Wednesday, December 6, 2006.

One benefit of the Fiesta Bowl that’s too obvious for words at Boise State is recruiting. The gates of national exposure, already more than decent for the Broncos, have blown wide open this fall. And the timing couldn’t be better for roster replenishment, as 22 seniors will be making their final appearances New Year’s Day in Glendale. So what difference has it made? Scout.com reports that BSU already has 15 commitments in advance of national Letter of Intent Day in February, seven of them in the last 10 days. Coach Chris Petersen says doors are indeed open that haven’t been before, but right now it’s just a matter of getting guys on board early who may have become Broncos anyway. They don’t want to miss the boat, so when a scholarship is offered, it’s often snapped up, lest another option come along for BSU to take it elsewhere.

And recruiting season is just heating up—this weekend will be a big one for official campus visits to BSU as the Fiesta Bowl frenzy swirls around town. A great atmosphere for impressionable high school athletes. As for the Scout.com list, how exact it is won’t be known until February 7. But it includes four standouts from the Treasure Valley. It also features Kellen Moore, the quarterback from Prosser, WA, who committed back in September. He’s been named Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Washington. You may have heard that Moore has set state records for touchdown passes in back-to-back years—66 last season and 67 this season. That’s 133 over the past two years. Gadzooks.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com was on Colin Cowherd’s show yesterday and tried to separate the Fiesta Bowl from Boise State’s downer day at Georgia 15 months ago. Forde was covering BSU on that infamous day between the hedges and says, “Jared Zabransky basically threw up on himself in that one. He’ll be better this time.” Forde feels with Ian Johnson healthy, the Broncos will be able to stay on the field with the Sooners. He says he just doesn’t know “if the Boise State defense is big enough.” When Cowherd asked him about his Heisman ballot, Forde said it would be Troy Smith no. 1, Darren McFadden no. 2, and either Brady Quinn, Steve Slaton or Ian Johnson no. 3.

Johnson now trails Colt Brennan on most Heisman Trophy projection lists, but Forde looked at this race a bit differently in a recent ESPN.com column. With the pummeling BSU has taken over strength of schedule, this is interesting. Forde had Ian third at that time, saying, “This was an even harder call, over Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and West Virginia's Steve Slaton. But Johnson gets the nod for running against statistically tougher defenses than either Slaton or McFadden, and for leading his team to an unbeaten season. Sucking it up and running for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the season finale, after suffering a partially collapsed lung and cracked ribs two weeks earlier, put him over the top.”

The Dennis Erickson rumors have exploded in the past 24 hours as his name is linked with the opening at Arizona State created by the firing of Dirk Koetter. Erickson says he hasn’t been contacted by ASU yet but told the Spokane Spokesman-Review he’d “probably take a look.” John Canzano’s column yesterday in the Oregonian is what started it. Canzano took off on Erickson’s track record of up-and-leaving programs after a short period of time; witness Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State.

Says Canzano: “Now, come on, Idaho. Dust yourself off, and tell me you saw days like this one coming after Erickson accepted the job at a program that lost 47 games in the five previous seasons. Tell me you were just joshing when you raised a glass and toasted to such things as, ‘Dennis will stay here as long as the administration supports him.’ Because in the end, Forrest Gump could have got this one right—Dennis is as Dennis does—and I mean that in the most flattering way.”

Boise State tries get to on the road to .500 tonight with a home date against Montana State at Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos’ inside depth has taken a hit, as it was announced yesterday that Kurt Cunningham will miss six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. The 6-9 sophomore center hadn’t really gotten untracked yet, averaging eight minutes a game with a point and a half and a rebound and a half per game. It’s been the Matt Nelson show underneath so far, with the Eastern Washington transfer coming off a 16-rebound performance in last Sunday’s loss at Montana. Meanwhile, Eric Lane might be less than 100 percent tonight with strep throat.

The Bobcats will provide a bit of a WAC measuring stick—they won 72-65 at Idaho and got whacked 80-41 at Fresno State. Washington State changed the Broncos’ measuring stick last night in Pullman. The Cougars, who only beat BSU by two points 10 days ago, upset 18th-ranked Gonzaga 77-67. So in all fairness, you could say the jury’s still out on these Broncos despite their 2-4 start.

More chagrin for the Idaho Stampede last night, as the Dakota Wizards rallied for a 94-90 victory in Bismarck. The Stamps blew a double-digit third quarter lead and were outscored 23-10 in the fourth. Peter Ramos had a big night for the Stampede, going 9-for-9 from the field for 18 points. And Boise State product Jermaine Blackburn had his best game of the young season with 16 points. Idaho’s in a very odd stretch of the D-League schedule—amidst a stretch of six straight road games, the Stampede now has nine days off until visiting Anaheim a week from tomorrow.

The Phoenix Roadrunners have been playing generally .500 hockey all season. But with the Idaho Steelheads stifled in their three losses to Las Vegas last week, Phoenix finds itself only four points out of first place in the ECHL West Division. And the Roadrunners get to go head-to-head with the Steelies in a three-game series with the Steelies starting tonight in Qwest Arena. The Steelheads would like to return to their high-scoring ways in the third period, because they may need to if Phoenix stays hot in the second. The Roadrunners have outscored opponents 24-10 in the second period this season.

This Day In Sports…December 6, 1969:

With national title implications on the line, no. 1 Texas beats second-ranked Arkansas 15-14 in the “Big Shootout” in Fayetteville before President Richard Nixon, future President George H.W. Bush, Rev. Billy Graham, Henry Kissinger and worldwide dignitaries. Under future Hall of Fame coach Darrell Royal, Longhorn quarterback James Street connected with Randy Peschel for 44 yards on a daring 4th-and-3 play from the Razorbacks’ 45-yard line late in the fourth quarter, leading to the winning touchdown and spoiling future Hall of Famer Frank Broyles’ hopes of a national championship for his Razorbacks.
(Courtesy: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame)

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on ESPN Radio 1350 KTIK.)

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