Plummer Ready To Devour Team From His Hometown
A long season could get substantially longer for Boise State on Saturday when it visits Arizona State.
The fifth-ranked Sun Devils (4-0) are led by quarterback Jake Plummer, who played his prep football in Boise. He turned down Washington State, among others, for ASU.
Boise State is 1-4. It appears the Broncos are on their way to just their fourth losing season since becoming a four-year school in 1968.
Plummer shows little compassion for BSU.
“I know people are going to expect us to beat them and beat them big,” said the former Capital High star. “We’re going to show them what big-time football is all about.”
Ouch.
Of course, ASU has reason to boast after whipping two-time national champion Nebraska 19-0 two weeks ago.
The Sun Devils are 38-point favorites over BSU.
Joked BSU coach Tom Mason: “All we have to do is score a touchdown and we’re better than Nebraska.”
Hey Tom, what if that touchdown comes with ASU leading, say, 60-0?
To coach or not to coach?
New Mexico State’s Jim Hess is starting to sound like an ex-coach.
The Aggies are 0-5 and have been outscored 179-28, including a humiliating 33-0 shutout against Cal State Northridge.
Hess took the New Mexico State job in 1990 and has a 21-50 record, reaching a high-water mark of 6-5 in 1992.
Following the Northridge loss, Hess said: “I’m not going to ride a dead horse. I think we proved that we’re not stagnated. We’re still moving backward.”
Two QB or not two QB?
Nevada has decided to go with John Dutton at quarterback after rotating Dutton and Eric Bennett roughly every quarter in its first four games.
Dutton will start against UNLV on Saturday. Bennett started three of the previous four games.
“It’s the hardest decision as a coach I’ve ever had to make,” Nevada’s Jeff Tisdel said.
Dutton, a strong-armed transfer from the University of Texas, has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 743 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Bennett’s numbers: 57.4 percent, 826 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions.
The two-QB system seemed to be working pretty well. Nevada and Idaho are tied at No. 1 nationally in total offense at 545.3 yards per game.
Notes
Boise State sophomore Todd Belcastro, former Mead High kicker, was the conference’s special teams player of the week.
Belcastro made field goals of 29, 23, and 37 yards and added an extra point to score 10 of BSU’s 16 points in a 20-16 loss to Northwestern State (La.)… .
Former BSU coach Pokey Allen, who suffered a recurrence of cancer before the season, was back in Boise last weekend. Allen, who has been living in Vancouver, B.C., and undergoing alternative therapy, appeared remarkably chipper despite facing long odds in his recovery… .
Idaho’s Mike DeGraw will start at defensive tackle instead of Tim Wilson in Saturday’s game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “Mike’s playing better right now,” UI coach Chris Tormey said… . Weird stat of the week: Enemy kickers are 13 of 13 on field goals against the Vandals… .
Keep an eye on Saturday’s Nevada-UNLV game. The already heated rivalry exploded last year with a pre-game brawl and a post-game scuffle sparked by a late Nevada touchdown pass in the Wolf Pack’s 55-32 win. During one of the scraps, UNLV safety Quincy Sanders chucked his helmet at former Nevada coach Chris Ault, but didn’t connect. Sanders, who is from Reno, starts for UNLV.
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