Coach Chris Petersen's Trophy Case

As we all know, Chris Petersen has taken the Boise State Bronco football team to places that they or us as fans could have never imagined. In 2006, he reluctantly went from offensive coordinator to head coach when Dan Hawkins left for Colorado. Two Fiesta Bowl victories, 4 straight years in the top 25, and the highest ranking in school history later, Coach Pete continues to do things the same way he always has. That is with class, honor, aggressiveness, respect, and glory. Seriously, think about it! There is Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Lane Kiffin who are seen as the villains of the college coaching world. The way they carry themselves on the sideline and in press conferences is the polar opposite of Chris Petersen. Both ways are working, obviously, as I have named coaches of winning programs (Actually, for Kiffin the jury is still out). The perfect example of the calmness of Coach was in his response to the Broncos dropping in the polls. You can read the full story here, but this is a quote from him that sums it up perfectly;

"To me, wait until December, and then it's news whether this conversation is even worth having. As we all know, there is going to be a lot of things happening between now and then."

The best part was when someone asked him if he would use the drop in the polls as a chip on the shoulder of his players. He said that it is impossible to use the fact that they are ranked 4th in the country as a motivation tool, and he laughed the whole time.


Indeed this is a man who is constantly preparing for the next opponent, not looking ahead or past a team, and his players follow suit. Look at his track record, 4 undefeated regular seasons in 5 years, 2 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Trophies (the only coach to win it twice, by the way), and another great season in the works as I type this. I think maybe the most incredible thing about Coach Petersen's tenure is the fact that there have been absolutely no scandals or NCAA investigations. The closest thing to a scandal that has happened is the Jason Robinson ordeal, and maybe some late hits or players that lead with their heads sometimes (the sore losers who couldn't beat the Broncos claim much worse things of the beloved coach. I say, get over it). In fact, when one of Boise State's recruits died in a car accident earlier this year, Petersen did not call the kid's family without getting permission from the NCAA so as to avoid recruiting violations of illegal contact. Ludicrous, I know, but that is how it went down. I think for all this he should be adding other awards to his trophy case. Maybe a Nobel Peace Prize?...Probably not, but his demeanor makes it seem possible.


Coach Chris Petersen and his Broncos continue their quest for an unbeaten season, another BCS Bowl berth, and a long shot at the National Championship Game this Saturday when they host the Toledo Rockets on The Blue. It is homecoming so the atmosphere will be spectacular. Emotions will be riding high and their will be plenty of local hype for all of the festivities. Along with that will come hope and angst that the Broncos do not slip further in the polls or lose ground to the squads ranked behind them. Just don't expect Petersen to care about any of that. He is focused on the Rockets. There are a few things in life that you can't avoid; death, taxes, and Coach Pete's unrelenting pursuit of the cliched "one game at a time" attitude.

Video Evidence-Beavers are Dirtier than They Claim the Broncos to Be

I have found it! Video evidence from the Boise State/Oregon State game that the Beavers indeed play as dirty or even dirtier than they claim the Broncos play. Check it out and tell me what you think. Winston Venable's hit was by far the cleanest play shown in these clips.

Helmet to Helmet Injustice; From Winston Venable to Javes Lewis

As mentioned and promised yesterday, I have a bone to pick with anybody and everybody who is a fan of the two state universities in Oregon. That's right, the Ducks and the Beavers. We all know by now that Boise State's Winston Venable was suspended half a game for a helmet to helmet hit on Oregon State's James Rodgers. The WAC commissioner Karl Marx Benson said this about it; "One of the conclusions that both (experts) made on it, it was not the ball carrier. He was in a somewhat defenseless position." I will not go into how asinine this claim is because I have already done that (check it out here) and there is no use beating a dead horse with a stick. However, after viewing message boards, blogs, and articles about the hit, it is obvious that there has been nothing but hate, backlash, disdain, and idiocy coming from Oregon and Oregon State fans. They all claim that Boise State is a dirty program and that Coach Pete allows/wants his players to take cheap shots at other teams, especially if the other players are Ducks or Beavers. As ridiculous as that sounds, that's all I've read so far.

I have already said multiple times that there is no way that Winston Venable's hit was a cheap shot, nor was he purposely trying to injure Rodgers. In fact, he was very much making a play on the quarterback and Rodgers was trying to block both Venable and Jamar Taylor at the same time. The result was unfortunate, but that is football. Now, he sure shouldn't be leading with his head like that, which is a bad habit of his. In no way was it intentional or can it be defined as "targeting." In fact, that exact play happens constantly throughout every single football game that is played, both NFL and collegiate. Like I said, it's part of the game. But that doesn't stop fans of other teams from claiming Venable is a dirty player. Here is the hit in question. Take a look at it yourself.



