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Bulldogs better bone up or get blown out
With the WAC championship possibly on the line in tonight’s football game against Boise State, it’s gonna take a little Pat Hill hocus pocus to conjure up a win. The Bulldogs are clearly overmatched in the game. Boise State has Fresno State’s number. The Broncos also have Fresno State’s letter—L, as in loss. And that’s what the Broncos are going to hand the Bulldogs again tonight. The Bulldogs have played the Broncos twice in the Pat Hill era—in each of the past two years—and lost both times. Even the magical David Carr couldn’t save Fresno State in 2001, and he carved up defenses like Thanksgiving turkey. That loss to Boise State killed Fresno State’s chances to make a big bowl and gain more national respect. And last year’s loss was just embarrassing. Broncos quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie, in his first game back after six weeks off, ate up the Bulldogs’ defense, throwing for five touchdowns in less than three quarters. The Broncos gained 688 yards, the most in school history. Boise State went on to win the WAC championship last year. Now Dinwiddie’s back and has passed for more than 3,000 yards this season and boasts a 160.96 quarterback rating. Running back Brock Forsey, who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s game against Fresno State, now plays for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, but David Mikell has stepped up to fill the spot. He is averaging nearly five yards per carry and will pass the 1,000-yard rushing mark tonight. The Broncos are 21-2 over the past two seasons, with three games to go this season. Boise State is riding a 15-game WAC winning streak. In the Bulldogs’ favor is the home field. Fresno State is 5-0 at home this season and is riding a four-game winning streak. But that advantage could disappear if Bulldog Stadium is flat. The Bulldogs will need a sellout to have any hope of winning. A half-empty Bulldog Stadium may have been good enough against Portland State and Louisiana Tech, but against Boise State the house will need to be rockin’ for the Bulldogs to keep the advantage. The weather, on the other hand, will be in the Broncos’ favor. The forecast calls for a frigid evening with a possibility of showers. Anyone living in Idaho has to learn to handle the cold. One needs look no further than the Broncos’ 50-12 shellacking of Brigham Young University on a snowy night in Provo, Utah. The numbers also favor Boise State. The Broncos have, statistically, the top offense and top defense in the WAC. They gain more yards than any other team in the WAC and allow the fewest yards of any team in the conference. The Broncos’ schedule, admittedly, has been markedly weaker than the Bulldogs—It’s not hard to be 9-1 when you’re playing Idaho, Idaho State and Wyoming in your non-conference schedule. Boise State’s No. 20 national ranking is certainly not undeserved. And the Broncos have been steadily climbing the rankings. They have moved up in the rankings each of the past seven weeks. While the team has played a much easier schedule, it has dominated the competition. Boise State has beaten opponents this season by an average of almost 31 points. If ever the Bulldogs needed to produce some magic on the field, this is the week. If they don’t, Hill may need to start pulling hundreds of colored hankies from his sleeve for the Bulldogs to wipe away the tears of another WAC third-place finish. |
