WAC Play-On Games for 2008

[SoonerBS]

Boise State


As I've mentioned somewhere else in another thread, I am going in the same order as Phil Steele does in his mag in listing these teams. However, I don't always agree in the order that Phil places them and this is one team I disagree with him on. Steele has Boise beating Fresno State in their matchup on November 28th for the conference title. Hell, I think that Boise could be out of contention way before this game is even played. I don't think their games at San Jose St. or Nevada are automatic wins this year. The conference race could be a lot closer than people are crediting it. AND, for Steele to make the outlandish remark that Boise could get back to a BCS game this year is just simply ludicrous. Boise will lose SU to Oregon and will likely lose 1 or 2 other games on their schedule. For a team to go to a BCS Bowl game from this conference, they are going to have to be undefeated. That's not happening for any team in this conference this year. Boise's detriment is going to be two-fold -- they are replacing nearly their entire offensive line and their starting QB. Ian Johnson's production will likely be down this year with an inexperienced O-line to run behind. Boise is use to winning a lot of their games by outscoring their opponents, but with these factors to overcome, scoring will not be as easy as it has been in the past. Also, they have to replace two starters at DB which is always an "iffy" proposition in a league known for affluent passing.

-- Boise St vs. Bowling Green September 13th -- There's a lot of people high on Bowling Green this year and with 17 starters back off an 8-5 season a year ago, I can understand why. However, Bowling Green still belongs to what I see as one of, if not THE weakest conferences in Div. 1 football. The MAC's out of conference performances last season were simply atrocious. Even with Boise being a notch down this year, I think they are still better than Bowling Green and they get this game at home on the Smurf Turf. My prediction: Boise St wins 49-21. (I know I said that Boise would have a harder time scoring a bunch of points per game this season but remember that Bowling Green allowed an average of 32 ppg from their opponents last season.)

-- Boise St vs. Hawaii October 17th -- OK, so I am not a believer in hawaii this season. That is going to become evident as you see me fading them within conference. There are very few teams in Div. 1 football this season that will face more changes than Hawaii. AND, after suffering a rare loss to Hawaii last season, Boise should be ready to pummel them on the Smurf Turf this year. My prediction: Boise wins 39-17.

-- Boise St vs. Utah St November 8th -- This game comes later in the season and is sandwiched between a couple of lightweights in New Mexico St and Idaho. It's homecoming game for Boise and Utah State will be dismal this season -- yet again. QB and offensive line should be starting to figure things out by this game. My prediction: Boise wins 49-3.

 

[SoonerBS]

Fresno State


I think Fresno State is the most likely team in this conference to win the conference. They bring back 17 starters and 51 lettermen off a team that went 9-4 last season. Every player last year got a lot of experience and I think that's going to be a very important factor in their success this season. The ONLY weaknesses I see on this team are the special teams and their out of conference schedule. As was mentioned by Conan at the RX, Pat Hill lives for the games against the out of conference Goliaths. Sometimes, he places so much emphasis and attention on these games, that they don't have enough juice left over for the conference games. I can only hope maybe he has learned some errors from the past and correct it this season.

-- Fresno State vs. Wisconsin September 13th -- I've seen a lot of posts about the FSU/Rutgers game the opening weekend. A lot of people know that FSU will be tough this season and I see people wanting to fade Rutgers in that game and play on Fresno State. To me, that's not going to be the "play on" game we want to play against Goliaths. I think there will be a short line in that game and Rutgers will win SU and likely the spread as well. However, two weeks later (and a bye-week to get ready) Wisconsin goes to the pit to take on the Bulldogs. The only thing that could have made this bet better is if it was a Thursday night ESPN game. But, it shouldn't matter . . . . I'm picking Fresno state to score the upset in this one. My prediction: Fresno State wins 28-24.

-- Fresno State vs. Nevada November 7th -- This one is easy . . . . I love betting on Fresno State whenever they are playing at home on ESPN televised games. Pat Hill, his team and the fans live for this kind of shit in Fresno! My prediction: Fresno State wins 52-28.

-- Fresno State vs. New Mexico State November 15th -- Fresno State has the defense to stop Chase Holbrook's passing attack, but NMSU doesn't have the defense to hold Fresno. We don't have to make it difficult, it's just that simple. My prediction: Fresno State wins 45-17.

 

[SoonerBS]

Nevada


After going 9-3 in 2005 and 8-5 in 2006, last year Nevada had a rebuilding year after losing some key players. Still, they went a respectable 6-7 and showed some rays of hope by playing both Fresno State and Boise State in close games. Offensively, Nevada returns 8 players and should be even better than their 33.5 ppg average of last season. Because of this alone, OVER plays are going to be in fashion early in the season. Another factor contributing to the OVER plays will be the fact that Nevada only returns 5 starters on defense. Granted, it was a defense that allowed 32 ppg last season though, so depending on how the new starters perform, Nevada's defense could improve. Look to play OVERS on the Texas Tech and Missouri games early if the TOTAL is 75 points or less.

