
Idaho preview
New Mexico State preview
San Jose State preview

Uneducated guesses

First off, let me state that I have tried to objectively look at the Boise State QB race from the beginning. Devotees of the blog may recall that prior to Spring ball, I had Coughlin as my frontrunner. It is clear at this point that MC is not going to be the man. Let me also state that I have been critical of the local media outlets when they have gone too far in campaigning for one QB over the other. I have no qualms saying that I have jumped on the Kellen Moore bandwagon and I think he obviously has a bright future at Boise State. So make no mistake, when I make my following prediction: I am not endorsing one QB over another (not that it matters to the coaching staff) and I think that we are gold if the coaches go either way. That said...after watching yesterday's scrimmage (and not watching any of the Fall practices)—I predict that senior Bush Hamdan is going to be the starter for 2008.

Hamdan, though he had a rougher outing in the first Fall scrimmage...has, from all accounts had a good camp. He was really neck and neck with Moore after Spring ball (an amazing testament to just how good the frosh is) and the 5th year senior has had a solid summer. Last night, though Moore again looked crisp, Hamdan looked more like a starter to me. Moore had a beautiful 50-yard TD pass to Jeremy Childs...but Hamdan had an amazing TD strike to Austin Pettis that he threw off of his back foot as the pocket had nearly collapsed on him. Hamdan also had a very nice touchdown pass to Vinny Perretta and several scrambling tosses that found their mark. Hamdan finished the night 9 of 14 for 214 yards with 3 TDs and one INT (thankfully to new starter Brandyn Thompson). Kellen Moore was 13 of 21 for 149 yards, one TD and one INT. These stats certainly don't indicate a huge chasm between the senior and the frosh and Moore did have the better first scrimmage...but like I said...Hamdan just looked more like the starter yesterday. I will pull a Hal Mumme and have my "gut feeling" moment. Hamdan is gonna be the starter...Moore will see some time this year...Moore will be unstoppable and incredibly good as a sophomore. For those of you that would like to serve up piping hot crow for me if I am wrong, I believe on a PC it's the alt-Print Screen command

Other observations from the 2nd Fall scrimmage

Vinny Perretta is going to tear it up this year. He had two long TD receptions last night and has looked very good this Summer. I think we would've done better last season with VP healthy.

Our RBs look great. I'm used to the sight of Ian Johnson in street clothes at scrimmages, so I'm not too rattled by the fact he didn't play. Doug Martin, Jeremy Avery and DJ Harper look great. They run hard and don't go down without a fight. Even freshman Matt Kaiserman and walk-on Carlo Audagnotti looked good on the blue.

Jarvis Hodge looks like Kimbo Slice. Hodge didn't play yesterday, but he is sporting a thick beard and if you squint...he looks a bit like the wannabe brawler.

Chandler Koch will be good. Koch is tall and has soft hands...maybe he uses Palmolive?

Our Freshman O-lineman are huge. Faraji Wright, Joe Kellogg, Tom Swanson and others are gonna be big players for us in the future...literally.

Tommy Smith and George Iloka will be all-WAC someday soon. alt-Printscreen

Boise State has international appeal. I had 3 Germans speaking ze Deutsch next to me at last night's scrimmage.

Offense ruled the night BUT Kyle Wilson, Jeron Johnson, Billy Winn and others were not suited up.

Brandyn Thompson will fill in nicely for our dearly departed Orlando Scandrick.

This will be a fun year. How's that for another bold prediction?

Scrimmage Links

Murphy less sure of QB race outcome.

Dustin Lapray weighs in on the action. Grab a thesaurus.

IPT's scrimmage photo gallery.

Deja Vu

Hawaii has named a sophomore JC transfer from California as their starting QB. Deja Vu? No...Hawaii has named Brent Rausch as their starting QB after a tumultuous fall that saw heir-apparent Tyler Graunke held out of camp and two JC transfers battle for the spot. Now before you panic...here are some things that Rausch doesn't have in common with the last California JC-transfer that was named Hawaii's QB:

• Rausch's lastname is Rausch
• Rausch doesn't have the Hawaiian islands dyed into his hair
• Rausch doesn't have a surprisingly girly voice
• Rausch, as far as we know, hasn't puked moments before throwing a TD pass

Here are the things that are eerily similar:

• As mentioned before...Sophomore California JC-transfer
• Blonde buzzcut
• Will know mostly defeat at hands of Broncos

Ryan Winterswyk now knows whom to kill.

