2011 Western Athletic Conference football season

2011 WAC football season
League NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport football
Duration September 1, 2011–December 24, 2011
Number of teams 8
TV partner(s) ESPN
Regular season
Season champions Louisiana Tech
2011 WAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Louisiana Tech $   6 – 1         8 – 5  
Nevada   5 – 2         7 – 6  
Utah State   5 – 2         7 – 6  
Hawaii   3 – 4         6 – 7  
San Jose State   3 – 4         5 – 7  
Fresno State   3 – 4         4 – 9  
New Mexico State   2 – 5         4 – 9  
Idaho   1 – 6         2 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
As of December 24, 2011; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2011 Western Athletic Conference football season is a college football season for the Western Athletic Conference. The 2011 season consisted of eight members: Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State.

This season the WAC's membership changed for the first time since 2005. Boise State, who joined the conference in 2001, left to join the Mountain West Conference.

This season was the last year of membership for three other schools: Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, and Nevada. All became members of the Mountain West in 2012 (Hawaiʻi as a football only member, other sports will join the Big West Conference). In response to their departure, the WAC added five new members in 2012. Of the new members, only Texas State and UTSA had football programs.

Previous season

After going 14–0 in 2009, Boise State started the season in the top 5 in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls and was picked to win the conference. Boise State spent a majority of the season ranked in the top 4, including climbing as high as #2 in the AP and Harris polls, while running their nation leading win streak to 24 games before their day after thanksgiving matchup with #19 Nevada. Nevada, whose only loss of the season was at Hawaiʻi, defeated the #3 ranked Broncos in overtime. Boise State, Nevada, and Hawaiʻi all finished the season 7–1 to share the WAC title.

In bowl games, Boise State (12–1) defeated Utah 26–3 in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas. Hawaiʻi (10–4) lost to Tulsa 35–62 in the Hawaiʻi Bowl. Nevada (13–1) defeated Boston College 20–13 in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Fresno State (8–5) lost to Northern Illinois 17–40 in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Preseason

Award watch lists

The following WAC players were named to preseason award watch lists.

Maxwell Award:[1]

Fred Biletnikoff Award:[2]

  • Royce Pollard – Hawaiʻi
  • Rishard Mathews – Nevada
  • Noel Grigsby – San Jose State

Bronko Nagurski Trophy:[3]

  • Logan Harrell – Fresno State
  • James-Michael Johnson – Nevada
  • Bobby Wagner – Utah State

Outland Trophy:[4]

  • Logan Harrell – Fresno State
  • Chris Barker – Nevada

Jim Thorpe Award:[5]

  • Duke Ihenacho – San Jose State

Lombardi Award:[6]

  • Corey Paredes – Hawaiʻi
  • Bobby Wagner – Utah State

Rimington Trophy:[7]

Davey O'Brien Award:[8]

  • Bryant Moniz – Hawaiʻi

Doak Walker Award:[9]

Walter Camp Award:[10]

  • Bryant Moniz – Hawaiʻi

Lou Groza Award:[11]

  • Trey Farquhar – Idaho
  • Kevin Goessling – Fresno State

WAC Football Preview

During the WAC Football Preview in Las Vegas on July 27–28, Hawaiʻi was selected as the favorite to win the conference by both the media and the coaches. In the media poll, Hawaiʻ received 18 first place votes. Fresno State and Nevada both received 11 first place votes with Utah State receiving one. In the coaches poll, Hawaiʻi received five first place votes while Fresno State, who ranked second, received one first place vote and Nevada, who ranked third, received two first place votes.[12]

Media Poll

  1. Hawaiʻi – 292 (18)
  2. Fresno State – 284 (11)
  3. Nevada – 264 (11)
  4. Louisiana Tech – 184
  5. Utah State – 164 (1)
  6. Idaho – 141
  7. San Jose State – 85
  8. New Mexico State – 60

Coaches Poll

  1. Hawaiʻi – 47 (5)
  2. Fresno State – 41 (1)
  3. Nevada – 40 (2)
  4. Louisiana Tech – 31
  5. Utah State – 22
  6. Idaho – 21
  7. San Jose State – 15
  8. New Mexico State – 7

The media also voted on the WAC preseason players of the year. Hawaiʻi's Bryant Moniz was selected as the offensive player of the year and Utah State's Bobby Wagner was selected as the defensive player of the year.

