2009 Boise State schedule tentatively finalized

Boise State has released a tentative schedule for next season, and there is no opening week Division I-AA opponent to be found. Doesn't feel right, does it?

The final two pieces to the scheduling puzzle were a visit from UC Davis, alma mater of Coach Pete and a guaranteed 30-point victory, and a trip to Oklahoma to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Here is the non-conference schedule for the Broncos in 2009:

Sept. 5 vs. Oregon, Sept. 12 at Toledo, Sept. 19 vs. UC Davis, Sept. 26 vs. Miami (Ohio) and Oct. 3 at Tulsa.

For those of you counting on your fingers at home, yes that is five straight weeks of football during a time of season when teams usually take a week or two off. Despite playing in consecutive weeks, the schedule is easy enough for the Broncos to sail through undefeated, especially with the experienced team expected to return next fall. Is it too soon to be looking ahead to next season already? Yes. It is.

Broncos announce 2009 schedule [BroncoSports.com]

Thursday: Links with anonymity

Story of the day:

More reasons to fear Southern Miss [NCAAFootball.com]

In addition to Southern Miss being big, athletic, and playing at home, Boise State will now have to contend with the Eagles being loaded. Conference USA has released its preseason polls and rankings, and Southern Miss is well represented to say the least.

Golden Eagle junior running back Damion Fletcher was chosen as the league’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Fletcher carried the ball 29 times for 155 yards in the Papajohns.com Bowl to finish last season with a single-season best 1,586 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Another Golden Eagle, reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Gerald McRath, was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as the conference’s top defensive player. He led C-USA in tackles with 139 (71 solo, 68 assist) in 2007 and averaged 10.7 per game.

Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year?  Yikes, indeed. Is there any way we can get Weber State back on the schedule?


Other links:

Is Brian Murphy famous enough to interview? [Kellis Robinett]
Relative to Pocatello people, he is.

Budweiser to support Hawaii athletics [Honolulu Advertiser]
Coca-cola to support head coach Greg McMackin.

BSU's new South African walk-on [Fight Fight BSU]
He plays running back, receiver, and philanthropist.

Oregon to sell single-game tickets tomorrow night [GoDucks]
Fifty-four dollars per seat. Seeing the Broncos win in Autzen? Priceless.

Wednesday: Links with determination

Story of the day:

For Oregon fans, BSU a better draw than some Pac-10 teams [Arbiter Online]

No wonder tickets for the Boise State-Oregon game are in such demand. Duck fans would rather see the Broncos than several conference opponents. Sorry, Stanford.

"Frankly, the Boise State game has garnered the type of interest amongst our ticket holders and donors that is as great as some of our conference games and greater than some conference games," Mike Marlow, senior associate athletic director at the University of Oregon said. "It's been a ticket that has been in demand from our season ticket holders and donors as well."

We're curious to find out what demand is for the Utah State game (or if "demand" is even the right word).

Also in the Arbiter's story was news that the Boise State ticket lottery would be happening soon. However, they neglected to describe what kind of lottery it would be. Scratch tickets? Ping pong balls? Names out of a hat? Human tetris contest? College journalists have a lot to learn about asking the right questions.

Other links:

Brock Forsey to speak at local youth camp [Statesman]
OBNUG to crash local youth camp.

Nevada's terrifying schedule poster [Wizard of Odds]
The wolf eye follows you everywhere.

Ada County Vandal picnic on Saturday [Statesman]
Bring your lowered expectations. And a Jell-O salad.

Minor glitch in Boise State's NCAA 09 schedule [GameZone]
No more Idaho State at least.

Flash animation of BSU's new turf [Statesman]
That's one way to spend your resources.

Boise State's blueprint for a BCS championship berth

This afternoon, we are pleased to have a loyal OBNUG reader give his take on the upcoming Bronco football season.. Stephen Grettenberg, a Boise State football fan for many years, currently works for UC Berkeley for a scholarship program and is also founding a 501c3 organization promoting sustainability. He's contributed breaking news in the past, but this is his first OBNUG article. We're pretty sure you'll love it.


Every year starts with hope for every team in every sport - to reach some new goal, and for some, maybe even a national championship.

