Wednesday: Links with anticipation

Story of the day:

D-1 bowl trolling for D1-AA participants [Missoulian]

Got any holiday plans, Weber State? If not, then there might be a desperate lower-tiered bowl that wants to speak to you.

We found a lot of gems in the Missoulian's series on the University of Montana's chances for a move to Division I-A, but none of the tidbits were as strange and embarrassing as this one.

Last fall a lower-tier bowl called the Big Sky Conference to inquire about inviting one of its teams. We are not making this up.

“It kind of caught us by surprise,” said Montana athletic director Jim O'Day. “But I think it's something that might have to happen.”

The obvious question is which bowl was doing the inquiring. There are only a few small-time West Coast bowls that would have been interested in a Big Sky team, and yes, the Humanitarian Bowl would probably be on that list. Any guesses would be pure speculation. That said, we are looking at you, Emerald Nuts San Francisco Bowl.

The story was somewhat of an admonishment of Division 1-A's lax standards on bowl eligibility. How great would it be to see a 6-6 Minnesota lose out to an Alcorn State? Is this why NCAA administrators are so hesitant to go to a playoff system?

Other links:

A great recommendation from a Behler peer [Gazettenet]
Wonder if this guy was on Behler's resume reference list.

Ian Johnson gets a 93 from EA Sports [Vetzballin]
Tim Tebow and his 99 rating: "Hmm, that's cute."

Dan Hawkins and the Buffs a team on the rise [SI.com]
Stewart Mandel has his eye on them.

Toughest video game rebuilding projects [Bleacher Report]
Good to see the WAC well represented.

Monday: Links with distractions

Story of the day: 

Brilliant Boise State football feature [Missoulian]

Can the Missoulian be Boise's newspaper? Please? The paper from Missoula, Montana, just finished up a series of fine journalism on the chances of U of M moving into Division 1-A. Saturday, they wrote a fascinating piece on how Boise State has fared since the Broncos' move to big-time college football.

The Boise State Broncos represent a best-case scenario for all Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams pondering a move up. An example of what is possible for those that risk stability for a spot in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Not only was the article a wonderful read, but there was some good BSU knowledge in there, too. Reporter Bill Speltz did his homework and then some. Witness this encouraging quote:

“We purchased East Junior High School, just a quarter of a mile from here, that will give us 15fi acres we can access next summer,” BSU AD Gene Bleymaier said. “We'll move the (running) track out of Bronco Stadium and our next expansion will be to horseshoe the south end of the stadium and add another 6,000 seats."

Thanks for the Bronco Stadium update, Missoula paper. Best of all, one of the endearing themes of the story was its focus on the importance of a great fan base. The Missoulian gave Bronco Nation a great big slap on the back.

The people of Boise are also a big part of the Broncos' success. When Boise State made its leap of faith into FBS football in 1996, Bleymaier knew he could depend on the community for support. That confidence made the transition about as smooth as can be expected.

And to think, we were joking when we took credit for BSU's success. 

We highly recommend you reading this story for yourself.  

Other links:

So long, Gary Craner [Scott Slant]
Turned ankles will never be the same.

List of Broncos in the CFL [Statesman]
Bronco Nation north of the border, eh?

Boise State offers Kellen's little bro [Tri-City Herald]
Bronco fans immediately pencil him in as starting wide receiver.

Are Boise State's home games for sale? [BNN]
Our Ian Johnson/Marty Tadman two-sided jersey sure hopes not.

Fresno's baseball success gives credibility to WAC [Shreveport Times]
Calling Fresno the "California Bulldogs" loses credibility for this story.

Brian Murphy to the Aaron Burks rescue [Murph's Turf]
We don't even want to touch this one.

OBNUG Hall of Fame: automatic inductees

Congratulations to the honorary inductees of the first OBNUG Hall of Fame class.

• The 1980 Division I-AA national championship: historical, unprecedented, neat.
• The day Boise State joined Division I-A: important, momentous, huge.
• Fiesta Bowl hook-and-ladder: unexpected, exhilarating, life-altering.
• Fiesta Bowl Perretta TD pass: gutsy, unconventional, brilliant.
• Fiesta Bowl Statue of Liberty: outstanding, sneaky, perfect.

