Who Will Win the WAC? How About Three Teams

by nsc

I know the title seems absurd to this blog but it refers to exactly how I think the WAC will finish this season. Because the overall talent in the WAC is down I think we are going to see a level of parody among the top three teams this season that could rival how things finished back when the WAC was 16 teams and the first place teams commonly tied at 6-2. With that being said here is how I see the WAC playing out now that the non-conference schedules for most of the WAC teams have begun and are coming to a close sooner than later. Each team's projected WAC record follows their name.

1) Hawaii 7-1 (1st tie) - I know Hawaii has the easiest road to an
undefeated WAC season. I just do not see them finishing without a
loss in the WAC. MDG is adamant that the Warriors will lose two games
(Nevada and Boise) but I do not think that offense will falter two
times in the same season. At the same time this may come down to
wishful thinking as I do not want to see a team with Hawaii's schedule
run the table and qualify for a BCS game. If the Warriors are able to
do something of this sort it will prove that all mid-majors such as
Fresno State will have scheduled tough for absolutely no reason and
instead those with the weak scheduling philosophy are the ones that
reap the benefits in the end.

2) Boise State 7-1 (1st tie) - The Broncos have already lost to
Washington and struggled to a win over the Cowboys from Wyoming.
However, in WAC play we all know that the Broncos do an outstanding
job of playing well enough to win every game. This season I feel like
that the Broncos will knock off Hawaii but will experience only their
second loss to Fresno State in their past seven games with the
Bulldogs. Because the Dogs will have beaten the Broncos and the
Broncos will have beaten the Warriors all three teams will be left
with one loss in the conference. Now a team such as Nevada can knock
off one of these teams and ruin all that I think will happen, but that
is why these are predictions. After all how often do predictions come
true?

3) Fresno State 7-1 (1st tie) - Fresno State opens up with La. Tech
and then begins their road schedule with Nevada followed by Idaho. If
Fresno State can get by Nevada they then have a chance to begin the
season 6-0. I believe Fresno State will win it's game at Nevada and
run off six games in a row before their battle at Hawaii. Fresno will
give Hawaii everything they have in their tank and take that game down
to the wire but I don't know if Fresno's offense will be able to keep
up with the Warriors for the entire length of the game. Overall this
will be a very positive year for Fresno State in the WAC as they will
tie for the WAC title and play in a bowl game.

4) New Mexico State 5-3 (2nd) - The Aggies will have a very strong
season with Chase Holbrook at QB. Although I do not think the Aggies
will beat Fresno State, Hawaii, or Boise State I do not think there is
another team in the WAC that will knock off NMSU. With a 5-3 record
the Aggies will be bowl elgible and possibly play in a bowl game. I
do not know the last time NMSU played in a bowl game but I am quite
sure it has been a long while. This will be a stepping stone for the
Aggies who look like the only new member of the WAC who is actually
progressing instead of regressing or making absolutely no improvements
whatsoever.

5) Nevada 4-4 (3rd) - The Wolf pack look to have a very tough season
ahead of them. They have already dropped two games, one of them to a
Northwestern team that gave Duke it's first win in 23 games. If the
Wolf pack struggled against a bad Northwestern team there is no
telling how they will play against the likes of Fresno, Boise, Hawaii,
and NMSU. I still think the Wolf pack have enough to pull out a .500
record in the WAC. This is a rebuilding season for Chris Ault and his
pistol offense but Graziano seems to be the type of QB that can learn
the offense and run with it. Expect Nevada to be a difference maker
much sooner than later.

6) Louisiana Tech 3-5 (4th) - La. Tech is one of the many reasons why
I prefer to wait to predict records for the WAC. La. Tech is
returning somewhere in the arena of 4 starters this season but their
coach has them playing some tough football down there in the South.
La. Tech lost to Hawaii 45-44 in overtime and has shown that it's
offense might be much tougher to stop than originally thought. With
Champion at QB opposing teams will have to put pressure on Champion
early and often to take him out of his game. Although La. Tech won't
be nearly as bad as originally thought they still will not have enough
to finish in the top half of the WAC.

7) San Jose State 1-7 (5th tie) - I have to say that I see very little
positives out of the Spartans up to this point of the season. I
realize they are dealing with a rash of injuries but their QB has
looked awful and they have not played defense in any way, shape, or
form. Their embarrassing 37-0 loss to a bad Stanford team should tell
us all we need to know about San Jose. The Spartans take on Utah
State this weekend and I feel like the Aggies of Utah State have a chance to
pull this game out. Tomey may be upset with the Spartans for the way
they have played their first three games but they have lost not
because of bad preparation but instead because they are bad as a
team. Look for 2006 to be an anomaly and for the Spartans to have an
awful 2007.

8) Idaho 1-7 (5th tie) - Idaho is a terrible football team. They lost
their coach, have very little on the offensive and defensive side of
the ball, and play in one of the single worst football arenas in the
nation. The Kibbie Dome is a death trap for most football players as
the surface is awful and more often than not leads to a terrible
injury. Look for Idaho to find a way to lose almost every game they
play aside their match up with Utah State. I do not expect much from
Idaho and in the long run look for this team to have many years of
underachieving in their near future.

9) Utah State 1-7 (5th tie) - Utah State is a team that knocked off
Fresno State last year for one of it's biggest wins in school
history. However, this team has not won a game since their upset
against Fresno and quite honestly they have not come close to beating
anyone. In 2007 Utah State will not beat anyone of worth as Fresno
will get it's revenge on a very bad Utah State team that lost to
Oklahoma 54-3 this past weekend. Utah State will be a team mired in
the bottom of the WAC for many years to come unless they decide to
make some changes for the better. It doesn't help that their in-state
competition for recruits is nationally known Utah and BYU.

Overall the WAC will be down this season which in turn that will
create an exciting finish for the top half of this conference. Look
for some hard fought victories when the top three play one another.
These games will be exciting and I am quite sure there will be some
upsets I did not predict. WAC football is always kind of crazy, so
expect the unexpected.