Most conservative Big East TV deal estimate at $6.4 million per school per year

That is what San Diego State's president Elliot Hirshman said yesterday when speaking to reporters. That is still far and above the $1.2 million each school received in the MWC last year. Hirshman also hinted that San Diego State wasn't necessarily the only school pushing for Boise State's inclusion to the Big West.

Boise State athletes put up a school record 3.0 GPA for the spring semester

Good for them. Glad to see that as a whole, Boise State athletes are taking academics seriously.

Big 12 agrees to annual bowl loss against SEC

The Onion is at it again but it's kind of true. Glad Texas/Oklahoma can go out an lose to an SEC team each year.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to current player Michael Ames and reader typhoonblue.

Pick out a seat at Bronco Stadium on June 8th

If you are considering season tickets this year, Boise State is hosting a "meet your seat" event where you can see all the available seats and purchase one on the spot. Great idea if you aren't familiar with the views from different sections of Bronco Stadium.

Titus Young returns to Lions practice yesterday

Now he and Nick Fairley have been grouped together since Fairley picked up his second arrest of the off season, a DUI, in Alabama this past weekend. Young issued a statement saying that he apologized for his actions and hopes to put them behind him. Hopefully he can do that and be in the spotlight for the right reasons.

Craig James concedes Senate race

He placed 4th out of 9 contenders with only 4% of the vote. Now the fear of the unknown sets in. Where will he land? Hope he fades out of the spotlight and doesn't get a job calling games for the NBC Sports Network this year.

Happy Birthdays!

Happy birthday to reader Broncograd96 and current player Adam Sheffield. Hope your day is filled with cake!

Joey Martanaro still committed to Boise State (HT: BT Blue)

The Fruitland prospect just finished winning state in baseball but hasn't wavered from his commitment to join the Broncos. I like that he's already comparing himself to Shea McClellin.

Mike Slive speaks out against Plus One model

Glad to hear Slive realizing that it's a terrible idea. I was worried when Larry Scott mentioned it last week, that the rest of the commissioners might fall in line, but it's good to know that he was just going rogue.

Craig James polling at 3%

Things aren't looking good for the former ESPN commentator. Hopefully him losing an election doesn't mean him showing back up at ESPN though.

Happy Birthday

I want to wish a happy birthday to reader Bluesport for having his birthday today.

Larry Scott says Plus One model back on the table

The Pac 12 commissioner went on the record yesterday to say that the Plus One model is back on the table and being discussed. That would mean all bowl games stay the same and 2 teams are picked to play after the bowl games are finished. Sound awesome? Thought not. Now I doubt this would happen after all the talk and momentum to an actual playoff. So somebody just tell Larry no. Thanks, Jason.

Big East TV contract could be a lot lower than expected

Of course it could be higher than the deal Big East schools rejected last year too. There's definitely a chance that the contract could be on the low end, but nobody really knows. And everyone keeps bringing up the deal last year that was rejected. I wish we had more details on it because I would think there would have been an out for ESPN built in if conference membership changes. In that case the deal would have been renegotiated anyways.

Big East and ACC bowl game?

That's what the Georgia Tech AD hinted at. Anything sounds good to us Boise State plans after being relegated to the Las Vegas Bowl for the last 2 years.

The Big East has a song

South Florida's blog Voodoo Five found the song. Somebody get the Boise State band on it quick!

College football endowment ideas

Now these are some good ideas for trolling.

Mountain West made one time offer to keep Boise State

Colorado State AD Jack Graham spoke out about the meetings that he, Craig Thompson and another MWC AD had with Boise State in Boise on May 9th after Mark Coyle said that no discussions about staying in the MWC had taken place. Naturally that bothered Graham so he decided to spill the details about the meetings including that the MWC had made an offer or revenue sharing based on success to Boise State. That's an interesting tidbit that Brian Murphy thinks could rankle BYU fans.

Sun Belt announces they will not expand further

The Sun Belt is adding Texas Arlington to get it to 10 football schools and 12 schools total. That shuts down one option for Idaho's future. Idaho AD Rob Spear declined comment.