In Division I football (yes, I purposely skipped the new nomenclature) it really takes a lot for a non-BCS team to get a chance to play at that level, unlike say Fresno State's bizarre trip to baseball success. Strangely, that victory could help pave the way for Boise State football success by giving the WAC a better profile.

So, here's what I think would need to happen this year to give Boise State a slot in the football national championship game:

1. A strong quarterback with leadership and zip on the ball to emerge. Maybe Kellen Moore?
2. For Ian to have a strong rebound Heisman candidate year, to add publicity, and votes, to voter ballots. Continued success from the other backs as well.
3. Good offensive line play. I respected Sean Kugler, the former offensive line coach for the Broncos, now holding the same position for the Buffalo Bills. With Ryan Clady and a host of seniors gone as well, quality line play is a must and a question mark. Is the coaching and talent there? It has to be to compete at the top level.
4. The linebackers have to step up this year.

As for the games:

• USC must embarrass Ohio State. Why? Ohio State is quite likely to take the Big Ten. But if they are embarrassed in this game, nobody will want to see them in another championship.
• Boise State needs to bring its A+ best Fiesta Bowl style of moxie into Autzen Stadium and beat Oregon.
• Oregon needs to beat USC and go undefeated except for the loss to Boise State. This might give Boise an edge over any Pac-10 or Big Ten comers in combination with a USC victory over Ohio State as noted above.
• No more than one team in the BCS leagues can have fewer than two losses except Oregon.
• BYU and Utah can't go undefeated.
• Fresno State needs to go undefeated until getting beat by Boise State in Boise to close out the regular season.
• Boise State goes undefeated in the regular season.

Farfetched? Perhaps, but not wholly inconceivable.

I expect Fresno State and Oregon to both have strong years, especially Oregon. At one point the Ducks were second in the nation last year, and I actually think they could be better this year. I think they could be better than Oklahoma was in the Fiesta Bowl. What would it take to beat Oregon? I think Ian Johnson needs to take control like he did against Oregon State two years ago, for one thing. I think that would open up a chance for the passing game to work on the corners deep, if the safeties were supporting the run up the middle.

Last year, with many "elite teams" losing late in the season, a two-loss team made it to the national championship. Was this a fluke? If that kind of parity came again, it would open the door a little bit, providing a small chance for a team from the WAC or MWC to sneak in. It takes two things for that to happen as well. First that team needs to win out its schedule. The second is that it needs a really strong year from its competition.

This year I think there is a genuine chance for one of these non-BCS teams to run their slate: Boise State, Fresno State, BYU, or Utah. With the right breaks, and a real schedule unlike Hawaii's relatively light one last year, one of these teams could not only go BCS, but beyond.

It is up to Boise State to step up to be worthy of that chance, and leave the rest to fate. If Boise State beat Oregon convincingly in Autzen stadium, one of the toughest stadiums in the country, Boise State might be able to influence fate in its favor.

Life Coach: the ABC's of LaTech's offense

The Life Coach believes that there are no stupid questions, just stupid Vandal fans who ask questions. His purpose is to shepherd Bronco Nation to the calm waters of illumination, guiding them through their perfunctory problems with grace, flair, and competent advice. Got a question for the Life Coach? Email him at OneBroncoNationUnderGod@gmail.com.

Life Coach,
I'm curious. If the Broncos are running the "Q" offense, then what offense is Louisiana Tech running?
Intrigued in Idaho City

Good question, friend. Louisiana Tech's offense is the Chinese character for slothfulness, which looks kind of like a panda captaining a sailboat. Occasionally, they'll switch to running the “lowercase u” offense: an obvious homage to the fact that their offense always comes behind BSU’s.

Dear Life Coach,
Do you have Oregon tickets?
Desperate in Driggs

I am one of the lucky few to have some Oregon tickets, and I didn’t have to be a prominent BSU booster or win a ticket in the lottery, either. How did I do it? Let me tell you.

I guess Phil Knight and Nike thought it would be a good idea for Oregon to wear a different jersey design for each quarter during the game, so they had a contest for fans to send in their design ideas with the winner getting tickets to the game. Lo and behold, my design won! So I will be there on the 50 yard line to see the Ducks in their tapestry green with ruffles and lace. What a third quarter that will be!

