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Show Statesman Sports Page 6 Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 Adam's WAC football power poll: Week three Believe it or not, we're officialone-fourth of the way through the college football regular season. And as the leaves begin to change and the mercury begins to drop, so will conference play pick up in earnest for the WAC's nine teams. We got a little taste of conference action this past week when Fresno State began what could end up their WAC farewell tour, but for the time being, we're in for one more week of non-conference games which will test the WAC's relative strength. Where do the WAC's teams stand in relation to each other and the rest of the nation after three weeks, and who has the inside edge going into the the last weekend of September? ly Fresno State (2-0, 1-0 WAC): Currently seated atop the WAC standings with a 1-0 mark, Fresno came away from Logan this Saturday with a solid win against an improved Aggie team. Two weeks after failing to generate much of a running game against Cincinnati, the Bulldogs rode backup running back A.J. Ellis for 165 yards and two scores on the ground. Fresno's defense continues to impress, so don't be surprised if Pat Hill's team cracks the top 25 if they come away with a win at Mississippi this Saturday. Boise State (2-0): a week after facing questions of how strong their non-conference schedule really is, Boise State came back from a bye week to to put an old fashioned beatdown on Wyoming, putting up nearly 650 yards of total offense in the 51-6 route of the Cowboys. Boise State didn't just beat their future Mountain West foe, they dominated, limiting Wyoming's offense to just 135 yards (including -21 on the ground) and two first downs in the entire game. The Broncos certainly won in impressive fashion — and received a boost with a Virginia Tech win over East Carolina — but their ongoing battle to earn national respect and a possible No. 1 ranking stayed stagnant. A week after losing seven of eight firstplace votes in the AP Poll, Boise failed to pick up an additional first-place tally this week, and entered week four ranked No. 3 in the country. A resounding win over No. 24 Oregon State this Saturday could go a long way toward improving their standing, however. Nevada (3-0): If there was one WAC team which made a definitive statement in week three, it was the Wolf Pack, who ran all over nationallyWOLF PACK ranked California in a 52-31 victory in Reno on Friday night. Wolf Pack QB Colin Kaepernick continued to show why he belongs in the Heisman trophy discussion, eclipsing the 100-yard mark through the air and on the ground while also accounting for five touchdowns. While the Wolf Pack were ultimately outgained by the Bears, Nevada was able to force their Pacific-10 conference foe into three turnovers, and prove that early season wins against lesser competition were no flukes. Now seated just outside the Top 25 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, the Wolf Pack have a real chance to go 4-0 against their non-conference slate when they travel to Provo to take on a slumping Brigham Young team this weekend. Idaho (2-1): A week after getting blown out by Nebraska, the Vandals got back on track Saturday by blowing out Mountain West foe UNLV 30-7 in at home. The Vandals nearly doubled up the Rebels in total offensive output during the game, scoring touchdowns on their first three offensive possessions. UNLV's only points of the game came in the form of a garbage-time, fourth-quarter touchdown. The Vandals should find success against a down team in Colorado next week, and could jump out to an early 4-1 start if they can handle a beatable Western Michigan squad in week five. Hawaii (1-2): The Warriors' 1-2 record may not look too impressive, but a close loss to USC (3-0) in the opener and a hard-fought game against Colorado in last weekend's 31-13 loss give Hawaii fans something to look forward to with conference action around the corner. Hawaii actually led Colorado 10-0 at halftime, but surrendered back-to-back Rodney Stewart touchdown runs to allow the Buffs to surge back into the game. The Warriors never should have found themselves in the situation to begin with, and could have been up 24-0 on their PAC-10 foe had the team not fumbled a snap on the Colorado one-yard line and missed a chip-shot, 20-yard field goal early on. Hawaii should easily handle Charleston Southern next weekend before squaring off against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 2. Utah State (1-2, 0-1 WAC): Another promising start against an elite conference team, and another late-game collapse for Gary Andersen's Aggies, who continue to struggle with establishing a winning mentality. To be fair, USU has been arguably the most injury-decimated team in the country to this point, getting no better on Saturday when starting defensive backs Rajric Coleman and Chris Randle went down. With a stiff test on the road this week against San Diego State, it's now or never for the Aggies, who have never been over the .500 hump under Andersen tenure. Louisiana Tech (1-2): Is there a team which has fallen off more in the span of a single season than the Bulldogs? Perhaps not, and after Saturday's -, 37-23 loss to Navy at home, it'll likely take a midseason rally against conference competition to get first-year head coach Sonny Dykes' team to the postseason. Granted, Navy is no pushover, but giving up 297 yards on the ground is not vintage Louisiana