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Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
Boise State can only control what it can control, so it’s trying to be proactive as changes in the structure of college sports start to take root through the autonomy granted to the Power 5 conferences. The university released a statement yesterday that read: “As a firm commitment to remaining nationally competitive with impending NCAA student-athlete reforms, the Boise State Athletic Department plans to provide cost of attendance to all student-athletes across the board. This allowance will begin if NCAA rules allow for such. Currently, Boise State offers multi-year scholarships for student-athletes and will expand the practice. Each coach and team will determine how best to use these scholarship contracts.” Keeping up with the Joneses, even if the Joneses live in another neighborhood.
The Broncos are stuck outside the Power 5 conferences, with no prospects of getting in anytime soon. So they’re trying to position themselves as one of the next in line. "Our intent is to provide the resources available not only for football, but for each of our 20 sports, to not only win conference championships but to compete with any program on a national level,” said Athletic Director Mark Coyle in the release, which detailed the “high-profile home-and-home series over the next eight years, including Florida State, Virginia, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Washington, Oregon State, Washington State, Cincinnati and BYU,” as well as the school’s football accomplishments of the past 15 years.
Added coach Bryan Harsin, "There is no question we are a power program nationally.” The word “power” is strategically placed. As was the timing of the release—a subtle message to recruits. It came a day after the Pac-12 announced sweeping reforms Monday that include guaranteeing four-year scholarships, improving health care benefits and liberalizing transfer rules. There’s no mention of medical benefits in Boise State’s release—that’ll be a sticky wicket down the line. But the school has declared its intentions to compete as college athletics evolve. It is quite a document, ending with “The Five Pillars of The Power Program.” It makes a case for Boise State under the headings Winning, Academics, Student-Athlete Welfare, Facilities and National Exposure.
No one has epitomized special teams during Boise State’s three-game winning streak more than Darren Lee. The backup linebacker hit the highlight reel against BYU in the first quarter when he delivered a ferocious hit on the Cougars’ Garret Juergens on a kickoff return. Lee happened to be offside. So on the Broncos’ next kickoff early in the second quarter, Lee led the charge on the cover team again—and brought down Juergens again. This was not Lee’s first rodeo. Hey, he had just led the team onto the blue with the Hammer before the Fresno State game. But man was he visible against BYU.
Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan apparently will be back in the saddle for Saturday’s game against Arkansas State in the Kibbie Dome. The UI depth chart this week lists him as the starter against the Red Wolves. Linehan was knocked out of the Vandals’ first win of the season 11 days ago after absorbing a late hit by a New Mexico State defender. The redshirt freshman had completed all five of his first-quarter passes at that point and was replaced by Chad Chalich in the 29-17 triumph. Linehan has thrown for 1,908 yards this season, completing 62 percent of his attempts for nine touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
A winning season in the first year of College of Idaho football since 1977 would be a monumental feat. With a 4-4 record, the Coyotes still have a shot, needing to win two of their last three games. The schedule is not in their favor, though. Saturday the Yotes travel to Montana Western, the team they beat in their September 13 home opener. The home finale at Simplot Stadium is November 8 versus Eastern Oregon, who beat the C of I 47-7 in LaGrande. Then the season wraps up November 15 in Helena against perennial Frontier Conference power Carroll College, currently ranked No. 2 in the NAIA.
Tampa Bay dealt away two players before the NFL trade deadline yesterday, but one of them was not Doug Martin. The Buccaneers sent starting safety Mark Barron to the Rams and reserve linebacker Jonathan Casillas to the Patriots in exchange for draft picks. So Martin remains a Buc. The former Boise State star has struggled this season, rushing for 166 yards and averaging only 2.9 yards a carry. He has scored just one touchdown.
The Idaho Steelheads play their first Wednesday-Friday-Saturday series of the season this week, beginning tonight against Stockton in CenturyLink Arena. The Thunder come to Boise with a 3-2 ledger. The theme for the Steelheads in the early going of the 2014-15 campaign has been total participation. In building a 3-1 record, the team has seen 15 of 18 skaters to appear so far this season register at least one point. Nine of them have scored goals, led by Jason Bast’s three tallies. Rookie forward Colton Beck has assists in each of Idaho’s four games, and Jesse Root jumped into the fray with a goal and two assists in his first two games as a Steelhead last weekend after being reassigned by Texas of the AHL.
Most of the returnees on Boise State's men's basketball roster are known quantities. Nick Duncan is not. Coach Leon Rice was actually hoping that would be the case as he watched Duncan last season. The first step was weight loss for the 6-8 Australian sophomore, who tipped the scales at 268 pounds at one point during his true freshman season. He's now listed at 245. "He's quick like a cat now," quipped fellow Aussie Anthony Drmic. "He'll be able to do a lot more things than he was able to do last year." Last season Duncan specialized in three-pointers, with big defenders usually unable to follow him out to the arc. Of his 55 made field goals, 41 were treys. Duncan shot 41 percent from three-point range—almost 44 percent in Mountain West play.
I’ve saved this comment from Rice on New Mexico’s All-Mountain West forward Cameron Bairstow after the Broncos’ 71-70 win over the Lobos in February. “That’s going to be Nick Duncan in three years,” said Rice. Bairstow, another Australian who’s now a Chicago Bull, had a different starting point in his college career than Duncan. Bairstow was 6-8 and “maybe 200 pounds” when he joined the Lobos as a freshman. He ended up as a 6-9, 250-pound bruiser. Fans will get a first look at the sophomore version of Duncan in Saturday night’s exhibition game against La Verne.
Eleven players with Idaho Stampede experience have made Opening Night NBA rosters. Only two, however, were not short-term assignees from NBA teams. Justin Holiday, who led the Stampede in scoring and blocked shots and topped the D-League in steals two seasons ago, has stuck with the Golden State Warriors. Anthony Tolliver, who played for the Stamps five years ago, is now with Phoenix as he enters his seventh NBA season. The former NBA assignees on rosters include Luke Babbitt in New Orleans, Patty Mills in San Antonio, Josh McRoberts in Miami, CJ Miles in Indiana, and Will Barton, Victor Claver, Allen Crabbe, Joel Freeland and CJ McCollum in Portland.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzow’s!
October 29, 2004, 10 years ago today: In a record fourth regular season appearance on ESPN from Bronco Stadium, Boise State destroys Hawaii, 69-3, for its 19th straight victory (and 13th straight on the ESPN family of networks). BSU also kept Warrior quarterback Timmy Chang from breaking college football’s career passing yardage record, intercepting him four times and leaving him 14 yards short. The biggest Bronco highlight was a school-record 85-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jared Zabransky.
(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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