A BYU blog called "Vanquish the Foe" suggested that Venable purposely changed his course of direction in order to go after Rodgers. Trust me, I have already lit into the tools who wrote that garbage.

The reason I bring this up again is this: Saturday night in Eugene, Oregon, the Stanford Cardinal came up to challenge the Oregon Ducks in an ABC prime time game(just like BSU vs. OSU was last week). In the third quarter, Stanford QB Andrew Luck completed a short pass to star wide receiver Chris Owusu. Owusu proceeded up field, as the first down marker was only 3 or 4 yards away. While he was being tackled by an Oregon player, Javes Lewis came in, full speed, helmet down, and contacted Owusu right in the side/top of his helmet. The receiver was out and laid on the ground for a good three minutes without moving before he was able to get up and go to the sideline. Check it out here, fast forward to just before minute mark 1:07 and again at 1:34 (for a closer look).



Look at this play and hit in question and see the similarities with the Winston Venable play. There are things in common. Both athletes were trying to make a play on the ball carrier, there were other people involved trying to make plays as well, Venable and Lewis both led with their heads, and there were injuries sustained by those who were hit. Very similar indeed, but with different reactions from the media and fans.

What is a defenseless player and what is targeting one? According to the 2009-10 NCAA Football Rule Book, this is the definition of leading with your helmet and targeting a defenseless player:

"No player shall initiate contact and target an opponent with
the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul."

and

"No player shall initiate contact and target a defenseless opponent
above the shoulders. When in question, it is a foul."

After viewing and pondering on both videos and hits, let me ask a question; Which one is a defenseless player? Is it the one attempting to block an oncoming defender, or is it the one who is already being tackled and close to being on the ground? The question is indeed rhetorical. Owusu is clearly a defenseless player. If he is already being tackled and going to the ground, why does Lewis have to run in and get one last shot in? In my opinion and it what seems to be obvious, Owusu was being targeted by Javes Lewis, who initiated contact with the crown of his helmet. The result was an injured player, just like James Rodgers (again, who was setting a block, and was not defenseless) was after the Venable hit.

Where is the outrage? Where are all the claims that Oregon is a dirty team filled with players who take cheap shots? Where are all the Oregon State and Oregon fans (why don't we throw BYU in as well) calling out their own teams? Why aren't the blogs and message boards blowing up with angry fans demanding justice in the form of a suspension for Lewis? I don't have an answer. I am baffled. It seems that the more the Broncos win, the more hate comes their way. My point is that the type of play for which Winston Venable got suspended occurs in every game. It happened in the Oregon/Stanford game, and Owusu was by far more defenseless than James Rodgers was. What is different is the way it is viewed, according to the perception or success of the team in question. It sure isn't fair, but then again top college football is played and judged in an unfair system. I hate complainers, but something needs to change. The BCS might take years to reform or fall, but we can at least be fair and consistent in the officiating and treatment of teams. Then again, as crazed as football fans get, neither change looks promising or imminent. Like your momma said, life isn't fair.

WAC Weekend Recap, Week 5

Despite there not being any marquee or terribly exciting match ups over the weekend in the Western Athletic Conference, it was still a great Saturday of football in other areas of the country. The Oregon vs. Stanford competition was a lot of fun to watch. Did anybody catch the helmet to helmet hit in that game that knocked one of Stanford's best receivers out of the game? There is zero talk going on about that, but I will have a post and some commentary on it tomorrow. Anyway, let's get started on recapping the WAC football action!

BYU Cougars at Utah State Aggies
My prediction was Cougars win 28 to 21
Final score: Aggies 31, Cougars 16
Boy was I wrong on this one. It seems that the Cougars are very schizophrenic on defense. They played pretty well on the road against Florida State, but then laid a complete egg up in Logan. Because of that and after a 1-4 start, BYU has fired their defensive coordinator. I'm not sure how much that is going to help, but we will see. I wonder if ESPN is looking at the fine print of the contract they signed to broadcast all of BYU's home games as an independent. It sure does not look good in Provo this year. Lots of dropped passes, and plenty of bad defense equals the first losing season in a long time. On the other side, Utah State is playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well. They played very well and got the win at home. Diondre Borel continues to play well and will be another duel threat for the WAC to contend with. Call him Colin Keapernick's mini-me. Next week the Aggies travel to Louisiana Tech to take on the Bulldogs.