-- Nevada vs. Boise State November 22nd -- I really like this play. Nevada should be gelling by this game, and even though Boise likely will be as well, this is a road game for Boise with the BIG game against Fresno state on deck. I'm calling for an upset here against Boise. My prediction: Nevada wins 42-35.

 

[SoonerBS]

Hawaii


A new era begins at Hawaii as finally being fed up with Hawaii's lack of funding for the football program, June Jones opted to take the Head Coaching job at SMU. It's hard to replace a coach of June Jones' caliber and offensive mind. He was a fixture in this program for 9 straight years and single handedly turned this losing program around to make it a winning program. Now, sometimes, a new coach can step into what has been a winning program and do well. But, June leaves Hawaii during what was going to be a "rebuilding" year even for him. Greg McMackin takes over the head coaching duties for Hawaii and he will only have 8 starters to work with. He will have 64 lettermen, but let's face it, the STUDS are gone. This is going to be a "fade Hawaii" year and I can't recommend any "play on" games with this team.

 

[SoonerBS]

New Mexico State


New Mexico State returns one of the most potent offenses in the WAC this season with senior QB, Chase Holbrook leading the way. If they were not replacing 2 offensive linemen and 1 TE off the offense, I would be calling for this to be possibly the best offense in the WAC. However, offensive lines are big handicapping factor in my predictions. Still, with a defense that allowed 36.2 ppg last season, and an offense that will likely average more points than they did a year ago, OVERS will be the venue.

-- New Mexico State vs. Hawaii November 8th -- The aggies are on a 4 game losing streak to Hawaii and this is the best shot they have had in some time to beat the Warriors. Last year Hawaii humiliated them beating them 50-13. I look for Chase and the boys to take out 4 years of frustration against Hawaii here. My prediction: NMSU wins 45-28.

 

[SoonerBS]

San Jose State


The only reason I can see for Steele to have this team behind Hawaii and New Mexico State is because San Jose will be breaking in some new skill players this year. Whoever wins the QB job, he will be throwing to some good and experienced wide receivers. The offensive line has 7 players returning with starting experience. So, they should be able to give their new QB some time to "learn on the job." Defensively, I think the Spartans are going to be sound once again. This is likely their best defensive line ever and the defensive backfield looks to be solid as well. I really think this team could make some waves in the WAC this year, so be watching them closely. If nothing else, the UNDERS could be plays on this team as we can usually expect some high totals given out in WAC games.


-- San Jose State vs. Boise State October 24th -- Last year, San Jose State's only ESPN televised game came against Hawaii at San Jose State. I remember it well -- I had Hawaii -17. Hell, Hawaii was lucky to escape that night with a win. San Jose State played over their heads, but that kind of shit happens more readily in the national spotlight at home on ESPN. I see something very similar to that game happening here against Boise. My prediction: Boise wins 38-35. (This could very easily go down as an upset as well.)

-- San Jose State vs. Fresno State November 21st -- No high school football for me on Friday nights, there are some good games scheduled on ESPN this season. Not only do we have a similar scenario to what I posted in the "play on" game against Boise, but Fresno state has Boise on deck for the season finale the next week. My prediction: Fresno State wins 27-24. (Again, this could be a possible upset in the happening.)

 

[SoonerBS]

Louisiana Tech


Louisiana Tech will be a team worth watching. The intriguing position to watch will be the QB position as two transfers from BCS schools will battle for the job. Whoever gets the job should prove to be good. Offensively, the QB position is the only true question mark as this team returns all the other skill position players and 7 offensive linemen who saw starting experience last year. Defensively the Bulldogs only return 5 starters, but they look to have some talent at all the positions and could be a lot stronger this season than the 30.7 ppg allowance they had last year. This team sure needs to be followed closely. For now, we'll play on some late games.

-- La Tech vs. Fresno State November 1st -- By the time November 1st rolls around, we should know more about this La tech team. For now, I'm thinking the team should be playing at its best. Bad timing here for the Fresno State Bulldogs as they have a Friday night ESPN game on deck against Nevada. My prediction: Fresno wins 32-28.

-- La Tech vs. Utah State November 15th -- These two teams played within 10 points of each other last year with La Tech winning and covering in a game where they were favored by -3. I think this is a blowout in the making this year though as Utah State will be worse and La Tech much better. My prediction: La Tech wins 38-10.

-- La Tech vs. Nevada November 29th -- This will be senior night at La Tech and likely their last game of the season. Nevada beat them badly last year, but I think La Tech may turn the tables in this season finale at home. My prediction: La Tech wins 45-42.

 

[SoonerBS]

Idaho


10 starters return on offense and 4 on defense. This team went 1-11 last season and 3-8 ATS. They are not a play on team for anything at anytime, except . . . .


