Monday, October 5, 2009.

Can you maintain that chip on your shoulder when you're ranked No. 5 in the country, unprecedented at this time of year in the BCS era for a non-BCS school? Maybe not. Boise State faced a team that wanted it more Saturday night--an uncommon occurrence during the Golden Era--as the Broncos got by UC Davis 34-16 in Bronco Stadium. You can be sure that every team that plays BSU is going to have that ol' chip, and that's how it played out for the Aggies. It all started with UCD's goal line stand on the Broncos' first possession. It (was) a momentum boost for everybody," Aggie coach Bob Biggs said. "Particularly at that time in the game, I think it was confidence-booster that we needed to say, 'Hey, we're in a ballgame, they're going to come battle and you know, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming' and that's kind of what we did."

Biggs put it in perspective for any Boise State fans that may be disillusioned, throwing some understanding Chris Petersen's way. "It's tough in his position because as much as people love the Broncos they expect them to win by 40 points every time. It doesn't mean they're not a great team. It just so happens that our team played well tonight and kept it within reach. But they're a great football team."

As expected, the pollsters noticed the hiccup against an FCS team, as BSU dropped to No. 6 in both the AP and Coaches Polls yesterday. The Broncos were passed by Virginia Tech, although--interestingly enough--the Hokies had their own lethargic performance Saturday in beating ACC bottom-feeder Duke only 34-26. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that USC didn't leapfrog BSU after the Trojans pasted Cal in Berkeley, 30-3. BSU stayed at No. 5 in the Harris Poll. The big non-BCS news was Houston being ushered out of the conversation after losing 58-31 at UTEP. Now all eyes focus on TCU, which moved up to No. 9 on the Coaches list and No. 10 in the AP Poll after dispatching SMU, 39-14.

There's no question the Boise State secondary missed Kyle Wilson Saturday night. The senior cornerback got to celebrate his invitation to January's Senior Bowl by standing on the sidelines--in uniform but helmetless--and hoping for the best for his teammates. By the same token, BSU missed sophomore corner Jamar Taylor, whom it's been without all season. Taylor is said to be "close" to returning, but he wasn't close enough to provide his comrades any relief against UC Davis. Jerrell Gavins, currently the Broncos' third cornerback, filled in for Wilson versus the Aggies and led the team with eight tackles. But a couple times Davis quarterback Greg Denham exploited the advantage he had with 6-4 receiver Bakari Grant against the 5-9 Gavins.

It's as if this game went without bright spots for Boise State. That is certainly not the case, as Austin Pettis notched a career-high 10 catches and recorded his second 100-yard game of the season. The big column for Pettis on the stat sheet, though, is touchdowns. He had two more scores against the Aggies, giving him six for the season--and at least one in every Bronco game. Pettis' career total is up to 21 TD receptions, already fourth on the Broncos' career list with more than a season and a half to go.

The LeGarrette Blount thing continues to trudge along. Oregon coach Chip Kelly outlined a plan Friday that could reinstate the senior running back in time for the Ducks' game against Stanford November 7. Blount has paid a considerable number of dues since punching Boise State's Byron Hout after the Broncos' 19-8 win on the blue turf on Opening Night. If only Kelly had used the word "indefinite" instead of "season" when he handed down Blount's suspension two days after the game.

The turn of events has opened the door for more national criticism of the lack of suspension for Hout. What Hout did was equivalent to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting (repeating a Blount quote from Sports Illustrated earlier in the summer). It's not Hout's fault that Blount went off the deep end. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties don't earn suspensions. They earn serious consequences during and after practice and internal service to the program. And that's what happened.

All of you who thought Idaho would win four games this season--well, you were right. The Vandals just got there a lot faster than anyone figured, moving to 4-1 with their 31-29 win over Colorado State Saturday night in the Kibbie Dome. It's almost a sure thing now that Idaho's 2009 season finale will not be Thanksgiving weekend against Utah State in the Kibbie Dome. It's probably going to be a month later, probably on the blue turf versus a Mountain West opponent in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.

A building known for empty seats and only occasional noise was just the opposite Saturday night. Idaho did indeed fill the Kibbie Dome to its 16,000-person capacity, with the din likely surprising CSU. And a receiver known for making possession catches throughout his Vandal career rose up and made sure he was part of what will be a landmark night, as senior Max Komar corralled 12 catches for 152 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6½ minutes left in a wild third quarter that saw Idaho roll up 202 yards.

Nevada, so desperate for a victory, went pinball on rival UNLV Saturday at Mackay Stadium. And not just a little pinball. The Wolf Pack broke away from a 28-28 tie to score five unanswered touchdowns and win going away, 63-28. But how about the box score? Three Pack players topped 100 yards rushing: Mike Ball, Luke Lippincott and Colin Kaepernick. And Ball scored five TDs--the first five of his career. Nevada rolled up a school-record 559 yards rushing and had a whopping 773 total, most in the FBS this year on both counts. Elsewhere in the WAC, Utah State hung with BYU before falling 35-17, and New Mexico State lost at San Diego State 34-17.

Things will happen quickly for the Idaho Steelheads this week. They held their first official practices of training camp yesterday at Qwest Arena, with two-a-days continuing today and tomorrow. There won't be a sojourn to McCall for camp this year, but there will be a whirlwind few hours spent up by Payette Lake this Saturday. The Steelheads and Utah Grizzlies will play an exhibition game at the Manchester Ice & Event Centre--24 hours after facing each other down in Logan Friday night.

It was a bizarre four days for Troy Merritt at the Nationwide Tour's Soboba Classic in San Jacinto, CA. The former Boise State star was on the bubble after a first-round 74, then made the cut Friday with a 66, zoomed up the leaderboard with another 66 Saturday, and coughed up a 78 yesterday to finish tied for 44th. Merritt won $3,758, but he could have used more. He slipped from 28th to 32nd on the Nationwide money list. He's less than $13,000 out of "The 25" who will get PGA Tour cards next year, with two events remaining before the Nationwide Tour Championship. Nampa's Tyler Aldridge finished 55th at the Soboba Classic.

This Day In Sports...October 5, 1996:

Boise State plays only its third game ever against a Pac-10 school, this one against Arizona State in Sun Devil Stadium. The Broncos score first on a touchdown pass from Tony Hilde to Andre Horace, but the Sun Devils then put up eight unanswered touchdowns in a 56-7 ASU win. Senior quarterback Jake Plummer, the former Capital Eagle, plays a little more than a half in the middle of Arizona State's Rose Bowl season.

(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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