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Friday, April 11, 2014.
It really is a “Blue & Orange Game” this time, with the offense in blue jerseys and the defense wearing orange tomorrow evening. That after years of blue and white on the field. But it won’t be blue against orange on the scoreboard. The first-team offense and defense (to be called “Boise State”) will be going against the second-team (called “the Broncos”) in the first half—then third-teamers will mix in with the second-team and fourth-teamers will be joining the first-teamers during the second half. And there’ll be conventional scoring as opposed to a complicated points formula for defensive scoring. It’ll be treated like a game. “The mindset is to put a lasting impression for summer from that one final scrimmage,” said coach Bryan Harsin. The team called “Boise State” should be heavily-favored.
From the outset of spring football, Harsin has said he wants to set a record and draw 20,000 fans at Saturday’s Blue & Orange Game. The Boise State marketing department unleashed robocalls to season ticket holders and single-game ticket purchasers the past week, featuring Harsin inviting them to the game. What are the chances of hitting 20,000? I’d say it comes down to wind. The crowd was held under 10,000 last year by a brutal wind. The high temperature was 58, which is okay in April. But a front blew through, and the thermometer faded fast—the low that night would be 25. The wind was a bugger, with gusts up to 40 MPH.
Dan Goodale’s final extra point of the evening at the 2013 Blue & Orange Game, going south to north, went up and through the uprights—then the wind forced it almost straight down, with the ball landing on the walkway at the bottom of the north end zone stands. The National Weather Service forecasts the wind to be 13-18 MPH tomorrow. A bit breezy, but it’s sounding like a perfect mid-October day.
How about this? There’s just one Saturday in the month of October on which Boise State has a football game. The Mountain West unveiled its Friday night TV package yesterday, and the Broncos’ home games against Fresno State and BYU have both been moved to Friday. The matchup versus the Bulldogs will be on ESPN and will kick off at 6 p.m. on October 17. The game against the Cougars will start at 7 p.m. October 24 and will air on either ESPN or ESPN2. The only other game Boise State has in the month of October is at Nevada on the 4th. The College of Idaho was quick to point out that with the BSU-BYU now on Friday, there are no Saturday conflicts now between any of the Broncos and Coyotes home games.
Speaking of the C of I, the next key checkpoint along the road back to football after a 37-year absence happens tomorrow morning. It’s the Coyotes’ spring game at Symms Field. Keen observers of the new Yotes say transfer quarterback Teejay Gordon has been solid this spring, as have offensive lineman Greg Dohmen, the transfer from Boise State and the only senior on the team, and tight end Marcus Lenhardt from Eagle High. Coach Mike Moroski was on Idaho SportsTalk yesterday and said the surprise of spring football has been quarterback Tim Olson, who came out of eight-man ball at Kendrick High. Moroski said every time he turns around, Olson is making a play.
Idaho’s second scrimmage of spring football is set for this afternoon. With the hefty influx of junior college transfers, few of the Vandals’ starting spots are secured. One position group that has been reinforced is linebacker. The Vandals have Marc Millan, Juan Martinez, Broc Westlake and Eric Tuipulotu back, but junior college transfers Daniel Peterson and Irving Steele have amped up the competition. Millan and Steele tied for the team lead in tackles in last week’s scrimmage with 13 apiece.
Two significant Mountain West football notes today. Just when it thought it was getting over the hump, UNLV gets slapped with a one-year postseason ban—including the Mountain West championship game and the bowl season—for not meeting the NCAA’s minimum Academic Progress Rate. The Rebels went 7-6 last season, their first winning campaign in 13 years, and played in the Heart of Dallas Bowl (also their first bowl berth in 13 years). And Utah State coach Matt Wells has agreed to a contract extension through 2018 that could be worth as much as $800,000 per year. The USU program has made tremendous strides on the field and off the past five years.
Augusta National 1, Graham DeLaet 0. The former Boise State star was manhandled by the legendary course yesterday, as he carded an eight-over 80 in the first round of the Masters. DeLaet bogeyed six of the first seven holes and shot 42 on the front nine. He settled in a bit on the back, parring all but two holes. All eight of DeLaet’s bogeys were of the single variety, so he didn’t have any blow-up holes. Hopefully he can kick back and enjoy his first time at the Masters in round two today, because this is probably it for this year. Another Masters rookie, former Albertsons Boise Open champion Kevin Stadler, had the opposite experience yesterday. Stadler fired a two-under 70 and is two shots off the lead.
Just like Boise State football has never seen one of its commitments on a top 10 list among the nation’s top high school quarterbacks before Brett Rypien, the Bronco basketball program has never experienced a name on the ESPN 100 list of the best overall hoops prospects. And Chandler Hutchison is already signed and is headed to Boise this summer. The 6-6 small forward has moved into the ESPN 100—and all the way up to No. 80. Says the ESPN analysis: “Hutchison is a diamond in the rough that is slowly, but assuredly, getting polished. The lengthy wing-type has great ball skills, a high basketball IQ, and is an astute passer. He excels in transition and has the necessary athleticism to slash his way to the rim. He makes good decisions in the half-court set. He appears to have the necessary savvy to play at the D-I level.”
The Idaho Steelheads wrap up the regular season with road tests at Utah tonight and tomorrow night. A sweep would give the Steelheads the third seed in the Western Conference in the Kelly Cup Playoffs over the Grizzlies. I’m not sure what happens if the teams split. First things first, the Steelheads have to face one of the best goaltenders in the ECHL. Every time Idaho plays Utah it seems Grizzlies netminder Igor Bobkov is hauling in another award. In March, Bobkov was ECHL Goaltender of the Month—for the second consecutive month. The Russian native went 6-2 with a 1.50 goals-against average.
The 22nd-ranked Boise State tennis team tries to improve on its 20-4 record with three more home matches at the Appleton Center this weekend. The Broncos play coach Greg Patton’s old team, UC Irvine, this afternoon. Patton led the Anteaters for 13 years (although he’s been gone from Irvine since 1992). Then it’s one of those increasingly rare Bronco-Vandal matchups. Boise State and Idaho play doubles this evening and singles tomorrow morning. Finally, it’s fellow Mountain West title contender San Diego State tomorrow night.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by CLEARVIEW CLEANING…where green really means green.
April 11, 2001: The division champion Idaho Steelheads open the WCHL Taylor Cup Playoffs innocently enough against last-place Anchorage but find themselves in an epic battle with the Aces. Trailing 3-1 with just over a minute left, the Steelheads got two goals in 23 seconds from Cal Ingraham to send the game into sudden death overtime. The Steelies won, 4-3, changing the opening tone of the playoffs entirely. They would sweep Anchorage and the Colorado Gold Kings before falling to the San Diego Gulls in the Taylor Cup Finals.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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