WAC Preview

Predicted Order of Finish

Hawaii | 8-0 | 12-0

Boise St | 7-1 | 11-1

Fresno St | 5-3 | 7-5

San Jose St | 5-3 | 7-5

New Mexico St | 4-4 | 7-6

Nevada | 4-4 | 6-6

Idaho | 2-6 | 3-9

Utah St | 1-7 | 1-11

Louisiana Tech | 0-8 | 1-11


Hawaii should have the most explosive offense in the country, go undefeated, and be invited to a BCS bowl. The offense should be top notch, leading the NCAA in passing yards, total yards, and points scored. QB Colt Brennan will be in Heisman discussions all season long. WR Davone Bess is regarded as one of the best at his position, and RB Leon Wright-Jackson was a top recruit who originally played with Nebraska. The defense will do enough when the offense is putting up at least 40 points per game. The schedule is incredibly easy, with the toughest games at home. Expect to see the Warriors in the Sugar Bowl.


Boise St will follow their undefeated season with another great year. The offense was so effective last year because of its balance. With the loss of the starting QB and top three receivers, the offense may rely on the running game more. The defense was the best in the WAC last season and should be again this season. The defense does lose LB Korey Hall, who was the leading tackler and WAC Defensive POY. The schedule includes an interesting out of conference game with Southern Miss, and tough conference road games at Fresno St and Hawaii. The Broncos won't go undefeated again this year, but will come really close.


Fresno St was one of the more disappointing teams last year, but they should bounce back. Last season's leading rusher Dwayne Wright left early for the NFL Draft, but his backup showed promise as a freshman. QB Tom Brandstater had some troubles in his first year as the starter, but behind a veteran line he should do better. The defense lost most of its starters, but this team should still be one of the most improved. The Bulldogs will be back in the postseason.


San Jose St won a surprising nine games last year, but it was against a pretty soft schedule. They only played three teams that finished with winning records, and they lost all three. The schedule is much tougher this year with the first four games on the road. San Jose St is hard to beat at home, evidenced by a 7-1 record there with the lone loss to Boise St by three points. They only have five home games this season, one of which is Hawaii. The offense gets most of its starters back, but it does lose its top three receivers. A top JUCO recruit WR comes in, so that should help the passing game. The talent level seems to be about the same as last year, but the schedule is tougher. The Spartans should make it to another bowl game, but won't match last year's win total.


New Mexico St had one of the top passing offenses in the country last year. The offense did have trouble scoring points compared to the all of the yardage they put up, and they turned the ball over almost three times per game. The offense returns most of its contributors, so perhaps the problems of last year will go away. The defense gave up 30+ ppg last year, and I don't know if it will be much better this year. With a more veteran offense, the Aggies should win more than four games this season.


Nevada was a one of the best teams in the WAC last year, but I expect a drop off this year. The offense loses its veteran QB, RB, and top WR. The starting QB and RB are sophomores, who may have trouble running the Pistol offense effectively. The defense forced 38 turnovers last season, most in the conference. It's unlikely the defense will be that successful two straight years. The Wolfpack have too much going against them not to regress.


Idaho, Louisiana Tech, and Utah St finish out the bottom of the conference. I don't expect much out of any of these teams. Together they will only win a handful of games. Idaho is breaking in a new head coach, former Washington St OC Robb Akey, after previous head coach Dennis Erickson took the Arizona St job. Louisiana Tech hired new head coach Derek Dooley, who was formerly the TE coach of the Miami Dolphins.