Thursday, October 23, 2008.

"So anyways, let's get down to the nitty gritty." Jack Black in "Nacho Libre." That takes us right to what faces Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore tomorrow night against San Jose State. It's the Ihenacho brothers, Duke and Carl. Duke is tied for the national lead in interceptions with five, and Carl is the WAC leader in sacks at seven--and tops in the country in tackles-for-loss with 14. Those are some defensive credentials. The Spartans have had the luxury of defending opponents' long-yardage predicaments. "San Jose State is very good at getting you in negative situations right off the bat," noted coach Chris Petersen. Meaning, the Spartan defense has been money on first down.

Moore has more to think about against the Spartans than any team he's faced yet in his young career. He's seen what happened to New Mexico State last week: two interceptions for touchdowns and six sacks. Kellen knows he's going to have to set his feet and deliver quickly and accurately. He's been pretty good in that department, already breaking a BSU freshman record with his 13 touchdown passes. He's also become a favorite of opponents' media. "The Boise State players are pretty classy," wrote Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Advertiser after last week's game. "Kellen Moore thanked reporters for interviewing him. He then wished the Hawaii reporters a safe return. I don't think some of my relatives do that."

The San Jose State game presents the biggest test yet in pass protection for the ever-shuffling Bronco offensive line. It's been good, allowing only six sacks all season. The running game continues to be another story. But maybe there's an evolution beginning there with Richie Brockel lining up primarily at tight end following the injury to Chris O'Neill, and linebacker Dan Paul becoming a fullback. The 6-0, 229-pound freshman is proving to be a quick learner on the other side of the ball. "He's just a human missle in there destroying everything in his path," said Ian Johnson this week.

One of the answers to San Jose State's pressurized defense could be quick-hitters to the tight ends. Is Boise State equipped to do it without O'Neill? There was nary a catch by the tights at Southern Miss in the game following O'Neill's broken foot. But last week, there were two apiece by Brockel and Kyle Efaw. Brockel had his first receiving touchdown of the year, and Efaw had that nice 14-yard catch-and-run before he took a massive shot and fumbled. There's still a learning curve for the freshman from Capital--he'll get used to doing what O'Neill and Brockel do so well: cradling the ball after catching it. Meanwhile, Tommy Gallarda is a new regular at tight end since O'Neill went down. He hasn't had a catch since the Louisiana Tech game and is due.

If you think Petersen doesn't want to talk about BCS-busting, how far away will he stay from this subject? ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel was on with Colin Cowherd yesterday on ESPN Radio (and KTIK), and the subject of Tyrone Willingham's inevitable firing at Washington came up. It's no surprise that Petersen's name is front-and-center among prospective Husky replacements. Cowherd surmised that UW is prepared to pay up to $3 million a year to its new coach and asked Maisel if Petersen would jump at the opportunity, noting that Pete has a really good thing going right now in "a great city." Maisel said, "It's something I assume anyone would do--I'm not sure he would do it." Get ready for more fun in December.

In the WAC this week, it's going to be almost as interesting in the stands as on the field. It's the haves and the have-nots in WAC attendance again this year--the big three and the little six. Hawaii leads with just over 40,000 per game, but how will Warrior fans respond to their 3-4 record when Nevada visits Saturday night? Fresno State is just under 40,000, and Boise State is at 32,267 per game. Then comes the usual Grand Canyon, and that's one of the conference's biggest credibility problems. At least one of those other six is topping 20,000 right now (New Mexico State). Nevada continues to be the stunner. The Wolf Pack attracted only 12,475 for New Mexico State two weeks ago and 13,159 for Utah State last Saturday. To Nevada's credit, it reports actual turnstile count, unlike many schools. But this type of shocking apathy has been going on for years in Reno.

Louisiana Tech topped 25,000 for Mississippi State on Labor Day but drew only 12,400 for Idaho last week. Idaho reports tickets sold and has announced just over 15,000 for each of its three home games. But at the Idaho State game, for example, the Lewiston Morning Tribune estimated a crowd of about 11,000, and the Idaho State Journal said 10,000 (the announced attendance was 15,013). We'll see what transpires in the Kibbie Dome Saturday when New Mexico State visits. And San Jose State's attendance has improved this year--the Spartans are expecting their biggest crowd of the Dick Tomey era tomorrow night, with the possible exception of the Stanford game in 2006 (29,321).

It was looking quite ironic--Colorado with a budding quarterback controversy involving two former prep stars from the Treasure Valley. But coach Dan Hawkins didn't play it out that way last Saturday. Son Cody, the Bishop Kelly grad, had a tough time against the defenses of Florida State, Texas and Kansas during the Buffaloes' three-game losing streak, completing only 42 percent of his pass attempts with three interceptions. Former Skyview high star Matt Ballenger came on late against Kansas--he's 12-of-18 for 118 yards and a touchdown in garbage time this season.

Instead of plugging in Ballenger against Kansas State, though, Hawk the coach burned the redshirt year of true freshman Tyler Hansen, who burned the Wildcats with his running ability in Colorado's 14-12 win. Speculation is that Hansen will be used extensively the remainder of the season as a change-of-pace to Cody. Hansen could even become the starter. The Buffs play at Missouri Saturday. Probably not a good time to be facing the Tigers.

It took awhile for the Idaho Steelheads to get the motor running last night in Phoenix. The Steelheads were muddling along with a 1-0 deficit late in the second period until Brent Shepheard ignited them with a goal with less than four minutes left. They came out roaring in the third, as Garett Bembridge tallied 1:43 into the stanza, his first goal since returning to the Steelheads. And captain Marty Flichel added an insurance score just over three minutes left to cap a 3-1 victory over the RoadRunners. Netminder Matt Climie was outstanding in his first appearance as a Steelie, stopping 31 of 32 shots. The two teams pick it up again tomorrow night.

This Day In Sports...October 23, 1988, 20 years ago today:

Dan Marino has the biggest day of his NFL career, but it comes in a loss for the Miami Dolphins. When the New York Jets went up 30-10 at halftime, the Dolphins were forced to go to the air. Marino threw for 521 yards--second in NFL history at the time to Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards in 1951--and three touchdowns. But Marino was also picked off five times in a 44-30 Miami loss.

(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.)

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