Come one, come all, the friendless and the shut-in and the flu-stricken and the utterly addicted. It's Wednesday night, and that means Live! Minor! Conference! Action! This week, Boise State travels to Tulsa, and we tell you why you should care.

This one might mean something.
Weeknight games with national implications are rare creatures. And like it or not, the fate of Boise State is looking more and more like it's gonna seriously impact the BCS. We haven't seen the Broncos in one of the big bowls since their upset of Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta. And after two consecutive postseason losses in the Hawaii and Poinsettia Bowls, the Broncos are 5-0, sporting their highest rank in school history (No. 5 in the AP and Harris polls, No. 6 according to the coaches) and seemingly poised for another perfect regular season, which would make four in six years.

So: what's Boise State made of?
The pieces are all there. Quarterback Kellen Moore has 13 touchdowns in five games and is on track for another 3,000-yard season with not a whole lot of stout defenses in front of him. His improvement is palpable, and so is that of his protection: Last year's 10 interceptions and 13 sacks dwarf this year's two and three at the season's midway point. The Broncos have the 27th-ranked run defense behind Jeremy Avery, and have allowed opponents to score over 16 points only once, in a 51-34 shootout with Fresno State. Those opposing teams, however, are hardly Murderers' Row: Oregon (sputtering opening-night edition), Miami (Ohio), Fresno State, Bowling Green, and UC-Davis have hardly allowed a glimpse at Boise State's true potential, however lofty or lowly.

It's a trap!
Tulsa's never beaten Boise State. They're without offensive guru Gus Malzahn, who's taken the magic that made the prolific 'Cane offense the last two years to Auburn. They were blown off the field, 45-0, by Oklahoma and its backup  freshman quarterback. But they're also 4-1, have a quarterback (sophomore G.J. Kinne, a Texas transfer) with over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdown passes of his own, and have manhandled just about every team they've faced. True, those teams are Tulane, New Mexico, Sam Houston State and Rice, but Boise appreciates more than anyone that a win is a win. The Hurricane also have a stout run defense, 16th in the nation, which might be enough to bottle up Avery and Co. If Tulsa can get its 48th-ranked pass defense into gear long enough for C-USA's best pass rush to give Moore fits, Chris Petersen's blue bandits could be in for a long one.

Captain Cane compels you!
Tulsa's newly revamped mascot (above, right) makes his national television debut, which could be confusing for viewrs not versed in Captain Cane's new comic-book origin myth, a truly hair-raising tale of an unassuming work-student literally electrified by the love for Tulsa athletics. The new, caped-crusader version probably beats the old, funnel-headed version (who was a ... friendly tornado? Representing the Golden Hurricane?), but not by much.

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Boise State and Tulsa kick off from TU's Skelly Stadium at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
Holly welcomes your adulation and veiled threats at nastinchka-at-yahoo, etc.