BOISE STATE WINS MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS - After trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, Boise State took the lead on an 84-yard touchdown run (the longest play from scrimmage in the bowl's history) by Doug Martin and never looked back in a 26-3 win over Utah. Martin finished the game with 147 rushing yards on 17 carries while Kellen Moore completed 28-of-38 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns with one interception to be named the MVP. Austin Pettis matched Martin with 147 receiving yards on 12 receptions and scored on an 18-yard pass from moore in the third quarter. The loss by the Utes snapped their nine-game bowl winning streak. A crowd of 41,923 attended the game, the second largest in the 19-year history of the bowl.
NEVADA CLAIMS KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL TROPHY - Nevada finished the season with a school-record 13 wins by beating Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, 20-13. Junior wide receiver Rishard Matthews was named the game's Most Outstanding Player after returning a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and catching seven passes for 86 yards and another score. Boston College jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Matthews scored both of his touchdowns later in the first quarter. The win also snapped a four-game losing streak in bowl games for the Wolf Pack.
WAC FOURTH IN NATION IN ALL-TIME BOWL RECORDS - The WAC's nine teams have an all-time record of 38-35-2 (.520) in bowl games. That winning percentage is the fourth best among all FBS conferences. The SEC is first at .532, the Pac-10 is second (.525) and the ACC is third (.521).
MOORE FOURTH IN HEISMAN VOTING - Boise State junior quarterback Kellen Moore was one of four finalists for the 2010 Heisman Trophy and finished in fourth in the voting. Moore garnered 635 points, including 40 first place votes. Auburn quarterback Cam Newton won the award with 2,263 points and 729 first place votes. It was the best finish for a WAC player since Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan was third in 2007. Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer remains the WAC's lone Heisman Trophy winner (1990).
PETERSEN WINS DODD AWARD - Boise State head coach Chris Petersen was named the 2010 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year. The award was first presented in 1976 to honor the Hall of Fame coach who worked at Georgia Tech for over 50 years as an assistant, head coach and athletic director.
WAC INDIVIDUAL AWARDS - As voted upon by the WAC's nine head coaches, Boise State's Kellen Moore and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick were named the co-Offensive Players of the Year, Fresno State's Chris Carter earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and San Jose State's Keith Smith was named the Freshman of the Year. Nevada's Chris Ault was voted the WAC's Coach of the Year.
ALL-WAC TEAMS - Boise State led the league with 11 first-team all-WAC honorees, while Fresno State and Nevada placed five on the first team and Hawai'i had three. A total of 13 first-team all-WAC players were repeat selections from last year: Boise State wide receiver Austin Pettis, Boise State wide receiver Titus Young, Hawai'i wide receiver Greg Salas, Boise State offensive lineman Nate Potter, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Nevada running back Vai Taua, Boise State defensive lineman Ryan Winterswyk, Fresno State defensive lineman Chris Carter, Nevada defensive lineman Dontay Moch, Fresno State linebacker Ben Jacobs, Utah State linebacker Bobby Wagner, New Mexico State defensive back Davon House and Fresno State placekicker Kevin Goessling. Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick is a repeat selection from 2008. Taua and Winterswyk have been named first-team selections three years in a row. Hawai'i placed a WAC-high seven players on the second team while Fresno State, Idaho and Nevada had four apiece.