Tech football, and it's apparent that Dykes' implementation of a spread offense will need some more time. Unfortunately for Tech fans the schedule offers no breaks, and the Bulldogs will have a tough time with Southern Miss (2-1) this Saturday. .?" San Jose State (1-2): A win is a win, but the Spartans 16-11 nail-biter against Football Championship Subdivision member Southern Utah was about as ugly as they come. SUU outgained San Jose by a margin of 334-250 total yards, and also held advantages in first downs and possession time. The Spartans continued to struggle in their transition to a new offense, and were only bailed out of the game when running back Lamon Muldrow scored with just over a minute left in the game. Another winnable game is on the horizon when for SJSU when UC-Davis comes to town, but expecting more than one conference win may be pushing the limits of viable hypotheses for Spartan fans. New Mexico State (0-2): About the only thing going for the southern Aggies right now is their in-state rival, the University of New Mexico, is 0-3 and perhaps the worst team in college football. That's little solace for fans, though, who give their state the distinction of having perhaps the two worst programs in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision in light of their most recent loss at UTEP. New Mexico State yielded nearly 500 total yards of offense to the Miners in the loss, while Aggie quarterback Matt Christian struggled to hit just over 50 percent of his passes. Kansas and Boise State loom over the next two weeks, but the entire world is bound to tune in on Oct. 9 when the Aggies battle the Lobos in the "Mr. Irrelevant Bowl." Game of the week: The Broncos may have taken a hit when Virginia Tech was upset two weeks ago, but a Bronco win over No. 24 Oregon State would go a long way to proving Boise is viable national title candidate heading into the start of WAC conference play. Got beef with my picks? Think I missed the mark? I want to hear from you. Drop me a line at adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu. Special teams: USU starting over continued from page 3 UTAH STATE QUARTERBACK DIONDRE BOREL leads and Aggie offense which has been decimated by injuries early this season. Borel, a senior, played in arguably his worst game of the season in a 41-24 loss to Fresno State this past weekend. Utah State will play at San Diego State this Saturday, while Fresno State will take on Mississippi. TODD JONES photo out a little sluggish," said quarterback Diondre Borel, who had two touchdowns for the Aggies, one through the air and another on the ground. "We didn't play with the same intensity." Not all the Aggies were sluggish, though, as the defense came up big early in the third quarter when cornerback Chris Randle tipped a pass that was intercepted by defensive end Quinn Garner. The next offensive possession following the pick, USU got to the 20-yard line only to have kicker Peter Caldwell miss wide right on a 37-yard field goal attempt. Despite all the mistakes, Utah State kept fighting. The defense continued to play hard and the offense started to click as the team put together a resounding drive capped by Borel's 10-yard touchdown scamper with 6:09 left in the third. The celebration was short-lived as Fresno quickly responded with a touchdown of their own and a play that would later be seen as the tipping point of the game. With 2:03 left in the third quarter, USU started their drive at their own 37-yard line. The possession began on an ominous note when Borel was sacked and fumbled the football. The ball was recovered by the Aggies, but just three plays later Fresno r.) Pearl Earrings with any Purchase Diamond Dollars : $100 Offany Wedding Set p j. • • ff 930 N. Main Logan, UT 35-753-9755 wwwjerricitsfinejewelry.com Guaranteed Lowest Price on Men's Rings, Well Match and Beat any Advertised Price! State blocked Caldwell's punt attempt and recovered the ball at USU's 24-yard line. According to Andersen, it was big plays like the blocked punt which have continued to doom USU throughout the past two seasons. This turn of events deflated the Aggies and they could not recover during a fourth quarter that saw Fresno State roll up 17 unanswered points and turn a once-close game into a blow-out win. The blocked punt also deflated USU's defense, which continually found itself having to play almost error free to keep Fresno off the board. "Our defense always plays hard," said USU defensive end Levi Koskan. "(But) when you're going up against a short field every time, it's tough." It was tough indeed for the Aggies, as they were outgained 110-37 total yards in the fourth quarter. USU also allowed 209 combined kickoff and punt return yards, something Andersen specifically addressed following the game. "That (209 yards) allowed them to control field position," Andersen said. "Fresno did a tremendous job returning the football and we couldn't tackle them." The loss was particularly bitter for USU because of the high hopes they had going into the game. "We were excited to play Fresno State," Koskan said. "We all felt like this was an opportunity to prove to the WAC, as well as the nation, that we are a team that wins." The Aggies now look to their next opponent — the San Diego State Aztecs — as their opportunity to take that " next step." "We won't lose any confidence going forward," Borel said. "We feel like this is a special year for us and we will continue to fight to win games." — mark.israelson@aggiemail. usu.edu |