Coaches

NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team Head Coach Years at School Overall Record Record at School WAC Record
Fresno State Pat Hill 15 108–71 108–71 75–36
Hawaiʻi Greg McMackin 4 23–18 23–18 15–9
Idaho Robb Akey 5 17–33 17–33 8–24
Louisiana Tech Sonny Dykes 2 5–7 5–7 4–4
Nevada Chris Ault 27 219–97–1 219–97–1 36–17
New Mexico State DeWayne Walker 2 5–21 5–20 2–14
San Jose State Mike MacIntyre 2 1–12 1–12 0–8
Utah State Gary Andersen 3 12–23 8–16 5–11

WAC vs. BCS matchups

Date Visitor Home Notes
September 3^ Fresno State 21 California 36 Played at Candlestick Park
September 3 Colorado 17 Hawaiʻi 34
September 3 San Jose State 3 #6 Stanford 57 Bill Walsh Legacy Game
September 3 Utah State 38 #19 Auburn 42 Utah State led by 10 with less than 5 minutes to play
September 10 Fresno State 29 #10 Nebraska 42
September 10 Hawaiʻi 32 Washington 40
September 10 Nevada 20 #14 Oregon 69
September 10 New Mexico State 28 Minnesota 21 NMSU first win over BCS team since 1999
September 10 San Jose State 17 UCLA 27
September 17 Idaho 7 #9 Texas A&M 37
September 24 Louisiana Tech 20 Mississippi State 26 Overtime
September 24 Nevada 34 Texas Tech 35
October 1 Mississippi 38 Fresno State 28
October 1 Idaho 20 Virginia 21 Overtime
November 5 New Mexico State 16 Georgia 63
November 12 Louisiana Tech 27 Mississippi 7
^Denotes neutral site game

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
WAC member won
WAC member lost
WAC teams in bold

All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.

The WAC has teams in four different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (Central–Louisiana Tech, Mountain–New Mexico State, Utah State, Pacific–Fresno State, Idaho, Nevada, San Jose State, Hawaiian–Hawaiʻi). Conference games start times are that of the home team.

Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS poll will be used.

Week one

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 6:00 PM Bowling Green Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ALT L 15–32 12,173
September 3 10:00 AM Utah State #19 Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL ESPN2 L 38–42 85,245
September 3 2:00 PM San Jose State #6 Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
(Bill Walsh Legacy Game) 		CSNBA L 3–57 47,816
September 3 ^ 4:00 PM Fresno State California Candlestick Park • San Francisco
(TicketCity Battle by the Bay) 		CSNCA L 21–36 31,563
September 3 6:00 PM Colorado Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI ESPN2 W 34–17 37,001
September 3 6:00 PM Ohio New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM ALT L 24–44 14,728
September 3 9:00 PM Louisiana Tech Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS
(Rivalry in Dixie) 		FSN L 17–19 22,356

^ Neutral site

Players of the Week[13]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Bryant Moniz Hawaiʻi Paipai Falemalu Hawaiʻi Taveon Rogers New Mexico State

Week two

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 10 9:30 AM Hawaiʻi Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA RSNW L 32–40 63,252
September 10 12:30 PM Nevada #14 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR FX L 20–69 58,818
September 10 1:30 PM New Mexico State Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN BTN W 28–21 48,807
September 10 2:00 PM North Dakota Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID SWX W 44–14 10,608
September 10 4:00 PM Fresno State #10 Nebraska Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE BTN L 29–42 85,101
September 10 6:00 PM Central Arkansas Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN3 W 48–42 OT 20,652
September 10 6:00 PM Weber State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT
(Beehive Boot) 		W 54–17 18,239
September 10 7:00 PM San Jose State UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA Prime Ticket L 17–27 42,685

Players of the Week[14]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Andrew Manley New Mexico State Jonte Green New Mexico State Devin Wylie Fresno State

Week three

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 17 1:00 PM Nevada San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA WSN NEV 17–14 17,238
September 17 4:00 PM Hawaiʻi UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV The Mtn. L 20–40 21,248
September 17 4:00 PM Idaho #9 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX FSN PPV L 7–37 86,623
September 17 6:00 PM Houston Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN3 L 34–35 24,628
September 17 6:00 PM UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
(The Battle of I-10) 		ALT L 10–16 19,751
September 17 7:00 PM North Dakota Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN3 W 27–22 27,542

Players of the Week[15]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Mike Ball Nevada Logan Harrell Fresno State Jake Hurst Nevada

