WIR: Bronco Nation rejoice, football returns

Week in Review (WIR) had a wonderful summer vacation, thanks for asking. But now there's work to do. First off, about the weekend. The Broncos will be practicing Saturday and Sunday, and here are some places to go if you need a fix of Bronco news. (We're pretty sure you could have found these on your own; we just like mothering you.)

• Dave's Blog
• Bronco Beat
• BSU Blog

This week was the busiest yet at OBNUG, as we cranked out 26 posts in five days. Hello, early onset carpal tunnel syndrome! Here are the best posts from the last week:

• Camp notes from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today 
• WAC quarterbacks falling like flies.
  
• Zabransky not as clutch as people remember.
  
• The Statesman surprises.
  
• Fresno State team preview.
  
• WAC teams are unusually happy.
  
• Hawaii's season preview.
  
• Preseason football should be fun.

We'll see you bright and early on Monday morning. Have a good weekend, Bronco fans.

ESPN confuses clutchness with popularity

Is Jared Zabransky clutch?

We asked ourselves this question over and over again this weekend, and each time we came to the same conclusion.

No. Jared Zabransky is not clutch.

He is confident, brash, and cocky, but those components have little to do with being clutch and more to do with tattooing your initial on your bicep. Being clutch means showing up in big games every time and not folding under the pressure of the moment. Zabransky may have done this once or twice during his career, but did he do it enough to warrant consideration as "clutch"? We don't think so.

ESPN.com's Graham Watson disagrees. She recently listed the most clutch non-BCS players throughout history, and good old "Z" made her list.

Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise State -- Led the Broncos to a perfect 13-0 season in 2006, including throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

We find it so interesting that Zabransky is remembered as a hero of this game. The national media seems to pick and choose the best parts of this classic game and focus solely on those aspects. "The Fiesta Bowl was great. Ian Johnson asked that hot cheerleader to marry him!" Meanwhile, there was terrific drama, intrigue, emotion, and suspense that gets lost in the shuffle.

Allow us to let the facts get in the way of this discussion:

• Jared Zabransky threw a horrendous interception that was returned for a touchdown that could have very easily lost the game.
• Zabransky took an awful sack while the Broncos were driving for the tying score.
• The hook and ladder was a clutch team play, not a clutch Zabransky moment (deep in routes are not clutch).
• Zabransky did not throw the tying score in overtime. A wide receiver did.
  

And those moments just describe his Fiesta Bowl. If we are taking this "clutch" debate further, we would also point out the 2005 Humanitarian Bowl and the Georgia game. Oh, the Georgia game! Zabransky proved over his Boise State years that he was a capable, play-making quarterback who could run hot and cold at times. And so long as we are celebrating that Zabransky, then we are all for it.

Besides, if we're going to be sainting Boise State athletes, we would prefer to start with Marty Tadman.

Clutch non-BCS players through history [ESPN.com]

Thursday: Links with consistency

Story of the day:

Statue Left not in Steelers playbook [Press-Tribune]

The Pittsburgh Steelers cut former BSU quarterback Jared Zabransky on Wednesday, just five months after picking him up as a free agent. The Steelers' drafting of former Oregon QB Dennis Dixon spelled Zabransky's doom. Dixon is a one-of-a-kind clipboard holder.

Now the question is where will "Z" land next? The way we see it, he has plenty of options.

• Another NFL team. Zabransky could take the place of an injured third-stringer during the preseason. Or he could start for the Vikings pretty much tomorrow.
• The CFL. Canadian football is like graduate school for Boise State players.
• The Boise Burn. The Burn have never turned down a former Boise State quarterback (Nick Lomax, take heart).
• Ryan Clady's entourage. Perhaps Clady needs an NCAA Football 2008 playing partner.
• An area Pioneer Title. Brock Forsey should know some people.

The story is a little bittersweet for us, not because we are Zabranksy fans (it's complicated), but rather because Zabranksy getting signed by the Steelers was one of our first posts on this site. OBNUG has officially lasted longer than Zabransky's Steeler career. We never thought we would say those words until at least after the first preseason game.


Other links:

Warriors - Brennan = suckiness [the Big Lead]
Replacing a Heisman candidate is hard. Will Tyler Graunke be dying the Hawaiin islands into his hair?

Bronco coaches courting a 15-year-old [Sammamish Review]
There is no age limit on success...obviously.

Who says BSU has too much money? [Warrior Quotes]
Hawaii's athletic budget trumps Broncos by several hundred C-notes

A Marty Tadman video? [YouTube courtesy of Bronco fan Heath]
We know how we're spending our three-day weekend

Boise State is a six-touchdown favorite over Idaho State [Scott Slant]
Yet somehow, we still like those odds.

