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Wednesday, November 4, 2015.
Popular opinion says Boise State’s toughest remaining game is against Air Force on the blue turf on November 20. That happens the week after Bronco fans will be rooting with everything they have for the Falcons to upend Utah State in what is considered the Aggies’ toughest remaining game. Air Force served notice on both teams with its 58-7 pummeling of Hawaii on the road last Saturday. The Falcons hadn’t held a lead in any of their road contests going into the tilt at Aloha Stadium, but they were never threatened in this one, racking up a staggering 496 rushing yards with their triple option. Air Force would like to remind Boise State and Utah State that the Falcons are also 4-1 in the Mountain Division. If they sweep the other two, they’re the ones who are in line for the Mountain West championship game.
Air Force now heads into the three biggest games of its season, and the first one is even bigger than the two that follow against Utah State and Boise State. The Falcons face Army Saturday in an effort to even their record in the race for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, which is more important to them than the Mountain West title. Air Force’s chances at the presidential hardware are remote—it already has a 33-11 loss to Navy, and the Midshipmen are going to be a heavy favorite against the Black Knights next month. But the resurgent Falcons aren’t concerned about that right now. They’re mapping out a November to remember.
Almost a footnote among all the eye-popping stats at Sam Boyd Stadium last Saturday was Darian Thompson’s 19th career interception, breaking the Mountain West record held for nine years by former Utah great and current San Diego Charger Eric Weddle. Thompson now leads Boise State and is second in the Mountain West with five interceptions on the season. Ironically, Weddle currently has 19 picks in his nine-year pro career. He was the subject of trade rumors as the NFL trade deadline approached yesterday, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants reportedly in the mix. But Weddle is staying put with the Chargers.
One guy who might be a fit—one who can save the Hawaii football program from itself—is its former coach, June Jones. And Jones tells the Honolulu Star-Advertiser he’ll apply for the Rainbow Warriors job vacated Sunday when Norm Chow was fired. Jones was UH’s coach from 1999-2007, going 76-41 and leading the Warriors to the Sugar Bowl in his final game. He then moved to SMU, where he was 36-53 before resigning two games into the 2014 season. Jones has been living in the state of Hawaii since. A strong Rainbow Warriors football program (although Jones would probably scrap the “Rainbow” like he did the last time he was there) would greatly benefit the Mountain West.
Idaho will be without linebacker Marc Millan when it tries to right the ship Saturday at South Alabama. Millan has been suspended for one game by the Sun Belt after committing “multiple unsportsmanlike acts” during the Vandals’ 55-48 overtime loss at New Mexico State last week. Aggie coach Doug Martin sent video of three different plays to the conference office, one of them showing quarterback Anthony Allen being stopped by Millan at the Idaho five-yard line with 1:11 left in regulation. Millan appeared to intentionally twist Allen’s right leg, forcing him out of the game. Martin said Allen is out with an MCL sprain for NMSU’s game at Texas State Saturday. Millan is the Vandals’ third-leading tackler with 46 stops.
It’s the second time around for the College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon Saturday, this time in LaGrande. The two teams met in the season opener at Simplot Stadium, with the Coyotes winning 40-28. The Yotes have improved markedly on defense this season, but they’ve been gashed occasionally by the big play. The C of I defense played well last week against Montana Western, but the Bulldogs scored all their points on big plays in the 27-23 loss. In September, the Coyotes held Eastern Oregon to 321 yards of total offense, and—wouldn’t you know it—97 came on one play.
Boise State’s one-and-only dress rehearsal for the 2015-16 men’s basketball season is coming up Friday night against Northwest University, and auditions for the point guard spot will be key. With Derrick Marks now overseas, the Broncos have to identify a field general. Mikey Thompson is already a senior, but he may not be 100 percent for the Friday exhibition coming off a scope on his knee, and Montigo Alford could be a week away from suiting up as he recovers from a sports hernia. So Paris Austin, the true freshman from Oakland, may be looking at a huge opportunity to prove he’s worthy of running the show.
Count me among those pulling for former Boise State guard Thomas Bropleh to make the Texas Legends roster. Bropleh recently returned from Europe, a year older physically and a year wiser in basketball smarts, to make himself available for the D-League Draft. And he was picked in the fifth round by Texas last Saturday. Bropleh thrived in Germany’s Pro A league last season, scoring a team-leading 15.9 points per game and pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game for Finke Baskets Paderborn. “It’s much more physical,” Bropleh told DLeagueDigest.com. “But it was a good overall experience. My game improved and I learned a lot.” Now he knows he can do it stateside. “I’m enthusiastic about the game of basketball,” said Bropleh, a valuable sixth-man for the Broncos from 2010-14. “I’m ready, I’m really ready.”
Catch the Idaho Steelheads while you can. After this weekend, they’ll be gone for the rest of November, not to return to CenturyLink Arena until December 2. With the Bakersfield, Ontario and Stockton franchises off to the AHL, there’s some new flavor in the Steelheads’ schedule this season, and it’s on display tonight. They host the Atlanta Gladiators, newly-relocated from Gwinnett, to open a three-game series. The Steelies first played the Gladiators in the semifinals of the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs, casting Gwinnett aside before besting the Florida Everblades for the ECHL championship. And…the Everblades are one of the teams awaiting on the road the next three weeks, along with the Orlando Solar Bears, the Colorado Eagles and the Rapid City Rush.
More accolades in the Olympic sports for Boise State. Junior swimmer Brittany Aoyama is not only the Mountain West Swimmer of the Week, she’s also CollegeSwimming.com’s Division I Women’s National Swimmer of the Week. It’s the first such honor in the 10-year history of the Bronco program. Aoyama captured seven of the eight events she entered, including four individual victories, in two road meets on Halloween weekend.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by CLEARVIEW CLEANING…where green really means green.
November 4, 2007: Adrian Peterson, the rookie out of Oklahoma, sets a new NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in Minnesota’s 35-17 win over San Diego. After a modest 43 yards at halftime, Peterson exploded for 253 in the second half. He averaged almost 9.9 yards a carry for the game. Just a little over 10 months earlier, Peterson had been held to 77 yards on 20 carries by Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl—only 52 yards in regulation before his 25-yard touchdown run in overtime.
(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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