Idaho Vandals at Western Michigan Broncos
My prediction was Broncos win 35 to 32
Final score: Vandals 33, Broncos 13
This is another one that I picked wrong. Idaho had not played well on the road at all, but they pulled it together and left Kalamazoo with the win, although it was close and very much in doubt up until late in the game. The main problem for Western Michigan was they couldn't run the ball at all. That made them one-dimensional and QB Alex Carder had to try and do it all on his own. It did not work. There were plenty of turnovers by the Broncos, and a couple came late in the game that led to Idaho scoring and putting it out of reach. The Vandals were plagued by their own turnovers as quarterback Nathan Enderle continued to throw the ball to the other team. He now has 9 interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. But the Vandal defense came alive, forced some turnovers and a lot of bad plays, and held the Broncos to 13 points. Idaho is now 3-2 and has some games in the future that they should be favored in. They are looking to get bowl eligible and will continue that quest after a bye week at Louisiana Tech on October 16.

UC Davis Aggies at San Jose Spartans
My prediction was Aggies win in an upset special 21 to 18
Final score: Aggies 14, Spartans 13
I kind of felt like I was going out on a limb picking this game as my upset special. I nailed it, I guess! It didn't look good for a while as San Jose State was up 13-0 at the half. But QB Randy Wright rallied his UC Davis squad and they came out on fire in the second half! The numbers were not very good for either squad, but Wright did throw a touchdown pass and gain 223 yards through the air. That was the difference. Wright threw a TD and Spartan QB Jordan La Secla threw an interception. The Spartans continue to play completely underwhelming and are actually a late touchdown score away from being 0-4. Needless to say, San Jose State has a long season ahead of them in which I don't see them winning any more games. Well, maybe one if they get lucky.

Cal Poly Mustangs at Fresno State Bulldogs
My prediction was Bulldogs win 42 to 17
Final score: Bulldogs 38, Mustangs 17
Dang I was nearly perfect getting this one right! The Bulldogs were very dominant in every category. The held the Mustangs to only 18 yards passing. That is unheard of. However, they did give up 203 on the ground. That is a concern for coach Pat Hill, as well as the 3 turnovers they had while forcing 0 to Cal Poly. I don't know very much about the Mustangs other than they run the ball a lot and can't pass worth crap. Fresno was supposed to win this game and they did. Now they welcome the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors and hope to continue building on their 3-1 record.

Nevada Wolfpack at UNLV Runnin' Rebels
My prediction was Wolfpack win 45 to 20
Final score: Wolfpack 44, Runnin' Rebels 26
UNLV scored more points than I think they should have. I am not sure if that means that Nevada is the same ol' defense that can't stop anybody, or if UNLV's offense has improved greatly since getting smoked at Idaho. The answer is yes, plus they were playing at home. They were able to force 3 turnovers from the Wolfpack, but could only muster 294 yards of offense, 214 of which came through the air, which is definitely Nevada's weakness. On the other hand, the Wolfpack did what it normally does, eating up yardage on the ground at 374 total for the game. Running back Vai Taua had a huge game going for 188 yards on 19 carries. "Bird Leg" Kaepernick still can't throw the ball very ball, but did go 13 for 17 for 124 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The match up in Reno against Boise State is looking very exciting as each week goes by. Nevada has moved up a little bit in the polls and will host the terrible San Jose State Spartans next week.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
My prediction was Rainbow Warriors win 41 to 24
Final score: Rainbow Warriors 41, Bulldogs 21
Holy freak I am good at guessing the final scores! This game went exactly as I thought it was going to. The Bulldogs cannot play defense at all, especially on the road. They have serious problems finding out who is going to play quarterback long term, but Ross Jenkins did go 19 for 26, 215 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. The ground game was decent, but not good enough. On the other hand, Hawai'i quarterback Bryant Moniz threw 4 touchdowns and went 42 for 58. What is absolutely amazing is that he threw for 532 yards! LA Tech does suck! I can guess what Boise State will be doing when the Bulldogs come into Bronco Stadium on October 26, lots of Titus Young and Austin Pettis. Next week Hawai'i goes to Fresno and Louisiana Tech heads back home to host Utah State.

