SB Nation - Sacramento St. Hornets

Trojans Return to Comfort of Galen With Encouraging Victory

Joey Kaufman — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:21:57 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

14 days ago: Southern California guard Dwight Lewis (21) goes up for a shot against Sacramento State in the second half of their NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. Southern California won 51-36. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

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After a frustrating road trip in which the Trojans suffered embarrassing defeats at the hands of both Texas and Georgia Tech, the concept of returning to Los Angeles to face a sub-.500 team from the Big Sky conference seemed more than appealing. Placed in an ideal setting, this was the type of game in which ‘SC needed to come out with a bang, showcasing its offensive prowess as well as its defensive toughness. Unfortunately, only one of those was accomplished in the team's 51-36 victory over the visiting Sacramento State Hornets.

While the drawbacks of Tuesday night's performance were quite noticeable, it remains incredibly important to note that this inexperienced team took some small, yet significant steps in the right direction. Most importantly, their senior leader and team captain Dwight Lewis bounced back from a dismal outing against Georgia Tech (0 points in 6 minutes) by scoring 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting in 38 minutes of action. It wasn't his best game by a long shot, but after being benched by head coach Kevin O'Neill on Saturday, it was more than refreshing to see Lewis playing like his usual self.

If Lewis is incapable of scoring in double figures on a consistent basis, then this team has absolutely no chance of finishing in the upper half of the Pac-10 this winter. It's tough to put so much pressure on one guy, but when you lose half your team to the professional ranks and your recruiting class vanishes out of thin air, there is only so much you can do. With a rotation of just 7 or 8 guys, somebody has to provide a significant percentage of the scoring output, and that guy has to be Lewis.

But what will make most ‘SC fans enthusiastic about the 2009-2010 Trojans was the team's strong inside presence, which completely dominated a physically inferior Hornets team. But don't get me wrong - Sacramento State is certainly a respectable opponent. They aren't an intimidating foe (see: losses to Idaho, UC Riverside, and Weber State). But they did defeat the Pac-10's Oregon State Beavers after leading by 22 points at halftime so they aren't a total pushover either. Still, the Trojans made them look like a division-two team with their dominating interior defense. When the final whistle blew, the Trojans had 12 blocks (7 by starting center Alex Stepheson) and 49 total rebounds. In comparison Sacramento State grabbed just 29 boards and had 0 blocked shots.

The combination of Stepheson and sophomore forward Nikola Vucevic made it nearly impossible on the Hornets' starting big men, Justin Eller and Michael Selling, who combined for just 3 points on 0-for-9 shooting. That isn't going to beat anybody, much less a team from the Pac-10.

But Eller and Selling weren't the only ones to struggle when it came to scoring. Collectively Sac State shot just 23% from the field and went 3-for-16 from behind the arc. But it wasn't just an "off night" for the Hornets, as much credit deserves to be doled out to the Trojan defense, which held them to far below their season averages (41% from the field and 31% from 3-point land).

While the defensive capabilities of O'Neill's bunch were certainly a site to see, the offense proved to be another story. Playing with just seven players, the Trojans continued to experience some of the same problems, which plagued them on their three-game slide last week. Free throw shooting was abysmal, as the team shot just 60% from the charity stripe. The assists were astoundingly low yet again (13), while they finished with a season high 26 turnovers. The Trojans aren't going anywhere if they collectively post an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1:2. But on a positive note, most of the blame for the low ratio doesn't need to be placed on the shoulders of junior point guard Donte Smith, who had five assists compared to just 2 turnovers - a significant improvement from a player who was averaging three turnovers per assist prior to tonight's contest.

Provided this team can shore up its lingering turnover problem and dismal free throw shooting, then it remains quite possible that they could make last week's disastrous road trip a distant memory.

GameDay Open Thread: USC vs. Sacramento State

Joey Kaufman — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:12:03 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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USC Trojans versus Sacramento State, December 8, 2009 7:30 PST

The game at Galen tonight won't be televised so unless you have Trojans all-access or plan on attending the game then you're probably going to miss out.

If it shows up online somewhere, than feel free to pass the link along.

Here's the preview from the official team site:

The USC Trojans (2-4) will face the Sacramento State Hornets (4-5) on Dec. 8 in the Galen Center at 7:30 p.m. USC has lost three consecutive games, matching last season's longest losing streak done twice in a 22-13 campaign. The game will be broadcast live on USCTrojans.com. It will also air live on USC radio flagship station ESPN Radio 710 AM with Rory Markas and Jim Hefner calling the action.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS -- The Hornets (4-5) are coming off an 80-65 home loss to Weber State on Dec. 5. They already have surpassed their win total of last season (2-27), including knocking off the Pac-10's Oregon State 65-63 in Corvallis, Ore. The Hornets returned six lettermen, including three starters from last season. Leading the way for Sacramento State through nine games in scoring are Sultan Toles-Bey (12.4) and John Dickson (10.8). USC leads the all-time series 4-0, winning the last meeting 79-40 on Nov. 16, 1997.

