Feeling the burn: USC gets the itch

Not the headline you want to see. More puns to follow.

USC dealing with jock itch breakout [FOX Sports]

Virtual football kicks off tomorrow with NCAA 09

Fall practice may still be three weeks away, but for many college football fans, the season begins tomorrow with the release of EA Sports' NCAA Football 09. And by "college football fans," we mean "geeky guys."

The release of NCAA has become an annual sign that the long, boring, football-less summer is almost over. Now, instead of playing out the Boise State season in our heads and with our M&M's, we can plug NCAA 09 into our PS3 and watch the whole thing unfold before us. (Full disclosure: we do not own a PlayStation 3. We own a Gamecube.)

For Bronco fans, the game may be a little less exciting than last year's Jared Zabransky version. Unfortunately, the Marty Tadman cover idea we submitted did not fly with EA Sports. However, there are still more than enough reasons to buy the game.

• Kill time before August 30.
• Have your own quarterback competition.
• Take as many tries as you need to beat Oregon in Autzen stadium.
• Prove that Fresno State is overrated.

There's a lot of information on the game available on the Internet (the entire Bronco playbook is here; eyes off, Akey!), and the early reviews have been excellent. Each year EA seems to improve from the previous version, and this year appears to be no different. Of course, what would an EA Sports video game be without loads of new features? NCAA 09 sure has plenty of upgrades.

• Online Dynasty Mode. Up to 12 players can compete with one another online in dynasties that can last as long as 60 years. With features like this, who needs girlfriends? Til death do we part, NCAA 09.
• Break Away Animation engine. Apparently, you will have more control than ever over the movements of the players. Want Ian Johnson to spin away from a tackle? Just rotate the control stick. Want Kellen Moore to sidestep a defensive end? Wiggle the analog to the left. Need to help a freshman with a midterm? Use the controller as a pen (feature available only on Wii).
• Composure. Have you ever seen a quarterback lose confidence after an interception? Of course you have! Boise State plays in the WAC! Well, NCAA 09 will take advantage of this real-life phenomenon by testing the composure of in-game players. Throw a pick-six, and you'll have to read the defensive photos to see where you went wrong. If you can't figure it out, then you must be playing with Nathan Enderle.
• Celebration mechanic. The Syracuse Orange wants to party! In NCAA 09, you can celebrate touchdowns with mascots, fans, or yourself with just a push of a button. Take that, NFL!
• Realistic lighting. The graphics engine has been souped-up to provide a more accurate rendering of time-of-day. This will come in handy for those 9:00am San Jose State home games.
• 60 frames per second. We don't know what this means (see "Gamecube," above).

A new play-calling system, customizable music, and much more will be included in the game. But our favorite feature of the NCAA series, more so than the unique stadiums, the crowd influence, the rankings, and the option, is the fact that you can end the season with a playoff if you want to.

That is reason enough to buy the game right there.

NCAA Football 09 [EA Sports]

College football countdown...catch the IPT fever!

The Idaho Press-Tribune's Phil Dailey and Dave Southorn have embarked upon the daunting task of ranking all 120 Division 1-A teams before the season starts and, in so doing, have discovered the most awesome form of busy-work ever. How serious are they about the task? Serious enough to give the countdown its own personal website.



The countdown, which began with Western Kentucky and will hopefully end with Boise State, is already into the 90's, which typically means that half of the WAC would be mentioned by now. And sure enough, Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State, and NMSU have already been highlighted...or low-lighted, as it were. Here are some kind words the IPT guys had to say about the University of Idaho:

The season is a success if ... The team wins more than three games.

We thought #112 was a little high for the Vandals.

With nearly 100 more teams to go, there is still a lot of intrigue left in the countdown. For instance, will Phil Dailey's love for Louisiana Tech propel the Bulldogs ahead of Nevada where they probably do not belong? Is there any way that Dave Southorn does not vote Colorado #1? How does William Love fit into all of this? Are the IPT rankings part of the BCS formula? Will a conflict of interest prevent them from voting for Boise State? Is this whole thing an excuse to write off Southorn's preview magazine purchases at Barnes & Noble?

And most importantly, what will happen to the College Football Countdown once there is no college football left to count down? We're just praying that the Women's College Basketball Countdown is not in the works.

College Football Countdown [Press-Tribune]

NCAA officiating test will rock you hard

God bless those NCAA officials.

