Wednesday, December 27, 2006.

Boise State enters a different world today, with its first Tostitos Fiesta Bowl practice set for this afternoon at Scottsdale Community College. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Colt Brooks and Drisan James first off the bus. Those two in particular are looking forward to the Biggest Game In Bronco History, because they didn’t play in the previous Biggest Game In Bronco History. Brooks and James were suspended for the 2005 opener at Georgia for “violating university policy”. Considering what happened to the offense that day, we’ll never know what effect James may have had on the game. But the Broncos definitely missed Brooks.

The responsibility of trying to slow down the Bulldog running game—and cover 6-8 tight end Leonard Pope—was left to Kyle Gingg and Mike Altieri, thrown into the fire as an untested freshman and untested sophomore, respectively. Both at 5-11, 215 pounds. They performed admirably in the 48-13 loss, but the Broncos could have used Brooks’ unpredictable pass rush threat, which became a centerpiece of BSU’s defensive scheme as the 2005 season progressed. James will be as anxious as anyone, having not been on that big stage last year, and—just as importantly—being a hometown guy from Phoenix. Incidentally, Gingg’s another Phoenix player who’s geeked about this opportunity, while Altieri will have to watch from the sidelines, having suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the season opener against Sacramento State.

At his first Fiesta Bowl press conference yesterday, BSU coach Chris Petersen talked about Oklahoma’s depth on defense. “They don’t miss a beat when they put other guys in.” And Sooners coach Bob Stoops puts a lot of other guys in, especially on the defensive line. Petersen also talked about the Broncos’ depth—in terms of stamina. He says he thinks his team’s in great shape, more than enough to last four quarters. But going wire-to-wire against a relentless OU offensive front is a lot to ask. To keep pace in the trenches Monday, the Broncos will need some combination of backup D-linemen like Phillip Edwards, Ian Smart and Mike Rodriguez to come up big to spell the usual five-man rotation of Andrew Browning, Dennis Ellis, Nick Schlekeway, Mike G. Williams and Mike T. Williams.

As long as the sod takes, the Broncos and Sooners should have a nice, new green track on New Year’s Day. And the Buckeyes and Gators will have another on January 8. The Arizona Cardinals and the state high school championship games took their toll on the University of Phoenix Stadium turf, so they tore it out last week to lay new sod for the Fiesta Bowl. Then they’ll roll out another supply of new grass for the BCS national championship game between Ohio State and Florida.

The MPC Computers Bowl is traditionally a high-scoring affair, usually garnering one of the highest over-unders from oddsmakers. This doesn’t promise to be one of those years, with Miami’s defense athletic and stifling, and Nevada’s one of the best in the WAC (its season finale notwithstanding). The Hurricanes are allowing 19½ points per game, the Wolf Pack 19. Those are solid numbers, but Miami’s total defense is brick-wall at under 266 yards per game; the Pack allows 343. On the other hand, The ‘Canes offense has struggled this season (329 yards per game). Nevada has averaged 372, and has worked with a lot of short fields due to turnovers. We’ll see what gives in to what on New Year’s Eve.

The over-under this year is pegged at 42½, which would make it the lowest-scoring game in this bowl’s history. So how about this trivia: Boise State, the nation’s top scoring team of the new century, has been involved in the two lowest-scoring Humanitarian/MPC Computers Bowls. Last year’s game is number one, with 48 combined points (Boston College 27, BSU 21), and the 2002 matchup is second at 50 points (Broncos 34, Iowa State 16).

It’s only natural that Quintin Mikell wants to make his mark for the Philadelphia Eagles on defense as opposed to special teams. Well, I don’t know if a Boise State alum has ever had a bigger defensive impact in one game before—at least one that had playoff implications (Kimo von Oelhoffen’s rollover on Carson Palmer in the AFC Playoffs last January doesn’t count). Mikell got his shot Christmas afternoon in Dallas, and he delivered three thunderous plays, one that might be looked back on as one that launched an improbable postseason run. The Eagles have gone from Donovan McNabb-less disaster to NFL Cinderella story, and Mikell’s part will be replayed in Philly for awhile.

First came the fumble he forced on a Cowboys kickoff return, recovered by the Eagles to set up their second touchdown. But that was just special teams. In the second period, Mikell was on defense—on a goal line stand, no less. And he made plays on second and fourth downs, the latter a takedown of Dallas standout Marion barber for a three-yard loss. That allowed Philly to take control of the game and earn a playoff ticket. It’s been a long time coming for Mikell, the former WAC Defensive Player of the Year at BSU who’s been one of the Eagles’ top special-teamers for four years. Now he’s a legitimate NFL safety.

The Idaho Stampede still doesn’t have an NBA-allocated player as it goes into tonight’s game against the Dakota Wizards at Qwest Arena. But Eddie Robinson is as good as one. The 6-9 forward has been the model of consistency in the early season for the Idaho Stampede. Robinson, whose five NBA seasons included the last three with the Bulls, has been in double figures in all but two of the Stampede’s 11 games and is coming off a team-leading 18-point performance on 9-for-12 shooting in last Saturday’s win over Albuquerque. The Stamps have won five of their last six games and will be looking to even their season record against Dakota, the old CBA foe that comes in at 6-3.

The inside tandem of Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry is on a roll, and Coby Karl has found his groove. Now, if Eric Lane can start culling some consistency out of his senior year, Boise State might be able to meet expectations. But Lane has been up-and-down, and the Broncos are not quite looking like the upper-echelon WAC team that Joe Fan is looking for. His two trips home to L.A. are prime examples. Lane was a key in the win at Cal State Northridge two weeks ago, with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting. But last week at Loyola-Marymount, he went 1-for-9 (0-for-6 from three-point land) and scored just two points. And that was a two-point double-overtime loss. BSU will be coming off an unplanned 11-day hiatus when it hosts Idaho State Saturday.

This Day In Sports…December 27, 1998:

A high point in Jake Plummer’s NFL career, when Chris Jacke hits a 52-yard field goal as time runs out to give Arizona a 16-13 win over San Diego at Sun Devil Stadium. The victory clinched the Cardinals’ first (and still only) playoff berth since moving to Tempe from St. Louis in 1988. The following week, Plummer would lead the Cards to their first playoff win in half a century with a win over the Dallas Cowboys (those were better times).

(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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