I'll be in attendance so my commenting will be severely limited, but feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Fight On! Beat the Hornets

BtB 2009-10 Big Sky Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:29 -0000

With their second consecutive Big Sky crown last year, Portland State joined Weber State (2 titles) and Montana (3 titles) as the only teams to win multiple conference titles in the first decade of the 21st century. Northern Arizona in 2000, former league member Cal State-Northridge in 2001, and Eastern Washington in 2004 were the only squads able to break that triumvirate during the decade.

Given that the Vikings and Wildcats will be strong again this season and the Grizzlies are resurgent, the odds are against another team crashing the party this time around. However, that's not going to stop last season's surprise Big Sky finalist, Montana State, a team that returns four starters from the team that claimed road wins over Montana and regular season champ Weber before falling to Portland State in the final. Eastern Washington and Idaho State, two squads that feature three returning starters bolstered by junior college transfers, also bear watching as the league race unfolds.

More on these teams, along with the Big Sky squads who are in a rebuilding mode, after the jump.

Let's start with a look at the final Big Sky standings for 2008-09.

Big Sky Conference Standings

(updated 3.20.2009 at 11:52 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Weber St. Wildcats	15	1	21	10
Portland St. Vikings	11	5	23	10
Montana Grizzlies	11	5	17	12
Idaho St. Bengals	9	7	13	19
Northern Colorado Bears	8	8	14	18
Montana St. Bobcats	6	10	14	17
Eastern Washington Eagles	6	10	12	18
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	5	11	8	19
Sacramento St. Hornets	1	15	2	27

Now here are my picks for the 2009-10 season, presented in reverse order.

Sacramento State (last NCAA: None) Since the 2004-05 season, when the Hornets finished with an 8-6 Big Sky mark, the conference win totals have consistently shrunk, even dropping from 2 league wins to 1 in Brian Katz's first season. Things may not improve that much thanks to the departure of leading scorer Loren Heath, a 6-2 guard who averaged nearly 16 points a game. 6-8 center Justin Eller (10 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is back, giving Katz a force in the middle, but a flood of JC transfers will have to gel for the Hornets to avoid the wooden spoon. Sacramento State will travel to Houston to take on host Rice, South Alabama, and Houston Baptist in a round-robin. The game against the Huskies is a chance for a rare Hornets' win.

Northern Arizona (last NCAA: 2000) The Lumberjacks will struggle to improve on last year's eighth place finish, thanks to the departure of three starters, all of whom averaged more than 9 points per contest. But Mike Adras does have two players back who can provide offense--6-4 junior guard Cameron Jones (12.7 ppg) and 6-7 forward Shane Johannsen, a junior who averaged nearly 10 points a game while shooting almost 73 percent from the floor, all while grabbing over 5 boards a game. 6-10 C Joshua Lapley was also a key frontcourt contributor as a reserve, and he should improve on his 5.9 points and 3 rebounds a game with more minutes this year. The arrival of 6-5 DeAngelo Jones, a JC transfer who started at New Mexico State, means NAU should have another frontcourt weapon. Point guard is a major question mark after the graduation of Josh Wilson, but 5-9 Julian Olubuyi, another JC transfer, may be called on to fill that role. The Lumberjacks will participate in the first ever West Coast Classic, a unique round-robin event in which NAU will host Fresno State and Pacific and visit Santa Clara and San Diego State.

Northern Colorado (last NCAA: None) The strength of the Bears will be backcourt, as both senior PG Will Figures (12.1 ppg, 2.3 apg) and junior SG Devon Beitzel (11.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg) return. The frontcourt could be an issue, despite all of the returning personnel head coach Ted Boyle has at his disposal. The problem is that none of the returnees, led by 6-7 junior Taylor Montgomery (3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg), has been able to show they can consistently match the performances put up by the departed Jabril Banks (12.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg). The Bears will open their season with back-to-back tournaments, heading to Hawai'i to take on the Warriors, McNeese State, and Southern Utah in the scaled-down Rainbow Classic, then returning to the mainland to play Texas Southern and either Air Force or Dickinson State in the Reggie Minton Classic.

Eastern Washington (last NCAA: 2004) Kirk Earlywine returns three senior starters from a team that won only 12 games last season. The Eagles' key man is in the backcourt, as 5-7 PG Benny Valentine averaged 15+ points alongside 3 assists per contest. The frontcourt features EWU's only other returning double-digit scorer, 6-9 Brandon Moore (11.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and 6-8 Mark Dunn (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg). The Eagles should get a lot of help from four transfers-6-6 F P.J. Bolte (Rice), 6-3 Alden Gibbs, 6-8 Laron Griffin, and 6-7 Morgan Hislop (all JC). The Eagles will participate in the low/mid-major bracket of the Las Vegas Classic after they visit Nevada and BYU in the same event.

