Coaches have
an arsenal of 1-liners

IT'S a toss-up for best quip from a Western Athletic Conference football coach yesterday.

June Jones of Hawaii hasn't lost his sense of humor yet, and that's a good thing since so many of his players are limping off to the medicos, and a 2-3 record isn't any Warrior fan's idea of paradise.

Toward the end of Jones' weekly news conference, a reporter asked him about the latest fascist, how-dare-they-do-this-to-us policy at Aloha Stadium.

"Why can't fans bring ti leaves to the games?"

Jones didn't miss a beat.

"They're weapons."

Boise State's Dan Hawkins was just as good.

"If I get out of coaching I should be a weatherman. They're the only people who can be wrong and keep their jobs," he said on the WAC teleconference.

Hawkins doesn't have to take up meteorology yet, although Tulsa nearly rained on his parade Saturday before kicker Tyler Jones bailed out the Broncos. Boise State survived for its 17th win in a row, longest streak in the nation.

But the 45-42 score underscored a weakness in the Bronco machine -- pass defense.

Boise State is last in the WAC and 111th in the nation in passing yardage allowed at 280.2 per game (and the Broncos haven't even played Hawaii yet, which despite its problems, is still second in the nation with 348.6 sky yards per outing).

It's reasonable to say the Broncos give up passing yards because opponents throw a lot playing catch-up. But that doesn't explain the pass-defense efficiency mark of 134.5, which is eighth in the league.

"It's obviously not where we want to be; we've given up too many big plays," Hawkins said. "But our rush defense is solid."

The loss of star safety Chris Carr -- in the middle of a four-to-six-week absence due to a broken collarbone -- hurts BSU's pass defense. And having Carr sidelined is like losing two, or even three, players, since he's also the WAC's top kickoff (27.7 yards per) and punt return (19.9 with two TDs) man.

Boise State is famous for replacing players like light bulbs, but Carr might be the most valuable in the league.

"We miss him a lot. He's a great kid. A leader and tough. But that's part of football and part of life. We don't tend to make a whole big deal out of that," Hawkins said.

Hawkins doesn't make a whole big deal out of much of anything. Like this BCS thing. Boise State is No. 14 according to the first release of this year's simplified secret formula.

"It's great, but it's where you're at at the end. It's nice to be in the hunt, but we don't put a lot of stock in that thing right now. We just need to play ... every week."

This week is the big one that could've been The Big One if Fresno State had cooperated and remained unbeaten and ranked for its showdown at Boise.

The WAC couldn't lose in that scenario, although a Fresno win would've been potentially better for the league's coffers. Now it's the other way around and Pat Hill is the spoiler.

Despite the loss of the allure two unbeatens would've brought to the game, ESPN decided to televise anyway, Saturday night on the Deuce.

"We're just two teams trying to win a game," Hawkins said. "We know we're looking down the barrel of a gun every week and Fresno's probably a double-barrel."

Ti leaves or shotguns, these coach-types sure are obsessed with weapons, aren't they?