Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:13 pm EST
Four Reasons to Watch: Boise State and Louisiana Tech, WAC-ky as they wanna be
That's right, it's another Friday night WAC tilt we're foisting on you, because you know you should care. We care about Boise State at Louisiana Tech, anyway, and here's why (besides the fact that we're addicts):
Admit it: Ruston is growing on you. Both teams have already made a pair of Mid-week Madness appearances on national television this season -- the Broncos laid waste to Fresno State and survived a scare at Tulsa; the Bulldogs beat Hawaii and lost to Nevada, both in fairly convincing fashion. Tonight they meet in lovely Ruston, La., home of Louisiana Tech, Elephant 6 and very little else. Don't underestimate the somnambulant effects of the 1,948-mile trip from Boise, either.
Who will protect our precious BCS landscape? Their trajectories may be entirely divergent, but don't be fooled by Boise State's undefeated record and Louisiana Tech's three wins. A lot could change tonight. The Broncos have been difficult to peg despite their early season heroic versus Oregon -- there are a lot of convincing wins on their '09 record, but they do stumble every once in a while, as evidenced by that close call against the Golden Hurricane. You're not likely to catch them sleepwalking, however -- with that schedule, one slip is all it will take to cost them a BCS bid, and they have to know it. Their No. 7 spot in the BCS standings isn't going anywhere good without some showy victories (and some luck wouldn't hurt, either, but the victories come first).
Bulldogs make the best underdogs. The upset path will not be easy. Louisiana Tech's 16th-ranked turnover margin has been a program touchstone this year, but taking the ball away from the Broncos is even more difficult; they're fifth in turnover margin themselves. But there's a grand Bulldog tradition of giving better-equipped visitors headaches for four straight quarters: They beat Mississippi State in Ruston last year, and crushed Hawaii back in September, when the Warriors still had a quarterback for their prolific passing attack.
The matchup to watch will be between Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore, who's likely to break the 2,000-yard passing mark tonight, and Louisiana Tech's Deon Young, tied for second in the conference interceptions. (This is the WAC, so that's only three picks, and he's actually surpassed by Boise State's Jeron Johnson with four, but it's a Friday night game and we take our fun where we can find it.)
Dooley Face! Still unconvinced? All right, do an image search for Bulldogs head coach Derek Dooley. Those faces? Like the one he's making up there? He does that all the time on the sideline. Make it a drinking game! See you on the couch.
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Boise State and Louisiana Tech kick off at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
Holly welcomes your adulation and veiled threats at nastinchka-at-yahoo, etc.
Dr. Saturday
Matt Hinton
Dr. Saturday is a college football blog edited by Matt Hinton. Email him tips and feedback.
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12 Comments
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This week: Boise will go to Ruston and beat La Tech (1900+ miles from the blue turf) and go DOWN in the polls
Next week: LSU will beat La Tech in Baton Rouge and go UP in the polls
Bring it on SEC homers...
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The error was the coach went "conservative" and that is where the game was lost as clearly LT had been moving the ball and had they converted they would have been in the lead, with clock management Boise was vulnerable and not as effective inside the red zone. Considering all the injuries LT has had they played a outstanding game and the coach should not be condemned for going conservative, but more confidence I think is what that offense needed at that point in time. Boise did not look like a number 5 team, they looked, flawed.
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Les Miles would not have taken his foot off the gas petal until the game was over
Last week: LSU, up by 35 with 1:10 to go in the 4th, ran in a TD on 1st down rather than take two knees to end it... did I mention the opponent was TULANE [profane]!
but that's what the pollsters want- the ALL MIGHTY SEC teams must step on the cupcakes
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when will the cowards who run the bcs actually give the two best teams a shot? not in this lifetime. the powers that be are afraid that giving boise state a chance to play a " quality team" will disrupt their little show. they are afraid that they will be shown for the money hungry ticks and leaches that they really are. fair? no. typical?yes.
in high school we KNOW who the state champion is. in the bcs we will never know.
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when will the cowards who run the bcs actually give the two best teams a shot? not in this lifetime. the powers that be are afraid that giving boise state a chance to play a " quality team" will disrupt their little show. they are afraid that they will be shown for the money hungry ticks and leaches that they really are. fair? no. typical?yes.
in high school we KNOW who the state champion is. in the bcs we will never know.
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Going to the BCS was supposed to take the human element out the rankings, but coaches and AD's found a way around that by setting up games where the outcome was predetermined. You can't tell me that when a big named team plays Florida International they don't know what the outcome will be.
Let's get real about this.
And for all those bad mouthing Boise State, put your team on the field and let's have at it. If the Gators think they are that tough, bring it on! Again, just ask Oklahoma what happens when you get what you wish for.
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