SJSU hosts No. 17 Boise State tonight
The biggest advertisement in the sports section of the San Jose Mercury News this week read, “Be bold, wear gold,” and, “Bust the Broncos BCS dreams!”
It’s a bulletin for tonight’s nationally televised matchup between San Jose State and No. 13-ranked Boise State.
Western Athletic Conference bigwigs will be there.
Bowl Championship Series officials will be there.
ESPN2 will be there.
The Spartans want you to be there. They need you.
That was, of course, the whole point behind the promotional campaign this week. San Jose State wants Spartan Stadium filled to capacity – preferably with fans sporting gold – when the conference front-runners kick-off at 6 p.m.
The university shouldn’t need the ad space.
If San Jose State alumni are as dedicated as they say – and can resist the urge to catch the premiere of High School Musical 3 – they’ll have that place louder than the 101-680 interchange by 5:40.
With the exception of the Nov. 15 Southern California-Stanford bout, tonight’s game is the biggest in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley this season – and certainly the biggest of the Dick Tomey era.
It features the only teams in the WAC without a conference loss, including an undefeated Boise State team that is on pace to crash the BCS once again.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to have them come to our stadium,” Tomey said Monday during his weekly press conference. “To have people talking about the Spartans, to have all the college football players at their hotel rooms getting ready to play their game, watching San Jose State play, I think it’s something our guys have worked hard for – for that opportunity.”
Despite its stout defense (16.6 points per game), San Jose State comes off as easy prey. The Spartans (5-2 overall, 3-0 WAC) are ranked 94th in the nation in scoring offense and are yet to see junior quarterback Kyle Reed play with upperclass consistency.
The Broncos, meanwhile, have been kicking heads and taking names.
Boise State (6-0, 2-0) is second in the FBS in scoring defense, surrendering 10.5 points per game, and has given up more than seven points only once this season – a 37-32 road victory over then-No. 17 Oregon in Autzen Stadium.
Behind an uncharacteristically good year by freshman quarterback Kellen Moore, the Broncos’ offense has averaged 32.5 points and almost 430 yards a game.
So yes, this could get ugly.
That’s not why ESPN2 has made the trip, though. The worldwide leader in sports knows tonight’s game reeks of upset – reeks!
Such is the essence of non-Saturday games. So far, five top-25 teams have fallen to unranked foes during the middle of the week this season. Last Thursday, it was No. 9 Brigham Young falling in ugly fashion to Texas Christian 32-7. Two weeks earlier, it was Pittsburgh beating No. 10 South Florida 26-21. Oregon State upset No. 1 USC 27-21 on Sept. 25, and Colorado outlasted No. 21 West Virginia in overtime Sept. 18.
Tomey will have his Spartans ready to write the next saga.
“They the most talked about program in our conference … They have all of the elements of a good team,” Tomey said. “But we’re starting to really look like a good football team ourselves. It will take our best game to win, and we’re capable of doing that this weekend.”
Tonight’s game is as big for him as it is for his players. Although Tomey has rekindled success for the program during his four years at San Jose State, he has not clinched the statement victory that accompanies every great coaching stint.
His Spartans came close to doing that last season when they lost in overtime to Colt Brennan and then-No. 16 Hawaii.
The Warriors parlayed the win into a trip to a BCS bowl – much like the Broncos hope to do.
“We are a work in progress and we will get better,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen told reporters Tuesday. “This game is so much about detail. It looks simple, but there are so many things that go along with making it work.”
The Broncos know about letdowns. Their BCS dreams were dashed last year with a 39-27 loss to Hawaii last year in the WAC championship game. Boise State got even last Friday on national television, beating the Warriors 27-7.
Spartan fans, your team has a chance to turn the nation’s spotlight to itself tonight.
You should be there if you can, being bold.
Scott J. Adams is a writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at: sa****@sv**********.com