Thanks to CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd, we found out about a test for football referees that was equal parts humiliating and impossible. The 100-question beast of an exam is designed to test officials on the minutiae of the NCAA rulebook, but all it really does is emasculate and discourage. Try it for yourself at USAFootball.com or better yet, don't and save yourself two hours and a migraine. Here is a taste of the carnage:

40. 4th & 10 on A's 20. The score is tied. Team A's punt is illegally touched by a Team A player on B's 42, then picked up on B's 39 by a Team B player who runs five yards and fumbles. Team A recovers and picks up the fumble dragging a defender to Team B's goal line between the hash marks. The covering official signals a touchdown. During Team A's run, a Team B player has an incidental facemask in making the tackle. 4-seconds remain in the 4th quarter. Replay shows the Team A runner was downed on B's 1/2. Team B is coming out of the huddle to snap the ball on B's 42. Clock? Reviewable?


A. A 1/goal B-1/4. The clock starts on the snap. The play is reviewable.
B. A 1/goal B-1/2. The clock starts on the snap. The play is reviewable.
C. B 1/10 @ B42. The incidental facemask is not a foul.

We had to break out the graphing calculator for that one!

Of course, we should probably just be proud that we finished. Odds were good that we would have given up halfway between clock rules on illegal forward passes and penalty yardage on inadvertent whistle facemasks. But we made it through. And we didn't completely embarrass ourselves.

OBNUG's score: 57.

While it's true that getting 57 out of 100 is failing no matter which way you slice it, we were pretty proud of ourselves considering we did better than some of the big hitters in the college football media.

• Dennis Dodd: 48
• Sunday Morning QB: 55
• AOL's Adam Jacobi: 55

Nothing like some relativity to spruce up a score.

We're curious to see how you, our readers, would do on the test (and we want someone to commiserate with). You can take the test online by clicking here, or you can download the pdf here. Good luck. And don't say we didn't warn you.

NCAA Football test [USA Football]

Friday: Links with independence

Story of the day:

Karl Benson bares his soul [Denver Post]

The Denver Post is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Mountain West's split from the WAC the only way they know how: making Karl Benson relive it all over again.

DP: That had to be the lowest point of your professional life 10 years ago when the Mountain West teams left...

KB: May and June 1998 was certainly difficult. It was challenging, tumultuous and gut wrenching both professional and personally.

Next question!

Aside from the start of the interview (great ice breaker, Denver Post), the story ended up being a positive look at how the WAC has survived throughout the past 10 years. Benson gave a lot of praise to Fresno State for soldiering on in the early years, and he of course had good things to say about Boise State football, too. But God bless him if he didn't try his best to put a positive spin on Utah State, Idaho, and NMSU.

DP: You're like the Statue of Liberty of college athletics: Give me you poor, your tired, your huddled masses. 


KB: We were forced to fill some holes, fill the gaps... We claim when teams join the WAC they get better, some get better quicker than others. I'm still confident our last three additions are going to get better.

Translation: my bad.

The behind-the-scenes information from Benson was pretty neat to hear, and the Denver Post followed the story up with a feature on the present state of the WAC and the MWC. For all the bad things that are said about the WAC, it was nice to find a story that showcases the conference to a certain degree. That said, we'll flip to the Pac-10 in an instant if they come calling. Sorry, Karl.

Other links:

BSU's Grinnell competes for Olympic berth [Scott Slant]
The triple jump finals or Mars Attack? We could go either way.

Nick Jezierny's interview with BSU's latest recruit [Statesman]
Watch your back, Chadd Cripe.

BSU President Kustra working for the NCAA [Press-Tribune]
Alright! We got a man on the inside.

Colt Brennan autograph signing tour [Pictures Plus]
He will not be signing souvenir Sugar Bowl T-shirts.

Ian Johnson a top five running back [End Zone Buzz]

Why, UNLV?! Why?! [UNLV Rebels]
Thank goodness we don't have to see these uniforms in person any time soon.

Wednesday: Links with anticipation

Story of the day:

D-1 bowl trolling for D1-AA participants [Missoulian]

Got any holiday plans, Weber State? If not, then there might be a desperate lower-tiered bowl that wants to speak to you.

We found a lot of gems in the Missoulian's series on the University of Montana's chances for a move to Division I-A, but none of the tidbits were as strange and embarrassing as this one.

Last fall a lower-tier bowl called the Big Sky Conference to inquire about inviting one of its teams. We are not making this up.

