WAC rundown Week 3

***Note: Shucks, there goes my undefeated streak of WAC picks. And wouldn't ya know it Fresno State's double-overtime loss to Wisconsin last week is the only blemish on my record so far this year. I hope to bounce back strong, but I also hope I lose on my 'Dogs-boise state pick this week.

No. 10 Boise State (2-0) @ Fresno State (1-1)
Friday, 6 p.m., ESPN
Last week: Wisconsin 34, Fresno State 31 (2OT)
Make no mistake, Fresno State fans are disgusted by the Broncos -- they wouldn't mind a similar WAC winning mark, but overall the feeling is disgust. Boise State has won seven of the past eight in the series, with the last loss coming in 2005 at Bulldog Stadium, 27-7. The series remains a mystery, as Fresno State always seems to have an edge on paper, but never in the score book. Until that trend starts to change, and someone figures out how the Broncos execute so flawlessly, we've gotta pick the other way.
Prediction: Boise State

Nevada (0-1) @ Colorado State (2-0)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Last week: Nevada bye
Nevada's preseason hype came to a humbling crash in a 35-0 opening loss at Notre Dame. The Wolf Pack got a week off to think about it, and now faces what appears to be a tougher test than people realized two weeks ago -- an undefeated Rams team fresh off wins against Colorado and Weber State (albeit by one point). But Nevada won't get shut out again, and will flat outscore the Rams.
Prediction: Nevada

San Diego State (1-1) @ Idaho (1-1)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Last week: Washington 42, Idaho 23
Signs point to a new era at lowly San Diego State, where things have never been quite as lowly as they have in Idaho. The Aztecs, under new coach Brady Hoke, have renewed discipline and beat Idaho 42-17 last season. They did, however, lose in Moscow in 2002. But don't expect a repeat. Idaho coach Robb Akey has four wins in his three-year career.
Prediction: San Diego State

Nicholls State (1-1) @ Louisiana Tech (0-2)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
Last week: Navy 32, Louisiana Tech 14
There's no way a Nicholls State team (sorry don't know their nickname so couldn't use it) that lost 72-0 in the opener at Air Force, can beat a team with the athletes La Tech has. Chalk up the first win of the year for those other Bulldogs as they try to rebound from losses at Auburn and Navy.
Prediction: Louisiana Tech

Utah State (0-1) @ Texas A&M (1-0)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
Last week: Utah State bye
The WAC Aggies had a bye last week to prepare as it tries to win its first road game in eight tries. Though these two teams have never met, the Big 12 Aggies are riding high off a bye week as well -- only their bye follows a 41-6 thumping of New Mexico. For a team that struggles as much as Utah State does on the road, it would be unthinkable to pull off a win in such a hostile environment.
Prediction: Texas A&M

UTEP (0-2) @ New Mexico State (1-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
Last week: New Mexico State 21, Prairie View A&M 18
Wow, the Aggies might literally be the worst team in the country. Let's hope Dwayne Walker can turn this program around and stop embarrassing the WAC. UTEP has already dropped two decisions to Buffalo and No. 24 Kansas, and awaits No. 2 Texas and No. 21 Houston after this one. It'll be a dreadful start to the season if the Miners can't win this one.
Prediction: UTEP

San Jose State (0-2) @ Stanford (1-1)
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Last week: No. 17 Utah 24, San Jose State 14
The Spartans are playing quarterback shuffle again with Jordan La Secla and Kyle Reed, and the team was competitive against a ranked Utah squad. The problem with San Jose State remains offense (save for the 56 points USC dropped on 'em). Jim Harbaugh will have Stanford's offense ready to score enough to outlast the Spartans, who last beat Stanford in 2006.
Prediction: Stanford

Hawaii (2-0) @ UNLV (1-1)
Saturday, 8 p.m., CBS College Sports
Last week: Hawaii 38, Washington State 20
UNLV is improved, and gave Oregon State a huge scare last week before losing on a last-second field goal, but Hawaii QB Greg Alexander caught fire in beating a Pac-10 team (that probably shouldn't be) on the road last week. Would be an easy Hawaii win if it were on the islands, but the desert will keep it close. Two road wins in a row for the Warriors? Unheard of.
Prediction: Hawaii

Heart and Soul

We've heard a lot about heart and soul this week in the college baseball world.

For me, it started during the Tony D. show on 1550 AM when guest interview Augie Garrido (the current Texas coach and former CS Fullerton coach) was talking about his life documentary that aired tonight on ESPN2. Garrido, who was a player on Fresno State's 1959 College World Series team, and whose number is retired on the Beiden Field wall, told Tony D. his heart is in Texas but his soul is in Fresno.

