Friday, October 31, 2008.

Does anyone else think it's a bit curious? Boise State is New Mexico State's homecoming opponent tomorrow night? Some schools pick teams they know they can beat for homecoming, so that all the fans go home happy. Others choose games they really need in their conference races. But there are those that select opponents they really want to beat, hoping to draw inspiration from the campus buzz surrounding the event. BSU falls into the latter category, obviously. The Broncos went with Bowling Green for homecoming way back on September 13, because that was their last Saturday home game before November. Maybe NMSU should have opted for San Jose State two weeks ago. Conceivably that would have motivated the Aggies in that 31-14 loss. We'll see how well New Mexico State chose its homecoming guest in Las Cruces tomorrow.

Just look at New Mexico State's defense--No. 1 in the nation in fewest passing yards allowed at 126 yards per game. Everyone expects Boise State to run the ball at the Aggies' oddball 3-3-5 aligment. But that's exactly why you can expect some funkiness in the BSU passing game. Perhaps it would be similar to what the Broncos dusted off at Oregon with the tight ends.

I keep coming back to Kyle Efaw, who's making plays in the passing game and could be making more. He dropped a pass in the end zone at San Jose State and made a great sliding catch on a possible TD before the replay booth ruled him out of bounds. Chris Petersen says the freshman from Capital High is very close to filling the void left by Chris O'Neill's injury. But it takes time. "Tight end is one of the toughest positions on our team," said Petersen this week. Efaw has five catches for 73 yards on the season.

Catches, catches and more catches. Does that describe New Mexico State wide receivers Chris Williams and A.J. Harris, or what? One is the Aggies career leader in receiving yards (Williams with 3,048), and the other is the school's all-time leader in catches (Harris with 237). Williams in particular burned the Broncos during that 500-yard passing night in Las Cruces two years ago with 13 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown. But the duo was totally tamed last season in Bronco Stadium, combining for seven catches for just 46 yards. BSU's 2008 defense against the pass is looking a lot more like that 2007 game than the one in 2006. How about these combined career numbers for Williams and Harris, though: 451 catches for 5,080 yards and 42 TDs.

One of the keys to that 58-0 Boise State shutout last year was the absence of a running game for New Mexico State. With the help of six Bronco sacks, the Aggies rushed for minus-19 yards on the night. Marquell Colston had snapped NMSU out of its annual ground game funk this season until an injury kept him out of the loss at Idaho last week. Colston, who's rushed for 353 yards and four touchdowns, is listed on the Aggies depth chart as the starter tomorrow, but general consensus is that he'll still be out. NMSU lost another running back, Brandon Perez, to injury last week. So, either understudies Tonny Glynn and Ronald Opetaia step up big-time tomorrow, or BSU can put some emphasis on bringing heat.

Idaho didn't need its passing game against New Mexico State last week--Nathan Enderle was only 7-of-18 for 59 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown. But the Vandals will need to throw tomorrow, and it won't be easy versus San Jose State, fourth nationally in sacks with 27. In the past four games, the Spartans have recorded 18 sacks and 10 interceptions, with four picks returned for touchdowns. Idaho catches a break with the absence of SJSU star defensive tackle Carl Ihenacho and the probable sidelining of defensive end Jeff Schweiger, the USC transfer. But the Spartans still have D-tackle Jarron Gilbert, who sometimes plays like three guys rolled into one.

Fresno State's in an interesting situation tomorrow. The Bulldogs play Louisiana Tech in Ruston, a place where they traditionally don't play well. So how's coach Pat Hill preparing his team? According to the Fresno Bee, "During his weekly news conference, Hill said the players needed to feel more upbeat about the season. So he had a 15-minute conversation with them Sunday on the topic of 'feeling good' about where they are right now. The Bulldogs are 5-2 and 2-1 in the WAC and still can win at least a share of the conference title by winning their last five games. 'I need to get my football team excited about that. Sometimes it's very hard,' Hill said." Why is it always a problem there to get excited about a WAC championship? That's why the Bulldogs never win one.

The Idaho Steelheads continue their Eastern trek tonight with another game at Elmira. One of the unsung stars of Wednesday night's win over the Jackals was Ben Nelson, the rookie from Quinnipiac University. Nelson had two assists--on the Steelheads' first and third goals. He's averaging a point a game so far as Idaho is off to a 2-1-1 start. This is going to be one tired troupe when it returns home next Wednesday. From Elmira, the Steelies travel to Reading, PA, tomorrow and Trenton, NJ, Sunday.

The crowd will be small, but at least the popcorn will be poppin' tomorrow afternoon when the Boise State men's basketball team plays its first exhibition game against Guelph in Taco Bell Arena. Coach Greg Graham will get his first game-look at a host of new faces, including La'Shard Anderson. The 6-0 sophomore transfer from Irvine Valley College is learning quickly at point guard, according to Graham. Anderson is being groomed as a backup to Anthony Thomas at the point.

The Boise Burn has found its new direction, and his name is Brent Winter. He's been the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. "Coach Winter has the extensive arena football background that we were looking for," said Burn president Eric Trapp. "He has great contacts throughout the AFL, af2 and at the collegiate level." That means Trapp likes Winter's recruiting acumen. It's a very important facet of af2--coaches have to be good salesmen to draw guys with talent who play for the love of the game, not money.

This Day In Sports...October 31, 1997:

Six-foot-ten Tim Duncan, the NBA's top draft pick out of Wake Forest, scores 15 points in his pro debut. His mentor, veteran 7-1 center David Robinson, added 21 as San Antonio opened the season with a 107-96 win over Denver. Duncan would go on to be NBA Rookie of the Year--and the following season would help the Spurs to their first NBA title.

(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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