Idaho State (last NCAA: 1987) The Bengals take on a difficult non-conference schedule, featuring road contests at Bradley, BYU, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Utah, and Utah State, and a home game with in-state rivals Boise State. Like EWU, Idaho State also returns three senior starters, led by leading scorer Amorrow Morgan (13.6 ppg, 3.7 apg), a 6-5 senior PG who is one of five players on the roster who's from Memphis. That number includes 6-0 JC transfer Broderick Gilchrist, who could replace the team's second leading scorer from last season, Matt Stucki (12 ppg), who graduated. Expect to see 6-8 Demetrius Monroe, who averaged 6.5 points and over 5 boards a game off the bench, get more playing time this year.

Montana State (last NCAA: 1996) Brad Huse's Bobcats hope to build on the end of last season, when they claimed road wins over third-seeded Montana and top-seeded Weber State to make the Big Sky final, where they fell two points short of claiming a surprise NCAA bid. Montana State returns the bulk of that team, except for C Divaldo Mbunga (10.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg), leaving a huge void in the middle that Huse hopes a combination of 7-foot French C Michel Swita and 6-9 F Brandon Johnson (6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) can fill. If they can, the frontcourt could be among the best in the league, as 6-7 junior Bobby Howard (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and 6-6 Danny Piepoli (7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg) are already key contributors. The backcourt is also loaded, thanks to the presence of shooting guards Will Bynum (10.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Erik Rush (9.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and senior PG Marquis Navarre (5.7 ppg, 2.8 apg). To prepare for a conference run, the Bobcats will travel to Boise State, Memphis, Nevada, and Oregon during the early part of the season.

Portland State (last NCAA: 2009) The Vikings will try to reach the NCAAs for the third straight seaon, but they'll have to do it without two of the men most responsible for their recent success. Former head coach Ken Bone has moved onto the BCS level and Washington State, while 5-6 guard Jeremiah Dominguez (12.9 ppg) graduated. Bone's former assistant Tyler Geving will try to keep things going with a team that returns three starters: 6-1 senior G Dominic Waters (11.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg), and 6-7 Fs Phil Nelson (10.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Jamie Jones (9.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg). 6-5 F Julius Thomas, who averaged almost 7 points and over 5 boards a game coming off the bench last season is due for a bigger role, while two JC transfers will see significant time. 6-8 F Phillip Thomas, who started during his time at Idaho, is another body for an undersized frontcourt, while 5-10 guard Melvin Jones will be called on to replace Dominguez. Portland State will open their season in a tournament in Seattle, where they'll take on hosts Washington, Belmont, and Wright State. They'll also face their former coach's team in a neutral site game in Kennewick, Washington.

Montana (last NCAA: 2006) Fresh off finishing in a second-place tie, the Grizzlies should contend again, especially as last season's Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, point guard Anthony Johnson (17.6 ppg, 3 apg), should be even better as a sophomore. He'll be joined in the backcourt by Ryan Staudacher, who shot over 45 percent from three-point land while averaging nearly 8 points a game. Head coach Wayne Tinkle does have a major hole to fill in the frontcourt, thanks to the graduation of 6-9 Jordan Hasquet (11 ppg, 6 rpg). The Griz will need 6-11 junior C Brian Qvale to improve upon his 5.6 points and 5 boards a game to make up for his production. Positively, Qvale was a defensive force last season, averaging nearly 2 blocks per contest. Montana heads to Oregon and Washington during their non-conference season, while Boise State visits Missoula this season.

Weber State (last NCAA: 2007) The Wildcats stormed to a 15-1 league mark, which ultimately resulted in an NIT bid (and first round loss to San Diego State) thanks to their Big Sky semifinal loss to Cinderella Montana State. The frontcourt should be a strength for the Wildcats, thanks to the return of starters Steve Panos, a 6-8 C who averaged 9.4 points and 4.4 boards a game, and Kyle Bullinger, a 6-6 sophomore who added almost 9 points and 4.4 rebounds a contest himself, and key reserve Trevor Morris, a 6-9 junior C who scored almost 5 and grabbed nearly 4 boards a game off the bench. He may have to increase his production thanks to the departure of Davlin Davis, who scored almost 10 a game for Weber State last season. Sophomore Damian Lillard (11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg) will run the offense, and 6-4 senior Nick Hansen who averaged nearly 9 points a game in a reserve role last year, should slide into the 2 guard spot after the graduation of leading scorer Kellen McCoy (14.1 ppg). Three JC transfers, swingmen Josh Noble and Franklin Session and guard Lindsey Hughey, should see significant minutes for Randy Rahe's team. Weber hosts Utah and visits UNLV and BYU. They also face Utah State in a home-and-home. The trip to Logan will be one of the Wildcats' three games at a pre-Christmas round-robin event that also features Cal State-Fullerton and Morehead State.

