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Wednesday, September 3, 2014.
All it took was for the Statesman’s Chadd Cripe to report yesterday that fewer than 28,000 tickets have been distributed for Boise State’s home opener Saturday night—and boom! That topic dominated conversation the rest of the day, especially on Idaho SportsTalk. It’s been a much-discussed subject in this column. The Broncos are experiencing the perfect storm: six straight losses in big games, pricy tickets, the evolving high-tech TV experience, and those late kickoff times. I’ve long said there are only three football towns in the West, and Boise is not one of them. Those would be Eugene, Provo and Missoula. So hey, we’re in the majority. And the 28,000 number would be the envy of most Mountain West schools. Don’t count out the walk-up, as the weather will be on Boise State’s side. Saturday is expected to be sunny and 84.
The bottom line, though, if the Broncos had beaten San Diego State last November and gone to the Mountain West championship game, if they had stared down adversity and beaten Oregon State in the Hawaii Bowl, and if they had upended Ole Miss last week in Atlanta, you’d be talking the same old buzz—and 35,000-plus this week. Here’s a fact that has to be faced: as good as things have been at Boise State the past 15 years, with attendance increasing virtually every year to a peak average of 35,404 in 2012, the crowds are far below the national norm. The FBS average last year was 45,671 fans per game.
It was the Mountain West mashfest in Week 1 of the 2014 season. All 12 conference teams played, and only one, Colorado State, was able to beat an FBS foe. Boise State’s 35-13 loss to Ole Miss was a nailbiter compared to the routs suffered by UNLV at Arizona, Fresno State at USC, and Utah State at Tennessee. Outside of CSU’s rivalry takedown of Colorado, the only Mountain West wins came against FCS schools. At least the MW swept those games.
Utah State’s 38-7 loss at Tennessee was the poster game for a column by USA Today’s Dan Wolken declaring parity to be over between the Power 5 conferences and the Group of 5 that includes the Mountain West. Writes Wolken: “That doesn't mean another Boise State-type program can't develop tremendous players and beat power conference teams on occasion. It doesn't mean schools from those five conferences can't recruit enough players who fall through the cracks to compete at times. As long as there are Power 5 programs who make bad hires and as long as there are players such as (Chuckie) Keeton who were overlooked in the recruiting process, there will always be opportunities for the little guys to beat the big guys. But let's call them what they are: anomalies.” I think it’s too early to say that. On the other hand, the crevasse will widen.
I think it’s time for a positive note, and the positive outlook Boise State coach Bryan Harsin has going into Saturday night’s conference opener versus Colorado State. “From Week 1 to Week 2 is where a lot of teams make changes,” said Harsin. He doesn’t mean changes as much as tweaks and progress, and he expects a lot of the latter in Albertsons Stadium. Chances are the new coaching staff learned a ton in the Georgia Dome. Harsin says the first three games is where teams often define themselves, and that goes for Colorado State, too. “They’ve still got a lot of install from fall camp that they probably didn’t use during that Colorado game,” Harsin said.
Jay Ajayi's hard-fought 32 touches against Ole Miss didn't result in a victory, but they sure told NFL scouts something about the star junior. NFL teams want to know a running back can catch the ball out of the backfield and turn it into something. Ajayi did just that in Atlanta with his 93 yards on 12 catches. He actually had a 100-yard receiving game last year, racking up 105 yards in the regular season finale against New Mexico, including 64 yards on a swing pass on the second play of the game. The week before Ajayi had busted off 47 yards on a screen during the final drive of regulation at San Diego State.
No resolution yet on the rescheduling of the Idaho-Florida game that was wiped out by lightning and a drenched Swamp last Saturday. Whether the contest is played or not, Howard Bloom at SportingNews.com feels that the Gators—even though they may not be legally obligated to do so—have a moral obligation to pay the Vandals their $975,000 guarantee in full. Bloom points out that according to a Department of Education report, Florida’s football program generated a profit of $51,071,589 last season, even when it finished 4-8. At the very least, the Gators should pay for UI’s travel. “So what is the perception of a football program that makes over $50 million not at the very least offering to cover the expenses Idaho budgeted for Saturday’s game?” writes Bloom. “
Washington coach Chris Petersen didn’t waste much time Monday in naming Cyler Miles the Huskies’ starting quarterback for their game Saturday against Eastern Washington. The former Boise State coach’s UW debut was a forgettable one last Saturday, albeit a 17-16 win at Hawaii. Miles was suspended for the opener, and his replacement, Jeff Lindquist, was just 10-of-26 for 162 yards against the Warriors. Ninety-one of the yards came on one touchdown play. Washington has a soft non-conference schedule, but beware the EWU Eagles, the No. 2 team in the FCS. In 2013, there were 16 FCS schools that upset FBS opponents.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will return to the field for Dallas when NFL regulations say he will—not necessarily when his broken right foot is healed. The former Boise State star has been placed on the injured reserve/return list, which means he will be able to play this season, but not until the Cowboys' ninth game. Lawrence suffered the injury the first week of training camp.
The Boise Hawks’ backs are instantly against the wall in the Northwest League Playoffs after Hillsboro came to Memorial Stadium and dropped the Hawks, 5-2. The Hops had the best pitching staff in the league this season and put it on display, as four hurlers combined on a five-hitter. That spoiled a great start by Boise’s Jake Stinnett, the second-round pick out of Maryland. Stinnett left with a 2-1 lead after five innings, having allowed just two hits and one unearned run while striking out eight. But Hillsboro picked away at the Boise bullpen and error-prone defense to rally for the win in Game 1 of the Southern Division series. The teams now head to the Portland area for Game 2 tonight and, if necessary, Game 3 tomorrow.
Former Boise Hawk Kris Bryant has been named the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year. Bryant led the minors this season with 43 homers while driving in 110 runs and batting .325 between Double-A and Triple-A in the Chicago Cubs organization. His first five hits for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs were all home runs. Bryant, selected No. 2 overall by the Cubs in the 2013 Major League Draft, is the highest pick ever to suit up for Boise. He had a torrid 18-game stay with the Hawks last summer, batting .354 with four homers and 16 RBI.
Glad this game isn’t in Boise. The Boise State men’s basketball team plays at Saint Mary’s Saturday, December 6, and it will be televised by ESPNU. And you know who dictates the tipoff time. The game will start at 8:30 p.m. Pacific time—9:30 p.m. Mountain. At least it’s Saturday. It’ll be a pretty good matchup, too, after the Gaels came into Taco Bell Arena last December and beat the Broncos, 82-74.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by GROUND FX…the Treasure Valley mulch experts!
September 3, 2011: Seven years to the day after falling flat in its first appearance on a big national stage, Boise State avenges its 2005 rout at Georgia with a dominating 35-21 victory over the Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. After starting the game (and his senior season) 1-of-3 for four yards, Kellen Moore finished 28-of-34—an 82.3 percent clip, the seventh-best mark in Bronco history. Moore threw the 100th touchdown pass of his career to freshman Matt Miller and followed with TD strikes to Kyle Efaw and Tyler Shoemaker.
(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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