Gene Bleymaier to be announced as San Jose State AD today

Have to say that is a steal for San Jose State and good for Gene. Hope he does well there.

Big East championship game to be held on campus

That is what is being discussed at the Big East meetings this week. The "best" team of the two division winners will host the game. They are discussing tiebreakers if the 2 teams have the same record. They are also throwing out the idea of divisions not based on geography. The Big East also favors a champions only model for the FBS playoff and a formula based system and not a committee to determine the top 4 teams. But as Dan Wetzel points out, the Big East should really be pushing for an 8 team model. But it's probably too late for that this time around.

Robb Akey talks to the Sporting News about Idaho's situation

He sat down with Steve Greenburg and spoke openly and honestly on how he feels about the demise of the WAC. I actually felt for the guy a little bit. However, it's not the end of football for Idaho if they drop to the FCS and go to the Big Sky. I get that Akey wants to be an FBS coach, but it's not like he is going to lose his job for moving to the FCS. Yes this makes his job harder but it's not the end of the world.

Mountain lion killed near Boise State student union

The mountain lion was seen near/in a dumpster next to the building when police officers killed it. Make sure to pack your taser everyone.

Happy Birthday

I want to wish a very special happy birthday to my wife Megan and also to current player Hunter White. She is going to be so stoked to learn that she shares a birthday with a Boise State player!

Mark Coyle and Craig Thompson issue contradictory statements on Boise State and the MWC

So AD Mark Coyle is down in Florida for the Big East meetings this week and could not duck the media. When asked about any discussions between Boise State and the MWC, Coyle responded with a simple "no". Well Craig Thompson then decided to refute that by saying that Boise State and the MWC did in fact have conversations and that Boise State has not officially withdrawn from the MWC yet. Oh boy. At least everyone can agree that Boise State still intends to join the Big East so nothing to see here.

Titus Young told to not show up for voluntary OTA's

Young had apparently gotten into a fight with Louis Delmas during a voluntary practice last week and then sucker punched him when he wasn't looking. Not good at all. Hopefully Titus can turn his attitude around.

Kevan sits down (figuratively) with blog Big West Confidential to answer some questions

The blog is run by our very own greekpadre. Kevan only makes one misstep in his answers and that's placing Chick-Fil-A below Dairy Queen. The Blizzard reigns supreme, but I have to say that the depth and quality of Chick-Fil-A's menu out weighs Dairy Queen's on the whole. Yeah, I said it.

Birthdays!

Happy birthday to readers lifelongbronco and toywrecker! So, what did you two get for your birthdays?

Big East meetings kick off today in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

They sure have a lot on their plate. Friday afternoon news came out that Boise State will indeed move to the Big East. Boise State had wanted to make the final decision before the meetings since Mark Coyle is attending. I don't think he likes those awkward situations.

Gene Bleymaier to interview for San Jose State AD position

He would be a great hire for San Jose State. Hopefully it works out for the both of them.

What the "Champions" bowl could mean for the rest of college football

It's a tad doomsdayish, but an interesting take. And the "Champions Bowl" is the most smarmy name ever.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to former player and current Minnesota Viking Chase Baker. Good luck up north!

13 Boise State players named to Phil Steele's preseason All MWC team

And it should have been even more. I have to agree with Dave Southern here, no Jarrell Gavins? That seems a little short sighted. Offensive linemen Joe Kellogg and Charles Leno Jr. join receivers Matt Miller and Mitch Burroughs on the first team.

Alabama and West Virginia to meet for 2014 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic

But, you're asking yourself, isn't Boise State supposed to play Ole Miss that year in the Chick-Fil-A game? Fear not, Boise State and Ole Miss will play on the Thursday before Labor Day weekend while Alabama and West Virginia will play on Saturday. Unfortunately, that probably makes travel even harder for most Boise State fans but, then again, I doubt if you were planning on making the trip, the day of the week is probably the last hurdle you'd face.

Video: Tyrone Crawford joins other rookies to serve dinner at the Salvation Army (HT: Smurfturfer)

Crawford has some good comments about what Boise State does in the community

BYU game time announced

The game is scheduled for a Thursday night, September 20, in Boise and will kick off at 7 p.m. local time. Hopefully that gives everyone enough time to leave work early and get to the stadium to tailgate.

