Fresno State fans respond to schedule

Snooping around for some Fresno reaction to last week's schedule release, we found Bulldogs fans to be rather respectful about the season-ending matchup with the Broncos. Respectful, but wrong..

I like playing Boise late in the season. It's a great springboard for one of the teams into a BCS bowl. Becasue we had so many injuries last year and lots of guys had playing time, I think we will have better depth than Boise. This is really important late in the year...

I like the idea of playing Boise last. We should be clicking on all cylinders. The younger players will be more mature and experienced. From playing the tough schedule, they will be ready for anything Boise throws at them. I have a good feeling about this game...

Playing Boise for the last game is the only way to go. The predicted best 2 teams should play at the last game. Besides, BSU v. Fresno has started to be a good rivalry.

The Dog's will be up for the Utah State game no matter when it is scheduled.

Sorry, that last one didn't have anything to do with Boise State. It just made us laugh.

Bark Board [Scout.com]

NFL mock draft, OBNUG-style!

After a stirring day of workouts at Boise State's Pro Day on Monday, we feel that several former Broncos helped their causes tremendously. How tremendously? How does ten Broncos in the first ten picks sound? Check it out:

1. Miami Dolphins: S Marty Tadman
   The Dolphins need a lot of things, and Tadman is a lot of things. He is a safety. He is a licensed minister. He is a fan of DC Talk. His sheer football smarts alone would make him a candidate for defensive coordinator. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. He can't save this franchise in one day. He'll need at least a week and a half.
2. St. Louis Rams: LT Ryan Clady
   Experts had Clady predicted to go as high as number five to the Chiefs, but his Pro Day workout changed everyone's opinions. The Rams need talent along that offensive line to help keep paper-mache Marc Bulger healthy. Clady will do just that. And if Bulger does happen to get injured, Clady will fly around the world so fast that the earth rotates backward on its axis, causing time to go in reverse and allowing Clady the chance to save Bulger from a separated shoulder.
3. Atlanta Falcons: CB Orlando Scandrick
   The Falcons' love affair with confident defensive backs led them straight to Scandrick. They needed someone to lock down wide receivers, and DeAngelo Hall needed someone to run shirtless sprints with.
4. Oakland Raiders: DE Nick Schlekeway
   The Raiders had their eye on Arkansas RB Darren McFadden, but they couldn't pass up the awesomeness of a Boise State defensive lineman. Chris Carr had a big say in this decision.
5. Kansas City Chiefs: QB Taylor Tharp
   Unsure of Brodie Croyle's progress, the Chiefs reached for Tharp to give Croyle some competition. While there were better quarterbacks in the draft, Kansas City was drawn to Tharp by the way he threw lazy out patterns, and they were not at all discouraged that no one wanted to see him throw at BSU's Pro Day. No one really wants to see Croyle throw, either.
6. New York Jets: CB Rashaun Scott
   Drafting Darrel Revis last year helped out the Jets secondary, and adding Scott will continue the trend. With Scandrick and Tadman off the board, the Jets went with the next best available BSU defensive back, owing to the greatness of the Boise State secondary and Tadman's golden touch.
7. New England Patriots: OL Tad Miller
   The Patriots didn't need to add much to their juggernaut, but Miller will make an excellent fit along the strong offensive line. Miller improved his draft status by recovering from a knee injury, which is a highly coveted skill in the NFL.
8. Baltimore Ravens: FB Michael Lose
   Drafting a fullback in the top ten is generally unheard of, but the Ravens needed a valuable asset to the running game and special teams. Plus, Lose's hair can do magic things.
9. Cincinnati Bengals: OL Jeff Cavender
   Cavender impressed scouts at the Pro Day with his strength and agility, but what pushed him into the top ten was his ability of mitosis. Having two identical versions of oneself is a rare commodity in the NFL.
10. New Orleans Saints: OL Dan Gore
    The fourth BSU offensive lineman to go in the first ten picks, Gore will be a great fit in the high-powered attack of the Saints. He already knows the ins and outs of creative offenses, and he can grow long, intimidating hair if he needs to. The Saints valued this higher than anything else.

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]

BSU Football = Video Gold

This video speaks for itself, and in doing so, says a whole lot about crazy Bronco fans.

Kyle Wilson out of spring practice

The Idaho Statesman is reporting that Kyle Wilson will miss spring practice due to a knee injury. With Orlando Scandrick gone to the NFL, the Broncos will be without both of their starting cornerbacks from last year for the spring.

While Wilson's injury is not expected to be serious, linebacker David Shields is still a question mark to return next season after shoulder surgery. Fortunatley, the team is stacked at linebacker, but having a veteran presence like Shields would be helpful.

Other Broncos get their shot (see sidebar) [Idaho Statesman]

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.