WAC Weekend Recap

Week four of the college football season has officially ended and we have a lot to cover, so let's get started!

Idaho Vandals at Colorado State Rams
My prediction was Idaho wins 35 to 21.
Final score: Rams 36, Vandals 34.
Coming into this match up, the Rams had done absolutely nothing on offense (19 total points through 3 games) and even less on defense. At the same time, the Vandals had supposedly improved their defense by great lengths and were ready to stifle the already hapless Ram offense. So what happened? Idaho is Idaho, that's what happened. A completely over-rated and over-confident Vandal aquad went into Fort Collins and lost to a terrible Mountain West opponent. You can't blame Idaho's offense. QB Nate Enderle was a near perfect 25 for 30 for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. But here were the numbers for Colorado State's quarterback Pete Thomas; 29 for 37, 386 yards and 3 touchdowns. So much for the new and improved defense. Oh well, the Vandals suck again/still and now we all realize it.

Fresno State Bulldogs at Ole' Miss Rebels
My prediction was Rebels win 32 to 28.
Final score: Rebels 55, Bulldogs 38.
Apparently no one was even remotely interested in playing defense in Oxford, MS yesterday. Finally Ole' Miss beat a team that doesn't suck. Rebel (literally and figuratively. He has a criminal record, remember?) QB Jeremiah Masoli was a modest 8 for 12 for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. What killed the Bulldogs was running back Brandon Bolden carrying 19 times for 228 yards. Fresno State QB Ryan Colburn did his best with 390 yards and 4 touchdowns on a 32 for 42 night. It was going to be a tough game for the Bulldogs anyway playing an SEC schools on the road, but they did themselves no favors regardless. They will have to regroup as they face Cal Poly at home next week.

Nevada Wolfpack at BYU Cougars
My prediction was Cougars win 38 to 35.
Final score: Wolfpack 27, Cougars 13.
The story here is how the BYU defense was able to stifle "Bird Leg" Kaepernick and the lethal Nevada offense, holding them to only 27 points. Kaepernick was 16 for 25 for 196 yards and had only 82 on the ground. Running back Vai Taua did have 133 yards, but that was with 29 carries. That is not very productive. Speaking of being unproductive, BYU QB Jakes Heaps was an ugly 24 for 45 for 229 yards. As I mentioned, this is not a very good BYU team, but they were able to contain the Wolfpack. Too bad they were anemic on offense and couldn't muster enough points to win. This was my upset special because I didn't see another one that I thought was possible. The Cougars played their game and had a chance for the upset, but Nevada went home victorious on a down night.

New Mexico State Aggies at Kansas Jayhawks
My prediction was Jayhawks win 28 to 10.
Final score: Jayhawks 42, Aggies 16.
The schizophrenic Kansas Jayhawks had one of their Dr. Jekyll nights and put up great offensive numbers. QB Jordan Webb was 17 for 27 for 249 yards and a touchdown. But the real story is how bad New Mexico State is and how they can't stop anybody on defense. Offensively, they suck just as bad, gaining only 275 yards total. When Boise State comes and plays them next week, it is going to be a long night on both sides of the ball.

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
My prediction was Golden Eagles win 35 to 24.
Final score: Golden Eagles 13, Bulldogs 12.
I'm sure glad that I missed this snooze fest. As mentioned, LA Tech plays well at home. At least they played well at home on defense in this game. Too bad their offense sucked incredibly. QB Tarik Hakmi (who???) did gain 262 yards through the air on 22 for 35 passing, but he did throw 2 interceptions, one of which sealed their fate late in the game. Southern Miss QB Austin Davis was 22 for 38 for 233 yards as well. Was there really good defense played last night in Ruston, Louisiana, or was it just really bad offense? The answer; really crappy defense.

San Jose State Spartans at Utah Utes
My prediction was Utes win 55 to 16.
Final score: Utes 56, Spartans 3.
The Spartans are really bad and as it turns out, even worse than I thought. I know Utah is a good team and especially tough at home, but only 3 points? Yikes. San Jose State QB Jordan La Secla was a meager 8 for 12 and 67 yards. 172 yards of total offense is not going to get it done against anybody. Utah was by far the superior team as QB Jordan Wynn played his first game since suffering a thumb injury. He went a modest 14 for 18 for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. What did we learn: San Jose State is indeed one of the worst teams in the nation. Moving on...

Utah State Aggies at San Diego State Aztecs
My prediction was Aztecs win 35 to 24.
Final score: Aztecs 41, Aggies 7.
Oh no, it looks like Utah State is regressing a lot after almost upsetting Oklahoma in week one. Diondre Borel had only 130 yards and an interception on 14 of 31 passing. Even worse, the dual threat rushed for 5 yards on 18 carries. Ugly. San Diego State completely dismantled the Aggies as they out gained them in total yardage by more than double, 504 to 245. Utah State needs to get it together if they want to make a bowl game like so many people predicted they would. They host the Cougars of BYU next week in what should be a good game.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
My prediction was Rainbow Warriors win 42 to 21.
Final score: Rainbow Warriors 66, Buccaneers 7.
Hawai'i had maybe their best all around game in a couple of years. Granted, it was against a crappy FCS team. QB Bryant Moniz went 19 for 27 for 395 yards and 6 touchdowns. But most importantly, the Rainbow Warrior porous defense only gave up 227 yards. Like I said, the competition was very poor and Hawai'i took advantage. Next week they host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in what may or may not be a blowout in favor of the Rainbow Warriors.

Last week; 7-1
This week (including Boise State's win); 7-2
Overall; 14-3

Well there we are. The Nevada win over BYU is great for the WAC. The Wolfpack should be ranked in the top 25 when polls are released later today. If they can keep winning, the match up in Reno in November against Boise State should be a fantastic showdown. Other than that, we really didn't learn much about the WAC, except that the lower tier teams still sucks really bad and that Idaho sucks still. Check back in later for a recap of the Boise State vs. Oregon State game and my reaction to it.