Boise State one of 10 schools to never have a QB take a regular season NFL snap

Boise State is by far the most well known school. Air Force and Wyoming join Boise State from the MWC. The list also includes a few directional ones. Hopefully Kellen will break in and get Boise State off this list.

No 6 loss teams in bowl games will mean fewer bowls, but which ones?

That's the question that Jason Kirk tried to answer and while I always assumed that the Idaho Potato Bowl would be one to go when bowl attrition happened, that might not be the case. There are a lot more crappy bowls with crappy teams that have played in them. The interesting thing will be to see how the Big East incorporates the Potato Bowl once Boise State moves next year.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to current player and kickoff extraordinaire Trevor Harman. Keep up the good work, buddy!

Big West to "entertain" the idea of Boise State joining

They sent a new membership assessment tool to Boise State. It supposedly helps the Big West gather information about a prospective school. Commissioner Dennis Farrell did say that there was more openness to the idea of Boise State joining this year than last year. Also an interesting note, Hawaii is paying travel subsidies to the Big West. That is surely something that Boise State could do if they get the big payday from the Big East like expected.

Commentary: Lions need Kellen Moore on 53 man roster

Here's a commentary piece from Adam Biggers at Yahoo Sports. He argues that the Lions need to have 3 QB's on their roster and that Kellen Moore should be the third QB. Ultimately I have to believe that this is what the Lions will do. I'm sure coach Jim Schwartz just refuses to commit to anything so early and wants to keep his options open.

LeGarrette Blount feels very confident in his own abilities (HT: blue4areason)

Blount told the Tampa Bay Times that "no one can affect my carries but me." I guess it doesn't hurt to have that kind of confidence when you play in the NFL, but the reality is that Doug Martin can sure affect your carries as well as a Tampa Bay front office that used a first round pick on Martin. Doug was held out of practice on Tuesday for a slight hamstring strain but I'm sure he'll be back soon to affect Blount's carries.

Home games supposedly nixed for playoffs

It's times like these I just have to remind myself that the fact a 4 team playoff is imminent is progress enough and not get worked up by all the stupid decisions they make surrounding that.

San Diego State trying to help Boise State find a home for non football sports

San Diego State has been admitted to the Big West for their non football sports and that would be an ideal location for Boise State also. Unfortunately the California-centric league does not want to add the increased travel costs to get to Boise. Hopefully San Diego State can apply the appropriate pressure and get the Big West to reconsider.

Kellen Moore inconsistent at rookie mini camp

Those are the reports from John Kreger from CBSSports.com. It's obviously early but it has got to be tough with so much focus on him.

A look at Florida's offense under Brent Pease

Tomahawk Nation takes a look ahead at what Florida's offense might do under Brent Pease. The best way to do that? By referencing the highly cited article from Smart Football about Boise State's offense before the Virginia Tech game. It's always good to read where people give Boise State credit for not being a gimmick offense.

College of Idaho to reinstate football

Finally a Treasure Valley rival for the Vandals!

Shea McClellin adjusting to the Bears quite nicely

Shea is in the middle of his rookie mini camp with the Bears and has integrated well into defensive coordinator Rob Marinelli's drills. Apparently coach Pete Kwiatkowski visited the Lions in 2008 when Marinelli was coaching there and incorporated a lot of his drills into Boise State practices.

How a 24 team playoff would have looked in the FBS

Take a look at some of those match ups. I mean, what part of that would not be awesome. Maybe in a few more rounds of TV negotiations we'll be there.

NFL.com article on Kellen Moore looking to prove the naysayers wrong (HT: Tbone)

Good to see that Kellen is still getting some attention after not be drafted. Although it is not a lock that he'll make the 53 man roster, but I have a feeling Detroit isn't ready to just have 2 QB's on the roster quite yet.

Kyle Efaw signs with the Oakland Raiders for three years

Efaw attended their rookie mini camp on a tryout and left with a contract. I'm curious to see how much is guaranteed for Efaw but any contract after going undrafted is great.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to former Bronco Jarrell Root. Hope you have a great birthday down in Miami and keep up the hard work for the Dolphins.