ALL-AMERICANS - The WAC had the following player earn All-America honors this season:
Vince Buhagiar, Fr., LB, San Jose State-Phil Steele Freshman Third Team
Tyrone Crawford, Jr., DE, Boise State-SI.com Honorable Mention
Alex Green, Sr., All-Purpose, Hawai'i-SI.com Honorable Mention
Noel Grigsby, Fr., WR, San Jose State-Phil Steele Freshman Second Team
John Hardy-Tuliau, Fr., DB, Hawai'i-Phil Steele Freshman Fifth Team
Jeron Johnson, Sr., S, Boise State-SI.com Honorable Mention
Colin Kaepernick, Sr., QB, Nevada-SI.com Honorable Mention
Tyler Larsen, Fr., C, Utah State-Phil Steele Second Team
Rishard Matthews, Fr., WR, Nevada-Phil Steele Freshman Second Team
Dontay Moch, Sr., DL, Nevada-Phil Steele Fourth Team
Kellen Moore, Jr., QB, Boise State-FWAA First Team; Phil Steele Second Team; AP Third Team; Rivals.com Third Team; SI.com Honorable Mention
Austin Pettis, Sr., WR, Boise State-SI.com Honorable Mention
Nate Potter, Jr, OT, Boise State-CBSSports.com Second Team; AP Third Team; Phil Steele Fourth Team
Greg Salas, Sr., WR, Hawai'i-Phil Steele Second Team; AP Third Team; SI.com Honorable Mention
Mana Silva, Sr., DB, Hawai'i-SI.com Honorable Mention
Keith Smith, Fr., LB, San Jose State-FWAA Freshman First Team; CFN Freshman Second Team; Phil Steele Freshman Third Team
Vai Taua, Sr., RB, Nevada-CBSSports.com Second Team; SI.com Second Team; AP Third Team
Harrison Waid, Fr., P, San Jose State-Phil Steele Freshman Second Team; CFN Freshman Honorable Mention
Davonte Wallace, Fr., OL, New Mexico State-Phil Steele Freshman Third Team
Billy Winn, Jr., Boise State-AP Third Team
Titus Young, Sr., WR, Boise State-Rivals.com Second Team; AP Third Team; Phil Steele Third Team; SI.com Honorable Mention
THREE TEAMS DECLARED CO-CHAMPS - For the first time since 1999, the WAC had three teams tie for the regular season football title. Boise State, Hawai'i and Nevada all finished the year with 7-1 records in WAC play. Hawai'i was also part of the last three-way tie when the Warriors joined Fresno State and TCU with 5-2 records in 1999.
THREE TEAMS WITH 10 WINS - Boise State, Hawai'i and Nevada all won at least 10 games this year. It was the first time the WAC had three teams with 10 or more wins since 1994 when BYU, Colorado State and Utah all finished the season with 10 victories each.
FINAL RANKINGS - Boise State finished the season ranked 9th by AP and 7th in the USA Today coaches' poll. Nevada was 11th and 13th, respectively, it's highest finish ever. Hawai'i received votes in both polls. It was the best average final ranking of multiple teams in the WAC since 1983 when BYU was 7th and Air Force 13th. Prior to the bowl games, the WAC had three teams ranked in the top 25 for the first time since Nov. 30, 1997 when the coaches' poll had Colorado State 18th, Air Force 21st and New Mexico 25th. The Broncos have been ranked in the top 25 for 45 consecutive weeks, the third longest active streak in the nation behind only Ohio State and Alabama. At least one team from the WAC has been in the polls every week since Sept. 17, 2006 (77 consecutive polls).
BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Since 1997, the WAC has been an official part of the Bowl Championship Series. The WAC's champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Standings (and is the highest ranked team from a conference without an automatic bid) or if ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls. The BCS Standings are determined by a formula involving polls and computer rankings. Next year's National Championship Game will be played in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 9, 2012.
BOISE STATE, HAWAI'I, NEVADA IN BCS RANKINGS - In the final BCS rankings of the season, Boise State moved up to 10th, Nevada moved up to 15th and Hawai'i made its first appearance of the year at 24th. Since the inception of the BCS rankings in 1998, the WAC has never had more than one team in the top 25 of the final rankings. WAC teams have been ranked in the final BCS poll 10 times.
RECEIVERS SALAS AND PETTIS RACK UP CATCHES - Hawai'i senior wide receiver Greg Salas caught 285 passes for 4,345 yards in his career. Both numbers were the most of any active player in the nation. He had 119 catches for 1,889 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Boise State senior Austin Pettis caught 10 touchdown passes this year and had 39 in his career, the most of any active player.
BOISE STATE'S BROTZMAN IS WAC'S ALL-TIME SCORING LEADER - Boise State senior placekicker Kyle Brotzman finished his career as the WAC's all-time scoring leader. Brotzman had 439 points in 52 games, 44 more than Hawai'i's Jason Elam who scored 395 points from 1989-92. Brotzman made 67-of-92 field goals and 238-of-241 PATs in his career. His 439 points were also the most of any active player in the nation and set a new NCAA record for the most points scored in a career by kicking.
NEVADA'S MOCH OWNS WAC TFL RECORD - Nevada senior defensive end Dontay Moch led the WAC with 22 tackles for loss, tying the single-season WAC record set by Hawai'i's Travis LaBoy in 2003 and matched by San Jose State's Jarron Gilbert in 2008. His career total of 63 smashed the old WAC record of 50.5 set by Nevada's Ezra Butler from 2004-07 and was the most of any active player in the nation. (Note: defensive statistic record-keeping began in 1999.)