-- Idaho vs. Boise State November 15th -- Idaho is likely to be anywhere from +21 to +28 home dogs. No, they are not going to win this, but they catch Boise in a "sleeper" game here. Boise plays Utah State the week before in their homecoming game where they will likely roll the score up on a poor Utah State team. But, after this game on the road against Idaho, they go on the road to play a Nevada team that they will definitely have to be ready for. Idaho has strategically placed a bye-week here before this game. My prediction: Boise wins 42-24.

 

[Conan]

SBS,

Here's a little piece I just picked up about one of SJ's outstanding LBs. I think this team will have a very frustrating defense for many of their opponents. If Kyle Reed ends up at QB and plays up to his abilities, they will have a pretty well balanced team on both sides and will win a lot more games than they did last season. Besides, you gotta like their coach.

SALT LAKE CITY -- San Jose State linebacker Ryne "Ryno" Gonzalez, 20, will not lose his scholarship, coach Dick Tomey said, despite being sentenced to jail for 45 days earlier this month for punching a friend in the face in 2005.
Gonzalez confronted Chad Cisneros over a woman both were dating, according to a report by The Associated Press. Gonzalez walked into Cisneros' home in Penryn, Calif., east of Sacramento, when he saw his girlfriend's truck in the driveway. The incident occurred before Tomey recruited Gonzalez. "He's been with us two years and that happened three years ago," Tomey said. "It's serious and he feels bad about it. He's changed a lot since then. We'll see where the legal process goes and if we need to add team discipline to that at the end of it we will. "He's very clear about the fact that he acted very inappropriate and he felt bad about it," Tomey said. "But again, that happened before I even knew him. And what I know about him has been nothing but tremendous." Gonzalez is expected to appeal the sentence.

 

[SoonerBS]

Utah State


Utah State will likely not be stunning anyone with upsets, but despite the fact that this team went 2-10 SU last season, they went 7-5 ATS. They return 6 on offense, 9 on defense and 39 lettermen. Offensively they are going to struggle a bit more than usual as they break in a new QB and some offensive linemen. I don't have any "play on" games for Utah State, but with a team that went 7-5 ATS last season, there will definitely be some spots to play on this team during the season according to the line and situation.

 

[SoonerBS]

SBS,

Here's a little piece I just picked up about one of SJ's outstanding LBs. I think this team will have a very frustrating defense for many of their opponents. If Kyle Reed ends up at QB and plays up to his abilities, they will have a pretty well balanced team on both sides and will win a lot more games than they did last season. Besides, you gotta like their coach.

SALT LAKE CITY -- San Jose State linebacker Ryne "Ryno" Gonzalez, 20, will not lose his scholarship, coach Dick Tomey said, despite being sentenced to jail for 45 days earlier this month for punching a friend in the face in 2005.
Gonzalez confronted Chad Cisneros over a woman both were dating, according to a report by The Associated Press. Gonzalez walked into Cisneros' home in Penryn, Calif., east of Sacramento, when he saw his girlfriend's truck in the driveway. The incident occurred before Tomey recruited Gonzalez. "He's been with us two years and that happened three years ago," Tomey said. "It's serious and he feels bad about it. He's changed a lot since then. We'll see where the legal process goes and if we need to add team discipline to that at the end of it we will. "He's very clear about the fact that he acted very inappropriate and he felt bad about it," Tomey said. "But again, that happened before I even knew him. And what I know about him has been nothing but tremendous." Gonzalez is expected to appeal the sentence.

 

[hanabada]

Hawaii


A new era begins at Hawaii as finally being fed up with Hawaii's lack of funding for the football program, June Jones opted to take the Head Coaching job at SMU. It's hard to replace a coach of June Jones' caliber and offensive mind. He was a fixture in this program for 9 straight years and single handedly turned this losing program around to make it a winning program. Now, sometimes, a new coach can step into what has been a winning program and do well. But, June leaves Hawaii during what was going to be a "rebuilding" year even for him. Greg McMackin takes over the head coaching duties for Hawaii and he will only have 8 starters to work with. He will have 64 lettermen, but let's face it, the STUDS are gone. This is going to be a "fade Hawaii" year and I can't recommend any "play on" games with this team.

Interesting write-up on Hawaii and hope Jones can have the same impact on SMU to make him look like the college football messiah. There is more to why JJ didn't get what he wanted, but the past is the past. Coach Mac has his work cut out for him and this year's team, but you got to keep in mind that Grunke is coming back and he saved several games on the road for the warriors. This team will probably be more balanced on O, and the linebacking and secondary should be pretty solid. The question mark will be the D-line and special teams. I see a 3 or 4 loss season. Anyway gl to you, and I can't believe you went through most of the conferences and their games.

I'm still debating on whether to play HI when they go to the swamp, but might look at playing the over instead. After this game, then we should have a better feel of how the season might play out.

 

[daboyzinblue]

3 or 4 loses? Are u serious? Hawaii will be lucky to have a winning
season this year.

UF -L
OSU -L
FSU -L
BSU -L
NEV -L
CINN -L

SJSU - Live dog.
UTST - Conf. road game(nuff said)
NMST - See above