In the ideal scenario for the Western Athletic Conference, this week’s marquee football matchup between Fresno State and Boise State would not be played this early.

“In the perfect world, you really want to have your marquee games later in the season,” said Jeff Hurd, the WAC’s senior associate commissioner who heads football conference game scheduling. “You’d like there to be a buildup to the big game with the stakes high, so your games late in the season have a lot of meaning.”
This will be the earliest in the season that the rivals’ programs have met since Boise State joined the WAC in 2001. The move to earlier in the season was done to accommodate ESPN’s request for a compelling WAC showdown in Week 3.
And since Nevada was considered the most dangerous threat to Boise State’s WAC title defense, per the preseason coaches’ poll, that matchup was saved for later in the season. Fresno State, which entered the year in somewhat of a rebuilding mode, drew Boise State for a conference opener.
“It’s a game between the WAC’s two most recognized programs the last 10 years,” said WAC commissioner Karl Benson, who will attend Friday’s game at Bulldog Stadium.
“It was Fresno State in the early days that (was) able to bring credibility to the WAC. ... And then, you know what Boise State has done the past seven years (in becoming) the face of the WAC.”
The Bulldogs have lost seven of their past eight games to the Broncos, including 61-10 in a regular-season finale last year.
But with Fresno State (1-1) showing promise in a 34-31 double-overtime loss at Wisconsin last week, Friday’s game could turn out to be Boise State’s biggest challenge in conference play this season.
Boise State (2-0), No. 10 in both national polls, is aiming for its seventh WAC title in eight seasons and is trying to make another run at a Bowl Championship Series game.
That’s the type of story line and drama that the WAC and ESPN would prefer to save for the end of the year, Hurd believes. In 2007, for example, Hawaii and Boise State played for the WAC championship in a regular-season finale that drew roughly 2.6 million television viewers — the highest for a WAC game since 2001.
Neither Fresno State coach Pat Hill nor Boise State coach Chris Petersen was too concerned about playing each other early, or even gave a preference of when their meetings should take place.
But during the weekly WAC teleconference, Petersen joked about the scenario with a WAC official.
“Yeah, thanks for doing that to us: putting us on the road against Fresno State right out of the gate,” Petersen said.
Hill’s sole preference: “I like playing them when we’re healthy.”
Slow starts no help
Louisiana Tech and San Jose State were teams projected to field solid teams this year, and they may still do that.
But after two weeks of tough nonconference play, both programs have fallen in 0-2 holes.
And Nevada (0-1), coming off a bye, is in danger of joining the club. The Wolf Pack, which lost to Notre Dame in its season opener, plays at Colorado State (2-0) on Saturday.
No WAC team has started 0-2 and made a bowl since Nevada did it in 2006. Boise State also started 0-2 in 2005 before advancing to the postseason.
“Certainly, there are concerns,” said Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, whose Bulldogs have lost at Auburn and at Navy.
Said Spartans coach Dick Tomey, whose team has lost to No. 3 USC and No. 18 Utah: “Certainly, we feel empty. Because after two weeks, we don’t have a victory.”