Report: Boise State leaving its options open with the Big East and MWC

Brett McMurphy, who has been all over the realignment news, reports that Boise State might be reconsidering its move to the Big East. The two things he notes is that MWC officials met with Boise State officials last week in an attempt to get them to stay. Also, Boise State hasn't formally withdrawn from the MWC yet. They have until June 30th to formally notify, but the delay could be telling of something. However, as former Big East commissioner John Marinatto notes, Boise State joined the Big East for the television money. As long as that money comes, then Boise State will stay. Unfortunately the July 1st deadline to join comes before the media rights negotiating starts on September 1st.

Louisville wants to leave the Big East

This was commonly known, but Louisville apparently told the Big East board of directors that they would like to be in the ACC or the Big 12. Well Boise State would love to be in the PAC 12 but unfortunately that's not how realignment works, Cardinal.

Kellen Moore officially sings with the Lions

No word yet on the terms of the contract.

Insider: Boise State listed as top BCS buster candidate for 2012

The term "BCS buster" seems so antiquated now, right? Hasn't Boise State just earned the right to be in that contention every year? I guess it's not the same as Houston, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech or Arkansas State that are also on the list.

New photos of Bronco Stadium construction

The construction seems to be taking place at the end zones right now so the track is still in place to the sides of the field. Good to see construction taking place though and things getting move.

J.C. Percy named to Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list

The Lott Trophy honors the top collegiate defensive player. It also takes into account what student does off the field too.

Detroit Free Press has nice article on Kellen Moore

As Boise State fans, you've probably heard most of the stuff before about Kellen's IQ. But it's good to know that the Detroit fans are getting to know the same things.

George Iloka agrees to deal with the Bengals

It's the standard deal of 4 years at $2.1 million and a $160,300 signing bonus. Not bad at all for Iloka being a fifth round pick.

Mike Leach trolls Craig James while signing books

Mike Leach took the opportunity to reinforce the rumors about Craig James' playing days at SMU. He has also taken the time to campaign for anyone but Craig James to win that senate seat. Troll on, Mike Leach. Troll on.

Big West to meet next week and expansion is an item on their agenda

Andy Katz reports that the Big East will indeed meet next week and will discuss expanding while Brian Murphy says that no specific proposal is on the table. The Big West seems to be insistent on only wanting California schools, however they have already accepted Hawaii to join in non football sports. Guess travel is not an issue but having access to a beach might be the deciding factor.

Kevan answers some questions for SB Nation Dallas about Tyrone Crawford

Kevan, as always, does a great job of defending Boise State's scheme and the opposition Crawford faced.

Matt Hinton from Dr. Saturday moves to Football Outsiders

Hinton used to write Sunday Morning Quarterback before he moved to Yahoo a few years ago to write Dr. Saturday. Apparently I missed it when he stepped down from Dr. Saturday in February and handed the blog over to Graham Watson. I'm glad he'll still be around though.

Blue clay unveiled for Tennis in Madrid (HT: Freshbreff)

Boise State's blue turf gets an obligatory mention, but the U.S. Open has been playing on blue courts since 2005. One of the reasons to move to blue? Easier to track the ball. So I guess it's the exact opposite reasoning of MWC officials.

John Marinatto resigns as Big East commissioner (HT: Mikrino)

On Monday, Marinatto resigned as the commissioner of the Big East. Now Boise State's new found league could be headed for more upheaval. Pete Thamel talked to former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese who suggested that the basketball schools should look to split off from the conference. That would obviously be devastating for Boise State. The conference seems to be shooting themselves in the foot lately. Yesterday Brent McMurphy reported that in April 2011 the presidents voted against a $1.4 billion deal with ESPN for nine years. That kind of cash could come in handy right about now.

Big Sky commissioner talks about Idaho's situation

Doug Fullerton believes that he could sit at a debate table and convince a lot of people that the best place for Idaho is the Big Sky. He makes a compelling argument about why for a school like Idaho, it's much better to be at the top of the FCS than the bottom of the FBS.

