Scheduling wish list

When Boise State's schedule came out last week, we immediately thought that the Broncos were going undefeated. This is the same thought we have every offseason, and we usually continue having this thought until a road game at a BCS school.

The 2008 schedule seems to set up particularly nice for us with home games against Hawaii and Fresno, two games before our trip to Oregon, and creative scheduling early in the season. We like it.

But we feel that 2009 could be so much better.

Idaho State, Bowling Green, and Southern Miss do not get us excited. We want some new competition next season. Here is our wish list for Boise State football 2009.

• Duke: We want Sean Renfree to know what he is missing: success, tradition, and blocking.
• Washington: We could have easily beaten the Huskies last year, and we want another shot. This time, we will leave Taylor Tharp at home.
• USC: If Idaho can lose to them, then we should be able to lose by a lot less.
• Colorado: We want Dan Hawkins' to pay in eternity for his crimes against us, but we will settle for beating the Buffaloes by double digits.
• The All-MAC team: Everyone is always saying that the WAC is a weak conference. Well, suit up the best players in the MAC and ship them out to Boise and we'll see about that.
• The Chicago Bears: No one cuts Brock Forsey and gets away with it.
• The Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Playing against Ryan Dinwiddie might make our heads explode. We want to find out.
• The Boise Burn: Just to make sure that the Broncos are the best team in Idaho.

Southern Miss' NFL alumni get less god-like

We've been a little heavy on the coverage of the Southern Miss portion of Boise State's upcoming schedule (It's just too easy!), but some big news came from one of its biggest alumni today. Yep, Brett Favre is retiring! Let the praise begin.

From Sun Herald in Gulfport, MS:

That's what separates Favre from his peers. He kept playing. Injuries,
Father Time, family tragedy, it seemed almost nothing could stop him. Once he
succeeded Dan Majkowski as the Packers' quarterback, he never missed a start.
Never. That's the record that means the most to him. That's the record that
showed how much his teammates could count on him.

And I thought the interception record would be the one he held most dear to him. Seriously though, how is John Madden taking this today? Someone should check on him.

It was probably a good idea for him to retire so he didn't have to evade another wager from Daryn Colledge and Korey Hall. We'll be looking for him in Hattiesberg this year and will gladly bring along another shirt if he's looking for one.

BSU's Pro Day a success

Ryan Clady made his mark on NFL scouts yesterday, virtually assuring himself to be the second offensive lineman taken in April's NFL Draft. According to the Statesman, more than 50 pro personnel representing 30 of the NFL teams were on hand to watch Clady and a dozen other former Broncos work out and go through drills.

By all accounts, Clady impressed during the session, likely solidifying his spot as the No. 2 offensive tackle in the draft behind Michigan's Jake Long. Representatives from the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins spoke with him after the workout. The Chicago Bears have a private workout scheduled with Clady for next week.

"With his workout I know he impressed everybody," said Clady's agent, Pat Dye Jr., who was not allowed inside during the workouts, but spoke with NFL personnel after the session. "Everybody came out and said he really helped himself."

Clady had a disappointing Combine performance after being forced to sit out with an injury. Doing well in yesterday's Pro Day assured everyone that he is worth a high first-round pick.

Clady solidifies his draft status [Idaho Statesman]
BSU's Clady impresses crowd at Pro Day workout [Idaho Statesman]

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.