Then we heard Diamond 'Dogs coach Mike Batesole talk about Game 1 starter Justin Wilson being all heart on the mound. That heart helped him limit No. 6 Rice to two runs in seven innings in the 'Dogs 17-5 CWS win.

Shoot, the ESPN announcers and all the other media have been talking all week about how these 'Dogs aren't supposed to be here. They're the first No. 4 Regional seed to ever make it this far, their lineup has the lowest team average of any CWS squad, they score the least runs per game and blah blah blah. But they have big hearts everyone keeps saying.

Everyone on planet Earth, meet Fresno State. That's what we've been trying to tell you for years -- decades even. Pat Hill talks about it. The football team talks about. It's what the Red Wave and Fresno State athletics is built upon and generated by. Heart and soul is what puts the chip on our collective shoulder. We know we're capable of beating anyone. We don't take moral victories. We come to win the game.

Our players play harder than yours, our yellers in the stands yell louder in the stands than yours and our coaches coach better than yours. If you try to argue that with us, we'll argue better than you too.

Tell us we're not good enough and it's like putting a baby Gremlin in a pool of water. It makes our heart grow more motivated and our soul more attached to Fresno State. Keep telling us we shouldn't be here, we strike out too much, we don't field clean enough or throw fast enough or run quick enough or hit far enough or have enough players batting .400. Keep talking about your paper advantages. Go ahead. Just be ready to prove it on the field.

Grading the 'Dogs: at Texas A&M

Quarterbacks: B
Brandstater's second-half performance was nothing less than an A, but throwing the early interception, the intentional grounding safety and getting shut out in the first half put the team in hole. Still, his 260 yards passing on 21 of 31 with 3 TDs should give fans high hopes for his potential.

Running Backs: C
Three fumbles by Smith were very costly, as was early injury to Miller. Mathews continued to shine with 66 yards on 11 carries, but also was injured. Harding got done what he needed to but averaged just 2.1 yards per carry.

Receivers: A-
Pascoe shows the nation just how good he is with 3 TDs and 70 yards on 7 catches. Moore turned in another big game with 4 catches for 52 yards, but fumbled the ball again trying to stretch from the 1-yard line to the end zone. Crawley's courage over the middle will be a big asset.

Offensive Line: B
Pass blocking was amazing with no sacks allowed, and Jackson playing the second half in place of McDowell, but run blocking was suspect.

Defensive Line: B-
With Shirley out, Ramos and Banks stepped up, and Ike and Clutts each had 9 tackles. But Lane ran it down the Bulldogs' throats in crunch time.

Linebackers: B
Jacobs, Riley and Brown combined for 45 tackles, but the Aggies finished with 318 yards rushing. The corps was very disciplined at times, and showed it might turn into the WAC's best.

Defensive Backs: A
Harris, Haynes, Bell, Jefferson and Owens were contributing the the run-stopping and along with Jenkins held the Aggies to 79 yards passing. Can't ask for a better performance than that.

Special Teams: C
Stitser has to correct his inconsistency, with two missed field goals, but 'Dogs also blocked an Aggies attempt. Kickoff coverage was solid allowing 20 yards per return. Zimmerman averaged 40 yards per punt and pinned one inside the 20-yard line.

GAME PREVIEW: FS at No. 23 Texas AM

Quarterbacks
This is it – Tom Brandstater’s golden opportunity. After a tough-to-swallow sophomore season, Brandstater has a chance to erase all that and give Fresno State fans reason to be stoked for the rest of the 2007 season. All he has to do is win at Texas AM. He got off to a decent start with 199 yards and no interceptions last week, but needs to show that wasn’t just because of the sub-par competition.

Junior Stephen McGee is the kind of quarterback the ‘Dogs have historically struggled with – a really fast one, who can run the option. He led the team with 126 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Montana State and threw for 112 yards.
Edge: Aggies

Running Backs
Things just got even better than they already were for the ‘Dogs backfield. True freshman Ryan Mathews led the team with 77 yards on 11 carries. He adds another option to the quadruple threat with Lonyae Miller, Clifton Smith and Anthony Harding. It’s hard to say who’s thunder and who’s lightning, but these guys are capable of causing a serious storm.

It’s much more clear cut for Texas AM – junior Jorvorskie Lane (6-0, 268) is the thunder and sophomore Mike Goodson (6-0, 206) is the lightning. Lane holds an Aggies school-record with 19 touchdowns last season and Goodson rushed for 847 yards while leading the conference in yards per carry.
Edge: Aggies

Receivers
The tight ends might decide who wins this matchup. Fresno State junior Bear Pascoe (6-5, 260) led the team with 91 receiving yards on three catches in the opener, including a 44-yard score. With Chastin West out for the year, sophomore Marlon Moore nearly doubled his catch total of last season with seven in the opener for 70 yards. Watch for Seyi Ajirotutu and Jason Crawley to get more involved this week.

