Boise and Fresno
headed for showdown

BOISE State coach Dan Hawkins doesn't consider himself an underdog, and he likes the Goliaths.

"I root for the Yankees and the Lakers," he said. "And I definitely root for Fresno in our league."

Until, of course, Oct. 23 when the Bulldogs and Broncos face off in Boise.

He does enjoy it when the Bulldogs slap around the likes of Washington and Kansas State on the road. Those wins by No. 19 Fresno State make his No. 23 Broncos look even better, since BSU is still king of the WAC, at least for now.

Assuming both are unbeaten going in, the loser of the Broncos-Bulldogs game doesn't necessarily fall out of the polls.

But when only one team in a conference is respected, there is absolutely no margin for error for anyone. One stumble and you're toast. Two and you're croutons.

Take Fresno State in 2001 as an example. After the Bulldogs finished their run through the BCS toughies on their suicide schedule, losses to Boise State and Hawaii ruined everything they'd built to that point.

Why? Because of national perception. At that time, the Broncos and Warriors didn't have much of a national reputation except for potatoes and pineapples, and Fresno's losses made the Bulldogs look like frauds.

True, UH hit a major bump in the road by losing to Florida Atlantic. That loss, though, as distressing as it is now to Warrior-Rainbow-whatever fans, won't look as bad if FAU completes its season unbeaten.

But Boise State keeps on dominating regardless of whom they play.

The latest victim was Oregon State on Friday. This one was easy to see coming for two reasons: 1) The Beavers are the last team to beat BSU, by two points last year, and 2) The blue turf of Boise is no place for a team to play a week after nearly beating the reigning national champions of LSU.

The theory that Boise State's system is so good that you can plug in any decent, hard-working type at any position and still win refuses to be disproved. Latest bit of evidence? Jared Zabransky's 20-of-34 passing for 225 yards and three TDs against the Beavers. His credentials prior to this fall weren't much better than those of Jared from Subway.

"He's a guy we found in our football camp one summer. A tough guy who could run with a 3.7 grade-point. A guy who shows up when the bullets start flying," Hawkins said. "He came from a small school and wasn't featured as a thrower."

Louisiana Tech >> Ryan Moats leads the nation in rushing with 257 yards per game after two contests.

But that was against Nevada and Louisiana-Lafayette. The sledding gets tougher this week at Miami.

"We've got to start throwing the ball to take some pressure off him," Bulldogs coach Jack Bicknell said. "We can't bang our head on the wall. We have to try to figure out ways to run him, but if they put lots of guys in the box we have to pass."

Nevada >> New-old Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault built a College Football Hall of Fame career by winning games against I-AA teams. But that's when Nevada was one itself.

Now he doesn't want to play them anymore, even after a 59-7 victory over Sacramento State last week.

"You don't gain a lot. I don't like playing I-AA games. I got that game for the coach that used to be here," Ault said with a laugh.

That would be Chris Tormey, the guy Ault, then the athletic director, sent packing last year.