“It kind of caught us by surprise,” said Montana athletic director Jim O'Day. “But I think it's something that might have to happen.”

The obvious question is which bowl was doing the inquiring. There are only a few small-time West Coast bowls that would have been interested in a Big Sky team, and yes, the Humanitarian Bowl would probably be on that list. Any guesses would be pure speculation. That said, we are looking at you, Emerald Nuts San Francisco Bowl.

The story was somewhat of an admonishment of Division 1-A's lax standards on bowl eligibility. How great would it be to see a 6-6 Minnesota lose out to an Alcorn State? Is this why NCAA administrators are so hesitant to go to a playoff system?

Other links:

A great recommendation from a Behler peer [Gazettenet]
Wonder if this guy was on Behler's resume reference list.

Ian Johnson gets a 93 from EA Sports [Vetzballin]
Tim Tebow and his 99 rating: "Hmm, that's cute."

Dan Hawkins and the Buffs a team on the rise [SI.com]
Stewart Mandel has his eye on them.

Toughest video game rebuilding projects [Bleacher Report]
Good to see the WAC well represented.

OBNUG Hall of Fame: automatic inductees

Congratulations to the honorary inductees of the first OBNUG Hall of Fame class.

• The 1980 Division I-AA national championship: historical, unprecedented, neat.
• The day Boise State joined Division I-A: important, momentous, huge.
• Fiesta Bowl hook-and-ladder: unexpected, exhilarating, life-altering.
• Fiesta Bowl Perretta TD pass: gutsy, unconventional, brilliant.
• Fiesta Bowl Statue of Liberty: outstanding, sneaky, perfect.

Voting was close for the automatic entries: 52 percent "yes" to 47 percent "absolutely yes." Thank you to the hundreds who voted even though there was little to vote for. We'll have another nominee next week.

OBNUG Hall of Fame: honorary inductees

Throughout the history of the Boise State football program, there have been several defining moments that will forever be a part of BSU lore. And by several, we are thinking of three.

The following moments have earned themselves honorary induction into the OBNUG Hall of Fame thanks to their monumental importance in shaping the Boise State football program. We’ll be skipping out on a podcast this week, but please feel free to vote in the poll at the sidebar.

Here are the honorary candidates for the OBNUG Hall of Fame:

1. The 1980 Division I-AA national championship
   Over the past five years, revisionists have called a number of different games the “biggest game in Boise State history.” There was the Fort Worth Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and there were even regular season matchups against Nevada and Fresno State that earned the distinction. Hello! Boise State played in a national championship game! It doesn’t get any bigger than that!
   The future of Boise State football is indeed bright, but the past had its moments, too. The 1980 national championship is more than deserving of a spot in the OBNUG Hall of Fame, and it is deserving of more credit than it receives, too. Tons of teams spend their entire existence trying to win a championship, and Boise State has already accomplished the feat. If you include the junior college title in 1958, they’ve accomplished the feat twice.
   Fan appreciation can be fleeting, but the 1980 national championship game can rest assured that the OBNUG Hall of Fame is forever (until our server gives out).
   
2. The day Boise State joined Division I-A
   If you looked back to a single moment that changed the fortunes of the BSU football program more than anything, it would probably be the jump to Division I-A. Ever since 1996, when Boise State left the Big Sky and joined the big boys in the Big West (“big boys” being a relative term), things have been different around here.
   The move was the start of the groundswell of Bronco Nation. The move led the way for Boise State to improve facilities, budgets, and competition. National success and the scorn of Trev Alberts would have never been achieved had the Broncos remained stagnant in Division I-AA, and any future success can be attributed to the way the team and the school has transitioned to a spot alongside the best teams in the country.
   
3. The Fiesta Bowl
   What more can we say about the Fiesta Bowl? To be sure, it is a game that no Bronco fan will ever forget, but even more so, it is a game that no casual football fan will ever forget. We can’t remember any of Toledo’s greatest games, but Toledo fans certainly remember the Fiesta Bowl.
   The staying power of the Fiesta lies in the three plays that Boise State needed to win the game. The hook and ladder, Perretta to Schouman, and the Statue of Liberty will forever be part of college football history, so we are inducting each into the OBNUG Hall of Fame. The Broncos would have never got to overtime without Jerard Rabb’s hook and ladder touchdown. They would have never recovered from Oklahoma’s overtime touchdown without Perretta’s fourth-down TD toss. Ian Johnson would have never proposed had it not been for Statue Left. And who knows what Chris Myers would have done after the game.

