UH takes on WAC favorite

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

BOISE, Idaho — There is an annoyingly perfect one in every crowd, and in the Western Athletic Conference, it is Boise State that is both Most Popular and Most Likely to Succeed.

In its second football season in the WAC — and seventh since moving up to Division I-A — BSU is the league's favored team, at least according to a preseason media poll.

In 1995, the Broncos were limited to 65 scholarship players; now, they are two-deep at every position, filling 82 of a possible 85 scholarships.

They have had four consecutive winning seasons, including an 8-4 record in their WAC debut last year.

The Broncos, who have won nine home games in a row, have built a strong fan base. As a warm-up to tonight's game against Hawai'i, hundreds of Bronco fans turned out for a homecoming parade down Main Street last night.

"Every year we've made some strides in terms of moving up in the conference," Broncos coach Dan Hawkins said. "We have a new locker room and a new football center. The (newly installed) turf is a big part of that. Every year, there's been a significant jump in improvements. I hope we can keep those things going."

The Broncos also are earning respect, in large part to last year's astonishing road victory over previously unbeaten Fresno State in a nationally televised game. Before that, Hawkins has said, many had believed Boise was in Iowa.

"I think that game helped put us on the map," BSU running back Brock Forsey said. "It let people know we're a team to contend with, and that we have a solid program."

Still, Hawkins has tried to maintain the underdog image. "We always try to take that mentality that we're the hunter and not the hunted," Hawkins said. "I don't know if our mentality is such that we ever feel we're the top dog and people are headed for us. We always feel we're in pursuit of somebody else."

UH, on the other hand, views this game as a critical one in its season. Both teams are 3-1, but UH is 2-0 in WAC games. This is BSU's WAC opener.

"To win the WAC, we have to go through them," UH quarterback Tim Chang said. "They're a good team. It's going to be rough. It should be a big game."

•	WHAT: WAC football, Hawai'i (3-1, 2-0) at Boise St. (3-1, 0-0) KICKOFF: 2:05 p.m. today (HST) TV/RADIO: Live on K5; game will be rebroadcast at 9 p.m./Live on 1420 AM

"It's going to come down to who turns the ball over the least and who makes more big plays and who hangs in there," BSU quarterback B.J. Rhode said. "It's going to be tough. I don't expect them to blow us out and they don't expect us to blow them out."

When it was suggested that the team with the ball last would win, Rhode said, "It may come down to overtime."

Both teams have active defenses. UH, which has allowed a WAC-low 21.8 points per game, has not relinquished a passing touchdown in the last 10 quarters.

"We know we have to put up some points against them," Forsey said. "You'd like to think our defense will hold them to one or two touchdowns, but in all likelihood, that's not going to happen. We have to go out and score points with them and, hopefully, in the fourth quarter, we'll end up on top."

The temperatures might drop into the 40s late in the game. Because of that, the Warriors practiced until 6:30 last night at Timberline High in downtown Boise. Of BSU's six home games, four are at night.

"They probably moved it to night so we'd catch the colder weather," Chang said. "Home-field advantage, right? It doesn't matter. We're going to have to play regardless of the weather. You just have to move on, stick to the game plan and play."

UH offensive lineman Vince Manuwai said: "We can't let the weather determine how we play. You suit up and go all out. It's football."