Coaches Poll Week #2--Boise State Up to #4

1.	Oklahoma (44)	1-0	1,453	1
2.	Alabama (8)	2-0	1,410	2
3.	LSU (7)	2-0	1,372	3
4.	Boise State	1-0	1,214	5
5.	Florida State	2-0	1,211	4
6.	Stanford	2-0	1,165	6
7.	Oklahoma State	2-0	1,072	7
8.	Wisconsin	2-0	1,033	9
9.	Texas A&M	1-0	1,001	8
10.	Nebraska	2-0	911	10
11.	South Carolina	2-0	863	12
12.	Virginia Tech	2-0	842	11
13.	Arkansas	2-0	825	13
14.	Oregon	1-1	754	14
15.	Michigan State	2-0	639	16
16.	Ohio State	2-0	566	15
17.	Florida	2-0	498	18
18.	Arizona State	2-0	353	23
19.	Auburn	2-0	331	22
20.	West Virginia	2-0	304	24
21.	Texas	2-0	260	21
22.	South Florida	2-0	230	NR
23.	TCU	1-1	211	25
24.	Baylor	1-0	171	NR
25.	Mississippi State	1-1	125	17
Dropped out
No. 19 Missouri (1-1, lost to then-No. 23 Arizona State 37-30 OT), No. 20 Penn State (1-1, lost to No. 2 Alabama 27-11).
Others receiving votes
Michigan 97; Central Florida 49; Houston 43; Northwestern 31; Penn State 29; North Carolina 23; Missouri 21; Tennessee 21; Georgia Tech 9; Maryland 9; Clemson 8; Washington 7; California 6; San Diego State 3; Georgia 2; Iowa State 2; Brigham Young 1.

Boise State #4 in Congrove

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html

Boise State #7 in Sagarin

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm


This is down from #2 last week--the Broncos had a bye.


1-1      LSU
2-2      Alabama
4-3      Oklahoma
5-4      Ohio State
---5     USC
---6     Texas
2-7      Boise State
---8     Auburn
7-9      Virginia Tech
17-10  Oklahoma State
16-11  Florida
---12   West Virginia
9-13     Oregon
---14    TCU
---15    Arizona State
17-16   South Carolina
21-17   Nebraska
13-18   Florida State
11-19   Stanford
---20    Clemson
---21    California
---22    Tennessee
---23    South Florida
---24    Pittsburgh
---25    North Carolina


Also:
#55    Tulsa
#58    Air Force
#59    Georgia
#60    Nevada
#63    San Diego State
#76    Toledo
#81    Colorado State
#86    Wyoming
#95    Fresno State
#135  UNLV
#152  New Mexico

Projected Billingsley Ratings

1.    Auburn
2.    LSU
3.    Oregon
4.    Boise State
5.    Oklahoma
6.    Ohio State
7.    Alabama
8.    Stanford
9.    Wisconsin
10.  Oklahoma State
11.  Michigan State
12.  Arkansas
13.  Virginia Tech
14.  Nebraska
15.  South Carolina
16.  Florida State
17.  TCU
18.  Texas A&M
19.  Baylor
20.  Missouri
21.  Florida
22.  Nevada
23.  Utah
24.  Central Florida
25.  Iowa

This Week in the BCS Top 15

#1 LSU blasted Northwestern State 49-3
#2 Oklahoma is idle
#3 Alabama had no problem with Penn State 27-11 
#4 Boise State is idle
#5 Stanford ran up the score on Duke 44-14 
#6 Wisconsin blasted Oregon State 35-0 at home.
#7 Florida State had fun at home with Charleston Southern, winning 62-10
#8 Oklahoma State throttled Arizona 37-14 at home.
#9 Oregon poured it on Nevada, winning at home 69-20
#10 Virginia Tech struggled past East Carolina 17-10 
#11 Ohio State held on late on their home turf to edge Boise State opponent Toledo 27-22 
#12 Texas A&M is idle
#13 Arkansas dumped New Mexico 52-3 
#14 Nebraska put away Fresno State 42-29
#15 South Carolina won a thriller against Georgia 45-42 

Also:
San Diego State won at Army 23-20
Colorado State got a 33-14 win over Northern Colorado 
TCU grounded Air Force 35-19
Tulsa rolled over Tulane 31-3 
UNLV actually lost to Washington State 59-7
Wyoming whipped Texas State-San Marcos 45-10 

San Diego State Holds On Against Army 23-20

One of the preseason favorites in the Mountain West conference--San Diego State--struggled against lowly Army today, winning 23-20.


