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Bucking the Broncos (321) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (320) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (318) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (314) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (293) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (277) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (254) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (231) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
Bucking the Broncos (210) Boise State, in its first year in the MW, will be leaving the conference after next season. The Broncos football team will play in the Big East, with the other sports competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Reader Comments cozy cowboy wrote on Jan
IAN JOHNSON NEWS >>>
Can the senior-laden Broncos make their new coach a WAC winner?
Tonight Boise State turns to the next page in Chapter One of the Leon Rice era. WAC play begins when Louisiana Tech comes to Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos have seven senior holdovers from Greg Graham’s program, and it would stand to reason there’s some leadership in that group. This would be the time for it to percolate, as Boise State is trying to shake a frustrating stretch of five losses in six games. None of the defeats has been by double-digits, and four of them were by three points or less. Rice says the key right now is on one end of the floor. “We have to get our defensive percentages down,” Rice told Bob Behler. “The three and the two.” The Broncos are last in the WAC in both categories, allowing nearly 46 percent shooting overall and more than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
One senior who’s been leading by example is guard La’Shard Anderson, the most consistent Bronco so far. Anderson leads the WAC in assists with 4.9 per game and is fourth in the conference in steals, free throw percentage, and assist-to-turnover ratio. Anderson is also eighth in the WAC in scoring. Tonight’s game has one of those oddball late tipoffs—it starts against at 8:15, following the women’s game against Saint Mary’s.
There are three other league games to open the WAC slate tonight, and all of them have their angles. Idaho, at 6-5, begins in Cowan Spectrum against New Mexico State, with the Vandals coming off a 69-65 win at Oregon in the final non-conference game ever on MacArthur Court. Hawaii, at 9-3, beat Utah and Mississippi State in back-to-back games at the Diamond Head Classic last week and tests its mettle at perennial power Utah State. And, last but not least, the surprise of the pre-conference schedule sees what it can do in the WAC. San Jose State, at 8-3, goes to Fresno State. The Spartans also have a win over the Ducks on Mac Court.
“The Replacements” was shown the other night on ESPN Classic. Which naturally gets you to thinking about Boise State’s replacements in 2011. Austin Pettis and Titus Young have officially accepted their invitations to the Senior Bowl January 29 in Mobile, AL, and they’ll be the most difficult Broncos to replace. The official Senior Bowl release calls Pettis and Young “two of the most prolific pass catchers in Boise State history.” No, they are simply the two most prolific, ranking one-two in career receptions and trading places atop the receiving yards list. In case you haven’t done the math, Pettis and Young combined for 433 catches, 5,901 yards, and 64 touchdowns the past four seasons.
The first guy who has to deal with life after Austin and Titus is quarterback Kellen Moore, who will anxiously monitor the development of current redshirt freshmen Geraldo Hiwat and Aaron Burks during winter conditioning and spring football. Hiwat had a serviceable year, with 11 catches for 160 yards (and there were a couple dandies in there). Burks was relatively quiet, with six grabs for 58 yards. Both receivers bring size to the table—Hiwat is 6-4, Burks is 6-2. Neither weighs 200 pounds…yet. Their next assignment is with strength and conditioning coach Tim Socha.
Moore is quick to point out the importance of Tyler Shoemaker—and getting “Kirbo” back. Kirbo would be brother Kirby Moore, who redshirted as a true sophomore to save a year of eligibility. As a freshman, Kirby had 21 receptions for 242 yards and two touchdowns, one of them a tremendous catch on a fade in the win over Nevada—after Pettis had departed with his leg injury. Kellen expects next season to be “more like Boise State’s been in the past,” with the ball spread around a lot. “(We’ll) personnel it—get everyone in there and give them a little piece of the pie,” says Kellen.
Lindsay Schnell of the Oregonian reports that Boise State coach Chris Petersen attended Oregon’s practice yesterday as the Ducks drill for the BCS Championship Game. It’s innocent. Petersen is on good terms with Oregon coach Chip Kelly, with whom he conversed a lot in the days immediately following the tumultuous end to the Broncos’ 19-8 win that opened last season. Pete, of course, was wide receivers coach for the Ducks from 1995-2000 before becoming Boise State’s offensive coordinator.
