WAC notebook: WAC holds its own against the PAC

Last week it was the Western Athletic Conference against the Pac-10, and this week it's the WAC against the Mountain West.

The WAC went 2-3 against the Pac-10 last week, coming within seven points of enjoying a 3-2 edge.

There are four WAC-MWC games on the slate this week - Colorado State at Nevada (0-2), UNLV at Hawai'i (0-1), Utah at Utah State (0-2) and Boise State (2-0) at Wyoming.

"I'll continue to encourage our athletic directors and coaches to schedule Pac-10 schools in the future," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "The WAC needs to continue to play Mountain West teams on a regular basis."

That makes sense, considering the New Mexico Bowl is a WAC-MWC battle. The first-ever New Mexico Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 23.

Benson also said that under the new BCS agreement, the five non-BCS conferences will split a pool of $9 million regardless of performance. He said another $9 million would be split among the five conferences if a non-BCS school does qualify.

Benson said that much of the second $9 million would go to the conference whose team actually makes a BCS game, and that particular conference would get more than the other conferences.

Benson said that when Utah made the BCS, the MWC made $14 million and didn't have to share it with the rest of the non-BCS conferences.

UNDERRATED DEFENSE

For years, the Boise State offense has received the lion's share of publicity. The defense, despite great success has been in the background.

Chris Petersen, the Broncos' first-year head coach, said that the defene has been responsible for getting the offense good field position and picking up the offense when it has struggled.

Petersen said the addition of Justin Wilcox as defensive coordinator has been critical to the Broncos' early success.

"There are certain things that he brought in that are helping us," Petersen said. "He's helping guys take the next step.

"One of the knocks on ou us is that we were good at stopping the run, but we gave up the long ball too frequently. A couple of coverage things we're doing has slowed the deep ball down a little."

FRESNO STATE FALLS SHORT

The Bulldogs dropped to 1-1 after a 31-24 loss to Oregon at home on Saturday night, losing on a fake field goal and misplaying a blocked field goal.

A fake field goal provided the winning points for Oregon with less than five minutes to play, snapping the 24-all tie.

Earlier in the half, Bear Pascoe blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt, and instead of letting the ball roll dead, a Fresno State player tried to pick the ball up and run. The ball squirted loose and Oregon recovered. The Duck scored on the next play to go ahead 24-17.

According to Hill, if the ball is behind the line of scrimmage, the defense is supposed to scoop and run. If the ball goes forward, the defense is supposed to cover the ball.

"It's a tough lesson to be learned," said coach Pat Hill, whose team is normally the one making big plays.

Hill's team scrimmaged Sunday night, and the veteran coach is holding his breath that starting outside linebacker Marcus Riley (knee) will be able to return to action this week. Riley has been out since the loss to USC last year, and his presence will make a big difference on the Bulldogs' defense.

SJSU'S RUNNING GAME EXCELS

Led by Yonus Davis' 184-yard effort, San Jose State eclipsed the 300-yard mark on the ground for the first time since the 2004 season in its thrilling 35-34 come-from-behind win over Stanford.

Coach Dick Tomey moved John Booker from guard to tackle and inserted Ronnie Castillo at right guard, and the moves paid immediate dividends.

"I thought Booker did a nice job, and certainly Ronnie Castillo did a nice job," Tomey said. "As the season continues, we'll continue to tweak things. We don't really have starters. We're looking for 17 to 19 players on defense and the same on offense."

Tomey also was pleased with the effort by junior quarterback Adam Tafralis, who completed 14 of 16 for 110 yards and a score.

"Adam did a great job," Tomey said. "He's completed 82 percent of his passes. If there is anybody higher than that in Division I-A, I'd be surprised."

VANDALS DISAPPOINT ERICKSON

Idaho's lack of urgency in preparation for last week's game against arch-rival Washington State was something coach Dennis Erickson noticed and didn't like.

"I don't know if they were just pleased that they played Michigan State close," Erickson said after the 56-10 loss. "The intensity level against Washington State .... it's unbelievable to me they wouldn't want to be better prepared. The guys have to understand what it takes to win, and it starts during the week."

Erickson said that players need to step up and take charge.

"You can only do so much as coaches," Erickson said. "They have to take things over themselves."

The Vandals play Division 1-AA Idaho State this weekend. It's the first time the in-state rivals have met since 1998, and it's a huge week considering conference play is just around the corner.

"It's very important," Erickson said. "We have to win the football game. That's the most important thing. They need to have a sense of urgency. We're not that bad of a football team."

JACKSON STILL THE GUY

Despite two sub-par performances, including a 11-for-31 effort for 114 yards in a 20-0 loss to Arkansas, Utah State will stay with junior Leon Jackson at quarterback.

"He didn't stay with reads long enough (in the opener)," coach Brent Guy said. "This week he was much better. He did a good job of managing the game. We wanted to slow the game down.

"He threw the football on the run, and he threw the football away. We didn't have a sack against a very good defense. We had a lot of drops. He hasn't thrown a lot of bad balls. He threw three away, and you have to count those."

Guy pointed out that the Aggies still haven't gotten big plays from receivers Tony Pennyman and Kevin Robinson. Part of that is Jackson's ineffectiveness, and part of that is the Aggies to develop a consistent running game.

WAC HONORS TRIO

Boise State running back Ian Johnson, BSU return specialist Quinton Jones and San Jose State linebacker Demetrius Jones were named the conference's players of the week.

Johnson, a sophomore, ran for a career-high 240 yards and five touchdowns in the Broncos' 42-14 win over Oregon State. His scoring runs were 59, 4, 3, 19 and 50 yards. He averaged 10.9 on his 22-carry effort. He also was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Week.

Quninton Jones, a senior, returned two punts for 17 yards and one kickoff for 22 yards.

Demetrius Jones, a junior, made eight tackles, and forced and recovered a fumble in the Spartans' 35-34 come-from-behind victory against Stanford. Jones forced a second-half fumble that stopped a scoring threat in the third quarter and his fumble recovery stopped Stanford's final drive.

•Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281