Toledo, Boise State's next opponent, is ahead of Ohio State 22-20 late in the 3rd quarter.

Bronco Soccer Team Gets a Key Victory Over Portland State

The Boise State soccer team has struggled to a 2-4 mark this season.  Hopefully they got the dramatic win last night to help them turn their season around.





Freshman Shannon Schueren headed home the game-winning goal in the 106th minute as Boise State topped host Portland State 1-0 in the opener of the Viking Soccer Classic last night in Portland.  Senior Chelsea Robinson set up Schueren with a cross from the right corner and Schueren headed it to the left corner of the goal past the outstretched arms of the Portland State keeper.


"Chelsea did all the work down the line, beating a couple players and got a great cross in," said Schueren. "I was just at the right place at the right time."  Schueren is now tied for the team lead in points (5) with Kati Lucas.


Both teams sent seven shots on goal but none found their target until Schueren found the net.  Talented Bronco keeper Liz Ruiz achieved her second straight shutout and earned her third win of the season.  Ruiz now has 25 career wins, two short of the Boise State record set by Kim Parker.


"It was a good game and a good road win and I'm happy that we are starting to put things together and do what we want to do," said head coach Steve Lucas.


The Broncos continue play in Portland tomorrow (Sunday) at noon Mountain Time against Cal Poly.  The Mustangs downed Seattle 2-1 in their opening match of the Classic.

Dona Larson Park Has Been Approved

The Idaho State Board of Education has just approved a measure 7-1 giving the go-ahead for Boise State to build Dona Larson Park at the former East Junior High.  This will involve eventually moving the track and building a stadium that will hold around 10,000 people.  


The project is completely paid for and work will begin next month.  The new stadium is expected to be completed by the 2012 football season.


Ultimately, this will mean Boise State can lower the field about 10 feet to include more seats in Bronco Stadium.  Of course, that is one of the final phases of Stadium Expansion, but it will mean Bronco Stadium can expand to around 60,000.


The next phase of Expansion is the construction of a football office and training complex in the North end of Bronco Stadium.  Boise State is prepared to present that plant to the Board of Education in February, 2012 and hopes to start construction in March.  The goal is to have that new state-of-the-art facility completed by the fall of 2013.

Almost an Inverse Relationship Of NFL Pros to Quality of Team

Guess the Boise State team with the most future NFL players on it.

It won't be one of the better Bronco teams; in fact, it was one of the worst of the decade.  The 2007 team had eight future NFL players but lost three games (Washington, Hawai'i, East Carolina).  So much for NFL talent being able to win college games.  Another top year for NFL talent was 2005, when seven Broncos would go on to make NFL rosters.  And yet that team was creamed by Georgia, lost to Fresno State and lost to Boston College.  The Broncos suffered bad years in the mid-80's and yet consistently had rosters with at least four NFL players.  In 1984, Boise State had seven players that would go on to be part of NFL rosters and yet were 6-5.

Then you look at some of Boise State's best teams and see few NFL players.  In 1980, when the Broncos won the I-AA National Championship, three players went on to play for NFL teams; several others got looks and several played in the Canadian Football League but just three in the NFL.  In 1990, Boise State made the I-AA semifinals but had just one NFL player (Frank Robinson) on the roster.  In 1994, the Broncos finished second in the nation but had just two future NFL players.

There have only been two years since Boise State became a four-year school in 1968 in which the Broncos did not have a future NFL player on the roster--1969 and 1987.

1968:  Faddie Tillman
1970:  Al Marshall, Faddie Tillman
1971:  Al Marshall
1972:  Al Marshall, Rolly Woolsey
1973:  Rolly Woolsey
1974:  Alva Liles, Rolly Woolsey
1975:  Alva Liles, Larry Polowski
1976:  Alva Liles, Larry Polowski
1977:  David Hughes, Alva Liles, Cedric Minter, Larry Polowski
1978:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter Larry Polowski, Rick Woods
1979:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter, Rick Woods
1980:  David Hughes, Cedric Minter, Rick Woods
1981:  John Rade, Rick Woods, Jon Zogg
1982:  Chuck Butler, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, John Rade, Donnie Summers, Jon Zogg
1983:  Chuck Butler, Jim Ellis, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers, Donnie Summers
1984:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Jon Francis, Carl Keever, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers
1985:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Jon Francis, Marcus Koch, Lance Sellers
1986:  Barry Black, Chuck Compton, Jim Ellis, Lance Sellers
1988:  Frank Robinson
1989:  Frank Robinson
1990:  Frank Robinson
1991:  Frank Robinson
1992:  Rashid Gayle, Kimo Von Oelhoffen
1993:  Rashid Gayle, Kimo Von Oelhoffen
1994:  Rashid Gayle, Chris Wing
1995:  Rashid Gayle, Chris Wing
1996:  Bryan Johnson, Chris Wing
1997:  Shaunard Harts, Bryan Johnson, Bobby Setzer, Dave Stachelski
1998:  Shaunard Harts, Matt Hill, Bryan Johnson, Jeb Putzier, Bobby Setzer, Dave Stachelski
1999:  Brock Forsey, Shaunart Harts, Matt Hill, Bryan Johnson, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier, Dave Stachelski
2000:  Brock Forsey, Shaunard Harts, Matt Hill, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier
2001:  Chris Carr, Brock Forsey, Matt Hill, Quintin Mikell, Jeb Putzier
2002:  Chris Carr, Daryn Colledge, Brock Forsey, Quintin Mikell
2003:  Gerald Alexander,Chris Carr, Daryn Colledge, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee, Derek Schouman
2004:  Gerald Alexander, Chris Carr, Daryn College, Korey Hall, Derek Schouman
2005:  Gerald Alexander, Ryan Clady, Daryn Colledge, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee Orlando Scandrick, Derek Schouman
2006:  Gerald Alexander, Ryan Clady, Korey Hall, Legedu Naanee, Orlando Scandrick, Derek Schouman, Kyle Wilson
2007:  Richie Brockel, Ryan Clady, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Orlando Scandrick, Brandyn Thompson, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2008:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2009:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Winston Venable, Kyle Wilson, Titus Young
2010:  Richie Brockel, Jeron Johnson, Austin Pettis, Brandyn Thompson, Winston Venable, Titus Young

Top Boise State Offensive Linemen of the 1980's

Here's my All Boise State Line of the 1980's.  Steve Despot started two years at guard but since there are two solid guards, I'm putting him at center, where he started his sophomore year.  Keep in mind that some talented linemen only played one year of the decade.  This is just for those who played in the 1980's.

C--Steve Despot (All-Big Sky as a guard)
G--Jon Zogg (All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America)
G--Tom DeWitz (two-time All-Big Sky, Second Team All-America as a junior and All-American as a senior)
T--Dennis Brady (two-time All-Big Sky and two-time Honorable Mention All-America)
T--John Kilgo (All-Big Sky and Honorable Mention All-America)

Bookmark the E/A Sports Predictions

I'm bringing this back up so you can compare the E/A Sports predictions made in August with the actual results.

http://rocketman5000.blogspot.com/2011/08/ea-sports-gives-us-glimpse-into-2011.html

Boise State Lineups, Statistics and Records Virtually Complete

I promised that I would complete the tabs for Starting Football Lineups, Statistics and Records by football season and it is done.  Boise State did not always keep good records so that is definitely a limitation but to the extent possible, all the blanks are filled in.  Blogspot can't handle the entire statistics or records in one tab so those are split up.  The Records Section is split up into Offensive Records and Defensive Records (which also contains scoring).  I will be continuing to add new records as the weeks go on that aren't tracked anywhere.  Another thing that the blog will do that can't be found anywhere:  The Records Sections will be updated throughout the season--even Boise State does not do this.  So you can see instantly how many more sacks Billy Winn needs to reach the Top 10.  The Statistics Section is split as well from 1968-1979 and 1980-on (note the tabs above).

There will be several times during the year when you're wondering "who started for Boise State at wide receiver in 2000" or "where does Doug Martin rank in all-time rushing at Boise State" and you can access all that information from the tabs at the top of the blog.  This is by far the most complete information on starting lineups, statistics and records available anywhere, including from Boise State.

Past FB Starting Lineups:
Past FB Statistics (1968-1979):
Past FB Statistics (1980-on):
Offense FB Records:
Defense FB Records:

Bronco Soccer Team on the Road

The Boise State soccer team will try to shake off an early-season skid when they take to the field for the Viking Soccer Classic this weekend in Portland.  Coach Steve Lucas's team faces host Portland State tonight at 7.  Boise State plays Cal Poly Sunday at noon.

Boise State Cross Country Teams Set to Debut

The Boise State men's and women's cross country teams open their season this Saturday in Nampa for the fourth annual Roger Curran Invitational. 

Boise State, host Northwest Nazarene, TVCC and Westminster will compete.  The men will start at 10 a.m. on the 6-k course while the women run a 4-k race that begins at 11:30.  The Broncos will test 11 freshmen that were added to both the men's and women's rosters.  The Boise State men are coming off a season that saw them capture the Western Athletic Conference title. 

The meet is at West Park in Nampa--go out and show the Broncos your support!

Pat Kilkenny's Plane is in Boise

Have no idea why it's here, but I can confirm that the plane that Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott used to fly to Salt Lake City and Denver last year is seven minutes away on its way to Boise.  The plane has no other city on its itinerary today.

The plane is registered to Pat Kilkenny, the former Athletic Director of University of Oregon.  Scott used it last year prior to inviting Utah and Colorado into the conference.

In a Live Chat, Scott just said he is in his office in California.  So that clears that up but we don't know who took the plane.  My hunch is that this has something to do with someone applying for the AD job at Boise State but that's just a hunch.

Map of States Boise State Has Won In

Thanks to Apollo VI of BroncoCountry.com for the reproduction of his map.  This contains the states (marked in blue) that the Boise State football team has won in.  Pretty impressive.  

Realignment

In a follow-up to yesterday's post, there is more talk that the Pac-12 is not interested in Texas.  Apparently the demands of the Longhorn Network are too great.  Thus, a Rivals article indicates the conference is interested in Kansas and Missouri.  They're going to rue the day the neglected Boise State but they are too blind to see it.  Anyway, getting back to the story, those two Big 12 schools, along with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, would make 16.  If those four schools leave, Texas would undoubtedly go independent, leaving "The Big Four".  If all that happens, very little chance the league survives.

But wait.  The SEC is grabbing the other arm of Missouri, trying to get the Tigers in there.  The SEC is also wooing West Virginia although I have heard conflicting reports on if they want one or both of those. 

As for Boise State, if the "Big 12" is in fact just four, I see very little value in getting in that conference.  Better to build up the Mountain West.

Looks Like Something Big in Conference Alignment is About to Happen

Texas A&M has all but accepted a bid to the SEC.  What we don't know is what will happen after that.  The strongest rumor has Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State headed to the Pac-16.  If that happens, the rest is up in the air.  The Big 12 and Big East would have to make some quick, major moves to cement their status as an AQ.  They are locked into that status as of the current contract, but after that it could be dicey unless they can talk some highly successful schools in the Top 25 to join them.  Given that definition, TCU and Boise State are about the only ones that could help them continue to qualify for AQ status.