Mike Leach did a Q&A on Reddit

This is why Mike Leach is the most entertaining coach in college football.

MWC not interested in Idaho

Idaho AD Rob Spear mentions rejoining the Sun Belt for football only or possibly going independent. Getting 5 home games would be nearly impossible though. Their last option? Returning to the Big Sky.

More Buccaneers mini camp pics

There are few pics of Doug Martin going through some drills. And yes, that is ex LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Wonder where Schiano thinks he's going to put him? Unfortunately no pics of Eric Legrand yet. I think it would be pretty awesome to see him on the sidelines for every game.

Pride of Detroit has a Kellen Moore scouting report

The Pride of Detroit is SB Nation's Detroit Lions blog. They pulled together a bunch of links of Kellen highlights and other pre draft reports. Naturally they seem pretty excited to land Kellen without having to use a draft pick.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to current player Dallas Burroughs. Looking forward to seeing that speed on display this fall.

New playoff plan alert: Things are about to get complicated

I think conference commissioners are purposely throwing out complicated ideas now to try to prove to everyone that playoffs are not as easy as everyone thinks, except they are. The Big 10's Jim Delany spoke yesterday and said they are now considering a model where conference champions in the top 6 would get automatic entry to the playoffs. Just give us a 4 team playoff and call it a day, guys.

Read why Malcolm Gladwell believes college football should be banned

Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and then he had to go and betray me. But seriously, he brings up some great points that have been rumbling around for awhile. At some point universities are going to have to address them.

WAC officials vow the conference will not whither away

Unfortunately they did not provide an action plan. So while we wait, check out this look back at the WAC, the conference that gave Boise State its start. It's crazy how the WAC was once the scavenger and now is having its bones picked clean. Did you know that a fifth of the 125 D-1 schools once competed in the WAC? Crazy.

Questions remain for Boise State hoops in face of WAC's demise

I wonder how this will look down the road if Boise State ends up sacrificing its other sports in order for football to play in the Big East. My gut says everything will be fine and wherever the non football sports end up will work out just fine. But I do wonder what the move will look like in hindsight.

Photos from Junior day testing

We finally have captions today!

Vote to bring GameDay back to Boise

Unfortunately it looks like you have to connect to Facebook to vote. Hopefully they'll leave your timeline alone.

Birthday

Happy birthday to reader LoneSausages. Someone get him a Tres De Mayo drink!

Athlon Sports names Boise State number 24 in their preseason top 25

Athlon Sports is doing their top 25 countdown and today they unveiled Boise State at 24. If you go to AthlonSports.com, it's pretty much all Boise State today including a Top 10 players for 2012 and a set of predictions for 2012 amongst others.

Kellen Moore motivated in Motown

PFT has some nice quotes from Kellen about how it feels to go undrafted. I would say it's nice for Kellen to be motivated by having a chip on his shoulder but I believe he's the kind of guy to be so disciplined to be motivated no matter what. Nevertheless, the chip is there.

Idaho finally issues statement on conference realignment

In typical fashion, the statement denounces that money is behind conference realignment but then states that Idaho is a strong presence in the Spokane and Boise markets and that is being overlooked.

Conference USA announces addition of 6 new schools

That includes current WAC member Louisiana Tech and future WAC member Texas San Antonio.

Draft proves Boise State's success not only a product of a weak schedule

Andrea Adelson has a nice column for those the non Boise State fans out there. Of course, we all knew how good players like Doug Martin and Shea McClellin were. Now the fact that Boise State has had 6 players drafted and 10 over the last two years proves that Boise State has been a product of some pretty darn good players and some great coaches.

Brian Murphy runs the scenarios for the WAC and realignment

As we discussed yesterday, this is not ideal for Boise State but Idaho could really be hit hard. It seems like the only viable option for the once mighty WAC is to become a non football conference. This would work for Boise State and Idaho could just saunter back to the Big Sky. Come on, Idaho. The FCS is good enough.

Ryan Winterswyk retires from the NFL

I sure would be happy to retire from my job at his age, but I'm guessing Ryan won't be just sitting at home reading books and fixing up the house.