Weber State is my pick to claim the Big Sky's auto bid for this season. They'll appear in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Big Sky team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Big Sky Team

Player of the Year: Anthony Johnson, 6-3 G, Sr. (Montana)

Remainder of the Team
Bobby Howard, 6-7 F, Jr. (Montana State)
Damian Lillard, 6-2 G, So. (Weber State)
Brandon Moore, 6-9 C, Sr. (Eastern Washington)
Benny Valentine, 5-7 G, Sr. (Eastern Washington)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Big Sky this season?

Eastern Washington

0 votes

Idaho State

2 votes

Montana

3 votes

Montana State

3 votes

Northern Arizona

0 votes

Northern Colorado

0 votes

Portland State

1 votes

Sacramento State

1 votes

Weber State

3 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

Kyle Gets Conciliatory: An Encouraging Word About Boise State's Place at the Table

T Kyle King — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:00:17 -0000

The recent Congressional hearings on the Bowl Championship Series are as unlikely to produce anything except talk as the Congressional hearings on steroid use in major league baseball, but give the grandstanding representatives their due: they did produce talk, at least.

One of the more poignant pieces to have emerged from the blogosphere regarding the B.C.S. was this one from Boise State blogger kevanlee:

Boise State, if things remain the way they are now, will never reach the highest goal that a college football team can achieve. No matter what they do - as evidenced by last year's Utah team, the 2007 Fightin' Brennans, and the 2006 BSU team - it's not going to happen for them. They will continue to be shut out of the national championship, left outside of the top of the polls, and generally considered to be lesser than the other big-conference teams in the country. A BCS win is as good as it's going to get. This is why I'm watching the Fiesta Bowl DVD this weekend in my Marty Tadman jersey.

Think about it; every time the Broncos win, they lose. Winning the WAC championship loses the Broncos respect. Winning the Fiesta Bowl means losing out on the national championship. Winning against the Vandals might as well be a loss for how it affects strength of schedule.

The Broncos play football in a glass menagerie built for adolescent children. They can hardly stand up straight without hitting their head on the ceiling. . . .

The true fans know that all this time spent rooting for our team is worth it. I distinctly remember my joy in hearing the news that the Broncos were going from I-AA to I-A. I remember the day that BSU left the Big West to join the WAC (in hindsight, I probably should not have partied as hard as I did, relative to how things are turning out now). And for all the frustration and hardship and marginalization that's occurred on a national level since then, there are rumblings that it will all change one day. And I want to be there when it does.

Rooting for Boise State is by no means an empty pursuit. I love seeing the coaches and the players approach the game the way they do. I love the gameday feel of a Bronco game (most people call this Friday). I love supporting a local team that is worth rooting for.

These are all great reasons to be a Bronco fan.

However, if you're rooting for the Broncos because you want to see them win a national championship right away, your motivation is in the wrong place. You're going to be disappointed because that championship just isn't happening.

Those are interesting sentiments coming from a Boise State fan. For my part, I had this to say about the Broncos prior to the Bulldogs’ 2005 season opener against B.S.U.:

You have to be kidding me.

Boise State?

Boise State, for crying out loud?

In 1933, the same year Georgia joined the Southeastern Conference, Boise State started playing junior college football.

In 1968, the same year Georgia won its sixth S.E.C. title, Boise State started playing N.C.A.A. Division II football.

In 1978, the same year Buck Belue began playing quarterback for the Bulldogs, Boise State began playing Division I-AA football.

In 1980, the same year the 'Dawgs won the major college national championship, the Broncos won the Division I-AA national championship.

In 1996, the same year Georgia played Auburn for the 100th time, Boise State began playing Division I-A football for the first time.

Georgia has won a dozen league championships: one in the old Southern Conference and eleven in the Southeastern Conference. Boise State has won a dozen league championships: seven in the Big Sky Conference, two in the Big West, and three in the W.A.C.

In 1977, seven Broncos were named all-conference players in the Big Sky. This is pretty impressive, until you pause to consider that one of them was Boise State linebacker Willie Beamon. I am almost positive that Willie Beamon is a fictional football player portrayed by Jamie Foxx in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," so it may be possible that B.S.U. has made up the rest of its athletic history, as well. (If that turns out to be the case, I guess we won't have to ask what the "B.S." in "B.S.U." denotes.)

For all practical purposes, these clowns still were playing Pop Warner football when Jimmy Carter signed the treaty to hand over the Panama Canal. Georgia, by contrast, was playing Pop Warner football while the French were trying to build the Panama Canal in the mid-1890s . . . when the Red and Black were coached by Pop Warner.

