Tuesday, January 9, 2007.

It’s something that goes in the books, and they can’t take it away. Boise State has finished the 2006 season in the top 5. And with Florida’s 41-14 rout of Ohio State last night in the BCS Championship Game, the Broncos are the only undefeated team in college football. BSU was voted fifth in the AP Poll and sixth in the Coaches Poll, with Greg Archuleta of the Albuquerque Journal (who we talked about yesterday) backing up his words and giving the Broncos a first place vote in AP for the first time ever. So those are the tangibles. The intangible is the history BSU wrote with its stunning heroics in the Fiesta Bowl last week.

A diligent Scott Slant reader named Ben (thanks, Ben) helped me track down previous WAC teams ranked in the top 10 of final AP Polls over the years. Wyoming was ranked no. 6 in the final AP Poll in 1967. Arizona State finished no. 6 in 1970, no. 8 in 1971 no. 9 in 1973 and was national runnerup in 1975. BYU’s first Top 10 finish was 7th in 1983—the Cougars, of course, won the national championship the following season. Air Force had a no. 8 finish in 1985 in the early days of Fisher DeBerry. Utah was 10th at the end of 1994, and BYU ended at no. 5 in 1996. So the Broncos equal the third-best finish in the rankings in the 45-year history of the WAC. By the way, the Utes were fourth in the AP Poll after winning the Fiesta Bowl over Pittsburgh two years ago.

I don’t know of a better time for Boise State to go before the State Board of Education for approval on anything, except maybe a week ago today? The board yesterday approved BSU’s plans for the $36 million sky suite/press box expansion at Bronco Stadium. Demolition of relevant parts of the stadium will begin in February, with the project complete in time for the season opener in 2008. When it’s done, there’ll be an entirely new concourse on the west side, including new concession stands and restrooms (the latter item almost got a standing ovation yesterday at the luncheon). Petersen says he’s already thinking past that project, wondering when they can get a seating expansion started in the stadium, considering what happened with what he affectionately calls Bronco Nation in Glendale.

It is not a shocker that yesterday’s Bronco Athletic Association luncheon featuring Chris Petersen was overflowing. A few snippets that came out of the meeting: linebacker Kyle Gingg, injured during Oklahoma’s first possession in the Fiesta Bowl, suffered a broken leg. But Petersen called it a “normal fracture” and expects Gingg back next season. He didn’t mention spring football—it would make sense to hold him out. Also, BroncoSports.com has been deluged in the past week. The official BSU athletics website traditionally has received 5-6,000 hits a day. Since the “Valley of the Stun”, it’s averaged 40,000 hits a day, peaking at 123,000 on January 2. And, the Broncos are working with Nike to change their uniforms for next season. It’ll still be blue-on-blue on the blue.

It was a sterling effort by Boise State last night—except when the clock was stopped. The Broncos were impressive in their 90-86 loss at 19th-ranked Nevada, but free throw shooting was bizarre and generally beastly. Only three BSU players went to the charity stripe all night, and two of them, Matt Nelson and Anthony Thomas, combined to go 6-for-15. If it weren’t for that, Nelson and Reggie Larry would be smiling today. They had a handle inside once they got used to the pace, before and after Nevada star Nick Fazekas injured his ankle. Nelson notched another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Larry poured in 22 points with seven boards.

Coby Karl has had some big games against the Wolf Pack, and so it was again last night. The senior guard was an all-around thorn, with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Just as importantly, Karl only turned the ball over once. The Broncos shot 48 percent and committed just 11 turnovers. But Nevada circled the wagons after Fazekas’ injury with 54 second left in the first half. Marcellus Kemp scored 27 points and Ramon Sessions 22 to pick up the slack. BSU now regroups for Louisiana Tech Thursday night at Taco Bell Arena.

The Idaho Stampede has its first-ever NBA call-up of the D-League era as Luke Jackson has been signed to a 10-day contract by the L.A. Clippers. Jackson had gotten his on-court mojo back in a hurry since joining the Stampede six games ago. His production has steadily increased to the point that he’s averaging 30 minutes and 12½ points per game. Jackson, of course, was the 10th overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Oregon. But he was dogged by injuries over his first two seasons and played only 46 games for the Cavs. How about Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor making the announcement—a little over 50 years following his quick stint as a College of Idaho Coyote.

Just call Steve Silverthorn “Mr. Shutout”. Having just been returned to the team by Iowa of the AHL, Silverthorn blanked Phoenix last night, 2-0, to stop a three-game Idaho Steelheads losing streak. He had posted back-to-back shutouts for the Stars in two spot starts over the weekend, so the goose egg against the Roadrunners makes it three in a row. It was Silverthorn’s second ECHL shutout of the season. The Steelheads also got an instant contribution from newcomer J.B. Bittner as they jockey the roster around their injury problems. Bittner had a goal and an assist in the victory.

Back to football—because there’s just so much going on there. Former Boise State coach and recently-fired Arizona State head man Dirk Koetter is finally headed to the NFL, as offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Koetter had interviewed last week with new University of Miami coach Randy Shannon but opted for a complete change of gridiron scenery. And, with Bobby Petrino bolting Louisville for the Atlanta Falcons, Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe appears to be in line for the Cardinals job. Kragthorpe, like Koetter a graduate of Pocatello’s Highland High, goes way back with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich. In 1990, Kragthorpe was hired as quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona when Jurich was AD there and was NAU offensive coordinator in 1992-93.

This Day In Sports…January 9, 1977:

The Oakland Raiders overwhelm the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. For the Vikings, it was their fourth consecutive Super Bowl loss. For the Raiders, it was the crowning moment of John Madden’s coaching career, with the lasting memory being Willie Brown’s 75-yard touchdown return of a Fran Tarkenton interception. In slo-mo.

(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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