Voting was close for the automatic entries: 52 percent "yes" to 47 percent "absolutely yes." Thank you to the hundreds who voted even though there was little to vote for. We'll have another nominee next week.

OBNUG Hall of Fame: honorary inductees

Throughout the history of the Boise State football program, there have been several defining moments that will forever be a part of BSU lore. And by several, we are thinking of three.

The following moments have earned themselves honorary induction into the OBNUG Hall of Fame thanks to their monumental importance in shaping the Boise State football program. We’ll be skipping out on a podcast this week, but please feel free to vote in the poll at the sidebar.

Here are the honorary candidates for the OBNUG Hall of Fame:

1. The 1980 Division I-AA national championship
   Over the past five years, revisionists have called a number of different games the “biggest game in Boise State history.” There was the Fort Worth Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and there were even regular season matchups against Nevada and Fresno State that earned the distinction. Hello! Boise State played in a national championship game! It doesn’t get any bigger than that!
   The future of Boise State football is indeed bright, but the past had its moments, too. The 1980 national championship is more than deserving of a spot in the OBNUG Hall of Fame, and it is deserving of more credit than it receives, too. Tons of teams spend their entire existence trying to win a championship, and Boise State has already accomplished the feat. If you include the junior college title in 1958, they’ve accomplished the feat twice.
   Fan appreciation can be fleeting, but the 1980 national championship game can rest assured that the OBNUG Hall of Fame is forever (until our server gives out).
   
2. The day Boise State joined Division I-A
   If you looked back to a single moment that changed the fortunes of the BSU football program more than anything, it would probably be the jump to Division I-A. Ever since 1996, when Boise State left the Big Sky and joined the big boys in the Big West (“big boys” being a relative term), things have been different around here.
   The move was the start of the groundswell of Bronco Nation. The move led the way for Boise State to improve facilities, budgets, and competition. National success and the scorn of Trev Alberts would have never been achieved had the Broncos remained stagnant in Division I-AA, and any future success can be attributed to the way the team and the school has transitioned to a spot alongside the best teams in the country.
   
3. The Fiesta Bowl
   What more can we say about the Fiesta Bowl? To be sure, it is a game that no Bronco fan will ever forget, but even more so, it is a game that no casual football fan will ever forget. We can’t remember any of Toledo’s greatest games, but Toledo fans certainly remember the Fiesta Bowl.
   The staying power of the Fiesta lies in the three plays that Boise State needed to win the game. The hook and ladder, Perretta to Schouman, and the Statue of Liberty will forever be part of college football history, so we are inducting each into the OBNUG Hall of Fame. The Broncos would have never got to overtime without Jerard Rabb’s hook and ladder touchdown. They would have never recovered from Oklahoma’s overtime touchdown without Perretta’s fourth-down TD toss. Ian Johnson would have never proposed had it not been for Statue Left. And who knows what Chris Myers would have done after the game.

Montana to the WAC? Not anytime soon.

The WAC needs a lot of things. Might a Big Sky team be one of them?

An interesting article from the Mizzoulian, a website for Montana University athletics, tackles the issue of the Grizzlies joining Division I-A football and possibly playing in the WAC. They would certainly raise the average winning percentage.

For the tenth year in a row, the Montana Grizzlies football team exited spring practices with the title of “reigning Big Sky Champions"... There’s one debate that reigns over all the rest. It’s something every passionate Griz fan has an opinion on: whether or not the Griz have grown too big and too good for this level of competition.

At the earliest, Montana could not join the WAC until 2011 thanks to an NCAA law capping the number of schools moving up to Division I-A. Shoot, by 2011, Idaho, Utah State, and New Mexico State might not even have viable football programs anymore. And the Broncos will be in the PAC-10.

The story, which ends up taking a decidedly negative tone on Montana's move, references a similar jump to I-A by Boise State and Idaho, even working in a snide jab at the Vandals suckiness.

In 1996, a similar packaged deal was made with Boise State and the University of Idaho. Boise State has excelled since the move with seven conference championships (two in the Big West and five in the WAC) and a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Idaho has struggled.

“Obviously, we would’ve liked to have been more competitive in our revenue sports,” Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spears said.

The University of Montana might not be able to move just yet, but judging by their Idaho snarkiness, the Grizzoulian would fit in just fine with us WAC media.

Should Montana move to the FBS? [Grizzoulian]