UTAH STATE'S WILLIAMS BREAKS KICK RETURN RECORDS - One week after New Mexico State's Taveon Rogers finished the season with 1,410 kick return yards to set a new WAC and NCAA record, Utah State's Kerwynn Williams broke it with a final total of 1,444 yards. He also set a new WAC record with 53 kick returns on the season.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT - A total of 11 WAC football student-athletes were named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District first teams. Fresno State had two repeat selections from last year as both Andrew Jackson (OL) and Vince Pascoe (TE) made the team. Jackson was an Academic All-American last year To be eligible for the teams, a player must have at least a 3.20 GPA and play in 50 percent of his team's games.
Academic All-District First Team Members
OL-Andrew Jackson, Fresno State, Gr., Sports Administration
LB-Ben Jacobs, Fresno State, Gr., Sports Administration
QB-Kellen Moore, Boise State, Jr., Communication
K-Matt Nelson, Louisiana Tech, So., Finance
DL-David Niumatalolo, New Mexico State, Jr., Biology
TE-Vince Pascoe, Fresno State, Sr., Mechanical Engineering
RB-Dan Paul, Boise State, Jr., Communication
WR-Kealoha Pilares, Hawai'i, Sr., Kinesiology/Rec. Science
OL-Nate Potter, Boise State, Jr., History
DB-Mana Silva, Hawai'i, Sr., Pyschology
DB-Jamar Taylor, Boise State, So., Communication
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA - Hawai'i senior receiver Kealoha Pilares was named a first-team ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America last month. Pilares is a Kinesiology/Recreation Science major with a 3.61 Grade Point Average. Boise State junior quarterback Kellen Moore, Fresno State senior tight end Vince Pascoe and Boise State junior offensive lineman Nate Potter were named to the second team.
COACHES MOVING UP RECORD LISTS - A couple of WAC coaches are working their way up career coaching record lists. Nevada head coach Chris Ault completed his 26th season as a head coach and is 219-97-1, the fifth winningest active coach in FBS. Fresno State head coach Pat Hill has 75 WAC victories, the second most in league history.
WAC TRIO WITH 283 WINS - Boise State, Hawai'i and Fresno State have combined for 283 victories over the last 10 seasons. That total is the third most of any FBS conference's top trio.
WAC SPORTS NETWORK - The WAC and Learfield Sports announced the creation of the WAC Sports Network (WSN) prior to the start of this season. WSN allows for WAC football and basketball games to be produced and distributed to media outlets in the respective school markets. A total of 24 affiliates in 16 markets are included. WSN televised 12 games during the 2010 season.
NON-CONFERENCE - The WAC was 25-19 (.568) in non-conference games this season. The percentage in regular season games (.575) was the best by the WAC since 1994 (.635). WAC teams competed against the ACC (2-0), Big East (1-0), Big Sky (2-0), Big South (1-0), Big Ten (1-1), Big 12 (0-5), Conference USA (0-3), Great West (3-1), FBS Independents (1-1), MAC (2-1), Mountain West (9-4), Pac-10 (2-1), SEC (0-2) and SWAC (1-0). The WAC was 4-6 versus top-25 non-conference opponents.
CHANGES COMING - The WAC will have a new look over the next couple of years. Next year, the conference will be an eight-team league as Boise State is withdrawing. In 2012 (following the departures of Fresno State, Hawai'i and Nevada), the WAC welcomes Denver, Texas State and UTSA with the latter two competing in football.
Won its eighth WAC title ... never lost a WAC home game (40-0) ... has a 32-game home winning streak, the second longest in the nation ... went 114-15 overall and 75-5 in WAC games during its 10 years in the league ... was the only team in the nation ranked in the top five of both total offense and total defense ... led the nation in sacks with 48 ... junior QB Kellen Moore is 38-2 as a starter with the two losses coming by a combined four points ... his 3,845 yards this season were the second most in school history ... Titus Young caught a pass in 43 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC and third longest in the nation ... his 1,215 receiving yards set a new school single-season record.
The 40-17 loss to Northern Illinois was its worst in a bowl game ... has lost four of its last five bowl games ... senior QB Ryan Colburn was 28-of-38 for 288 yards and two touchdowns in the bowl game ... he finished his career with 5,334 passing yards, the eighth most in school history ... junior PK Kevin Goessling has made 5-of-7 field goals from 50-yards or longer in his career ... for his career, he has made 51-of-64 field goals ... senior LB Ben Jacobs started 52 consecutive games, the longest streak in Bulldog history ... the Bulldogs have 56 blocked kicks since 2002, the most in the nation during that time ... has 17 BCS wins since 2000, tied for the most in the nation (Utah) among non-BCS teams during that time.
