Southern Miss conceding victory?

In an article from the Hattiesburg American, an intrepid reporter tries to predict Southern Miss' record judging solely by the looks of the schedule. Here is his initial take.

I expect the Golden Eagles to win their season opener at home against Louisiana-Lafayette and add victories over Arkansas State, Marshall, UTEP, Rice, UAB and SMU. Conversely, I anticipate them losing to Auburn, Boise State, Memphis, East Carolina and Central Florida.

A few paragraphs later, he seems to have had a change of heart.

I see the Eagles taking care of business against UL-Lafayette, Boise State, Arkansas State, Marshall, Rice, Central Florida and UTEP, but falling victim to Auburn, Memphis, East Carolina, UAB and SMU.

In the matter of a few poorly constructed sentences, Boise State went from certain victor to certain loser. Kind of like the author.

Don't worry; readers let him have it in the comments.

Will Southern Miss football record improve? [Hattiesburg American]

UPDATE: Something reeks of censorship at the Hattiesburg American. After we posted this story about the dual-personality author, the website added a byline and changed the headlines to show that two different guys wrote the story. Don't worry, their sins live on in the comments section. What we wouldn't give for a screen grab right now.

The overthrow of communism trumps Statue Left

Boise State lost in its bid to have the greatest highlight of all-time, thanks to ESPN voters who don't know the difference between great moments and great highlights.

In the voting for ESPN's Greatest Highlight, Mike Eruzione's goal in the Miracle on Ice took 59% of the votes to win the title. Boise State's Fiesta Bowl finished a respectable second place, having beaten a Michael Jordan buzzerbeater, the Cal-Stanford band play, and Doug Flutie's miracle Hail Mary to make it to the finals.

ESPN guy ranks non-BCS teams

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg seems to have drawn the short straw among the site's college football writers. His reward? Non-BCS conferences!

His ranking of the top non-BCS conference teams has BYU on the top (we like that pick), Fresno State second (predictable), and our very own Boise State Broncos third.

What we know: Minus safety Marty Tadman, the defensive back seven returns. So does running back and non-BCS posterboy Ian Johnson.
What we don't know: The starting quarterback and several first-team offensive linemen.
How the Broncos can reach a BCS bowl game: Win nonconference road games at Oregon and Southern Miss before the favorable WAC schedule (home against Fresno State and Hawaii).

Someone might need to tell him that Orlando Scandrick turned pro. Otherwise, we agree with his assessment, however obvious it might be.

Here is his take on Boise State's spring practice preview:

Quarterback also is a priority at Boise State, which breaks in a new starter for the second straight season. Bush Hamdan has held the top spot before, but fell to fourth on the depth chart last season. He will compete with Nick Lomax and Mike Coughlin this spring.

Apparently, he did not use this kid as a source.

Cougars, Bulldogs top spring power rankings [ESPN.com]
Spring offers promise... [ESPN.com]

Bold Predictions for the Week Ahead

With the arrival of March comes the arrival of spring football, and OBNUG couldn't be more excited. The offseason has felt especially long after the bowl loss, so we are happy to get back to some real football. And yes, we will be reading entirely too much into what happens at the spring game.

• Idaho State will pull out of the Broncos' 2008 schedule citing a desire to not lose by 56 points, and Gene Bleymaier will fill the open slot with the San Francisco 49ers, catering to Bronco Nation's demands of tougher scheduling.


• BSU's Pro Day will go extraordinarily well, prompting many scouts to wonder just what went wrong in the Hawaii Bowl. There will be no answer.


• In anticipation of spring practice, Bronco fans will begin practicing the "Boise"..."State" cheer in inappropriate public settings.