Utah State and San Jose State headed for the MWC in 2013

The WAC is on its last legs as a football conference. Utah State and San Jose State will gleefully leave the WAC for the greener (it's all relative) pastures of Craig Thompson's MWC. Couple that with Louisiana Tech and University of Texas San Antonio leaving for the C-USA and the WAC isn't left with much. UTSA hasn't even played a game in the WAC yet. By my count, that leaves just Idaho and New Mexico State left. This would be bad for Boise State too since they planned to park their non football sports in the WAC, but this would be devastating for Idaho. The music is about to stop in this game of realignment musical chairs and it doesn't look like the Vandals will have a seat. Rob Spear prefers not to comment.

New college football playoff idea alert

The college football brain trust that got together to meet last week came up with another idea that isn't terrible. It sure stinks a whole lot less than the terrible "Four Teams Plus" plan to save the Rose Bowl. This new plan would place semifinal games at the higher seed's BCS bowl site. For example, if Alabama is number one, they would host the number four team at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Same with Oregon or USC hosting at the Rose Bowl. I think it's only fair that Boise State should get to host in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Blutarsky would like to take a chance to remember what good the BCS gave us. I'm not quite ready for that yet.

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

We have some belated birthdays from over the weekend to take care of. On Saturday it was reader howiestheman's birthday and on Sunday it was bsu415's birthday. Today reader tbl2020 and current player Brenel Myers share a birthday. If I could, I would buy all of you some Jeni's Ice Cream and you would all be very happy that I did.

NFL Draft round 2 mock draft

The second round of the NFL draft kicks off tonight and we found a mock draft that has George Iloka going to the Jets at 47. Boise State's previous record of NFL draft picks is 4 in 2007 but it seems inevitable that this class will break it this year. And kudos to the guy running @ESPNStatsInfo for the this tweet last night.

1st round picks... Boise State: 2. Miami, Florida, FSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio St: 0 #NFLdraft

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 27, 2012

Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik and HC Greg Schiano's remarks on Doug Martin

They both seem very high on Martin and were very happy he was still available. Unfortunately it doesn't look like anyone asked about LeGarrette Blount's history with Boise State. However, Doug Martin did say the two would have a perfect partnership.

Shea McClellin to wear number 99 for the Bears

Hall of Famer Dan Hampton wore number 99 for the Bears' 1985 championship team.

Boise State extends offer to JUCO defensive lineman Ben Bradley

Bradley is from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and already holds offers from Kansas, Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas State but admitted that BSU's offered the most intrigue. Looks like Bradley had originally committed to West Virginia before going the JUCO route. By the way, he measures up to 6'3" and 310 pounds!

NFL Draft starts tonight

It kicks off at 6 p.m. MST tonight. Shea McClellin will be in the house tonight in NYC wearing his new suit. I believe he only bought one since he only intends to be there one night (he can always pick up a new tie for night two if the need arises!). Stewart Mandel has Kellen Moore and Tyrone Crawford as two underrated players (HT: hummerofdoom) in the draft at their positions. I like how Stewart reminded us all that he said Boise State had an SEC caliber defensive line. We didn't forget, Stewart.

Bill Hancock: "Status quo if off the table"

BCS meetings continued yesterday and BCS director Bill Hancock emerged to talk to the media and make that comment. Momentum still seems to be heading to an inevitable four team playoff. I just hope that if/when it all happens, we won't be fawning over the very people that resisted change for many years as the ones that should be celebrated.

Craig Thompson not too optimistic about BCS exemption (HT: B.D.)

Bill Hancock seems to be giving Craig the old run around on the issue saying he'll "try" to get a conference call together with the committee this week but, you see, his schedule is just so packed! It's a last whimper for Craig Thompson after his mega-conference-alliance plan blew up with the CUSA. And while I agree that the MWC's performance in the past did merit BCS access, the fact that all the top teams are gone or on their way out the door makes it all a moot point. Poor Craig can't even believe in it enough to fight for it.

Temple looking for 12th game

But apparently they want it at home. If I'm not mistaken (which I probably am), Temple needs a 12th game while Boise State doesn't need a 13th game. Unfortunately it probably means Temple is going to just schedule an FCS team.