If you still need tickets, I hear they might be looking for an overtime jersey design.

Mr. Life Coach,
If KTIK stands for “the Ticket,” then what does KIDO stand for?
Sincerely, Bob Behler

If KTIK is the “the Ticket,” then KIDO should have the nickname of “the Program.” If KTIK can get you in the door with “the Ticket”, then KIDO would be the “the Program” that you get at the door that gives you all of the information for what is going on there. KIDO is newsy like that.

Although, if this nickname sticks, they will probably have to change their call letters to KPRG, which doesn't quite roll of the tongue as easily.

Tuesday: Links with gaudiness

Story of the day:

Down goes OBNUG [Fight Fight BSU]

Yesterday afternoon, through no fault or knowledge of our own, our site was apparently inoperable--lost to the hinder reaches of the webosphere. What happened? Beats us. In fact, we're not even sure it's working now.

We could not replicate the stark emptiness of www.obnug.com in our web browsers, but Drew at Fight Fight BSU has visual evidence of the outage in all its awful carnage. Our site looked like a colorful link dump with rhyming words and related searches. It was quite a departure from the standard Google template we have come to know and love.

We assume the problem is fixed. When we tried it yesterday, everything seemed to work fine (through no technical knowledge of our own, might we add). Let us know if you have problems today by sending an email. In the meantime, here is what you may or may not have missed yesterday afternoon:

• Dan Hawkins' youngest son wisely chooses Boise State, poorly chooses to play QB
• The importance of Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen's retirement (aka: BSU Pac-10 party!)

Other links:

Sensible Nevada preview [Double T Nation]

Kaepernick has skinny legs, the Pack doesn't play defense, yadda yadda.

Benson to the Pac-10 indeed [USU Aggies]

If Boise State follows, the WAC might end

UNLV is not in the WAC [Money Over Everything]

But the story was right about them being weak.

Hawaii versus SMU in 2009? [Honolulu Advertiser]
And yet we still can't get Boise State vs. Colorado.

Boise State basketball breakdown [Parsing the WAC]
Statesman finally sniffs out Oregon ticket story [Statesman]

Monday: Links with relativity

Story of the day:

Hot Lotto! Boise State tickets up for grabs [BNN]

JT Ray at Bronco Nation NOW was kind enough to spill the details of his season ticket mailer that described the process for getting tickets to away games. For those interested in BSU-Oregon, be prepared to get your lotto on.

The Oregon game is being handled a bit different. In a separate form, any season ticket holder can submit an application for a Lottery to be held sometime after June 27, 2008. Those entering just pay for 2 tickets if selected and no more. Also those that are selected can pick up their tickets in Eugene, OR the day of the game with a photo ID. The total price is $112.00 and some mailing &
processing of $5.00.

Let's just hope that Boise State does the lottery thing justice and we get a live telecast of ping-pong balls in a hopper or Paul J picking names from a giant hat.

The rest of the away games are significantly less of a chore. BSU assigned ticket values, ranging in price from Southern Miss and SJSU at $37.00 to New Mexico State at $14.00. Plan your entire autumn appropriately.

Other links:

Update on Jeremy Childs...kind of [Scott Slant]
He may or may not be in town.

Leave Ebo Makinde alone [Scout.com]
Boise State verbal commit gets offer from Pac-10 school. Jerks.

WR transfers from Arkansas to LaTech [SI.com]
You read that right.


Chase Holbrook on QB watch list [NMSU.com]
Watch out for what? Failed expectations?

Don't tow me, bro [Olympian]
City of Boise reconsidering socialist towing laws.

Stadium update with video [Fight Fight BSU]
FYI: we swing a pretty mean hammer if need be.

Thursday: Links with practice

Story of the day:

Boise State gets rare underrated distinction [Dawgsports]

Over the past several years, the word "underrated" has rarely been used when referring to the Broncos. "Dominant," yes. "Underrated," no. But maybe being underrated isn't all that bad.

The Broncos have owned the Western Athletic Conference since joining the league, posting a 46-2 ledger against their W.A.C. coevals. Boise State is nigh-invincible on the blue turf, where they host Hawaii (in the Warriors’ post-deal-with-the-devil season) and the Golden State Bulldogs in Friday night showdowns.