Had 10 wins for the sixth time in school history ... did not have an interception in its bowl game after posting 10 straight games with at least two ... junior QB Bryant Moniz had 5,040 passing yards this season, the third most in WAC history ... senior WR Greg Salas caught at least one pass in 41 straight games, tied for the fourth longest streak in the nation ... his 119 receptions broke a school record and are the second most in a season in WAC history ... his 1,889 receiving yards set a new school and WAC record ... senior Scott Enos converted a school-record 105 consecutive PATs ... UH is 33-0 when scoring 40 or more points since 2005 ... scored 40 or more eight times during the 2010 season.
With its win over San Jose State in the season finale, won two of its last three games for the first time since 2003 ... was second in the nation in fumble recoveries with 19, one behind North Carolina State ... senior QB Nathan Enderle became the third quarterback in Vandal history to throw for more than 10,000 yards ... his 10,084 are the ninth most in WAC history ... in school history, he finished No. 1 in attempts with 1,427, No. 2 in passes completed (779), No. 3 in passing yards and No. 4 in passing touchdowns (74) ... 18 players caught at least one pass for the Vandals and seven of those had at least 20 led by Eric Greenwood's 46 ... sophomore P Bobby Cowan led the WAC with a 45.1-yard average per punt.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5-7, 4-4 WAC)
Set a school attendance record with 116,908 for its six home games ... finished the season with a 4-4 mark against conference opponents, the sixth time that Tech recorded a .500 or greater mark against conference opponents over the last 10 years ... senior Phillip Livas finished his career with 2,758 kick return yards, missing the WAC record of 2,782 yards set by UTEP's Cedric Johnson (1993-96) by just 24 yards ... he was fifth in WAC history in all-purpose yards with 5,738 ... Livas was the only player in the WAC to have at least 100 yards receiving, rushing, returning punts and returning kicks this year ... he scored multiple TDs four different ways during his career with the Bulldogs: reception (7), rush (4), kickoff return (4) and punt return (4).
Its seven-game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in the nation ... was the lowest ranked one-loss team in the nation ... Colin Kaepernick became the first player in NCAA history to post three consecutive seasons with 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing ... he also became the third player in NCAA history to pass for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in a season ... he is tied with Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the most rushing touchdowns in a career by a quarterback (59) and is the WAC's overall leader in that category ... he is also the third quarterback in NCAA history to rush for more than 4,000 yards (4,090) ... he became the third quarterback in NCAA history with 3,000 passing yards (3,022) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,206) in a season.
Junior Taveon Rogers' WAC and NCAA record 1,410 kick return yards this season lasted one week as Utah State's Kerwynn Williams surpassed him by 34 yards in their final game ... senior DB Davon House became the first Aggie to be named first-team all-WAC in consecutive seasons ... freshman PK Tyler Stampler led the WAC in field goal percentage, making 16-of-19 (.842) on the season ... junior defensive back Donyae Coleman was sixth in the WAC in tackles with 7.7 per game ... lost its last four games ... has lost 12 consecutive road games ... was last in the WAC in scoring offense, scoring defense, passing offense, rushing defense and total offense ... had four interceptions, tied for the second fewest by any team in the nation.
Its 10-game losing streak is the longest in the nation ... has lost 14 consecutive road games ... is the 13th team in WAC history to post a 0-8 record in WAC play ... had four players named to freshman All-America teams, doubling its all-time total ... Keith Smith's 14.0 tackles for loss were the second best single-season total by a freshman linebacker since the NCAA began keeping defensive statistics in 2000 ... his 8.9 tackles per game led the nation's freshmen ... Jalal Beauchman concluded his career with at least one reception in his last 35 games ... his 146 career receptions are the third most in school history ... Chandler Jones and Noel Grigsby became the first two Spartan freshmen with 50 receptions apiece in the same season.
Finished 4-8 for the second straight season ... sophomore RB Kerwynn Williams accounted for 304 all-purpose yards in the season finale against Boise State with a career-high 147 rushing yards and 157 kick return yards ... he will enter next season needing just 207 kick return yards to tie the WAC's career record of 2,782 yards ... head coach Gary Andersen announced he will take over defensive coordinator duties for next year ... senior QB Diondre Borel started the last 33 games for the Aggies ... Borel finish his career with 8,096 yards of total offense to become the second Aggie to reach 8,000 ... LB Bobby Wagner became the first Aggie to be named first-team all-conference in consecutive years since Kevin Curtis in 2001-02.
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