So what are the Bulldogs doing playing these late arrivals on the college football scene, these parvenus without tradition, these made-for-T.V. pretenders playing playground football on a publicity stunt of a field situated in the middle of nowhere?

Well, frankly, the 'Dawgs are playing the Broncos because they're good.

Boise State has been to five bowl games in the last six years, scoring at least 34 points in each of them. The Broncos have been among the nation's top two teams in scoring offense in four of the last five seasons. No team in Division I-A has won more games (36) or had a higher winning percentage (.923) over the last three years than the Broncos.

B.S.U. has finished each of the last three campaigns ranked in the top 15 in the final postseason coaches' poll. The Broncos have the nation's longest active home winning streak (25 games), have posted the most consecutive conference victories in W.A.C. history (26), and have claimed three consecutive league championships with records of 12-1 in 2002, 13-1 in 2003, and 11-1 in 2004.

Between 2000 and 2004, the Boise State Broncos went 54-9, giving them the W.A.C.'s best, and the nation's third-best, won-lost record over that span. During the same period, the Georgia Bulldogs posted a ledger of 50-14, ranking the Red and Black fifth in the country and first in the S.E.C.

That is why we should take Boise State seriously, however delayed their entry onto the college football scene may have been.

After the Broncos’ victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, I made this case on Boise State’s behalf (with ellipses in the original):

What bedevils the Broncos, of course, is their strength of schedule. B.S.U. faced Division I-AA Sacramento State and a slew of the weak sisters of the W.A.C.: Fresno State (4-8), Idaho (4-8), Louisiana Tech (3-10), New Mexico State (4-8), and Utah State (1-11). That slate suggests that Boise State's 13-0 record has been fattened up by a steady diet of cupcakes.

This, however, is not the case. The Broncos defeated seven bowl-eligible teams . . . more than the number of postseason-qualifying opponents bested by Michigan (6), Oklahoma (6), or Wisconsin (5) and equal to the number beaten by Auburn and California.

B.S.U. beat six teams that finished the season with fewer than six losses . . . as opposed to, say, Southern California (which beat five), Michigan (which beat four), Texas (which beat three), or Wisconsin (which beat two).

Four of Boise State's victims finished the season with nine or more victories and the five bowl-bound opponents beaten by the Broncos during the regular season went a combined 4-1 in postseason play . . . with Nevada falling just short of making it a clean sweep.

Ian Johnson, Jared Zabransky, and their coevals beat an 11-win Hawaii team, beat the Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners, badly beat Utah on the road, badly beat a 10-win Oregon State squad that defeated the U.S.C. team that convincingly beat Michigan, and badly beat an eight-win Nevada squad that nearly beat a Miami squad that nearly beat the Florida State team that nearly beat Florida. Aside from East Coast bias and mid-major prejudice, what reasons do we have for believing that Boise State isn't capable of playing with just about anyone?

Yes, there were causes for doubt before. For several years now, Boise State has been the program that cried, "Wolf!" Every time the Broncos appeared on the verge of turning the corner and moving up in weight class, they proved to be the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

B.S.U. went 12-1 in 2002 . . . but fell to Arkansas on the road by a convincing 41-14 margin. B.S.U. went 13-1 in 2003 . . . but came up short against Oregon State in Corvallis. B.S.U. posted an undefeated record during the 2004 regular season, complete with the Broncos' first win ever over a Pac-10 team . . . but they fell to Big East-bound Louisville in the Liberty Bowl. B.S.U. began 2005 with sky-high expectations . . . but came crashing to earth following a 48-13 whipping administered by the ‘Dawgs.

That was then, this is now. Whether Boise State's elite status will possess longevity cannot now be known, but the Broncos' legitimacy in 2006 is beyond question. In 1984, Brigham Young went 13-0, beating 8-4 Independence Bowl champion Air Force, 5-6 Baylor, 3-8 Colorado State, 7-4 Hawaii, 6-6 Michigan, 4-8 New Mexico, 3-7-1 Pittsburgh, 4-7-1 San Diego State, 6-5 Tulsa, 6-5-1 Utah, 1-10 Utah State, 2-9 U.T.E.P., and 6-6 Wyoming . . . and the Cougars won the national championship.

In 2004, Utah went 12-0, beating 5-6 Air Force, 3-8 Arizona, 5-6 Brigham Young, 4-7 Colorado State, 7-5 New Mexico, 6-6 North Carolina, 8-4 Pittsburgh, 4-7 San Diego State, 7-5 Texas A&M, 2-9 U.N.L.V., 3-8 Utah State, and 7-5 Las Vegas Bowl champion Wyoming . . . and the Utes garnered gobs of respect for non-B.C.S. conference contenders everywhere.