This one goes to Eleven

Nigel Tufnel would be so proud. That's eleven verbals for Boise State as of today (someone special's birthday). DE Kharyee Marshall from Washington High School in Phoenix, AZ pulled the proverbial trigger and will join other Arizona commits Justin Jungblut and Ebo Makinde on the blue (hopefully). Both Jungblut and Makinde received Pac-10 offers AFTER giving Boise State the nod—hopefully the blue will prevail. Marshall is a 6'2" 215 lb. D-line standout who also held offers from Idaho, Nevada, SDSU, Utah and UTEP. Marshall possesses a good frame that will no doubt take more weight and also has good speed at 4.7 in the 40. Marshall is rated as a 3 star recruit by rivals and classified as the 50th best player at his position. Makinde, Jungblut and Marshall are rated as the 16th, 22nd and 23rd best players in Arizona, respectively.

Hey Pac-10...keep away from our recruits!

Bronco Nation podcast—now with 100% more Guerrero!

The Bronco bloggin' boyz were back last night with special guest Alex Guerrero. Alex gives some nice insight into the program, his new gig with KWEI and puts the world on notice for the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Also, my 1-year old attempts to get in on the podcast as well...you'll have to wait 'lil guy.

 The Bronco Nation Podcast - The 100 Yard Dash Fantasy [32:15m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Sparty over here: San Jose State WAC football preview

Part 4 of our WAC football preview is here. Today, I'm examining the oft-mediocre, but always scary, San Jose Stat Spartans. The Spartans have some intriguing transfers and returners, but you just never know what you're going to get with Tomey's boyz. Let's what they have to offer in 2008.

In 2003, Boise State defeated San Jose State in Boise by a score of 77-14...in regulation. To this day, it is the most points the Broncos have ever scored on an opponent. The following year in San Jose, the Broncos won 56-49 in overtime. These night-and-day type performances typify the play of the Spartans over the last few years...at times horrific...at other times terrific. What "ific" will they embrace this year? It is hard to say.

Sock it To-mey
Dick Tomey's sleepy demeanor pushed his Spartans to a 9-4 season in 2006 and a bowl win over New Mexico. The momentum for the Spartans was then so great that it catapulted them to a 5-7 season in 2007. Are you seeing a pattern yet? Tomey has been one thing since he took the reins of the Spartan program in 2005: Not Fitz Hill. He has guided his Spartans to new heights and par-for-the course lows in his brief tenure...but playing close-to-500 ball is what the Spartans do best. Tomey looks like he may just take a nap on the sidelines or during interviews at any moment—maybe his apathetic, Stan Laurel-like persona is what keeps the Spartans on such a milktoast even keel. We know the team can play...but when they decide to is a different story.

No O...no go
Losing your top tailback in the first game of the year is tough. When you have no capable backups for that injured tailback—it's real tough. This is the scenario that the Spartans faced last year. Star RB Yonus Davis went down in the Spartans opening game against Arizona State and never returned—neither did the Spartans rushing attack. The Spartans barely scratched the 1,000 yard rushing mark last year as a team...their top rusher had 331 yards on the year and 1 touchdown. This lack of a running game hampered the Spartans all year, and had it not been for the inspired play of WR Kevin Jurovich and the capable passing of senior Adam Tafralis, the Spartans may not have even been lucky enough to win the 5 games they did. However, for all of their offensive difficulties last season, the Spartans nearly toppled eventual champ Hawaii, dropped 51 points on New Mexico State and defeated a pretty good Nevada team in their finale. Not the type of year that Spartan fans had in mind, for sure, but no reason to push the panic button quite yet either. Yonus Davis returns to the backfield and Jurovich will be a threat...a little O can go a long way. The Spartans do have to replace 3-year starter Tafralis...but capable replacements abound in Myles Eden, Jordan LaSecla and Cal-transfer Kyle Reed. I doubt the Spartans will repeat their feat of getting shutout twice in one season, as they did against Stanford and Fresno State—but they have a little ways to go to trade offensive blows with the WAC's best.

