Ian for Heisman: CBS starts the hype

The Heisman race has begun for BSU RB Ian Johnson. CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd created a preseason ranking of Heisman candidates, and Johnson made the cut at number 20.

Johnson is the only WAC player to make the list, and he is one of only three players from non-BCS-conference schools to crack the top 20. We assume this means that Dodd does not place much credence in Utah State TE Rob Myers' Heisman campaign.

Moreno's motor might not stop... [CBS Sportsline]

OBNUG Roster Update: Safeties

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: Safeties.

Safeties

Ideal candidate: The six-million-dollar man


Worst candidate: Any kid from the Little Giants


Actual candidates: Jeron Johnson, Jason Robinson, George Iloka, Cedric Febis, Shaun Jordan, Travis Stanaway, Ellis Powers, others

OBNUG's pick: Johnson and Robinson. The incumbents from last year have an obvious advantage over the rest of the field. That said, should Johnson and Robinson falter, there will be plenty of players willing to step up. We are particularly enamored with Febis and Iloka, and we wouldn't mind at all if BSU decided to use four safeties in its dime packages.

Let it go, Oklahoma. Let it go.

The state of Oklahoma continues to be haunted by the Sooners' Fiesta Bowl loss to the Broncos. Now, they are taking solace from Arena Football 2 wins.

It wasn't what you'd call payback for Boise State's 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.

But the Tulsa Talons' 65-28 Saturday night win over the Boise Burn did send a message back to Idaho that the Sooner State knows more than a little something about the game of arena football.

"It was nice to pay them back a little and redeem the state," said Talons jack linebacker Jamar Ranson, and he's not even an Oklahoma Sooner fan. Ransom played for rival Oklahoma State.

Touché. Looks like there's only one way to settle this: civil war.

Talons torch Boise [Tulsa World]

National media fuels QB debate

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg focuses his weekly non-BCS column on Boise State's quarterback contest, with predictable results.

(Tharp's) successor will come from a pool of four candidates: senior Bush Hamdan, junior Nick Lomax, sophomore Mike Coughlin and redshirt freshman Kellen Moore. All four have received equal repetitions this spring, but Hamdan and Moore have emerged as the early favorites.

Obviously, he has not talked to Phil Dailey.

Non-BCS notebook [ESPN.com]