Without taking anything away from the 1984 B.Y.U. and 2004 Utah squads, it appears clear that the 2006 Boise State team accomplished more on the field than either of them. Obviously, I haven't begun considering Ohio State's and Florida's resumes in depth, as their respective seasons are not yet complete, so I am not going so far as to state definitively that a Gator victory in Glendale would cause me to vault the Broncos into the top spot.

I don't rule it out, though . . . and neither should any other conscientious college football fan, whether coach, sportswriter, or BlogPoll voter.

When it was argued that Georgia’s throttling of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl would set back the cause of mid-majors vying for high-profile spots in major postseason games, I defended the Broncos from comparisons to the Warriors:

Hawaii was less dominant against a demonstrably weaker schedule. The Warriors won by a touchdown against a Pac-10 team with nine regular-season losses; the Broncos won by four touchdowns against a Pac-10 team with nine regular-season wins. B.S.U. won three road games against bowl-bound teams, winning decisively twice, while the Aloha State Adventurers did not play a single away game against a team with a winning record, yet the islanders only narrowly escaped with a victory in three of their five road trips.

Clearly, last year's Boise State squad did far more over the course of its regularly-scheduled slate to earn the Broncos' bid to the Fiesta Bowl . . . and that fact was borne out by the postseason performances of the respective W.A.C. champions' opponents. This year's Hawaii squad tangled with three bowl-bound opponents, who collectively posted a 1-2 ledger in the Hawaii, Humanitarian, and New Mexico Bowls, whereas last year's B.S.U. unit crossed paths with five bowl teams, who between them went 4-1 in the Armed Forces, Hawaii, MPC Computers, New Mexico, and Sun Bowls. . . .

Hawaii had a fine season, but the Sugar Bowl shellacking merely confirmed suspicions many had harbored previously about the Warriors. Boise State's detractors, on the other hand, were looking at the blue turf and ignoring the scoreboard. The knock on the islanders is entirely legitimate, but it is specific only to the Aloha State Adventurers. Reasonable distinctions between the two existed, and were discernible, before the last two rounds of B.C.S. bowls were played and the lesson to be gleaned from the results is not that non-B.C.S. conference teams may be dismissed out of hand, but that some undefeated mid-majors are nearer to dropping the "mid-" than others.

Finally, when it was argued that teams from outside the six automatically qualifying conferences had no way to break through the glass ceiling, I disputed that claim using B.S.U. as my example:

I dispute the contention that the Broncos "can do very little about [their schedule], because they don't play the juggernauts that abound in the Big-12, ACC, SEC or Big-10." First of all, Boise State has a great deal to do with its own schedule, particularly now that its "feel good" Fiesta Bowl victory has made the Broncos a household (read: marketable) name with telegenic appeal to the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Secondly, and more to the point, since when does B.S.U. not "play the juggernauts" from the B.C.S. conferences? Since moving up to Division I-A status in 1996, the Broncos have played regular-season games against Arizona State (in 1996), Arkansas (in 2000 and 2002), Georgia (in 2005), Oregon State (in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006), South Carolina (in 2001), U.C.L.A. (in 1999), Washington (in 2007), Washington State (in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001), and Wisconsin (in 1997). Four of those games were played in Boise and those nine major conference opponents between them have attended five Capital One/Citrus Bowls, four Cotton Bowls, a Fiesta Bowl, seven Rose Bowls, and three Sugar Bowls (in addition to a slew of Holiday, Outback, and Sun Bowls) since the aforementioned 1996 season. Despite not scheduling the likes of L.S.U., Ohio State, or Southern California, Boise State has loaded its slate with juggernauts.

B.S.U. travels to Eugene next September 20. The Broncos have upcoming dates scheduled with Oregon in 2009 and with Oregon State in 2009 and 2010. Boise State will host two of those three meetings with Pac-10 opponents. Playing twenty games against B.C.S. conference opponents from the West Coast, the Midwest, and the South---six of which are home games in the Gem State---doesn't sound like a bad deal for the Broncos in their first fifteen seasons as a Division I-A program.

Accordingly, while I believe kevanlee is right to emphasize the importance of such regular-season achievements as rivalry victories and conference championships, I believe he sells short his team’s chances of playing for the ultimate prize. Boise State is one of the sport’s great success stories, making the jump to Division II in 1968, to Division I-AA in 1978, to Division I-A in 1996, to the W.A.C. in 2001, and to a B.C.S. bowl in 2006. What’s amazing isn’t how slowly the Broncos have made progress, but how quickly they have done so.

I sympathize because it often is forgotten for how long, and until how recently, Southern gridiron teams were deemed the redheaded stepchildren of college football, regarded as inherently inferior to their Eastern and Midwestern brethren. Georgia broke out of obscurity the way Boise State has broken out of obscurity: by going on the road, facing the top teams in the land, and beating them.

