Doyel doesn't rule!

What's with this Gregg Doyel guy trying to come down with his hard-as-nails approach at Cincinnati and boise state?

While he certainly has a point that boise state has traditionally made its living by feasting on weak non-conference opponents, and because of that does not deserve a shot at the national title if it finishes the season undefeated, that's no reason to support the "haves" trying to keep the "have-nots" from joining the fray.

Why keep criticizing teams for their conference schedule? That's what is a waste of time. If schools like Fresno State and boise state had a chance to be in the Pac-10, they would jump at it. Then they'd both have better recruiting, an immensely larger budget (thanks to the BCS contracts), more attractive schedules that would garner more fans and attendance and they'd be able to hold on to great assistant coaches.

Speaking of Fresno State, Doyel lost all credibility by saying Oregon was boise state's best win and Bowling Green was its second-best win. Seriously Doyel, you think Bowling Green is better than Fresno State? Heck, one could argue Fresno State would beat Oregon this year, or Oregon State and Florida State (the other team you compared the Bulldogs to). The line on Fresno State vs. Bowling Green would be double digits -- if it were on the road.

National media is a big part of the reason why there's such a steep hill for schools from non-BCS conferences to climb in the first place. There are preseason magazines devoting pages upon pages of hype to even the nobodies from BCS conferences (think Washington State, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Baylor and half the Big East) while most teams from the WAC and Mountain West get a paragraph or three.

You turn on the TV and see constant coverage of usc, Florida, Texas -- same ol', same ol' -- and only see Fresno State news and highlights if the Bulldogs are still running undefeated. Think you'll hear another mention of Houston this year after its first loss? Nope, but you can bet you'll hear plenty more on Oklahoma State and Texas Tech (two teams Houston defeated this year, and two who cowardly backed out of a return game at Fresno State within the past decade).

It's time for the media to step up, and stop helping the injustices of college football continue.

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Fresno State in national title game?

Yes, Fresno State is 1-3, but the bye week has left us with too much time to think. And that brings about a few what-ifs. Like, what if Fresno State -- with a schedule featuring two top 10 teams in the first four games this year -- was 4-0 right now?

What if Fresno State went undefeated this season, with wins at Wisconsin, vs. No. 5 Boise State, at No. 10 Cincinnati and at Illinois later in the year? That's a darn solid resumé. And if the 'Dogs did pull off the magical undefeated run (which we obviously now know they won't) it would be worthy of an appearance in the national title game.

But, does Boise State, with its schedule, deserve to play for the national championship when its undefeated season is complete? The Broncos won at home vs. an Oregon team that looked terrible, but now pulled off a stunning blowout of Cal. And the Broncos won at Fresno State, a team with a high-powered offense that should be much better than 1-3 at this point.

Today's Yahoo! story seems to think Boise State in the biggest of big BCS bowl games is a possibility. Do you?

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boise state copies Fresno State

In talking to people, many haven't yet noticed the offensive copy-catting of Boise State, which now adopted a longtime Fresno State tradition of awarding a sledgehammer to the special teams player who makes the biggest play in the previous game.

It's been done at Fresno State as long as I can remember under Pat Hill and special teams coach John Baxter. And now (GASP!howdarethey) it's being done at Boise State too. And when the 'Dogs visited Oregon in 2007 and noticed the Ducks were doing it also.

Now, I do realize Fresno State getting upset about others stealing its traditions is kind of like a turtle calling a snail slow (since Fresno State ripped "The Bulldog Bounce" from Wisconsin's "Jump Around") but you do not, under any circumstances, steal an archrival's tradition. What if Michigan started dotting the 'i,' or UCLA started holding up the 'v' for victory, or Texas started yelling 'Boomer Longhorn'? Not cool, right?

I mean, how would Boise State feel if Fresno State painted its field blue and wore all blue uniforms and helmets to camaflouge themselves? Or if Fresno State played mostly easy non-conference games and ran up the score on lesser opponents to build a questionable sense of entitlement on the national scene? Or if a Fresno State player taunted his opponent after a win and got a haymaker to the chin?

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WAC rundown Week 2

***Note: Just to briefly float my own boat, let me point out our Week 1 predictions were right on the money (please excuse the bragging, but we might not be able to say that the rest of the year)

Fresno State (1-0) @ Wisconsin (1-0)
Saturday, 9 a.m., ESPN
Last week: Fresno State 51, UC Davis 0
Fans, players and coaches have grown accustomed to this being a close, tense, bruising battle. The Badgers lead the series 2-1. Last year Wisconsin knocked off the then-No. 21 'Dogs 13-10 in Fresno, and pulled out a 23-21 win in 2002 at Camp Randall. The Bulldogs have the biggest win in the series, 32-20 at Camp Randall in 2001 behind David Carr and Bernard Berrian. What's yet to be determined is how a reported flu outbreak will affect the Badgers' lineup.
Prediction: Fresno State