Previous weeks' total: 14-3
This week (including Boise State's win): 4-2
Overall: 18-5

With Oregon jumping Boise State in both polls this week, it makes me think of the lower-tier teams in the WAC. San Jose State, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State are serious eye sores for the rest of the country to look at. San Jose State losing at home to an FCS school is not good. In no way do the rest of the Broncos' opponents help them with their strength of schedule, except for Nevada and maybe Fresno State. All there is to do is continue to win and hope for two undefeated teams in Reno on November 26th. My guess is Oregon loses at least once either to USC, Arizona, or Oregon State. There is no need or reason to freak out right now and complain that the Broncos lost position in the polls. It was bound to happen knowing how many low caliber teams were on Boise State's schedule. Still, I didn't think it would happen this early. After all, Boise State has beaten two ranked teams to Oregon's one thus far. Regardless, the Broncos are in good position to get into a BCS Bowl. As I have been promoting from the beginning, a lot of chaos would need to go down for them to make it to the national championship game. Being ranked 3rd or 4th does not really matter at this point. Boise State fans, just keep cheering on the Broncos and the Wolfpack and everything will work out fine! Let's go Boise State (and Erin Andrews)!

Broncos Take Down Hapless Aggies

In what may have appeared like there was only one team on the field, the Boise State Broncos completely dismantled the New Mexico State Aggies at their home stadium, winning 59-0. The game was over after the Aggies' second possession, when Ryan Winterswyk (that's right, a defensive lineman) intercepted a Matt Christian pass. The game was even more lopsided than the final score indicated, if that is even possible. Let's take a look at some stats to start off and go from there.

Yardage:

.........Broncos......Aggies
Rushing...299.......118
Passing...309.......90
Total......608.......208

First Downs:
......Broncos......Aggies
.........26............11

Turnovers:

......Broncos......Aggies
..........0.............3

Average Gain Per Play:

......Broncos......Aggies
........9.7...........3.3

I think the one that stand out to me the most is the average gain per play stat. Boise State was averaging almost a first down on every single play that they ran. You will always win if you can do that. Granted, New Mexico State is one of the worst teams in the nation, but those are still some impressive stats. The Broncos were giving up an average of just over 60 yards per game on the ground, but the Aggies were able to eat up 118. Some of you may ask why. The answer is this; of the 63 total plays they ran, 41 of them were rushing calls. When it takes a team 41 attempts to gain only 118 yards, the defense has done their job. Besides, it's not like they were getting anywhere throwing the ball anyway. When you beat a team so badly, there are not many story lines to follow, get all excited, and blog about, but let's see what my little brain comes up with...

What We Learned:

The Broncos defensive line is amazing. I believe that they are a bunch of man-yeti's out there mauling opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks. It is seriously amazing what Chase Baker, Billy Winn, Ryan Winterswyk, Shea McClellin, and all of their back ups have been able to do thus far this season. They only got one recorded sack last night, but that gives them 12 on the year so far. What they were able to do very well was bottle up the rushing attack and force turnovers. Ricky Tjong-a-tjoe stripped the quarterback twice (Boise State recovered both fumbles) and McClellin was able to bat a pass into the waiting arms of Winterswyk (actually, Swyk swooped in and took the INT from McClellin!). Giving your offense a short field to score with is great a sign of a successful program.

Michael Couglin and Joe Southwick are capable back ups: First of all, Coughlin can run and he scored the first 6 points of the game with his legs. It was great to see him have some success after what could only be considered a disappointing 5 years at Boise State (remember, he won scout player of the year when he was a gray shirt freshman. He was supposed to be the next great Bronco QB). When it was announced that Coughlin and Southwick were going to get a few more snaps per game during crunch time, I was excited to see what the heir-appearant to Kellen Moore could do. Southwick can do a lot with his legs, but when I saw that pass that he zipped to Chris Potter for a 78 yard TD, I almost peed my pants! It was a beautiful sight! Now if Moore goes down injured (please no! It won't happen, it can't!), I feel comfortable with who we have to replace him. Plus we know that Boise State will be set at quarterback for years to come.

The WAC Sports Network Sucks Really Bad: I thought Altitude Sports Network was bad! Listening to that verbal diarrhea spewing from the two commentators' mouths was enough to force me to change the channel (which I did frequently. That or mute the TV). Dick Tomey (the more annoying, less knowledgeable of the pair), I understand you coached at San Jose State and that means you have sub par intelligence and wit, but holy heck you are terrible! I have no idea how half the stuff they were talking about related to football, much less the Broncos or Aggies. Sadly and shockingly, it made me long for the days of KTVB broadcasting the games and Mark Johnson slaughtering the names of every player on the field, as well as screwing up the action on most plays. I would also prefer the muscle hamster guy from CBS CS over that garbage. Seriously, I am not looking forward to next week when they get to disgrace broadcasting again as the Broncos take on Toledo at home. Kill me now...