Speaking of tight ends, the Aggies boast the returning first-team All-Big 12 pick in Martellus Bennett (6-7, 255), who had 497 yards in 2006. Junior Pierre Brown is the most proven wideout with 208 yards last season.
Edge: Bulldogs

Offensive Line
Keep an eye on the matchup at center. Fresno State sends out Rimington Trophy candidate Ryan Wendell (6-2, 285), who moved over from left guard for the final four games last season. After allowing just 12 sacks as a unit last season, the line gave up two in the opener against Sac State.

Another Rimington Trophy candidate lines up for Texas AM in Cody Wallace (6-4, 296). The preseason All-American heads one of the nation’s most highly regarded lines with Kirk Elder (6-5, 308), a three-time All-Big 12 pick.
Edge: Aggies

Defensive Line
If ever the ‘Dogs needed Jason Shirley, it’s this game. But the 6-5, 330-pound tackle was suspended for the first two games. His replacement is senior Charles Tolbert (5-11, 265), who played great against Sac State. But the ‘Dogs will rely most heavily on ends Tyler Clutts and Jason Roberts to contain the option and stop the Aggies’ star running backs and speedy quarterback from breaking anything big.

Aggies end Chris Harrington (6-5, 268) led the team in tackles, sacks and tackles for losses last season – and got off to a good start this year with a sack in the opener. Red Bryant (6-5, 322) is a beast at tackle and will be much tougher to run through than anyone Sac State had to offer last week. Bryant is coming off a season-ending knee injury toward the end of last season.
Edge: Aggies

Linebackers
Is this the new strength of the defense? All early signs point to yes with senior Marcus Riley (6-2, 220) back at full strength for the first time since the 2005 USC game. He led the team with 11 tackles in the opener and was all over the field with redshirt freshman Ben Jacobs (6-3, 225). On top of that, sophomore speedster Quaadir Brown (6-2, 215) returns to the field after missing most of last season with an injury and missing the opener because of suspension.

Mark Dodge is a tackling machine. He made 14 stops against Montana State and averages 11 in his last four games. The 6-2, 220-pounder has already served four years in the Army. Misi Tupe (5-10, 254) might be short and a bit on the heavy side, but that didn’t stop him from earning Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year honors. He had 54 tackles last season.
Edge: Even

Defensive Backs
The ‘Dogs lack the experience Texas AM has, but might have more raw talent. The question is how quickly will that talent mature? Redshirt freshman safety Lorne Bell might be the most talented of the unit, and he’s not even starting – yet. Reserve safety Jake Jorde dropped an easy interception in the opener, something the team cannot afford this week. The ‘Dogs must capitalize on mistakes and force turnovers.

Safety Devin Gregg emerged in his first full season as a starter last year, and is the third-leading returning tackler. Hard-hitting safety Alton Dixon had 10 tackles in the opener, and corner Marquis Carpenter had an interception (he leads the team with five in his career).
Edge: Even

Special Teams
True freshman Devon Wylie looks to be the primary kick returner, averaging 31.5 yards on two returns. One of the nation’s best takes punt return duties in Clifton Smith, who can break a big one at any moment. Kicker Clint Stitser nailed a 47-yard field goal in the opener and missed from beyond 50 yards – but had plenty of distance. The ‘Dogs also blocked a field goal in the opener and have blocked 71 punts and kicks since 1997, when Pat Hill became coach.

Aggies punter Justin Brantly has a heckuva leg. The junior has a career average of 43.9 yards per attempt. Sophomore kicker Matt Szymanski connected on his only attempt so far this year, a 34-yarder. Kerry Franks averaged 27.7 yards per kick return – a number that could go up this year with the new kickoff rule.
Edge: Bulldogs

Coaching
Pat Hill always – always – has his team amped up to play the "big-name" schools. And this should be no different. This team is young and has a lot to prove. A win proves Hill is one of the best coaches in the game.

Dennis Franchione is in his fifth season at Texas AM and is the fifth winningest active coach at 181-96-2. Franchione and Hill have met before, when he headed TCU from 1998-2000.
Edge: Even

Intangibles
Normally, playing in front of 82,600 fans at a hostile road environment wouldn’t be a huge deal to the ‘Dogs (they’re usually used to it). But this team is young. Only six players played significant roles two years ago in the near-win at USC. The ‘Dogs better adjust quickly. But don’t count them out – Fresno State doesn’t have a big-game reputation for nothing.
Edge: Aggies