Most of the attention on Boise State focuses on the Broncos' dominant offense, which continues to roll with well over 500 yards and 47 points per game, most of it without breaking a sweat. But Friday night's 51-0 whitewashing of Fresno State put the spotlight on the Boise defense for a change, which now ranks second nationally (just behind TCU) in total and scoring defense, leads the nation against the run and allows fewer yards per play than any other defense by almost a full half-yard over the nearest competition.
Before Friday, Fresno hadn't been held below 27 points this season, and hadn't been shut out since 1998. Nothing new there: It was the Broncos' third shutout of the season. Not one offense this year has managed to hit its season scoring average against Boise, and only one (Louisiana Tech) has matched its average for total yards, surpassing the threshold by all of four yards earlier this month.
Immovable force, meet irresistible object: The Broncos' trip to Nevada for Friday night's de facto WAC Championship Game is the first time this year Boise will see an offense that stands toe-to-toe with its defense on paper. The Wolf Pack's prolific Pistol attack has run up 500 yards in eight different games, and at least 40 points in seven, including a 52-31 pantsing of Cal in September. The Pack have also won 10 straight in Reno, all but one (a 31-21 win over Hawaii last year) by at least three touchdowns. If not for its solitary flop in the islands last month, Nevada would be entering Friday No. 1 nationally in total offense, rushing offense and yards per play.
Of course, the superlatives end where the Wolf Pack's overly generous defense begins. We know the Broncos are going to score. The big question for Boise skeptics is what happens when its supposedly elite defense runs into a supposedly elite offense. Last year, Nevada ran up 33 points on 383 yards in a high-scoring loss on the blue turf. A repeat of those numbers this time, even in a relatively big Boise win, leaves some wiggle room for reluctant voters to back off in their consideration of the Broncos as BCS championship material. In a make-or-break week for moving past TCU into the on-deck spot in the BCS standings – and possibly into one of the championship slots, if Auburn and/or Oregon takes a fall in tough conference games of their own – the defense can't afford to leave that window open even a crack.
The Crib Sheet. Elsewhere in the world of mid-majordom, it's crunch time for other conference championship races...
• Ohio U. can wrap up the MAC East Friday with a win over lame duck Kent State, whose coach, Doug Martin, is stepping down after the game. A Bobcat loss, however, would open the door for Miami (Ohio) to steal the division crown with an upset over Temple on Tuesday night. Whoever comes out of the morass will get West Division champ Northern Illinois and its soon-to-be nine-game winning streak – yes, I'm conceding an NIU victory against hapless Eastern Michigan on Friday – in the MAC Championship Game at Detroit's Ford Field on Dec. 3.
• Central Florida can wrap up the Conference USA East title with a gimme win over the worst team in the conference, Memphis, which hasn't won a C-USA game and hasn't come close to winning any game in two months. A Golden Knight loss could create a wild three-way tiebreaker scenario between UCF, East Carolina and Southern Miss, but there is not going to be a Golden Knight loss. They will host the C-USA title game in Orlando on Dec. 4.
The Knights' opponent in that game is less certain. An SMU win at East Carolina on Friday would seal the West Division for the Mustangs at 6-2, with a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the other West frontrunner, Tulsa. An SMU loss in Greenville, though, would give the Golden Hurricane a fighting chance to take the division with a win over Southern Miss later in the day. Essentially: If SMU wins, SMU moves on. If Tulsa loses, SMU moves on.
• Florida International can wrap up the year's most unlikely conference championship with a home win Saturday against Arkansas State, completing FIU's transformation from winless laughingstock in 2006-07 to Sun Belt overlord under coach Mario Cristobal. If the Golden Panthers don't lock up the SBC crown against Arkansas State, they get another shot – also at home – against preseason favorite Middle Tennessee, which is technically still alive for the title if a lot of ridiculous things that will never happen somehow do happen. For now, though, the Sun Belt is FIU's to lose.
Mid-Major Game of the Week. Utah 38, San Diego State 34.
Aztec quarterback Ryan Lindley was brilliant in the battle for first runner-up in the Mountain West, hitting 36 of 54 passes for a staggering 528 yards – the highest single-game total this year by a non-Hawaii quarterback – and four touchdowns, the last a 90-yard catch-and-run by Vincent Brown to put San Diego State in front 34-24 in the third quarter. The Utes offered a decisive counterpunch in the fourth quarter, though, first driving 85 yards for a touchdown that cut the SDSU lead to 34-31, immediately followed by a blocked punt that set the Utah offense up at the Aztec three-yard line for a go-ahead plunge by running back Eddie Wide. Lindley's big night ended with back-to-back picks on the Aztecs' final two possessions, bringing the Utes' two-game slide to a screeching halt with their best win of the year.