Coach Pete is a Master at Mental Preparation: The Broncos had made it through the toughest part of their early season schedule unscathed. Now they face a long line of cupcakes and crappy teams before finally getting to play Fresno State and Nevada. How many teams and players in the nation would have taken time off, plays off, or even games off (mentally, of course)? The answer is a lot. But from the beginning of time, Chris Petersen has preached the "one game at a time" attitude and it has never been more appearant than it was last night. Boise State never let up, never quit, never eased-up, and never even thought about doing anything but playing their best. Petersen wouldn't have it any other way. All coaches' attitude, morals, beliefs, and mentality are reflected in their players and how they perform on the field. There are few (if any) better than Coach Pete at instilling an attitude of preparedness in his players. Do not expect the Broncos to slow down at all. It will not happen.


New Mexico State Has a Long Way to Go, but They are Getting There: Coach DeWayne Walker is trying to pound toughness into his players, starting with a decent rushing attack. I have already mentioned that the Aggies gained 118 yards on 41 attempts. It is a long and hard road when the offense that was put onto the field before he got there averaged about 75 passes per game. It takes time to get your own style of players in there and install the offense and defense that you want. Like I said, there is a lot of work to do, but I think Walker is a good coach and the Aggies will be good with him as their leader, eventually.

Areas of Concern:

It gets pretty difficult to find any problems when we played such an overwhelming and complete game. Looking at the stats on si.com here, the Broncos were only 3 of 9 on third down conversions. That is 33%. They can definitely get better at that, although a few of them were towards the end of the game when they were running the ball and not even thinking about passing it. Special teams; they did not play as bad on special teams as they did against Oregon State, but there are some kick off issues that need to be ironed out. It seems that Boise State has not gotten a touch back after their first kick off in any games so far. It's either really short or they don't cover very well and it goes for a good return. There is a lot of work to do there. Penalties; I hate sounding like a broken record, but we had some mistakes that took back some points and gave the Aggies some extra yardage. A Jason Robinson late hit out of bounds added fifteen. I know it was his first game back and he was excited to play, but chill out dude. A facemask by an offensive lineman brought back a sweet touchdown pass from Moore. Again, it's getting better, but the Broncos need to cut down on the yellow flags.

Favorite Play:

It has to be the Shea McClellin batted ball for an interception. McClellin got some air when he went up to swat the Matt Christian pass. It was a very athletic play for which he deserves all the credit. The best part was when Ryan Winterswyk swooped in and stole the interception. It was great. Idahostatesman.com tells us that they are equal now, since McClellin jumped on a fumble in the end zone against Wyoming that Winterswyk had "gifted" him. Anyway, the play was great and showed the versatility and athleticism of the Bronco D-line.

Thoughts and Tidbits:

The touchdown pass from Southwick to Potter was Southwick's first TD pass as a Bronco and Potter's first TD catch as a Bronco. Ricky Tjong-a-tjoe (again, freaking awesome name) is a beast and will be for years to come. Jason Robinson played in his first game since pleading guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge. He was suspended for the first 3 games. Also coming back from suspension was Daron Mackey.

My player NOT to watch was Brandyn Thompson. He didn't do anything during the game. In fact, I don't remember his name being mentioned at all. I guess that means that he did another good job of taking care of the wide receiver he was on and took him out of the game. He did not have any interceptions, which is kind of disappointing, but the season is long and there are a lot of games yet to play. At least I did not get him injured! My player to watch, Boyblue Aoelua, got his name dropped quite a few times. It turns out he was starting as a linebacker and made some tackles. Good job Boyblue!

This game will do nothing to harm the national perception of the Boise State Broncos. They problem is nobody was able to watch it. A 59-0 victory on the road is a good thing, but will it be enough to keep them at number 3 in the polls? Oregon took control of their game against Stanford late and pulled away to win. The battle between two top ten teams was watched by a lot of people and the victory will go far for the Ducks. I don't know if they pass the Broncos this week, but if they keep winning like they are now, which is by scoring a lot of points, then I think it will eventually happen. Like I said, hopefully and probably not this week, but it's just a matter of time, unless Oregon loses, which isn't looking very likely right now. Just as I type this, I look and Oregon has jumped Boise State in the AP poll. The Broncos are now 4th. So I was wrong. I didn't think it would happen this early but it has. Oh well, let's go Broncos!

