Friday, December 28, 2007.

If there’s such a thing as East Coast bias, then maybe there’s a West Coast bias when it comes to Georgia Tech star running back Tashard Choice. Because we’ve hardly heard of him out here. Kind of like Chris Johnson of East Carolina. Choice is right up there with Johnson, the guy who tattooed Boise State with 408 all-purpose yards in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl last Sunday. Choice this season became the first Yellow Jacket to run for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons in Tech’s storied history. He has quicks, he has moves, and he has inside power. Choice can run the rock. Fresno State’s goal is obvious Monday in the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl: gum up the Jackets’ running game.

Choice transferred from Oklahoma but was in the shadows as a sophomore and junior at Georgia Tech—for two very good reasons. He was an apprentice of sorts under P.J. Daniels, the running back who set an NCAA bowl game rushing record in Bronco Stadium with 307 yards in the 2003 season’s Humanitarian Bowl. Then he was second fiddle last year to one of the best players in the nation, Yellow Jacket wide receiver Calvin Johnson. This year the Tech offense didn’t quite do enough to save Chan Gailey’s job, but it wasn’t because Choice wasn’t carrying the load. He’s in the top five in Jacket history in most career rushing categories. It’ll be interesting for local fans to watch Fresno State play this chess match. They watched BSU’s freshmen duo, Jeremy Avery and D.J. Harper, run for 100 yards each on the Bulldogs two months ago.

Does Hawaii have a chance against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl New Year’s Day? Yes, in the opinion of Boise State coach Chris Petersen, “with that offense and those receivers.” Earlier this month Petersen said of the Warriors: “If they show up loose and not too amped up and play their style, I think they’ll be okay.” That’s an interesting assessment considering the Broncos didn’t appear to be amped up enough in their 41-38 loss to East Carolina in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Nor did they play their style until things got desperate. By the way, Pete said yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk he has had no contact with anyone from West Virginia regarding the Mountaineers’ head coaching job.

It’s Dan Hawkins against Nick Saban Sunday night in Shreveport, LA. More specifically, it’s Colorado versus Alabama in the Independence Bowl, Hawk’s first postseason trip with the Buffaloes since leaving Boise State two years ago. It’s a big night for Cody Hawkins, the former Bishop Kelly quarterback who gets his first bowl start for his dad. Cody’s had a serviceable freshman year since winning the signal-caller’s job in August, throwing for 2693 yards with 19 touchdowns against 16 interceptions and helping the Buffs to their monumental upset of Oklahoma. Sunday night’s game is the difference between a winning and losing season for CU and ‘Bama—they both go in at 6-6.

It’s rare that Boise State has two marquee home games in one basketball season, but tomorrow night the Broncos host their second Top 25 team of the season, this time No. 20 BYU. They put on a good show in a loss to Washington State last month, but it’s a defeat they suffered three weeks ago that doesn’t measure up. For the Broncos, returning to Taco Bell Arena again is not just a matter of bouncing back from the stunning two-point home loss against Loyola Marymount on December 8. It’s re-instilling confidence in a disillusioned fan base after the missed opportunity to sell it on this season’s product.

After lurking just below and just above .500 the past three seasons, Boise State coach Greg Graham said last month: “We’ve been right on the edge. It’s time to push over the edge and get there.” That’s the expectation he set, and the expectation planted in the minds of the fans. That’s why the Loyola loss was such a setback, and tomorrow night is so huge. An upset of BYU would be major propulsion, sending the Broncos into WAC play at 9-3. A loss? Well, that’s what is expected in the WAC this season. The conference is in urgent need of something good to happen. Nevada, the one-time standard-bearer, was demolished last night by North Carolina, 106-70.

Northwest Nazarene is off to the best start in school history at 8-0, but the Division II Crusaders haven’t been tested in a counting game by a Division I team. They get their chance tomorrow night when they face Idaho State in Holt Arena. NNU did face a D-I foe in an exhibition game in early November—and got waxed at Utah, 88-43. The Bengals figure they’re getting the Crusaders at the right time after back-to-back losses versus Top 10 teams—by 40 points at UCLA and by 30 at home to Washington State. Not to mention last night's 68-51 loss at Utah. NNU hopes to be the snake in the grass and will likely have to light it up from three-point range to have any hope of an upset. The Crusaders do have a couple guys who can do that, as Joel Ryman and Tyler Roberts are hitting 54 percent and 47 percent from beyond the arc, respectively.

With their three-game winning streak, the Idaho Stampede have pulled back to within a game and a half of the first-place L.A. D-Fenders in the NBA D-League West Division. The Stampede surge came at the expense of the worst team in the league, the 2-14 Bakersfield Jam. This weekend the Stamps get another struggling crew for a two-game series in Qwest Arena, the 4-8 Anaheim Arsenal. Two Idaho players are literally that and are off to solid starts this season—Bishop Kelly grad Cory Violette is averaging 16.1 points and 5.2 rebounds, and former Boise State star Roberto Bergersen is getting 15.7 points per and leads the team in steals with 19.

The Idaho Steelheads collected their most impressive win of the season last Saturday, blanking Las Vegas, 2-0. As expected, the Wranglers were ready for the Steelheads in Orleans Arena last night, getting one back in a 4-2 decision. Defenseman T.J. McElroy did notch his first goal as a Steelie, getting the team’s first tally in the second period. McElroy, a 2007 ECHL All-Star who came over in a trade from the South Carolina Stingrays, was playing his sixth game in an Idaho sweater. Goalie Steve Silverthorn dropped back below .500 with the loss, falling to 5-6-4. The Steelheads still have only one road victory this season.

This Day In Sports…December 28, 2000:

Boise State wins its second straight Humanitarian Bowl on a 26-degree day at Bronco Stadium, beating WAC co-champion UTEP, 38-23. The Broncos got out of the gates with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Bart Hendricks to Jay Swillie and kept the Miners at arm’s length the rest of the way. The game-breaker was a 77-yard third quarter TD run by Hendricks, who wrapped up his college career with the H-Bowl MVP award.

(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 1350 KTIK/The Ticket. He also handles color commentary on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football.)

---

---