What's Up & What's Next

Let's not belabor the point here - Saturday's game was atrocious. Yes, we won, and our offensive numbers were strong, but penalties were through the roof and miscues were belligerent and numerous. Of course, none of this is breaking new ground; Ault said as much immediately following the game.

If you're wondering why we still keep this blog going, even in the face of national recognition and the first top-25 ranking since Dewey defeated Truman, that game was why. It's not just the penalties and the turnovers, it's when they happen. Against a better team, giving up six touchdowns due to penalties or turnovers through the course of a game would be a recipe for unmitigated disaster. It will be one if we approach Hawaii with the same cavalier attitude we approached San Jose State.

Let's talk about the rest of the WAC...

Boise State beat Toledo, which wasn't surprising. Interestingly, if Ohio State and Oregon both lose during conference play and Boise State and either TCU or Utah go undefeated (TCU and Utah play each other on November 6), there's a chance that the BCS national championship game will be played by two non-BCS automatic qualifiers. It's not a strong chance, mind you - I suspect voters would quickly elevate Alabama or someone similar to prevent such a thing from occurring - but it's still fun to ponder. Of course, Boise State would have to beat us in order for that to happen.

Hawaii sent the WAC a warning shot across the port bow with a strong road win against Fresno State. The key stats of the game? Hawaii rolled off 376 passing yards and seized three interceptions against Fresno State's Ryan Colburn. Oh yes, and Hawaii scored 49 points. That's a pretty key stat to consider, too.

Don't forget - Nevada was intercepted twice by San Jose State. Just imagine what Hawaii will do to us in the islands if we're not more careful with the ball.

Utah State continued its mercurial behavior with a letdown loss against Louisiana Tech. Utah State is a fairly young team this year, so it's not too surprising that they'd lose in Ruston after winning an emotional game against a rival they historically haven't had much success against. They're getting better, though. In a couple of years, Utah State might be a fairly decent mid-major football program.

Idaho took a much-deserved bye week. They'll resume play against Louisiana Tech this weekend.

New Mexico State decisively proved that they are not, in fact, the worst team in New Mexico, and, by association, the worst team in Division I-A. 21,437 brave fans watched the National Un-Championship on Saturday, each serving witness to what may be the worst college football game of the season. Stat of the game? NMSU picked up two sacks. Those, coincidentally, would be the first two sacks of the Aggies' season.

Interestingly, that would be 801 more fans we drew at Mackay Stadium for our tilt against San Jose State. C'mon, Reno - I know it wasn't the most compelling game in the world, and I know our average attendance has historically been well under 20,000, but surely we can out-draw the worst teams in college football. Heck, we're still 2,000 away from out-drawing UNLV on a regular basis.

I know, I know... we'll get there. Eventually.