Broncos ranked by Rivals.com

Thanks to an alert reader, we found out that Boise State has been ranked #35 in the country by Rivals.com. Their countdown, which began appropriately enough at the bottom with Utah State and Idaho, has been going on for weeks now, and we had been anxious to see where Rivals would place the Broncos. And really, we can't complain. If BSU started the season at #35, there would have a good opportunity to move up into the top 25 in just a few weeks' time.

The Rivals preview was pretty standard, but it surprised us with its thoroughness. A George Iloka mention? Hailing the virtues of Vinny Perretta? Knowing who Brandyn Thompson is? We half expected an ESPN.com-style fluff piece featuring a follow-up of Ian Johnson's marriage and a take on the strong cornerback duo of Orlando Scandrick and Kyle Wilson.

But Rivals really stole our heart with this line:

If we've learned one thing the past 10 seasons, it's never to doubt Boise State – no matter what issues the program faces.

You can say that again. Although, if one were to learn two things from the past 10 seasons, the other might be that Fresno State never finishes ahead of the Broncos. Perhaps it will take Rivals 11 years to learn that one.

Boise State preview [Rivals.com]

An open letter to Phil Steele

Dear Phil Steele,

Thank you for putting out an annual college football preview. That said, please stop.

If your All-WAC teams were any indication, the body of your work is built upon name recognition, wild guesses, and having an intern write things for you. We were appalled at the lack of reason to your WAC selections. Four Broncos among the WAC's top 30 players? Have you watched the WAC lately?

We fear that you have not. In fact, we fear that your entire list was pieced together with little to no research or outside opinion. All-conference teams are usually made up of several players from the best teams, a group to which the University of Idaho does not belong. Yet, there they were with ample representation on your all-WAC selections. What happened? Do you owe Robb Akey's mustache money?

Unfortunately, we fear that the conclusion is that you settled for a lazy approach to your WAC preview. And we cringe to think about what you might do with other lists:

• Your preseason Heisman might include Knowshown Moreno, Terrelle Pryor, and Tom Brady's one-year-old son.


• Your NBA MVP list might have included Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and Larry Bird.


• Your Democratic national ticket might include John Edwards, Joseph Lieberman, and Peter Griffin.


• Your list of your favorite summer movies of 2008 might include Indiana Jones, Cloverfield, and Spiderman 4.


• Your preseason poll might include Notre Dame (ed's note: Steele's preview included Notre Dame at #19).

Next season, please try to factor in traditional on-field performance when you are considering your all-conference selections. If you are randomly guessing at breakthrough players, do not look at San Jose State. If you are hurting for a breakout QB, take a stab at a Bronco.

And if you think we're buying your magazine, guess again.

Sincerely,

OBNUG

EA Sports knows its football

While so-called experts are making preseason picks about WAC champions and dark-horse BCS candidates, EA Sports is speaking the plain truth. And nothing says credibility like a video game.

Fight Fight BSU brought us news of Bronco Stadium being one of the toughest places to play in NCAA Football 09, and today we find that the team rankings in the game are optimistic, too. EA Sports lists Boise State and Hawaii as the best teams in the WAC with Fresno State a distant third. Here is the predicted order of finish judging from the total team rankings (in parentheses)

1. Boise State (77)
2. Hawaii (77)
3. Fresno State (74)
4. New Mexico State (74)
5. Nevada (69)
6. LaTech (69)
7. San Jose State (62)
8. Utah State (60)
9. Idaho (60)

We were also pleased to find out that EA thinks Utah State has the worst offense in college football and Idaho has the worst defense in college football. We haven't felt this good about a video game since we went undefeated in Madden 05 on the Gamecube.

NCAA Football 09 rosters [EA Sports]

Wednesday: Links with progress

Story of the day

One more thing to dominate in the WAC [Idaho Press-Tribune]

The NCAA released its annual report on academic progress, and the Broncos managed to take home the WAC championship in that, too.

Boise State’s Academic Performance Report grades, issued by the NCAA, was tops in the WAC and means the Broncos are not in danger of losing scholarships because of academic shortcomings.

Boise State scored a 953, well above the baseline of 925. The next best WAC school was Fresno State. Can you say foreshadowing?!

As you'll read below, not every WAC school fared so well. The similarities to the regular season are quite striking.

Other links:

Idaho faces NCAA sanctions [Fight, Fight, BSU]
Vandals cut eight scholarships, mediocre high school Palouse athletes weep.

San Jose State may be ineligible for postseason [ESPN.com]
If the Spartans don't improve their academic score, they might not be allowed in the 2009 postseason. If they don't improve their offensive production, it won't really matter.

Yahoo's Boise State spring report [Yahoo Sports]
Their conclusion: the Broncos need to find a starting quarterback.

Preseason top 25 with no Fresno State [SI.com]
Thankfully, Stewart Mandel is not on the bandwagon. Also, Boise State gets a brief mention.

Boise State changes USU game time [Idaho Press-Tribune]
The Mountain West didn't do so well in the draft, either [Scott Slant]
WAC chooses to rewards its BCS teams less [Idaho Press-Tribune]

FOX Sports ranks the WAC

Pete Fiutak at FOXSports.com ranked all of college football's eleven conferences, and the WAC finished 10th. But we sure showed the Sun Belt what was up!

As always, the WAC will be top-heavy. Fresno State and Boise State will be top 25-worthy, if not higher, all season long, and even though Hawaii will take a step back, it'll still be potent. Nevada will probably be the league's third or fourth best team, it would probably win the MAC. The key will be the expected improvement of teams like San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. If the mid-range teams are better, the league should probably be boosted up a bit.

He went on to list the best team in the conference as Fresno State--the equivalent of kicking us while we're down.

Top conferences in '08 [FOX Sports]