Come one, come all
The welcome sign is always on and buzzing at Spartan Stadium, apparently, as they have drawn Pac-10 transfers with the greatest of ease. Besides the Cal-transfer on offense, the Spartans have added Coye Francies from Oregon State to their defensive secondary and more impressively, ex-USC defensive end Jeff Schweiger. Schweiger and Francies should make their presence known this season...the Spartans already had a pretty good secondary and the addition of Francies alongside all-WAC second team corner Chris Owens will soften the blow that Dwight Lowery's graduation/drafting dealt. Schweiger is a big boy and with a Trojan pedigree may wreak havoc on WAC O-lines. Heck, OBNUG thinks he may be the DPOY. Could be...but you gotta go through Ryan Winterswyk to get it, savvy?

Is a winning season so much to ask?
A winning season is never too much to ask...but is often too much to deliver. I think that the best-case scenario for the Spartans this year is a 7-5 record, but likely a 6-6 outing is in the tarot cards. I think they'll get by UC-Davis, SDSU and Utah State and then defeat NMSU, Idaho and La Tech. Fresno and Boise State have to come to the Bay...and I think the Spartans will put a scare into one of 'em (please, not Boise State again) but ultimately come up short. This is a big year for the Spartans and I think that even a .500 campaign will give them a nice boost after last years injury-plagued and disappointing season. After all is said and done, Dick Tomey will take a nice, long nap.

Hey Spartans, at least you don't have to deal with this tool anymore, right?


Previous previews:
Utah State preview
Idaho preview
New Mexico State preview

Your guess=as good as mine

Photo by Joe Jaszewski

Ok...so I took the wife and kid down to Bronco Stadium for the ridiculously early scrimmage today. They know that most people are working at 3 PM on a Monday, right? Anyhoo...I showed up a bit late—around 4 and tried to see what I could see. The "big" play (Kellen Moore to Vinny Perretta for a 51 yard TD) had already happened, but thankfully Buck from Statueleft got me up to speed. Here's what I thought I saw:

Kellen Moore looks very poised and makes decisions very quickly (and usually wisely). He didn't have a "wow" type of day, but still led all QBs in yardage with 137 yards and a score. Moore did not play error free ball, but he did not turn the ball over (other than a ball that was stripped by a blitzing Derrell Acrey). Moore's receivers had a few drops, he threw a few a bit wide, but also wisely threw them away when nothing was opening up. Moore was only 9 of 22 on the day...but didn't kill drives and still got over the 100 yard mark. Moore may have just pulled slightly ahead with today's performance.

Bush Hamdan, though dead even throughout the Spring and Summer with Moore—may have ceded a bit of an edge today to Moore. Hamdan had no turnovers to speak of, but often threw into tight coverage and was lucky not to be picked off. Hamdan looked fairly agile in the pocket, but did not tuck and run when it may have been beneficial. The defense put pretty good pressure on him, but Bush wasn't making terribly quick reads. He finished the day 5 of 15 for 48 yards and no scores. Some remarked that the running game seemed to look better with Hamdan at the helm, but this may be chalked up to a) sheer coincidence or b) the fact that the RBs are more accustomed to a right-handed exchange. Hamdan didn't kill the offense, but he didn't spark them much either. It is the first scrimmage, so I won't read too much in. Hamdan, I think is #2 for now.

Nick Lomax had the best passer rating of the outing. He was 7 of 9 and completed 77% of his throws. It must be stated, however, that Lomax's stats were accumulated against mainly 2nd or 3rd teamers and were high percentage, short passes that only netted him 68 yards through the air. Lomax always seems to get up for the scrimmages and doesn't make many boneheaded mistakes...but he is clearly a step behind Moore and Hamdan and has not really impressed a lot in actual game situations. Lomax is hangin' in there, but I don't think he'll push Moore or Hamdan for much PT.

