Tuesday: Links with predictions

Story of the day:

RB Ian Johnson tops in the WAC? [ESPN.com]

ESPN's Graham Watson posed an interesting question on her blog yesterday: Is Ian Johnson the WAC's best running back? If Watson knows, then she's not telling as her story politely skirted the issue with open-ended statements, facts, and Johnson quotes.

But is he the best running back in a stacked WAC?

"I've seen a lot of these guys and you look at (Nevada's Luke) Lippincott and all the guys from La Tech and even the guys from Fresno, these guys are very different running backs from myself," Johnson said during WAC Media Days last week.

Johnson was the best running back in the WAC during his glory year in 2006 and was even considered a darkhorse for the Heisman Trophy. But those numbers trailed off last season as Johnson was plagued with injuries.

We live in a black-and-white world, so this article, with all its grayness and ambiguity, was hard to deal with. The answer, in our opinion, is clear: Ian Johnson is not the WAC's best running back. He lost that title last year when he struggled with injuries and effectiveness. Let the angry emails fly.

Remember, Johnson was not very good at times last year, and Bronco Nation openly questioned what was wrong with him. Sure, he is saying all the right things and doing all the right things this offseason, and to be honest, we are confident that he will regain the mantle of WAC's top running back this season. But in the meantime, we feel he is no longer the top dog.

There, Graham Watson. We said it.

Other links:

Dan Gore cut by Dolphins [Scott Slant]

We guess Miami liked losing last year more than they thought

Utah State bringing down Utah's schedule [ESPN.com]
The Aggies get replaced by Notre Dame. Boise State would do the same if it could.

Another vote for Kellen Moore [Bleacher Report]
Bush Hamdan not available for comment.

Rivals' countdown reaches No. 3 [Rivals.com]
USC and Georgia still to come--most likely in that order.

Recap of rule changes [Rivals.com]
Clock changes may shorten games from 3 hours, 45 minutes to 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Wednesday: Links with hype

Story of the day

Several non-BCS running backs to watch [Rivals.com]

Rivals came up with a list of the top non-BCS running backs in the country, and if you look purely at the numbers, we think it is obvious which one is best.

The former Fiesta Bowl hero leads all active running backs in career rushing yards (3,418) and tops all active players in rushing touchdowns (45).

Ian Johnson stands out from the rest of the pack on his career totals alone, but the story focused on Southern Miss running back Damion Fletcher, who sounds like he'll be a handful when the Broncos visit Hattiesburg. In all, four of BSU's 2008 opponents made the list, including Deonte Jackson (Idaho), Luke Lippincott (Nevada), and Ryan Matthews (Fresno State).

Let's hope our run defense really has gotten better.

Other links:

Utah State QB heading to BYU [Herald-Journal]
He must have seen the light on his Mormon mission.

Boise State's Fiesta Bowl third in clutchness [Pronounced like...]
But #1 in our hearts.

Non-Saturday games sure are annoying [FOX Sports.com]
Boise State fans hardly even notice any more.

OBNUG roster update: Running backs

Spring football gets OBNUG in the mood to speculate, so over the next few weeks, we will be making blind guesses as to who will be starting for the Broncos in the fall. We’ll do it position-by-position. Today: Running Back.

Boise State football starting running back

Ideal candidate: This vehicle:

Worst candidate: Ian Johnson 2007

Actual candidates: Ian Johnson, DJ Harper, Jeremy Avery, Doug Martin

OBNUG pick: Ian Johnson

Johnson will win the starting job, but whoever gets to be his back-up will be in good position to replace him next season. We hope it is Doug Martin because we have an unhealthy affection for him and we’ve yet to even see him in person.