(Interestingly enough, the Oklahoma Sooners brought this process to culmination for both teams, albeit in dramatically different ways. The Bulldogs played 36 regular-season games outside the South in the 50 years between 1916 and 1965, earning a top five ranking with a shocking upset of defending Big Ten and Rose Bowl champion Michigan in the Big House in Vince Dooley’s second season. In December 1965, Oklahoma came calling and offered Coach Dooley the opportunity to replace Gomer Jones as the head coach in Norman. One of the ways Georgia athletic director Joel Eaves persuaded Coach Dooley to stay in Athens was by offering him an assistant athletic directorship that gave him control over football-related decisions. From then until the moment Damon Evans succeeded Coach Dooley as the head man in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall nearly four decades later, the ‘Dawgs did not travel outside the region for a regular-season game. Had the Sooners’ lucrative offer not given Coach Dooley such complete control over the Red and Black gridiron program, Georgia might well have continued playing a national schedule as the Bulldogs did during the Harry Mehre and Wally Butts eras.)

Time and again, we have seen deserving mid-majors vaulted into national prominence by beating the big boys until they have earned their ascension into the ranks of the elite. Wins over Alabama in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl, Michigan State in the 1993 Liberty Bowl, Florida State in a nationally-televised weeknight game in 2002, and over in-state rival Kentucky five times in six seasons between 1999 and 2004 garnered Louisville a seat at the Big East table in 2005.

The same held true for Arizona State, which essentially was the Boise State of the 1960s and ‘70s. Under Dan Devine and Frank Kush, the Sun Devils had one losing season in 24 years between 1954 and 1977. A particularly strong run saw A.S.U. going 11-0 in 1970, 11-1 in 1971, 10-2 in 1972, 11-1 in 1973, and 12-0 in 1975.

Although the Sun Devils then competed in the Western Athletic Conference, to which Boise State now belongs, that string of successful seasons saw Arizona State beating Washington State in 1970 and 1973, Oregon State in 1972 and 1973, Oregon in 1973, and Washington in 1975. While none of those teams was a world-beater, they were all Pac-10 squads . . . as was A.S.U., starting in 1978.

It can happen. For Boise State, it is happening, right before our eyes, and faster than many Broncos fans appear to imagine. The day is coming, and B.S.U. partisans need to do what kevanlee says: stick it out, root, and hope. Also, work to improve your school’s U.S. News & World Report ranking, because, right now, that’s doing a whole heck of a lot more to keep the Broncos out of the Pac-10 than anything they’ve been doing on the (blue) football field.

Step by step, surely and not all that slowly, Boise State is earning its seat at the table. The B.S.U. faithful don’t need to debase themselves by pandering to the do-gooders in the District of Columbia as though their program were some sort of charity case. Keep yearning, and keep earning. We all were there once, and your turn is coming. To deny that self-evident truth is to deny not just the history of college football, but also the history of America.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Cougs sharpshoot their way to 3-0

Grady. — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:24:35 -0000

Stats by StatSheet.com

The Sacramento State Hornets wanted to clog the lane, and force WSU to beat them from the perimeter.

So, they did.

Washington State shot 15 of 29 from three point range as the Cougars downed Sac State 76-55.

It wasn't easy for WSU, who faced their first defecit of the season in the first half. After jumping out to a 10-3 lead, Sacramento State went on a 13-4 run to take a two point lead.

Then the Cougars got hot. The three point barrage was led by Taylor Rochestie (5 of 6), Klay Thompson (5 of 9) and Daven Harmeling (3 of 8). That countered an 8 for 18 three-point night by the Hornets - the reason CSUS was able to stay in the game for as long as they did.

CougCenter Player of the Game: It's hard to deny Klay Thompson and his career-high 17 points, but this night belonged to Taylor Rochestie. 17 points and 10 assists earned Taylor his first double-double as a Cougar (he had one previously at Tulane, in points and rebounds). Don't forget about his 5 of 6 night from beyond the arc, in addition to 3 steals and only 1 turnover. Yep, he's good.

But don't discount the team effort. Despite Sac State's crowd-the-lane-at-all-costs defense, Aron Baynes was one of four Cougars in double digits with 13 points. Daven Harmeling added 13 as well.

The Hornets were led by lanky center Mike Edwards, who went five for five from the floor to finish with 10 points.

CougCenter Play of the Game: Tough decision, but I'm going with Taylor Rochestie's three pointer to give the Cougars the lead for good at 21-18. It was demoralizing for Sacramento State, who shot and rebounded extremely well early, to fall behind, and the three by Rochestie sparked a 12-2 run that put the Cougars in control of this one.

What happened to the defense? We've been hyping up the defense all season so far, and statistically they had an off night against CSUS. Sac State shot 46.8% from the field and 44.4% from the arc to stay in the game. There were two reasons for this. One, credit the Hornets. They shot well and made some difficult shots look easy. Second - and Tony mentioned this in the postgame radio show - the Cougars just didn't close out on three-point shooters like they should have. They got hands in shooter's faces, but often too late, and missed out on more than a couple block opportunities on the perimeter.