BCS talks: semifinal games on home campuses and conference champions only all but dead

At least that's what a source tells ESPN.com. Both of these are obviously the work of the SEC. They don't want to have to send a team to a cold weather destination like Ann Arbor or Columbus in December or January. But they have couched it as what would happen if TCU was to host a semifinal game in a 45,000 seat stadium? Answer: it would be just fine. Better a full 45,000 seat stadium than a half empty 100,000 seat stadium.

On the other issue, obviously the SEC will fight tooth and nail to have 2 teams eligible for the top 4. The good news on all of this is that a 4 team playoff still seems inevitable and that is still progress.

August 31st at 8 p.m. EDT set as start of Boise State - Michigan State opener

So make your reservations now wherever that may be, the local BW3's, the RAM or plane tickets to Detroit.

Full mock draft by Chad Reuter at NFL.com

This was quite the undertaking but very interesting. He has Shea McClellin going in the first round to the Packers, Doug Martin going to the Buccaneers in the second round, Billy Winn going to the Packers in the second round, Tyrone Crawford going to the Colts in the fourth round, George Iloka going to the Seahawks in the fourth round, Nate Potter going to the Falcons in the sixth round, and the Saints picking up Kellen Moore in the seventh round. What happened to Nate Potter? Wasn't he considered a first to second round pick at one time?

Tyrone Crawford expected to go in round 3 of draft

And he might be the third Boise State defensive linemen to be drafted at that point. Meanwhile, everyone seems to still love Shea McClellin, especially Mike Mayok. Thursday night should be interesting to see where he ends up going.

Boise State basketball to visit Creighton next season

Nothing says the Christmas season like a visit to Nebraska! The game is part of the MWC's scheduling agreement with the Missouri Valley Conference. Now when does the Big East deal become final?

Brian Murphy asks if Kellen Moore will be the first Boise State QB to play in an NFL game

I say yes. Now who's going to say no?

Emmitt Smith's mock draft

Now Emmitt Smith didn't really do a mock draft, but let's all sit back, put on our imagination station caps and just play along. It will be a good time for all!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to current player and rising start Dillon Lukehart!

Peter King doesn't have a Boise State player going in the first round (HT: Freshbreff)

But that doesn't mean he doesn't think they should. He has Shea McClellin and Doug Martin both as players that different teams should pick but not the ones he thinks they actually will pick.

Billy Winn could go in the third round

This is a sign that things have really changed. There was once a time when any Boise State player being drafted would have been news. Now with the surge of Martin and McClellin up the draft boards, the possibilities of Billy Winn being drafted in the third round and George Iloka being drafted in rounds 2 or 3 have somewhat flow under the radar.

Boise State could have five defensive line players NFL bound by the end of the draft

I would say that would be a pretty good pitch to future defensive line recruits.

Belated Birthday

Yesterday was readers NighthawkWatch's birthday. So, what did you get?

Coach Pete's new contract approved unanimously by State Board

There wasn't even any discussion. I guess that Vandal alum on the board is finally coming around.

Mike Mayok still loves Shea McClellin

Says he thinks he'll be a 10 year starter and compares him to Mike Vrabel. I think Shea would take that. Meanwhile NFL.com's Bucky Brooks thinks that McClellin and Doug Martin are some of the most overrated prospects. To me that's a little outlandish since McClellin and Martin have been very productive college players and not workout wonders.

Kellen's visit to the Saints (HT: Tbone)

Who Dat Dish adds a little bit more background to why the Saints could be considering Moore.

Mountain West still waiting on that whole BCS exemption thing

The whole BCS exemption talk seems like ages ago but the actual paperwork was only filed in December. Not surprisingly nothing has been heard about it. In some ways it would have been nice to see what Utah, BYU, TCU and Boise State could have put together for a league.

Boise State adds Rich Rasmussen to staff

He will join the staff as director of player personnel and will coordinate and oversee recruiting. Rasmussen previously was at Washington State as tight ends coach for four years.

SI does a story about marijuana use at Oregon

Apparently there are unwritten rules in the locker room about it such as if it doesn't affect your play, everyone's cool with it. Naturally, the university responded with a statement.