Is there a seismic shift brewing under the natural turf of Bulldog Stadium? The Fresno Bee reports that Fresno State coach Pat Hill, forever entrenched in his power running game philosophy, is going to comb the country for passing schemes that will complement next year’s projected starting quarterback, Derek Carr. The younger brother of Bulldog legend David Carr redshirted this season after basically wasting his true freshman year in 2009. Derek Carr threw only 14 passes, completing 10 for 112 yards. But as a senior at Bakersfield Christian High, he threw for over 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns.
The Bee’s Marek Warszawski calls this change in Fresno State doctrine “an early present under the tree to Bulldogs fans.” Says Warszawski, “If Hill is serious about opening things up while maintaining a physical identity, he should tell offensive coordinator Jeff Grady to emulate what Jim Harbaugh is doing at Stanford. Only because Chris Petersen probably won't return their calls.”
The Idaho Steelheads just didn’t have enough bodies to keep up last night in a 3-2 loss at Alaska. Dressing only 13 skaters for a game on an Olympic-sized rink, the Steelheads managed only 10 shots on goal versus 43 for the Aces. Steelies goalie Jase Weslosky held up as best he could against the onslaught, making 40 saves. That Idaho was able to tally twice in just 10 shots is pretty amazing—those goals came from Matt Tassone and Kael Mouillierat. Alaska will try to extend its winning streak to six games when the two teams face off again tonight in Anchorage.
This Day In Sports…December 29, 1997:
The first Humanitarian Bowl is played before 16,000 fans in Bronco Stadium, with Cincinnati beating Utah State, 35-19. The Bearcats virtually bid their way into the game out of Conference USA with ticket guarantees and the promise of a future trip of their nationally-ranked basketball team to the BSU Pavilion. The Aggies, meanwhile, were being coached for the final time by John L. Smith, the former Idaho Vandal head man who had taken the head coaching job at Louisville.
(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 1350 KTIK/The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
Boise State football: Senior Bowl a tune-up for months ahead football program from underdog to bully. Moore, Boise State dominate Georgia in Atlanta ATLANTA -- To hear the Boise State Broncos talk afterward, you'd think this was no big deal. Ho-hum, they beat a Southeastern Conference power. Except, the Broncos
Boise State football players at Senior Bowl: ‘We had a lot of fun’ football program from underdog to bully. Moore, Boise State dominate Georgia in Atlanta ATLANTA -- To hear the Boise State Broncos talk afterward, you'd think this was no big deal. Ho-hum, they beat a Southeastern Conference power. Except, the Broncos
Predicting College Football's 13 Teams Most Likely to Regress in 2012 Bielema if he gets through this season with even nine wins, but I'm not counting on it. Boise State Broncos Otto Kitsinger III/ 2011 Record: 12-1 The country's winningest team over the last 10 years looks like it's finally due to take a slight tumble. The
Cowgirl Basketball Rebounds With Big Win, 84-64, Over Boise State The Cowgirl basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a convincing 20 point win, 84-64, over the Boise State Broncos on Saturday afternoon. Wyoming is now 7-12 overall and 3-3 overall while the Broncos are 11-10 overall and 2-4 in league
NCAA Game Summary - Wyoming at Boise State Network) - Luke Martinez netted 17 points to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 75-64 victory over the Boise State Broncos in Mountain West Conference action at the Francisco Cruz chipped in 16 points for the Cowboys (17-4, 3-2 Mountain West). Leonard
Recap: Boise State vs. Wyoming _ Luke Martinez netted 17 points to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 75-64 victory over the Boise State Broncos in Mountain West Conference action at the Francisco Cruz chipped in 16 points for the Cowboys (17-4, 3-2 Mountain West). Leonard Washington
Recap: Boise State vs. Wyoming Luke Martinez netted 17 points to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 75-64 victory over the Boise State Broncos in Mountain West Conference action at the Francisco Cruz chipped in 16 points for the Cowboys (17-4, 3-2 Mountain West). Leonard Washington
Recap: Boise State vs. Wyoming Luke Martinez netted 17 points to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 75-64 victory over the Boise State Broncos in Mountain West Conference action at the Francisco Cruz chipped in 16 points for the Cowboys (17-4, 3-2 Mountain West). Leonard Washington