With Sac State shooting so well, how did the Cougs make this a blowout? They forced 18 turnovers (compared to 6 for WSU). Klay Thompson's defense also made the Hornets leading scorer, Loren Leath, a non-factor. Leath shot 3 of 10, including 1 of 6 from distance, and was blocked on a three-point attempt early by Klay.

Another concern: The Cougars have been giving up a surprising amount of offensive rebounds this year. After a relatively poor night on the glass against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Cougs gave up another seven offensive boards to undersized Sacramento State. Still, WSU countered with 11 O-Rebs of their own, and outrebounded the Hornets 29-28. Remember, Sac State shot well, which is why the total rebounding margin isn't even more in favor of the Cougars.

Seven seniors in 2012? Mike Harthun's redshirt was burned tonight, and he scored his first collegiate bucket in five minutes of play. What does that mean? It means that Capers, Thompson, Harthun, Lodwick, Casto, Enquist and Witherill are all set to graduate in four years. Only James Watson and walk-on John Allen are freshmen still eligible for an extra year.

I understand why Tony might do this. It gives the Cougars exceptional depth this year and allows Bennett to see which players will be ready to contribute when the current group of seniors graduate. Still, I'm not a fan of it, because a seven-man senior class means we will be forced to break in another huge freshman class somewhere down the line. It's not a huge issue, but if you want to compete year-in and year-out, I believe it helps to have balance among your classes. Still, that big recruiting class of Low, Weaver, Cowgill, Harmeling and Henry turned out pretty darn good. So will our current freshmen.

Perhaps one of the keys to Bennett ball is getting a great group of players in, and have them play a lot and play together for four years. Still, math tells us five years is more than four, and some of our players like Harthun and Witherill that could potentially benefit from that extra year may not get it now.

A comfortable win, but a drop in defense

Nuss — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:02:26 -0000

I wasn't able to get into town early enough last night to catch the basketball game, but I do have internet access in my hotel room. So, I'll go ahead and confirm for you what everyone already knew: The defense wasn't nearly as effective last night. WSU gave up by far their highest defensive efficiency (94.8) and defensive effective field goal percentage (55.3) of the three games so far. (What's efficiency?)

Now, how bad that means the defense was is debateable, because a good shooting night on the part of the other team can make the Cougs' defense look not so good statistically, even when they play pretty well. No defense can take away everything from an opponent, and the Cougars try to take away penetration to make the offense shoot contested shots over the top. From reading the quotes after the game, it sounds like there were a few too many uncontested shots, and I'll be interested to read Grady's recap since he was actually at the game.

The offense looks statistically stellar thanks to a robust 15-for-29 night from 3-point range. The Cougs actually made two fewer baskets from inside the arc than from outside. It worked out last night -- to the tune of 131.0 offensive efficiency, by far the highest of the year. But you can't make a living on that every night. Tony Bennett chalked it up to Sacramento State playing an extreme version of the Cougs' own pack defense, so as long as the players haven't now fallen in love with deep shots at the expense of quality shots in future games, it shouldn't be a problem..

Sacramento State fun facts

Nuss — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:00:06 -0000

As you get ready for tonight's game -- which will feature a mini-preview by yours truly on the game thread -- here are some interesting facts about Sacramento State, courtesy the Hornets' sports information department.

WSU is the only Pac-10 team Sacramento State has ever defeated (1-28). The Hornets won, 45-44, in Sacramento in the 1953-54 season.
Sacramento State turned the ball over 23 times in its last game. The Hornets rank 278th nationally in turnover percentage, giving the ball away in more than one out of every four possessions. That's bad, folks. (Actually, the Cougs haven't been much better at 24.4 percent, but you can chalk that up mostly to the heavy minutes the freshmen are logging with the ball in their hands.)
Senior guard Loren Leath, the team's leading scorer last season, is again leading the way, averaging 17.5 points. No one else is averaging double figures.
Of the 16 players on Sacramento State's roster, not one came there directly from high school. In fact, all but one came through the junior college ranks, including -- I swear I am not making this up -- 12 JC transfers this year. (In case you're curious, the team has signed a high school big man for next year.)
Sacramento State has made at least one three-pointer in 406 consecutive games, a streak which dates back 15 years. The last time the Hornets did not make a three-pointer occurred on Nov. 28, 1993, when the team went 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in an 85-57 loss at Montana State. (Who better to end that streak than the school that had its football shutout streak ended this year? Anyone with me on this?)
Forty percent of Sacramento State's shots have come from their big men, but it hasn't translated into trips to the free throw line -- the Hornets are 319 out of 334 teams in free throw rate.
Sacramento State has a 24-game road losing streak.