COLUMN: Adam’s WAC football power poll: Week 6
The big news out of the Western Athletic Conference this week may have been that Boise State – ranked No. 3 in the nation in the AP poll since the start of the season – was jumped by Oregon in the latest set of rankings, but the best performance of week five has got to go to Utah State. The Aggies’ 31-16 win over rival BYU was not only important in giving new life to coach Gary Andersen’s team, but it highlighted a weekend in which WAC teams went 3-0 against other teams from non-Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conferences. Roughly a third of the way through the season, we have a good idea of which WAC teams are for real and which ones aren’t, and will find out this weekend if any team not named Boise State or Nevada has a legitimate shot to challenge for a league title.
Boise State (4-0, 1-0): You almost have to feel bad for New Mexico State, which never stood a chance in the Broncos’ 59-0 thrashing of the southern Aggies in Las Cruces on Saturday. The Broncos jumped out to a 38-0 lead at halftime thanks to two Kellen Moore touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Efaw, while Boise State running backs combined for 298 yards rushing during the game. Defense? The Broncos played a little bit of that as well, holding NMSU to just 208 total yards and forcing three turnovers. Despite the dominating win, the AP voters weren’t drinking the blue kool-aid, and dropped Boise a spot (from No. 3 to No. 4) in the latest rankings. The team continues to take heat over its schedule, and likely won’t face a considerable test for the remainder of the season until a Nov. 26 matchup with Nevada.
Nevada (4-0, 1-0): The Wolf Pack hold steady in our rankings but continue to ascend in the eyes of the AP voters, who moved head coach Chris Ault’s team up four spaces from last week’s rankings. The move to No. 21 comes after Nevada defeated in-state rival UNLV on Saturday night, rolling up 516 total offensive yards on 7.5 yards a play. Running back Vai Taua played this week’s hero, rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns, while also catching another touchdown. The Wolf Pack did turn the ball over three times, but it was still too much for a struggling UNLV (1-4) team under first year head coach Bobby Hauck. Nevada is off to its best start since 1991, and is already considered to have the chance play spoiler for Boise State when the Broncos visit Reno in November. But Ault’s team better watch out – a trip to Hawaii in two weeks could be dangerous if his team is overconfident, especially given the Warriors’ potent passing attack.
Hawaii (3-2, 1-0): The Warriors make a stunning move up in my rankings by supplanting Fresno State, which just three weeks ago looked to be a potential Top 25 candidate. I’ll admit that I may be allowing the majestic waves of the islands go to my head, but hear me out on this one. The Warriors, who are coming off of a 41-21 win against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, have the nation’s top ranked passing offense, and are led by a quarterback who has already thrown for over 1,800 yards, not to mention 15 touchdowns and only three interceptions. The team’s only two losses have come against winning BCS conference teams (Southern California and Colorado) and the Warriors were competitive in both games. Still not buying into the Warriors? Think Fresno State is the better team? I guess we’ll find out this weekend, when Hawaii travels to play Fresno State in an early-season conference showdown.
(3-1, 0-1) Fresno State: Things were getting pretty hairy for coach Pat Hill’s team after Football Championship Subdivision member Cal Poly pulled within four points of the Bulldogs at halftime, but thanks to 17 unanswered second half points, Fresno State was ultimately able to come away with the win. While the 38-17 final score may not look terribly impressive, keep in mind that Cal Poly is a very good team, having beaten then-top-ranked Montana in week two. Quarterback Ryan Colburn was solid for Fresno State once again, and has now completed over 72 percent of his passes on the year with an impressive 11-3 touchdown to interception ratio. The return of running back Robbie Rouse (who scored a touchdown against Cal Poly) should help the Bulldogs, although the team still faces injury concerns heading into WAC play.
Idaho (3-2, 0-0): As much as I’d love to move the Aggies up past Idaho, the Vandals matched the Aggies when it came to winning a non-conference game last Saturday, taking down the Western Michigan Broncos 33-13 on the road. Quarterback Nathan Enderle threw for 380 yards and three scores in the win. The previously maligned Vandal defense came up with arguably its best game of the season by holding Western Michigan to just 185 yards of total offense. While the Vandals sit on the plus side of .500, it is worth pointing out that the team’s two wins over Football Bowl Championship (FBS) foes have come against a pair of 1-3 teams, while the other win (a 45-0 victory over North Dakota) came against a 2-3 FCS team. If there is one team in the conference which is still a question mark, it’s Idaho.
Utah State (2-3, 0-1): The good news? I don’t need to tell you again – but the bad news is that the Aggies are the conference’s second-biggest question mark. Despite the team’s dominating win over BYU, USU will have to prove that a letdown isn’t on the horizon. USU’s offense has shown the ability to rally behind former backups like Derrvin Speight, while the defense has produced two of the conference’s best linebackers in Kyle Gallagher and Bobby Wagner. The schedule actually sets up nicely for a possible Aggie bowl run, and if the team can win a road game in Ruston, La. then the Aggies will be looking good when they come out of the bye week to face Hawaii on Oct. 23.
Louisiana Tech (1-4, 0-1): Four straight losses for the Bulldogs have rocked the foundations in Ruston, La. almost as much as the team’s current quarterback quandary. Head coach Sonny Dykes probably never imagined starting three different quarterbacks so early into the season, but that’s been the exact case for the Bulldogs. Both Colby Cameron and Tarik Hakmi have thrown for more interceptions that touchdowns, and the Bulldog offensive line has been inept at protecting both quarterbacks. While the team hasn’t gotten many breaks schedule-wise, any hope of making it to the postseason has likely passed them by.
New Mexico State (0-4, 0-1): Yes, the Aggies are win-less after four games, but three of those losses came to teams with only one loss, and none of those losses have come from FCS programs. Still, the Aggies aren’t exactly far from the bottom. With the 119th-rated defense in the country, the team’s chances of holding back opposing offenses are about as good as Belgium’s chances of stopping Germany in the Second World War. The Aggie offense hasn’t been much better, with quarterback Matt Christian hitting barely 50 percent of his passes.
San Jose State (1-4): We all thought the Spartans saw the low point of their season when they nearly lost to FCS Southern Utah three weeks ago, but unimpressive as that win was, it looks like a Super Bowl victory given last Saturday’s 14-13 loss to UC Davis. The FCS Aggies (2-3) came from behind in the win, while the Spartan offense continued to struggle. The good news is that San Jose State outgained UC Davis, but it’s hardly any consolation to the fans in San Jose, who will have the honor of watching their team get blown out by Nevada this Friday night on ESPNU.
Game of the Week
New Mexico at New Mexico State: The worst team in college football travels to play the worst team in college football in the game I like to call the “Green Chile Cheeseburger Bowl.” If the Aggies are ever going to get a win this year, it’ll have to come against their in-state brethren, who are actually coming off their best game of the season last week in an 18-point loss to UTEP. Nothing like watching two horrible teams slug it out!
Got beef with my picks? Think I missed the mark? We want to hear from you. Drop me a line at adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu.