College Review 11/14

Big Sky

Congratulations to the Montana Grizzlies on winning the Big Sky Conference Championship out right.  Good luck in the playoffs.  Good luck in Bozeman next week.  Ogdenites are rooting for the Grizzlies because a Montana State win will pop Weber State's bubble.

Weber State 27 Northern Arizona 9

Northern Arizona had a lead, had the momentum and had to punt to Tim Toone.  He returned the punt 90 yards to pay dirt (snow) and put the Wildcats ahead 13-9 midway through the third quarter.
The Wildcat defense deserves credit for keeping the Lumberjacks out of the end zone.  There were certainly times when Northern Arizona should have crossed the goal line but could not, including a possession in the third quarter. After Weber State's first second half possession stalled deep in NAU territory, the ball was snapped over punter Mike Snoy's head.  The ball was recovered inside the five yard line.  It was a gift that should have resulted in a Lumberjack touchdown, but WSU held them to a field goal.  Also, when the weather is awful and the field is covered with snow, the offense has the advantage as they know what they are doing and the defense has to react.
According to the official box score, the attendance was 4,321, but I doubt there were even 1000 actually there.  (Not that I took time to count.)  Snow and a wind-chill in the teens will do that to a crowd that roots for a team that has given away a couple of games.

Montana State 27 Sacramento State 17

Cody Kempt went the distance for the Bobcats in Frozen Bozeman and had a solid game.  Not a lot of yards through the air, but was very efficient.  He completed 20/29 for 222 yards had two touchdown passes and no interceptions.  The Bobcats added 127 yards on the ground and held the Hornets to 35 yards rushing.

Montana 38 Northern Colorado 10

The Grizzlies only had a 14 - 7 lead at halftime.  I would have loved to hear the halftime speech as the Grizzlies found their swagger again in the third quarter and outscored the Bears 24-3 in the second half.  Chase Reynolds shredded the bear defense for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Montana is your 2009 Big Sky Champion.

Eastern Washington 41 Southern Utah 28

The Eagles took an early 21 to 0 lead and did not look back from that point on, they answered nearly every Thunderbird score except the one that took place with only 15 seconds on the clock.  Matt Nichols had 380 yards in the air and 4 touchdowns.

Idaho State 41 Portland State 34

The Bengals avoid a winless season by outscoring the Vikings 17-7 in the final period.  This was the final game of the season for both teams.  If you ask me, both coaches deserve to loose their job.  Jerry Glanville will likely not be back in Portland next season.  John Zamberlin may be back next year as he signed a contract extension mid-season.  Maybe Idaho State did that to make it easier to fire him?

Offensive Player of the Week: Eastern Washington QB Matt Nichols
Defensive Team of the Week: Weber State
Game of the Week: Idaho State 41 Portland State 34

Power Rankings

Montana
Montana State
Weber State
Eastern Washington
Northern Arizona
Northern Colorado
Sacramento State
Portland State
Idaho State


WAC

Utah State 24 San Jose State 9

Down 14 to 9, in inclement weather, San Jose State decides to go for two to cut the Aggie lead to three.  That failed and that was all she wrote in Logan and Gary Anderson's team get's win #3 on the season. The Aggies turned to their running game in the snow and Robert Turbin ended up with the type of game that we knew he is capable of...190 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.

Boise State 63 Idaho 25

Yes, Boise State got a big win and looked solid from start to finish.  But again, TCU won the beauty pageant points again this week as their blowout victory was against another ranked team.

Nevada 52 Fresno State 14

Another big win for the Wolfpack in Reno.  Fresno State is probably shaking their heads on this one, but there is something in the water in Reno.  But the big, nice surprise was the job the Nevada defense did in handling Ryan Matthews and the Bulldogs.  I am interested to see what the Wolfpack can do in Boise in two weeks.

LSU 24 Louisiana Tech 16

The Bulldogs had a 13-10 lead at halftime and it took until the 4th quarter to put away the boys from Reston.  I think that Tech did the WAC and the Boise State cause a big favor in death valley.

Hawaii 24 New Mexico State 6

Bryant Moniz had a solid game under center for Hawaii who still has a shot at becoming bowl eligible.  Trouble is, Navy and Wisconsin are on their way to Oahu after a trip to San Jose next week.

Power Rankings

Boise State
Nevada
Fresno State
Idaho
Louisiana Tech
Hawaii
Utah State
New Mexico State
San Jose State

Offensive Player of the Week: Utah State RB Robert Turbin
Defensive Team of the Week: Nevada
Game of the Week: LSU 24 Louisiana Tech 16

MWC

BYU 24 New Mexico 19

A lot of people will ask, how did this happen?  Well, New Mexico held BYU to just 57 yards rushing.  Harvey Unga was not at full speed and neither JJ DeLuigi nor Paul Kariya were up to taking up the slack.  The BYU offense relies on having a running game to support the spread passing attack and control the clock.  (This is not the same style of BYU team that LaVell Edwards coached.)  New Mexico left ten points on the field.  Many are saying that this would be a "morale" victory for the Lobos.  I would agree if this had not been the third time the Lobos came this close and lost this season.

Air Force 45 UNLV 17

Air Force had a 14-3 lead and UNLV was driving for a score and I thought that this would be a good, close game.  Then Omar Clayton threw an interception in the endzone.  Air Force was in cruise control from there.  This one should be the final nail in Mike Sanford's coffin.  He will not be back in Las Vegas next season unless he learns how to be a Blackjack dealer.

TCU 55 Utah 28

There are five teams that deserve to be in the National Championship conversation right now.  Boise State is the unbeaten team that is left out right now.  TCU has wins over three ranked teams, they shut out one and blew away the other two.  Boise State has the win over Oregon to hang their hats on.  The team that needs to loose, Texas.  In the game, Ed Wesley ran for 137 yards.  But the Frogs were their usual balance on Offense.

Wyoming 30 San Diego State 27

On the final play of the game, instead of a quick 15 yard play to set up a game tying field goal, Ryan Lindey throws a "Hail Mary" pass that was knocked to the turf.   That capped a come-back victory where the Cowboys outscored the Aztecs 24 to 0 in the fourth quarter.  There have been only a few crazier at the Q and that stadium has a reputation for crazy games.  Carta-Samuels is now back in the lead for MWC freshman of the year as Wynn did not have the greatest of games this week. 


Offensive Player of the Week: TCU RB Ed Wesley
Defensive Team of the Week: Air Force
Game of the Week: Wyoming 30 San Diego State 27

Power Rankings:

TCU
BYU
(tie) Utah
Air Force
Wyoming
San Diego State
UNLV
Colorado State
New Mexico