Idaho (1-0) @ Washington (0-1)
Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FSN-NW
Last week: Idaho 21, New Mexico State 6
Congrats to the Vandals for being 1-0 in the WAC, but it's just sad it took two-plus years for Robb Akey to get his first conference win as Idaho's coach -- and it came against a really bad team. The same result would be beyond shocking this week. Despite the Huskies being one of the Pac-10's weakest teams a year ago, they showed fight and a renewed spirit in a loss to LSU last week.
Prediction: Washington

Louisiana Tech (0-1) @ Navy (0-1)
Saturday, 12:30 p.m., CBS CS
Last week: Auburn 37, Louisiana Tech 13
The male Techsters showed well at Auburn for a half, but then crumbled as expected. La Tech has been the trendy sleeper pick in the WAC for many this year, and truly does have good athletes, but hasn't been a real threat since '01. On the road, it's hard to picture the Techsters outlasting a Navy team that nearly tied Ohio State on the road with a two-point conversion attempt with time running out.
Prediction: Navy

Hawaii (1-0) vs. Washington State (0-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m., FSN-NW
Last week: Hawaii 25, Central Arkansas 20
The game will be played at Qwest Field in Seattle -- basically a home game for the Cougars. That, trio-ed with Hawaii's historic struggles on the mainland and near-loss to lowly Central Arkansas make a Washington State win look quite possible. But the Cougars are the laughing stock of the Pac-10. It'll all come down to whether Hawaii can outsling Wazzu and provide some cushion for a young, retooled defense.
Prediction: Hawaii

Prairie View A&M @ New Mexico State (0-1)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Last week: Idaho 21, New Mexico State 6
A game too ugly for any TV station to love, the Aggies can't afford to embarrass their conference and lose this one. New coach Dwayne Walker should at least be able to make enough of a difference to stop that from happening. Might it be the Aggies' only win of the year?
Prediction: New Mexico State

Miami (Ohio) @ No. 12 Boise State (1-0)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Last week: Boise State 18, Oregon 6
Most of the Broncos avoided a punch to the chin in last week's big win over Oregon, and get rewarded with a tune-up game heading into next week's WAC opener at rival Fresno State. It's a really down year for Miami (Ohio) with the days of Big Ben long gone.
Prediction: Boise State

No. 17 Utah (1-0) @ San Jose State (0-1)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Last week: USC 56, San Jose State 3
Is it possible to say the Spartans are still plagued with bad offense and good defense after they gave up 56 points at USC last week? Well, the Spartans were up 3-0 after the first quarter. And despite the fact Utah State gave Utah a run for it last week, the Utes will be too much for San Jose State's offense to handle.
Prediction: Utah

Byes
Nevada (0-1): Wolf Pack lost 35-0 at Notre Dame, proving once again it can never win a big non-conference game. Thanks for making the WAC look bad on national TV Nevada. Your turn to start "play up"...
Utah State (0-1): Aggies did all they could to put WAC coaches on alert that they could be the up-and-coming team. Still, losing to Utah by a couple scores is not enough to make a difference on the ol' record.

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WAC rundown Week 1

Utah State @ Utah
Thursday, 6 p.m.
This'll be more exciting in two years when former Utes DC Gary Andersen (now the Aggies head coach) has time to make an impact. It won't, however, be as bad as last year's 58-10 blowout as Utah was en route to a 13-0 BCS bowl victory season.
Prediction: Utah

Oregon @ Boise State
Thursday, 7:15 p.m., ESPN
Broncos won at Autzen Stadium last season -- their first-ever road win over a BCS-conference team. Boise State is 4-10 all-time against ranked opponents, but also has just two home losses since 1999 -- something's gotta give.
Prediction: Boise State

Central Arkansas @ Hawaii
Friday, 10 p.m.
Perfect opponent for a Warriors team trying to break in a new defense and break out of the bad publicity by coach Greg McMackin's diahhrea of the mouth.
Prediction: Hawaii

Nevada @ Notre Dame
Saturday, 1:30 p.m., NBC
Intriguing matchup with Nevada's high-powered running game (made possible by defenses having to pay constant attention to Colin Kaepernick) and a Fighting Irish squad Dr. Lou thinks will go undefeated (yeah right). Still, Nevada never wins big games.
Prediction: Notre Dame

San Jose State @ USC
Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FSN
Credit the Spartans for scheduling tough (unlike Boise State) but they'll be in over their heads in this one. Defense stands a chance, but after last year offense leaves huge doubts.
Prediction: USC

Louisiana Tech @ Auburn
Saturday, 4 p.m., ESPNU
La Tech comes in with more hype than it's had since 2001. We'll find out quick if they're for real -- my guess is no.
Prediction: Auburn

Idaho @ New Mexico State
Saturday, 4 p.m.
It would be tough to find a more boring matchup in the nation. The only interesting thing is Dwayne Walker debuting as Aggies coach. Idaho's probably a bit better, but Aggies have home advantage:
Prediction: Idaho

UC Davis @ Fresno State
Saturday, 7 p.m.
'Dogs get to ease in new QB Ryan Colburn against a FCS opponent. Make no mistake Aggies will be jazzed to play this one and bring some fans, but Fresno State could be a huge sleeper this season.
Prediction: Fresno State

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