Presented by MOUNTAIN WEST BANK.
Friday, October 10, 2014.
Boise State does not currently control its own destiny in the Mountain West’s Mountain Division race. But it will if Utah State can knock off Air Force tomorrow in Logan. The Falcons are 1-1 in conference and the Broncos are 2-1, but Air Force has that 28-14 win hanging over BSU. The Aggies have a mass of momentum in their corner after knocking off No. 18 BYU last week, their first victory in Provo in 36 years and the highest-ranked opponent ever taken down by USU. But Boise State also seemed to be cruising when it faced Air Force two weeks ago coming off wins over Colorado State, UConn and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Falcons followed their upset of the Broncos with a 30-21 conquest of Navy in the race for the Commnader-In-Chief’s Trophy. Watch out, Aggies.
As strong as Colorado State has looked since it came to the blue turf, Boise State has to feel good about the advantage it holds over the Rams via the 37-24 win four weeks ago. CSU and Nevada should provide some entertainment in Mackay Stadium tomorrow night (the Rams are 2½-point favorites). Wyoming is actually the Mountain Division leader with its 1-0 record, but the Cowboys have to go to Hawaii tomorrow night. The Warriors are still looking for their first win over an FBS school this season, but they’re favored by five points over the Pokes, who are struggling on offense.
If you’d like to see some unbridled joy, check out Boise State’s new football “All-Access” video. It shows the scene inside the Broncos’ locker room at Mackay Stadium following the 51-46 win over Nevada last Saturday. A few guys are flicking water bottles around like it’s champagne after Game 7 of the World Series. There’s also some improvisation with the Boise State fight song. Coach Bryan Harsin wanted players to be able to take a little time to celebrate that victory. “At the end of the game you really just kind of had that uncontrollable emotion—and that’s really what it was in the locker room,” said Harsin in the video. “The guys just let loose.”
Idaho hopes it doesn’t have to use Austin Rehkow too much tomorrow at Georgia Southern—at least not as a punter. But if the Vandals do, they have the right guy for the job. Sophomore Austin Rehkow is No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 4 in the nation, averaging 47.9 yards per punt. He was the nation’s leading punter last year with a 47.8-yard average, an NCAA freshman record, and was named a Walter Camp All-American. Things haven’t gone quite as well in the placekicking department, as Rehkow is 5-of-9, including 1-of-5 from 40 yards and beyond. Rehkow made his first career fumble recovery at Texas State last week while covering a punt. One thing he hasn’t done yet this season is run a fake—Rehkow had three rushes for 34 yards last season for the Vandals. Idaho goes to Statesboro, GA, as a 23½-point underdog.
The College of Idaho sometimes gets worn down by older, more experienced teams. But it continues to have success running the football, as the ground game netted 290 yards in last week’s loss at Eastern Oregon. Conditions should be ripe for another good day tomorrow when the Yotes host Montana State-Northern on what promises to be a beautiful day for football at Simplot Stadium—70 degrees and sunny (get there early for the pregame tribute to Caldwell High graduate Paul Revere). The C of I leads the Frontier Conference in rushing yards and is ranked sixth in the NAIA in rushing yards per game. Quarterback Teejay Gordon is No. 8 in the NAIA in rushing and No. 4 in rushing touchdowns with 10. That’s already the most by a Yotes player since 1957.
Taysom Hill’s BYU replacement, Christian Stewart, was more accurate this week than last, but it was a dink-and-dunk performance in the Cougars’ 31-24 overtime loss at Central Florida last night. Stewart was 22-of-37 and had three touchdown passes, but he threw for only 153 yards—just 4.1 yards per attempt. BYU, which will be in Albertsons Stadium two weeks from tonight, has now lost two straight after its 4-0 start. Incidentally, former Boise State quarterback Nick Patti did not play for UCF.
Suffice to say that former Boise State star Ryan Dinwiddie is learning a ton in his first season as offensive coordinator of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. Dinwiddie, second to Kellen Moore in most career categories in the Bronco record book, was limping along with the Als and their 1-7 record in late August. Since then, though, Montreal has won four of its past five games. There’s still a lot of room for improvement—the Alouettes are averaging just 276 yards of total offense per game. The Als host the Saskatchewan Roughriders Monday night.
The first peek at the 2014-15 Boise State men’s basketball team will be available at a free scrimmage tomorrow night in Bronco Gym. On the one hand, you have BSU’s tall new baseline crew to review. On the other there’s Montego Alford, the 5-9 transfer guard from College of Southern Idaho. What Alford lacks in altitude he makes up for with athleticism. You may see him dunk if his shoulder, which was subject to offseason surgery, permits it. Perhaps Alford will look like similarly-sized Nate Robinson of Washington when the former Huskies star was wowing the Taco Bell Arena crowd with dunks during warm-ups at the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
The ECHL has kept things simple as it takes on the seven refugee franchises from the Central Hockey League. The teams from the the now-defunct CHL will be a division unto themselves, while the seven remaining teams in the West following the demise of the Las Vegas Wranglers will comprise the Pacific Division. The biggest difference? It’ll be a lot tougher to qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs—only four of the seven teams in the Idaho Steelheads’ division will make it. Meanwhile, defenseman Mike Dalhuisen and forward Jesse Root have joined the Steelheads after being assigned by the AHL’s Texas Stars. Dalhuisen played in the Kelly Cup Finals for Cincinnati last spring. Root was Yale University’s captain last season. The Steelies host their “season ticket holders only” exhibition game tonight against Utah in CenturyLink Arena.
Graham DeLaet opened the PGA Tour season with a one-under 71 yesterday in the first round of the Frys.com Open in Napa, CA. The former Boise State star started the back nine with two bogeys in three holes but got the strokes back with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 and is tied for 43rd. Fellow former Bronco Troy Merritt didn’t fare so well on the North course at Silverado Country Club, bogeying four straight holes midway through his round and finishing with a three-over 75. He’ll need his A-game to make the cut today.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzow’s!
October 10, 1964, 50 years ago today: It’s No. 7 Michigan against No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing at a time when the Spartans were dominating the series. But the Wolverines would defeat MSU 17-10 on a trick-play halfback pass for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The victory would launch Michigan to a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl championship. Michigan State never recovered that season, finishing at 4-5, but would win the national championship each of the following two years.
(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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