Plus, this guy even has an optimistic view of the Oregon game.

This is a good year for the Broncos to get Oregon early. The Ducks open with a conference rival whose embattled coach has guaranteed a victory and travel to Purdue the week before hosting Boise State. That’s a pretty rough opening run for a team that lost Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart.

In an offseason where the consensus seems to be shifting away from Boise State's winning tradition, it is refreshing to see that someone still believes. Although, we do prefer the word "dominant."

Of course, then the author had to go and ruin things by bringing up the Georgia game again.

Other links:

Reasons to root for every CFN team [Grand National...]
Boise State: Ian Johnson. Utah State: seeing a winless season.

BSU-Oregon kickoff time set [Broncosports.com]
A 1:30pm start time? What is this? San Jose State?

Jenny Slater's composite Top 25 [Hey Jenny Slater]
Boise State clinging to the "also receiving votes" group.

Fresno State's tough opening month [FSU football blog]
To say nothing of their tough final WAC game.

BSU long jumper makes nationals [Press-Tribune]
Q&A with Ryan Clady [Predominantly Orange]

Tuesday: Links with Diet Coke

Story of the day:

Broncos hire Nevada alumnus [BroncoSports.com]

Boise State head athletic trainer Gary Craner will be retiring next month after 36 years on the job. Paul J. wishes he had the same opportunity.

Craner will be replaced by Marc Paul, a Nevada alumnus and the head trainer for the Wolfpack for the past eight years.

“We are very pleased to have attracted a person of Marc’s experience and background,” Bleymaier said. “We knew that replacing Gary Craner, who has been here for 36 years, would be a difficult task, but we think Marc is the right person at the right time. We feel he will be a great addition to the program.”

We're crossing our fingers that Bleymaier hired Marc Paul the athletic trainer and not Marc Paul the mentalist and mind-reader. Although, we would like to know what Coach Pete is thinking vis a vis the quarterback situation.

Other links:

Losing to BSU could cost Oregon's Bellotti [OregonLive]
His contract is tied to performance and gaudy uniform incentives

This is the first we've heard of a Jared Zabransky statue [Bleacher Report]
And the last we'll hear of it, hopefully.

Brian Murphy's long-awaited Indy Car column [Idaho Statesman]
Long-awaited if you actually wait for that kind of thing.

Ranking the schedule

Every Boise State game is a treat for OBNUG. We love watching the Broncos play no matter who the opponent is. But which game are we most excited to see? Allow us to rank them.

12. Idaho Sta...zzzzzzzzzzzz
Sorry, we fell asleep just writing that. Wouldn't this game work out better if it was played instead of the final fall scrimmage? I mean, who are we kidding? That's what this game basically is anyway.

12. Utah State
The Aggies are coming to town on November 8. Consider the calendar not circled.

11. Bowling Green
Rumor has it, the Falcons will have a converted quarterback playing running back this year. Isn't that supposed to work the other way?

10. New Mexico State
There are one too many Aggies on the schedule.

9. LaTech
Bulldogs, too.

8. San Jose State
The Spartans always play us tough in San Jose. And they always play us at, like, 9:00 a.m. What's up with that?

7. Southern Miss
When we saw the Golden Eagles in person last year, they were a big, scary bunch. They will probably be even more intimidating in their home stadium, wearing all black. Bring it.

6. Nevada
Will we see another 69-67 overtime shootout? Our heart valves sure hope not.

5. Hawaii
Revenge is a dish best served by throwing things at Hawaii wide receivers in the North end zone.

4. Idaho
If this were any other school, we would have this game ranked much lower. While the Vandals don't offer us much competition, at least Idaho Week is good for a few laughs.

3. Oregon
A BCS-conference school on the road is not our idea of a good time. But going to the game and taking lots of pictures is! We'll be there for the possible upset, and we couldn't be more excited.

2. Fresno State
This game is as close as the WAC will get to a championship game, and we couldn't be happier that it is at home in the last week of the season. We have already started purging our closet of everything red.

1. National championship game vs. Georgia
Yeah, don't pretend like you didn't know this was happening. We've already put money down on tickets. Non-refundable, baby!