Photos:

Like always, I get my pictures from idahostatesman.com, mainly because they have some really good ones! Enjoy!

Here is a video on youtube that shows highlights from the game. I tried to embed it in the post but the loser who uploaded it disabled the feature.

Check in tomorrow for my WAC weekend recap. There is a lot to talk about!

Weekly PTW, 3rd Edition-With a Twist

Weekly PTW take three! Again, there is a difference between the previous two Weekly PTW's and this one in an attempt to not get another Bronco injured. I hope it works.

As you all know, my last two picks have gotten injured towards the beginning of the game and couldn’t finish. The most recent, running back DJ Harper, is out for the season with a torn ACL. I feel personally responsible for this happening and so this week I am going to try something different. In fact, I am going to attempt to fake out the curse and deflect it elsewhere. We will see how it goes. This week’s player to watch is... Boyblue Aoelua!


Actually, this guy isn’t even a starter. I just went down the roster for the New Mexico State Aggies and picked out the guy with the coolest name. His picture is pretty awesome as well! Aoelua is a linebacker hailing from Fagaitua High School in American Samoa. He is a sophomore and followed his older brother, A.T. to New Mexico State. Boyblue played in nine games last season and tallied two tackles, both on special teams. He is majoring in Geography. Just for good measure, here is a picture of A.T.



So there it is! This week's PTW! Moving on...

This week’s player NOT to watch…
Brandyn Thompson!



I figured since the Broncos have had a hard time forcing turnovers thus far this season, they are ripe for a huge game! I am guessing that with a pass happy offense (not by choice, New Mexico State has absolutely no rushing game), there will be a few interceptions to go around. Thompson, being an experienced senior, should have no problem finding his hands wrapped around a couple of errant passes and possibly even taking one in for a house call. But again, do not watch for him. He is just another player on the field. Watch Boyblue out there!

Brandyn is from Franklin High School in Elk Grove, California. He was an outstanding three sport athlete in high school, playing both ways in football and killing it! He was only rated a two star athlete and his only offer was from Boise State. He was named to BCS’s all bowl team after the Fiesta Bowl in January. Here is the picture of Thompson CBS put up while talking to him on the phone:



After receiving the honors for defensive MVP in the Fiesta Bowl last year, a lot was expected from Mr. Thompson in this his senior year. However, his play has been inconsistent, with a few bad plays and a few good plays mixed in there. Against Virginia Tech, he lazily “tackled” some receivers, allowing them to score or get huge gains. He was out of position a lot and that hurt what otherwise was a good defensive performance against the Hokies. One of the last plays of the game was him furiously running back into coverage and finger-tip batting a Tyrod Taylor pass to the ground to help seal the Broncos’ win. Against Wyoming, he never got a chance to show his improvement as their QB found himself on the ground with the ball in his hands frequently. The Oregon State game was by far his best. He blanketed the Beavers’ star receiver James Rodgers, limiting him to two catches for 11 yards. It was a great performance, though he was not able to snag an interception. Like I said, I think he is ripe for one or two (or three) against the Aggies.

Brandyn Thompson snags an Andy Dalton pass for an INT (Horned Frog receiver behind him)


Brandyn Thompson’s best game came two years ago when he picked off 3 passes in one game against Hawai’i. That season he finished with only 4, so it was obviously one of his greatest performances. In 2009, he led the team with 6 interceptions and had one heck of a time playing alongside future NFL first round draft pick Kyle Wilson. Wilson was a great leader and taught Thompson many things. In a defense that lacks a true leader in the secondary, Brandyn must step up and make some plays. As inconsistent as he has been this year, he makes huge plays when he has to. Expect more of that. As mentioned, Brandyn Thompson is not this week’s player to watch. Boyblue Aoelua is and please do so. Thompson is the player not to watch. Do not watch him do something like this against the New Mexico State Aggies:

House call!


So there we have it! Our Weekly PTW! Check back in and see my review of the weekend's action either Sunday or Monday.

*Disclaimer: I am in no way wishing bad luck or injuries upon Mr. Aoelua or his older brother. I hope they have a great game and make some plays. Brandyn Thompson is the player NOT to watch this week. My little sister would kill me if I was the one responsible for getting her favorite player injured. Don’t watch him…wink wink…