Tuesday: Links with toughness

Story of the day:

Gene Bleymaier = best AD ever! [BroncoSports.com]

Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier is somewhat of a lightning rod for discussion among Bronco Nation. Some feel he could be doing a better job scheduling teams not named Idaho State, and others feel that he deserves credit for bringing the program to where it is today.

His peers fall into the latter group. Bleymaier will receive an award for being the best AD in the country...or region...or county. We're not sure exactly.

Gene Bleymaier will be honored at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) 43rd annual convention when he is named the 2007-08 AstroTurf Athletics Director of the Year “Football Bowl Subdivision West” Region winner.

Congratulations are in order, assuming AstroTurf Athletics Director of the Year "Football Bowl Subdivision West" Region is a big deal.

Other links:

Hawaii, LaTech, Nevada ranked by Rivals [Rivals.com] & [Rivals.com]
The countdown is at 60, and still no sign of BSU.

PAC-10 commissioner leaving [NY Times]
He's had enough of the East Coast bias.

PAC-10 expansion series [Fanblogs]
Idaho even being in the discussion might hurt credibility.

"Spicebizzle" does not like Boise State's jerseys [College OTR]
His name does make him seem more like an Idaho guy.

Zabransky vs. Dixon for clipboard duties [Steelers Locker]
One man's suggestion to get rid of signing day [SI.com]

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.

Tharp not on the cover of NCAA 09

The frantic Fiesta Bowl finish propelled BSU QB Jared Zabransky onto the cover of NCAA Football 08. Beating Utah State by 56 did not do the same for Taylor Tharp.

Darren McFadden will grace the cover of EA Sports' NCAA Football 09, which will be released this summer. The XBox 360 version will have the former Arkansas RB as its featured athlete, but the PS3, PS2, and PSP will each have their own cover athlete.

Here is a look at some features:

NCAA Football 09 will unveil the all-new Break Away Animation Engine which allows gamers to break in and out of moves giving the user more direct control as well as instant influence and responsiveness on the field. At its core, NCAA Football 09 will focus on wide-open collegiate style gameplay featuring unique animations that you will only find on college football Saturdays. This style of gameplay will allow agile backs like McFadden to show off their break out speed and maneuverability in-game.

I guess "Tharp" and "breakaway" aren't often used in the same sentence.

Buster Bronco is in the running for a mascot cover for the Wii version. Vote here.

NCAA Football 09 to have platform-specific covers [Pasta Padre]

Bold predictions for the coming week

Good Monday, Bronco Nation. This week we find out the 2008 Bronco recruiting class, and we have a feeling that this class will be one of the best. Without further ado, here are some bold predictions for the week of February 4 through February 8.

• Signing Day will go as planned until BSU announces the commitment of myself--a 6'0", 185 pound safety with one year of eligibility remaining. I will proceed to make everyone forget about Marty Tadman.
• The Broncos' new motto will be "Anywhere but the Humanitarian Bowl."
• The Steelers will cut Jared Zabransky after finding out that, while he did lead the game-winning Fiesta Bowl drive, he also threw one of the worst interceptions of all-time to put his team behind.

Steelers fans react to Zabransky

Pittsburgh fans have gotten word that Z is the newest member of the Steelers and their response is rather encouraging.

that's awesome, i wanted us to sign him as an undrafted free agent last year. none of u might be overly excited but i am

I wonder if that jaredz2006 knows his stuff.

Seriously though, the Steelers fans just seem happy to have Brian St. Pierre gone. I hope no one ever shows them the final minute of the 2005 Humanitarian Bowl.

Ex-Boise State QB Zabransky coming to Steelers [Steelers Fever]

Photo courtesy of Daily Dwayne

Zabransky to the Steelers

According to the Idaho Statesman, Jared Zabransky will be throwing interceptions for the Pittsburgh Steelers next year.

Zabransky will sign a free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, he and agent Eric Metz said Saturday.

"I feel like this is an organization that knows how to win with all the championships they've had through there," Zabransky said of the five-time Super Bowl champions. "I think they're going to give me a legitimate chance to be able to prove myself. I heard through the grapevine that coach (Mike) Tomlin is a no-politics kind of guy, which is exactly what you want in my situation."

Apparently, Pittsburgh didn't have enough mobile quarterbacks who make questionable decisions. At the very least, it sounds like Zabransky will have a good shot to make the team. After Roethlisberger, the Steelers roster will have Charlie Batch, Zabransky, and probably a rookie QB.

Make us proud, Zabransky.


Zabransky says he will sign with Steelers [Idaho Statesman]