Presented by WESTERN SIDING.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014.
You almost feel guilty talking this way—suggesting that Thomas Sperbeck has filled the role of the injured Matt Miller at wide receiver. Miller is one of the most respected players in Boise State history, the school’s all-time leader with 244 receptions before his career ended September 27 with an injury at Air Force. But Sperbeck has stepped right in, leading the Broncos at New Mexico with nine grabs for 164 yards. Sperbeck’s ability to almost hang in the air to make catches is amazing. “Thomas has great body control,” said coach Bryan Harsin. It’s not something that can be coached. “That’s kind of his style,” Harsin said. “That comes from his parents.”
Jay Tust noticed this nugget on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. Miller’s senior year was over at halftime of the Air Force game. Sperbeck had exactly zero catches on the season at that point. So all of Miller’s numbers came in the first 4½ games, and all of Sperbeck’s have come in the 4½ games since. Miller had 28 catches for 461 yards and three touchdowns—Sperbeck, who is making Matt Miller-type plays on a weekly basis, has 26 receptions for 463 yards and one TD. Almost uncanny.
Chaz Anderson wasn’t the natural at wide receiver that Sperbeck was, but he’s hitting his stride now. “Chaz has developed through practice, coming from the other side of the ball,” said Harsin. Anderson, the former cornerback, was shut out the first three games of the season and had a modest three catches for 12 yards in the fourth against Louisiana-Lafayette. But his season totals now: 12 receptions for 247 yards, a 20.7-yard average. He seems to make one highlight reel catch every game. Anderson’s first career touchdown came last Saturday on a magnificent 36-yard grab that gave Boise State the lead in the fourth quarter at New Mexico. “He went up and made a play—he’s going to have confidence this week going into practice,” Harsin said.
Grant Hedrick’s big night at New Mexico last Saturday is one of four candidates in ESPN SportsNation’s Capital One Cup Impact Performance of the Week. Hedrick’s 498 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns are up against Aaron Green of TCU, Luke Falk of Washington State and Cedric Reed of Texas. Can’t tell if voting is complete, but Hedrick has a dominant lead at 41 percent to Falk’s 23 percent.
Once again, there’s no Group of 5 team in the College Football Playoff rankings—no Marshall at 9-0, no Colorado State at 9-1. So is the favorite for the Group of 5’s automatic spot in the New Year’s Six bowls still a mystery? Yes, but now we know who’s under consideration. Jeff Long, chairman of the CFP selection committee, revealed that Marshall, CSU, Boise State, East Carolina and Northern Illinois have been discussed by the group. Of course, Colorado State isn’t even in the conversation unless the Broncos lose a game in the next three weeks, allowing the Rams to get to the Mountain West championship game.
I mentioned yesterday that it was the three-year anniversary of TCU’s 36-35 victory on the blue turf that stopped Boise State’s undefeated 2011 season. That was the Horned Frogs’ last year in the Mountain West before moving to the Big 12—and look at ‘em now. TCU jumped to No. 4 in the new College Football Playoff rankings last night, putting it in position for a berth in the tournament. And how about Oregon jumping to No. 2?
Idaho has a solid shot at winning its second game of the season for the first time since 2011 when Troy comes to Moscow Saturday for the 2014 Kibbie Dome finale. The Trojans are just 2-8 this season but are feeling better about themselves, having snapped a three-game losing streak with last Saturday’s 45-21 victory over Georgia State. And Troy may be building to a positive finish, as coach Larry Blakeney is set to retire after 24 years at the helm. Vandal senior wide receiver Joshua McCain will be playing his final home game with a shot at becoming Idaho’s first 1,000-yard receiver since Max Komar in 2009. McCain is 13 yards away.
The Alaska Aces have been flailing away this season, coming into CenturyLink Arena last night with a 2-8 record. But they sure looked like the familiar old Aces to the Idaho Steelheads, cooling off the hosts with a 3-1 victory. According to Steelheads coach Brad Ralph on Idaho SportsTalk yesterday, the penalty kill “has been a bit of an issue for us.” That problem cropped up again last night, as two of Alaska’s goals came on the man-advantage. Idaho goalie Olivier Roy absorbed only his second loss of the season while turning away 26 of 29 shots. Colton Beck was the only Steelie to get one past Aces netminder Niklas Lundstrom, tallying early in the third period. The two teams play again tonight.
Boise State’s chances of being a factor in the Mountain West basketball race this winter rest on an improved defense. The emphasis on defense is obvious so far this month. Some of it is progress from returning players, and some of it comes from the influx of new talent, especially on the inside. “Our length made a lot of difference on a lot of plays,” said coach Leon Rice after last Friday’s 103-63 exhibition win over Montana Tech. “We blocked shots or altered shots and got rebounds that we might not have gotten last year.” At times against the Orediggers it looked like the Broncos had six players on the floor. It’ll be a challenge to duplicate that when Boise State plays for real Friday night against a West Coast Conference team. The Broncos face San Diego at the LMU Classic in Los Angeles.
Round One of United Heritage Mayors’ Cup went to the College of Idaho before a full house last night at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. The Coyotes used a 15-0 run in the first half to keep Northwest Nazarene at arm’s length and survived an 11-minute field goal drought to start the second half, rolling to a 67-57 win. The Crusaders shot just 29 percent from the floor. The game was a counter for the C of I and an exhibition for NNU, which was led by Mike Wright’s 25 points. The rematch is coming up November 24 in Nampa.
The Idaho Stampede open the 2014-15 season with two games against the Erie BayHawks this weekend at CenturyLink Arena. Opening Night is Friday, tipping off the Utah Jazz era for Boise’s D-League franchise and featuring the retiring of Roberto Bergersen’s number. The Saturday game has been moved up to 3 p.m. from its original 7 p.m. start time—no conflict now with the Boise State-San Diego State game that night at Albertsons Stadium.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzow’s!
November 12, 2010: In what will probably be Boise State’s last trip to the Kibbie Dome, the Broncos burst out to a 28-0 first quarter lead and rout Idaho, 52-14, for a school-record 23rd consecutive victory. Chris Potter began the fireworks with a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown in the opening minute, and kicker Kyle Brotzman contributed 10 points on the night to become the WAC’s career scoring leader. It was BSU’s 12th straight victory over the Vandals, matching Idaho’s streak in the series from 1982-93. The game was on ESPN2, the first time a national telecast has ever originated from the Dome.
(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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