This Week in the BCS Top 15

#1 LSU welcomes Northwestern State Saturday at 6 p.m.
#2 Oklahoma is idle
#3 Alabama is down to Penn State 3-0 in the first quarter.
#4 Boise State is idle
#5 Stanford leads at Duke 7-0 in the 1st
#6 Wisconsin blasted Oregon State 35-0 at home.
#7 Florida State is at home against the dangerous Charleston Southern Saturday at 4
#8 Oklahoma State throttled Arizona 37-14 at home.
#9 Oregon leads Nevada at home 6-0 
#10 Virginia Tech is down to East Carolina 7-0 in the 1st
#11 Ohio State held on late on their home turf to edge Boise State opponent Toledo 27-22 
#12 Texas A&M is idle
#13 Arkansas entertains New Mexico Saturday at 5
#14 Nebraska hosts Fresno State Saturday at 5
#15 South Carolina is between the Hedges at Georgia Saturday at 2:30

Also:
San Diego State won at Army 23-20
Colorado State welcomes Northern Colorado Saturday at noon
Tulsa plays at Tulane Saturday at 1:30
TCU leads at Air Force 14-0 in the 1st
UNLV treks to Washington State Saturday at 3
Wyoming is at home against Texas State-San Marcos Saturday at 4

Boise State #4 in Unofficial BCS Standings

The Coaches Poll is listed first by percentage of total votes, followed by the AP Poll (which will substitute for the Harris Poll until it comes out in a few weeks).  The next two numbers are the Sagarin and Billingsley computer ratings--the only two that give meaningful results this early in the season.  The computer ratings are then multiplied by 2 to give a total possible score of 100 for that component.  These methods give a fairly reliable indication of the true BCS Ratings which are not officially released for several weeks.  So this is the only place you can get this information at this point.

1.    LSU 92.61% + 94.33% + ((25 + 25) *2) = 286.94
2.    Oklahoma 98.58% + 96.53% + ((22 + 22) * 2) = 283.11
3.    Alabama 95.73 + 93.93 + ((23 + 16) *2) = 267.66
4.    Boise State 81.15 + 87.33 + ((24 + 23) *2) = 262.48
5.    Stanford 80.00 + 76.93 + ((15 + 19) *2) = 224.93
6.    Wisconsin 66.98 + 68.73 + ((12 + 18) *2) = 195.71
7.    Florida State 81.22 + 79.73 + ((13 + 4) *2) = 194.95
8.    Oklahoma State 70.37 + 65.40 + ((9 + 15) *2) = 183.77
9.    Oregon 50.98 + 55.20 + (16 + 21) *2) = 180.18
10.  Virginia Tech 58.51 + 60.40 + ((19 + 10) *2) = 176.91
11.  Ohio State 46.51 + 40.40 + ((21 + 20) *2) = 168.91
12.  Texas A&M 67.59 + 68.87 + ((0 + 6) *2) = 158.46
13.  Arkansas 53.29 + 50.13 + ((11 + 14) *2) = 153.42
14.  Nebraska 61.69 + 63.13 + ((5 + 8) *2) = 150.82
15.  South Carolina 56.07 + 56.20 + ((9 + 5) *2) = 140.27

Boise State #3 in Billingsley

http://www.cfrc.com/Ratings_2011/WK_1.htm

Boise State #4 in Congrove

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html

Boise State #4 in AP

http://www.cbssports.com/#!/collegefootball/rankings/ap

Boise State Still #5 in Coaches Football Poll

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm

Kellen Moore is Boise State's First Mountain West Player of the Week

Kellen Moore became the first Boise State student-athlete in any sport to be named as the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week.  He is the Offensive Player of the Week for week #1 in college football.

Kellen Moore on West Region Version of Sports Illustrated

Boise State Moves up to #2 in Sagarin

Remember it is the ELO-Chess numbers that count in the BCS formula:


http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm?loc=interstitialskip


That is up from #7 last week.