Three Stars, One Goat, and a POG Vote: Boise State vs Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys: the former and momentary darling of the Mountain West Conference. They came, they saw, and they got bucked.

I originally replaced three stars with the POG vote because I wanted to get the fans more involved. However, after seeing lots of comments in the threads expressing their displeasure with the loss of three stars, I've decided to bring it back. Instead of doing two, stand-alone articles, though - we will meld the two together. Henceforth and forever, it is now Three Stars, One Goat, and a POG Vote.

Star No. 3: Boise State Defense

There's no question that the Bronco defense has been suspect this year (to say the least). We never really know who's going to show up. It could be the stingy, run-stopping d-line coupled with the ball-hawking secondary. Or it could be the porous d-line with the ball-dropping secondary. Fortunately for my sanity, the better of the two showed up on Saturday night. The Bronco D played arguably their best game of the year, shutting down an otherwise "prolific" offense in the Wyoming Cowboys. The crew allowed only 55 yards on the ground, and just over 200 through the air. If they can get and stay healthy, there is no reason these boys won't give hell to Carr and crew come MW championship week.

Honorable Mention: Devan Demas. Yeah, you thought he transferred, right? Well he didn't. Demas played the first significant amount of snaps in his collegiate career. Ended the night with 12 carries for 73 yards.

Star No. 2: Grant Hedrick, JR QB

Many of you will probably disagree with my pick here, but to you I say, "nanny nanny boo boo". I believe Grant played worthy of a Star No. 2 award. Why, you ask? Grant has been able to overcome so many mental and emotional obstacles over the past few weeks. His customary fumble on the first series of the game, a heart-breaking loss during his first career start, and rumors that Southwick is ready to come and take back his team. For a young college kid, these types of mental and emotional obstacles can easily throw you on a downward slope. Grant went out, overcame some very tough adversity, and led his team to victory. On the night he ended with:

27 CMP., 36 ATT., 265 YDS., 3 TD., 1 INT.,

Pretty good numbers for any quarterback. In fact, the similarities between Southwick's numbers through four games, and Hedrick's numbers through four games is downright eerie. Don't believe me? Check out Drew's recent tweets about it. Hint: Hedrick has accounted for more overall success than Southwick did, but just barely.

Honorable Mention: Jay Ajayi. Yeah, I know, he had three TD's. But it's not the 5 stars and one goat, people. Decisions have to be made.

Star No. 1: Matt Miller, JR WR

It's about damn time we gave Miller the recognition he deserves, amirite?! Miller, the ever-steady route runner and arguably best hands on the team had himself a hell of a night. It looks like being roomies with Grant has paid off, plus I hear Miller did Hedrick's laundry this week. After a few very uncharacteristic drops, Miller came back with vengeance, and played a phenomenal game. Here were his numbers on the night:

7 REC., 143 YDS., 20.4 AVG., 3 TD., 51 LNG.

Oh, and did you happen to see this?

Honorable Mention: Shane Williams-Rhodes. The dude had 11 receptions and is on pace to break the single-season reception record.

The Goat: 8:15 MTN kickoff and frigid weather

When you're in bed with ESPN, you pretty much do what ESPN wants, regardless of how ridiculous. So when ESPN said kickoff is in the middle of the night, Coyle smiled and offered them another piece of pumpkin pie. Late kickoffs are great in September, not in November. Kickoffs like that during this time of year have a major negative impact. The families that go to the games no longer go, or only dad goes, because the kids can't be up outside until midnight. Generally speaking, less people attend altogether because its snowing/raining and 30 degrees outside. Watching the game in the warmth of your living room with some pizza and hot chocolate sure sounds awesome when thinking about the alternative. So to you late November kickoffs, I say BOO!

Honorable Mention: Once again, the student section was borderline empty at halftime. I had some great Twitter battles on Saturday night about this, and I stand by my case: if they won't go, cut their ticket allotment. Amen.

Your Turn

Who was your POG?