Michael Coughlin did not see much action on Monday. He was a respectable 5 of 8 for 35 yards and clearly possesses the best legs of the group. He also has a rocket arm, but routinely seems to overthrow receivers and rushes his passes. Coughlin saw some action last year in games and performed decently...but he and Lomax, "the tall ones" don't seem to have grasped the offense as well as the redshirt and the 5th year. I still have hope that Coughlin will make a charge and we'll see him some this year, but a starting gig looks like a longshot.

The defense played well and Derrell Acrey and Jeron Johnson stood out. Acrey adds a larger, more physical presence at midfield and Johnson just seems to be everywhere. Jeron hits like a Mack truck and leveled the much larger Julian Hawkins with a hit that echoed off the bleachers. Hunter White also caught my eye as he really flies around out there. The defensive line got good pushes into the backfield which hopefully is because of a combination of skill and the fact that the O-line is missing several cogs.

Receiving was hard to gauge. Very excited to read the stat line that Chandler Koch led all receivers with 61 yards—equally so about frosh Chris Potter snagging 5 tosses. Our future looks bright at receiver...and so does the present. Perretta, obviously snagged a long TD pass that was 100% effort. Nice to see Vinny back at full strength. Also nice to have Jeremy Childs back...he didn't light it up...but always seems to be open. Our receivers and running backs shouldn't be an issue this year. They're gold.

To sum it up. No QB really distanced himself too much. Hamdan or Moore is anyone's guess. Obviously there are pros and cons to either choice, but I don't get the impression that either would do poorly if given the reins. We'll just have to wait until Saturday's scrimmage to see if another can pull away. Until then...happy prognosticating.

All together now.

The Broncos celebrated togetherness this morning as the newcomers and veterans all converged on the Blue Turf (in full pads, no less) for the first time this fall. The true freshman who will contribute this year will start to make themselves known and the wiley veterans will show the youngsters a thing or two as well. All reports so are good. Titus the Young caught a 50-yard TD strike from wunderkind Kellen Moore and then Vinny Perretta brought in one of his own from Bush Hamdan. The two top-dogs in the QB derby certainly are both playing well...making it difficult to guess as to where the depth chart stands. Monday will be the first scrimmage and fans and analysts should be able to see who controls the offense better. It's fair to say that Moore and Hamdan have stepped it up.

Also stepping it up is the Bronco Defense. Coming of an inconsistent 2007 and losing stalwarts Orlando Scandrick and Marty Tadman...all indicators are that the defense has the fire back in their bellies. They've been creating turnovers at an alarming rate and Ryan Winterswyk and Mike T. Williams are setting themselves up to be the best Defensive End-tandem in the conference...both have been named Coach Pete's Player of the Day so far. The linebacking corps, (now with more Acrey!) have been pickin' off passes and pickin' fights. All good signs.

How the offensive line will come together still remains to be seen. Several youngsters should get in the mix soon and we'll see very soon if any of the frosh hosses will get thrown into the fire.

Getting close now...young and old have converged and it's about to get interesting.

Fresh Linkage:

OBNUG's Cliff's Camp Notes

Statueleft does some covert ops on Day 2 of camp

Kellen Moore speaks, people listen.

Dustin Lapray paints a vivid scene of fall camp. Get Pulitzer on the phone!

Noice! Thompson Coach Pete's Player of the Day

Brandyn Thompson was named Coach Pete's Player of the Day for the 4th day of Fall Camp.

“Brandyn showed up today with great focus, energy and he turned that into some play-making ability,” said Petersen. “He had an awesome interception, but his coverage has been very tight all camp long. We’re looking forward to great things out of him this fall.”

This is very good news, since the early departure of Orlando Scandrick has left a gaping void in the defensive secondary opposite Kyle Wilson. Thompson was one of 5 true frosh to play last year, but was mainly utilized in nickel formations when we played NMSU and Hawaii. Particularly uplifting for nervous Broncos is the fact that Thompson has outperformed other highly touted recruits Antwon Murray, Keith McGowan and Garcia Day. Thompson had an acrobatic pick today against Austin Pettis, who I'm pretty sure is 3 feet taller than him. Good job, Brandyn...keep that intensity up cuz WAC offenses like to throw.

In other news...Ian talks