Honorable Mention: Western Kentucky continued its mastery of the blown fourth quarter lead, turning a 26-13 advantage with a little over 11 minutes to play into a 27-26 home loss by allowing Middle Tennessee to return a goal line fumble 99 yards for one touchdown and then to drive 77 yards for the go-ahead score a few minutes later.
Player of the Week. Austin Davis, QB, Southern Miss.
The former walk-on passed for 293 yards, ran for 111 more and accounted for six touchdowns in USM's 59-41 win over Houston, a game featuring 1,133 yards, 100 points, 51 first downs and 11 plays covering at least 25 yards between both teams.. Golden Eagle running back Kendrick Hardy pitched in with 205 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Honorable Mention: Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz broke his own season high for passing yards with 560 yards and three touchdowns on 44 attempts in the Warriors' 41-7 win over San Jose State. He also threw two interceptions. ... Central Florida receiver Quincy McDuffie ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and scored on a 28-yard reception on UCF's first pass of the game, sparking a 31-0 first quarter run in an eventual 61-14 win at Tulane. ... Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey ran 45 times for 248 yards and two touchdowns and also led the Hilltoppers in receiving (4 catches for 34 yards) in a losing effort against Middle Tennessee. ... BYU safety Andrew Rich had two interceptions, seven tackles and a tackle for loss in a 40-7 win over New Mexico. ... And Wyoming defensive end Josh Biezuns had three-and-a-half sacks with a forced fumble in the Cowboys' very weird, 44-0 shutout over Colorado State, their first and only Mountain West victory in the season finale.
Upset of the Week. Rice 62, East Carolina 38.
ECU's rock-bottom defense strikes again, this time against one of the rock-bottom teams in Conference USA: Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue threw for 220 yards on 11-of-15 passing, ran for 93 more and accounted for four touchdowns in the Owls' 639-yard outburst, the fourth-highest total in school history. Rice running back Jeremy Eddington ran 143 yards and a school-record four touchdowns in the same game, one from 88 yards out. Not surprisingly, ECU has finally fallen to dead last nationally in both total and scoring defense, now yielding a little over 481 yards and 43 points per game.
A Somewhat Arbitrary Mid-Major Top 10.
1a. Boise State (10-0). Statistically, the most dominant team in recent memory, but still needs to make a statement against another ranked team, on the road.
1b. TCU (11-0). Horned Frogs can only hope Nevada keeps it close enough to push back the rising tide for Boise in the on-deck circle.
3. Nevada (10-1). Whether it pulls the straight upset or not, the Wolf Pack offense is a legit threat to put a hole in the Broncos' balloon.
4. Utah (9-2) Utes righted a rapidly sinking ship with a big fourth quarter in a tough road game.
5. Hawaii (8-3). Warriors bombed San Jose State into the Stone Age to hold off Oklahoma State as the nation's No. 1 passing offense.
6. Northern Illinois (9-2). Huskies have barely been challenged in the MAC, and won't be by Eastern Michigan.
7. Central Florida (8-3). Golden Knights rediscovered their dominant streak at Tulane after an off-week against Southern Miss, and reclaim their status as the undisputed C-USA favorite.
8. Southern Miss (8-3). Once defensive-minded Golden Eagles have scored at least 41 points in six of their last seven, and are two one-point losses away from boasting a 10-game winning streak. They can still win 10 for the first time since 1988, Brett Favre's sophomore season.
9. San Diego State (7-4). Aztecs' four losses have come by a combined 15 points, against teams with nine combined losses themselves – five by BYU alone.
10. Air Force (8-4). Falcons close out another solid year with their first Commander-in-Chief Trophy since 2002.
Honorable Mention: Navy (8-3), Tulsa (8-3), Ohio U. (8-3), Temple (8-3).
At the Other End of the Barrel...
• Winless Akron came oh-so-close to breaking into the win column for the second straight game against Miami (Ohio), but gave away to golden scoring opportunities with an interception and a fumble on back-to-back possessions in RedHawk territory in the fourth quarter of a 14-9 loss. The giveaways left the Zips with just one more opportunity to avoid the ignominy of the only 0-12 finish in the I-A/FBS ranks, when fellow MAC doormat Buffalo brings its six-game losing streak to town on Friday afternoon.
• Hawaii's 626-yard, 41-point barrage on San Jose State was the Spartans' eighth straight loss, and leaves only a trip to Idaho between SJSU and a winless season against I-A/FBS competition in coach Mike MacIntyre's first season. The Spartans' only win: A 16-11 decision over Southern Utah in September.
• Memphis' inevitable loss to Central Florida will bring it into the clubhouse at 1-11, 0-8 in Conference USA play, in its first year under coach Larry Porter. Assuming no significant uprising, the Tigers will finish ranked among the bottom five nationally in total offense, scoring offense, pass defense, pass efficiency defense, total defense, scoring defense and turnover margin.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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