Just 139 days left to wait

Hughes Views

By Eddie Hughes

It has been 111 days since the Fresno State football team closed its 2003 season, 17 days since spring practice ended and there are still 139 days until the Bulldogs open their 2004 campaign at Washington.

So, to hold over all of the hardcore football fans roaming the campus, it’s time for the super early 2004 Western Athletic Conference predictions.

Will this be the year the Bulldogs finally win a WAC championship? Can Boise State replace departing quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie? Will new UTEP coach Mike Price turn the Miners around? Is Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang going to break the NCAA passing yardage record?

Enough with this year’s most sizzling questions—on to the predictions.

1. FRESNO STATE

That’s right. The Bulldogs are being picked to win the conference, which is nothing new. But this time, maybe they’ll actually do it.

Fresno State was expected to have a shot at the WAC crown the past three seasons, but came up short each time with three straight losses to Boise State and three straight to Hawaii.

The Bulldogs return an offensive line that might be among the nation’s best if everyone stays healthy. Logan Mankins is expected to return along with Dartagnon Shack and center Kyle Young, a freshman All-American last season.

A healthy Paul Pinegar should lead to more offense from the Bulldogs this season, as should a deep stable of tailbacks led by Dwayne Wright, Bryson Sumlin and UCLA transfer Wendell Mathis.

The Bulldogs defense looked every bit as strong in the Spring Game as it did in the 17-9 Silicon Valley bowl victory over UCLA.

The secondary should be the best it has been in coach Pat Hill’s tenure. Cornerbacks Raymond Washington, Awan Diles, Richard Marshall and Therrian Fontenot all return, as do safeties James Sanders, Tyrone Culver and Vince Mays. Sanders, a junior, is one of the nation’s top safeties.

If kicker Brett Visintainer is healthy after last season’s ankle injury, the Bulldogs will be as good as ever on special teams.

2. HAWAII

The Warriors return their entire offense from last season, including Chang. The senior quarterback has 12,814 career passing yards and needs just 2,218 to pass Ty Detmer for the NCAA record. Hawaii’s offense will be good.

The defense? Well, that’s another story. Hawaii lost the entire starting defensive line, including likely NFL-bound players Isaac Sopoaga and Travis LaBoy.

The only impact returner on defense is cornerback Abraham Elimimian. The Warriors will be in trouble if no one steps up to fill the holes left by the 2003 seniors. But the run-N-shoot offense shouldn’t have any trouble putting up big points.

3. BOISE STATE

No more Dinwiddie for the Broncos, who have won two straight WAC titles and 11 consecutive games. Now, the reigns get turned over to either senior Mike Sanford or sophomore Jared Zabransky.

Dinwiddie is not the only part of the Broncos’ offense that is gone. In fact, the only returning starters are two offensive linemen and a tight end.

The Broncos are slightly more experienced on defense with first-team All-WAC linebacker Andy Avalos, first-team defensive end Julius Roberts and second-team cornerback Gabe Franklin returning.

Even with all of the questions on offense, Boise State is part of the trio (along with Fresno State and Hawaii) that has separated itself from the rest of the WAC and should finish in the top three.

4. NEVADA

Consider the Wolf Pack the best of the rest. A big reason why is running back Chance Kretschmer. The senior rushed for 1,162 yards last season for a Nevada team that started the season 5-2 before losing three straight WAC games.

Even with the losses of Maurice Mann and Tim Fleming at receiver and Jorge Cordova on the defensive line, Nevada should be able to pull out fourth place in the top-heavy WAC.

5. TULSA

The Golden Hurricane surprised everyone by tying for second in the WAC with Fresno State last season. Of course it helped that Tulsa didn’t have to play the Bulldogs in 2003 because that was the one WAC team the Hurricane got to skip.

The same holds true in 2004, but Tulsa’s won’t be able to pull out a second-straight bowl game.

The Humanitarian Bowl berth was Tulsa first trip to a bowl game in 12 seasons and marked the team’s first winning record since 1991.

But if last season wasn’t just a fluke, Tulsa should be quite competitive again. Eight starters return on offense and nine on defense.

Senior quarterback James Kilian threw for 2,217 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. Tight ends Garrett Mills (first-team All-WAC) and Caleb Blankenship give Kilian options to throw to along with returning receiver Montiese Culton.

6. UTEP

The new-look Miners could finish as high as fourth. New coach Price was the national coach of the year in 1997 at Washington State. After his highly-publicized debacle at Alabama, he ended up with UTEP.

Senior linebacker Robert Rodriguez leads the defense, with senior running back Howard Johnson leading the offense.

Sophomore quarterback Jordan Palmer, the younger brother of 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer, threw for 1,168 yards, seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions on 198 attempts last season. How fast can Price set UTEP straight? Watch and see.

7. LOUISIANA TECH

The “other” Bulldogs were hit big on offense with the departures of quarterback Luke McCown and wide receivers D.J. Curry, Chris Norwood and Shawn Piper.

But Louisiana Tech should have the WAC’s second best offensive line with the return of senior Adrian Gonzalez and junior Aaron Lips.

The team recruited some high-profile athletes after the 2002 season, which should start to show. But losing the impact players, especially McCown, will prevent this team from being a bowl threat.

8. SOUTHERN METHODIST

The presence of Keylon Kincade made SMU’s offense a little scary last season. Now, he’s gone and so is the scare factor.

The positive is that sophomore quarterback Chris Phillips showed promise in his freshman campaign, throwing for 389 yards and two touchdowns while starting the last five games of the season.

Defensive tackle Allan Adami is the team’s most imposing player , and will lead a defense with nine returning starters. Returning that many starters is usually a good thing, but when two of the three losses are linebacker Brian Bischoff and cornerback Jonas Rutledge, the outlook isn’t too good.

9. SAN JOSE STATE

Is this program ever going to move up? The Spartans were 3-8 last season behind standout quarterback Scott Rislov. Now, he’s gone and the Spartans have just two returning starters on offense.

Also gone from the offense are receivers Kendrick Startling, Tuati Wooden and Jamall Broussard. Basically, San Jose State needs young players to step up—lots of young players.

This team will have to fight to stay out of last.

10. RICE

The option attack might not feature many options this season.

Fullback Robbie Beck is gone. So is quarterback Kyle Herm. But quarterback Greg Henderson is a capable replacement.

The best thing the Owls have going for them is their punter—sophomore Jared Scruggs. He led the WAC, and ranked fifth nationally, with an average of 45.9 yards per attempt.

He’ll get a lot of attempts this season.