Friday: Links with Boise

Story of the day:

Greg Graham staying with Broncos [Idaho Statesman]

Oft-beleaguered Bronco coach Greg Graham looks to have a new incentive-laden deal with Boise State that could keep him in Boise for the better part of forever.

The contract includes standard components, such as an annual salary of $345,000 and financial incentives for conference championships, postseason berths and academic performance... The contract also has incentives for additional years that strictly relate to wins, championships and postseason bids.

Graham's contract could turn into a nine-year extension, provided he keep winning. Certain criteria range from winning the conference tournament to earning an NIT berth to completing fundamental inbounds plays.

We're happy to have Graham back because we feel that the Bronco men's basketball team has an opportunity to build upon its success from last season. The more winning BSU teams, the better!

Other links:

Extension coming for Hawkins? [Ralphie Report]
Being mediocre in the Big XII is a lot better than being awful in the Big XII, we guess.

Someone's talking Big East split [Fanblogs]
Southern Miss is being thrown around as a possible addition.

Was Hawaii's Sugar Bowl trip unethical? [Star Bulletin]
We mean besides the horribly lopsided loss part.

J Bates column links to OBNUG [J's Blog]
Ergo, OBNUG links to J Bates column. Thanks, J.

San Jose State and NMSU also not good [Rivals.com]
Well, half the WAC is out of the way, and Rivals isn't even out of the 100s yet.

Thursday: Links with self-confidence

Story of the day:

Get rid of the redshirt [ESPN.com]

Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe has proposed a plan to give all college football players five years of eligibility by getting rid of the redshirt. Too little, too late for Marty Tadman, we're afraid.

Beebe said that college football differs than other sports because of the widespread practice of redshirting freshmen.

"The thought would be why we would give them an extra year in that sport," Beebe said. "But you're talking about a sport with more redshirts than any other sport. And it's a sport where youngsters play a physical, very tough game with a lot of hard practices."

We couldn't agree more with this proposal. The only question is what would the fifth year of eligibility be called? Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior...gentleperson? Re-senior? Esquire? Hopefully, Beebe has an answer.

Other links:

Respect for the hook-and-ladder [ESPN.com]
The top coaching decision in BCS history is Circus. No. 3 is Statue Left.

Chris Petersen cracked the Top 10 defining BCS coaches [ESPN.com]
We are also ecstatic that June Jones did not make the list.

Ian Johnson: captain of longevity [Dave's blog]
Yes, it does feel like Johnson's been around forever.

Do not get in a car with Gerald Alexander [Fight Fight BSU]
New conferences for college football [Minister of Information]

The rules are changing

Many new rules will be enforced for the next college football season. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and none of them involve a playoff system. Maybe next year.

Courtesy of Rivals.com and ESPN.com, here is a look at the changes that will be in effect for the 2008 season.

Officials will have more freedom to penalize players who initiate any contact with the crown of their helmet.

• What this rule really says: Officials will have more freedom to emasculate and nitpick aggressive defensive players.
• How it affects BSU football: Jeron Johnson, Jason Robinson, and the rest of the Bronco secondary may just out-gain the opposing team with their penalty yards.

Officials will have more freedom to penalize players who target defenseless opponents above the shoulders.

• What this rule really says: The NCAA hates big hits.
• How it affects BSU football: No hitting "defenseless opponents"? How are the Broncos supposed to tackle Utah State players?

Eliminating the unintentional face-mask penalty.

• What this rule really says: Go ahead and grab the face-mask. Just don't break someone's neck or else we're penalizing you 15 yards.
• How it affects BSU football: We've always been bigger fans of the intentional face-mask anyway.

Adjusting the "chop block" rule to make it easier to understand and enforce.

• What this rule really says: Sorry, Glenn Dorsey.
• How it affects BSU football: Bronco linemen are not traditionally dirty. They are traditionally small, agile, and drafted into the NFL. Also, WAC D-linemen don't really necessitate chop blocks.

A penalty would be added for horse-collar tackles.

• What this rule really says: Tackle someone the proper way, except not with the crown of your helmet or by their face-mask or if they're defenseless.
• How it affects BSU football: It doesn't really.

Administering a 40-second clock to start play after a preceding play ends, and starting the clock on a referee's signal after a play goes out of bounds.

