Shutouts abound in conference play
Boise State looks strong in loss to Oregon
North Dakota State knows how to win
Week 1 finally has put all the teams into action. Both conferences saw significant action starting Friday. There will be the obvious comparisons between the two of them as the season progresses. Without doubt, the best team of the two conferences is Boise State, who took #2 Oregon to the wire before dropping a 34-27 contest. Friday night saw Fresno State being smacked down by USC 39-0. Shutout
number one. Over in the Mountain West, UTEP took on Oklahoma and was whitewashed 51-0. Shutout number two. The other Friday contest saw San Jose State holding on to beat Eastern Michigan 27-21 on the road. The Spartans were inconsistent on offense, but the defense was the strong suit. Several new stars rose for the Spartans including wide receiver Cooper Hoch with 5 receptions for 115 yards and two scores. On defense it was linebacker Dylan Lee with 9 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
Saturday action in the Mountain West continued with Iowa dropping the other new team, Northern Illinois, 40-0. Shutout number three. Air Force controlled the whole game beating Duquesne 34-0. Shutout number four. North Dakota State, looking dominant, pitched shutout number five with a 38-0 win over Fordham. Flipping over to the Pac-12 saw Texas State scrapping seven points to avoid a shutout against Texas, losing 59-7. Other finals as of this writing pitched #23 Houston against Oregon State and coming away with a 33-20 win.The best game of the afternoon was Boise State and Oregon. The Broncos were ahead, but Oregon put together a 17 point run in the second and third quarters to jump ahead and hold on for the win. The Broncos were efficient, but gave up big plays to the dominant Ducks. The Broncos look to be the cream of the conferences this season, as many people predict.
Later in the day, Colorado State and Wyoming played for the Bronze Boot. The Rams and new Coach Jim Mora treated a nice crowd to a 35-14 victory. The Rams were the recipients of four takeaways, sending the Cowboys to defeat. The Rams host Southern Utah next week, while Wyoming hosts Northern Colorado. Over in Logan, the Aggies home opener against FCS opponent Idaho State didn’t quite turn out how it was planned. An 11.5 point favorite, the Aggies gave up an early 7-3 lead and struggled with turnovers, dropping a 29-17 game. Idaho State, ranked 23rd in the FCS was the third upset over an FBS opponent on Saturday. The Bengals were aided by five field goals from kicker Mason Lindberg. The Aggies will have to regroup as they play Washington next Saturday. UNLV traveled to the islands to take on Hawaii in what was the Mountain West game of the week. UNLV bounced back from a loss last week to Memphis and held off Hawaii 21-6. The Rebels held the Warriors to two field goals, and star quarterback Micah Alejado went 17/41 with an interception. The Rebels were paced by running back Jai’den Thomas who rushed for 153 yards and a score. Quarterback Jackson Arnold rushed for an additional 89 yards and two scores as well as passing for 116 yards. The Rebels showed the expected type of game most people expected from them in pre-season polls. Hawaii struggled to move the ball and were thwarted by turnovers, loss of downs, and punts. Next on the Mountain West docket was Central Michigan at New Mexico in what looked to be a potentially tight game. The Lobos put this one away early, rushing out to a 20-0 halftime lead and building on the score in the second half, winning 38-7. 24,000 fans showed up to see the Lobos stymie the Chippewas, holding them to 30 yards passing and 149 total yards. Lobo Quarterback Luke Moga was 13/17 for 116 yards, and a score and seven backs contributed to 205 yards on the ground. James Laubstein had two scores on the ground, and Grant Glasgow added three field goals as the Lobos showed they are very much in contention for a conference title. They will host Mercyhurst next Saturday. The last game in the conference was Nevada, who hosted Western Kentucky, and the Wolfpack roared away with a 49-14 win over the Hilltopers. Nevada accounted for nearly 500 yards of offense, including 323 on the ground. Dominic Kelley rushed for 152 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Quarterback Carter Jones was 9/15 for 163 yards and two scores. Nevada hosts Montana State next Saturday. The Bobcats are undefeated and have a balanced offense. This will be a test for the upstart Wolfpack. Finally, San Diego State opened Pac-12 play against an FCS opponent, Portland State. The Vikings started fast with two field goals to take a 6-0 lead. The Aztecs started slow, but then settled in, scoring the next 29 points. Nathan Acevedo hauled in a 9-yard screen from quarterback Jayden Denegal and found paydirt for the first score to close out the first quarter. After that Lucky Sutton scored on a one-yard plunge; Justius Lowe gathered in a 40-yard strike from Denegal. The Aztecs elected to go for two and converted. Sutton next scampered 13 yards and a score to close out a 29-6 halftime lead. Portland State finally got a touchdown with Terence Loville catching a 10-yard pass from quarterback Gabe Downing. The Aztecs responded immediately with Jayoon Hawkins returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards. Later, Lucky Sutton would score from five yards out, and Cooper DiLeva would add a 31-yard field goal. Portland State would add a rushing score and the Aztecs woulod close out their scoring with Jordin Thomas scoring on a 2-yard run. The high powered offense man have been expecting finally showed up for the Aztecs. they rushed for 237 yards with Javion Kinnard accounting for 79 yards including a 55 yard burst. Eight Aztecs would carry the ball as they made efficient use of their time with the ball.
Having five shutouts in a weekend shows both strengths and weaknesses. UTEP and NIU have major work to do. Air Force and North Dakota State are building upon strength. As for Fresno State, yes they played USC, but didn’t put up nearly the same performance as San Jose State did. The Spartans and Bulldogs play each other on September 19. That might be an exciting rivalry rematch of the Valley Trophy. Hawaii disappointed at home, not even being able to put up a touchdown. Usually defenses dominate at the beginning of the season. Expect some of the hibernating offenses to open as more games are played. Strong performances by the Pac-12 this week puts them in an early lead against the Mountain West. Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado all impressed despite going 2-1. North Dakota looks strong and UNLV might have woken up. Air Force, New Mexico, San Jose State and Nevada round out the next group. Washington State plays on Sunday against Washington. Who knows what will happen in the rivaly matchup. It’s strange to see those being played at the beginning of the season, but nothing seems sane anymore in college football