• What this rule really says: The NFL has some pretty good ideas about time management.
• How it affects BSU football: Considering the Broncos' possible no-huddle approach, the NCAA could have changed it to a 15-second clock and Boise State would have been fine.

Giving the receiving team the option to take possession at the 40-yard line after an out-of-bounds kickoff.

• What this rule really says: You're an NCAA kicker and you should be able to keep a kickoff within the field of play.
• How it affects BSU football: Teams may choose to kick out of bounds rather than let Ian Johnson, Doug Martin, and Co. bring back the kick. Starting at the 40 is a lot better than starting in the red zone.

Eliminating warnings for sideline control.

• What this rule really says: Don't celebrate in the end zone again, Georgia.
• How it affects BSU football: Hopefully, it will keep Pat Hill off the field.

Instant replay would be allowed on fumbles leading to immediate recoveries.

• What this rule really says: We have no faith in our referees.
• How it affects BSU football: Perhaps this rule will increase the number of forced turnovers. Then again, it might take some away, too. Bummer.
  

A coach who successfully challenges a play would retain the right to make one more challenge, for a maximum of two.

• What this rule really says: College football games aren't long enough as it is.
• How it affects BSU football: Is Coach Pete ever wrong? We don't think so. They might as well just give him two challenges to start the game.

New bowl might aid WAC also-rans

Postseason odds for bad WAC teams just got a lot better.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a group with ties to Salt Lake City have submitted a proposal that would bring the Rocky Mountain Bowl to the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game, if approved, would pit a Mountain West Conference team against a WAC team. The proposed game has the blessing of the MWC.

Ah, the fourth-best WAC team versus the fifth-best MWC team. Catch the Rocky Mountain Bowl fever!

New Bowl in Mix for WAC? [Press-Tribune]

Public Enemy #1: Sean Renfree's case

OBNUG is in the process of deciding who should be this website's most hated villain. We'll be presenting the cases for all of the candidates over the next few weeks. Enjoy.

Sean Renfree

The Duke Blue Devils have won four games over the past four years.

For some reason, Sean Renfree wanted to be a part of that.

The decorated Arizona prep quarterback chose the Blue Devils over a number of other college football teams, including Boise State. His spurning of the Broncos, in particular, really gets our goat, especially considering his rationale. Renfree based his decision on Duke's impressive academic record, the promise of playing time, and the experience of new head coach David Sutcliffe. We liken this to choosing a Quarter Pounder based on taste, texture, and presentation.

• Academics: People do your papers for you when you're a college football star. Just ask Jeremy Childs.


• Playing time: No one in the history of the world has ever wanted additional playing time at Duke.


• David Sutcliffe: Sure he coached the Mannings, but he is also responsible for the last two years of Erik Ainge.

Besides, these reasons pale in comparison to the pros of attending Boise State.

• Winning: The Broncos average nearly a WAC title per Duke win.
  
• Practice reps: Learning from Kellen Moore is a lot more exciting than it sounds.
  
• David Augusto: Ever wanted to be on TV? Ever wanted someone to take you to Shakespeare in the park?
  

Renfree's decision appears short-sighted and misinformed, but instead of feeling sorry for the kid, we feel absolutely no remorse. He had his shot to be a part of something special at Boise State and he threw that opportunity away. When he picked Duke over Boise State (effectively saying "yes" to losing, low completion percentage, and pain, and saying "no" to success, appreciation, and a future), he made a decision that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

The pain of playing quarterback at Duke is temporary.

The scorn of Boise State fans is forever.

Glad we don't have to deal with this crap

The young man pictured above is Terrelle Pryor, the number one rated QB in this year's class currently being recruited by Michigan and Ohio State among others. We touched on this earlier but this morning, he held a press conference to announce that he was not making a decision today. Apparently he had said that Oregon was no longer in consideration, but even that's changed.

Now Michigan fans are up in arms over this since he's supposed to be their savior in the new spread offense being implemented by Rich Rodriguez. Ohio State fans enjoy making the Michigan fans worry that he's going there because they're so much better (completely forgetting that they are 0-9 against the SEC and have been a black eye to the BCS).

So, as Boise State announces it's recruiting class and as much as I would love to see a five star recruit on the list, I'm glad we don't have to deal with oversized egos from recruits that have gotten a little too much attention over the last year. This whole situation has Reggie Bush scandal written all over it.