Week four

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 24 1:00 PM New Mexico State San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA SJSU 34–24 13,456
September 24 2:00 PM Fresno State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID WSN FRES 48–24 15,110
September 24 4:00 PM Nevada Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX FCS L 34–35 55,664
September 24 6:00 PM UC Davis Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV W 56–14 30,756
September 24 6:00 PM Louisiana Tech Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS ESPNU L 20–26 OT 55,116
September 24 6:00 PM Colorado State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT ESPN3 L 34–35 2OT 22,599

Players of the Week[16]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Bryant Moniz Hawaiʻi Travis Brown Fresno State Kevin Goessling Fresno State

Week five

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 30 6:00 PM Utah State BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPN L 24–27 63,513
October 1 11:30 AM Nevada #5 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID
(Rivalry) 		Versus L 10–30 34,098
October 1 12:30 PM Idaho Virginia Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA ESPN3 L 20–21 OT 39,827
October 1 1:00 PM San Jose State Colorado State Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, CO The Mtn. W 38–31 27,863
October 1 5:00 PM New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM
(Rio Grande Rivalry) 		The Mtn. W 42–28 30,019
October 1 6:00 PM Hawaiʻi Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN Plus HAW 44–26 25,212
October 1 6:15 PM Mississippi Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN2 L 28–38 32,063

Players of the Week[17]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Matt Christian New Mexico State Keith Smith San Jose State Justin Hernandez Idaho

Week six

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 7 6:00 PM #6 Boise State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN L 7–57 33,871
October 8 1:00 PM UNLV Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
(37th Battle for Nevada) 		ESPN3 W 37–0 25,978
October 8 2:00 PM Louisiana Tech Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN3 LT 24–11 15,309
October 8 6:00 PM Wyoming Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT ESPN3 W 63–19 17,561
October 8 7:15 PM San Jose State BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPNU L 16–29 59,783

Players of the Week[18]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Chuckie Keeton Utah State Brett Roy Nevada Ryan Allen Louisiana Tech

Week seven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 14 6:00 PM Hawaiʻi San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA ESPN SJSU 28–27 24,643
October 15 1:00 PM New Mexico Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 49–7 15,369
October 15 6:00 PM Idaho New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM ALT2 NMSU 31–24 12,711
October 15 7:00 PM Utah State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN3 FRES 31–21 28,854

Players of the Week[19]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Chandler Jones San Jose State Khalid Wooten Nevada Travis Johnson San Jose State

Week eight

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 22 1:00 PM Fresno State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV WSN NEV 45–38 15,113
October 22 1:00 PM Louisiana Tech Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT LT 24–17 16,037
October 22 6:00 PM New Mexico State Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI HAW 45–34 30,586

Players of the Week[20]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Mike Ball Nevada Adrien Cole Louisiana Tech Ryan Allen Louisiana Tech

Week nine

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 29 2:00 PM Hawaiʻi Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN Plus HAW 16–14 10,461
October 29 3:00 PM San Jose State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA LT 38–28 19,642
October 29 6:00 PM Nevada New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM WSN NEV 48–34 15,782

Players of the Week[21]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Cody Fajardo Nevada Aaron Brown Hawaiʻi Kenton Chun Hawaiʻi

Week ten

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 5 10:30 AM New Mexico State #18 Georgia Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA CSS L 16–63 92,746
November 5 1:00 PM Idaho San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA WSN IDHO 32–29 10,621
November 5 6:00 PM Utah State Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV USU 35–31 30,301
November 5 9:30 PM Louisiana Tech Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA
(Battle for the Bone) 		ESPNU LT 41–21 27,965

Players of the Week[22]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Colby Cameron La Tech Travis Johnson San Jose State Stanley Morrison Utah State

Week eleven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 12 1:00 PM San Jose State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT WSN USU 34–33 14,593
November 12 6:00 PM Fresno State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM WSN NMSU 48–45 14,227
November 12 6:15 PM Idaho BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPN2 L 7–42 57,770
November 12 6:30 PM Louisiana Tech Mississippi Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS CSS/CST W 27–7 44,123
November 12 7:15 PM Hawaiʻi Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV ESPNU NEV 42–28 16,527

Players of the Week[23]

Offensive Defensive Special teams
Player Team Player Team Player Team
Cody Fajardo (2) Nevada IK Enemkpali La Tech Taveon Rogers (2) New Mexico State

Week twelve

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 19 1:00 PM Louisiana Tech Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV WSN LT 24–20 11,639
November 19 1:00 PM Navy San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA ESPN3 W 27-24 25,114
November 19 2:00 PM Utah State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN Plus USU 49–42 2OT 8,216
November 19 6:00 PM Fresno State Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI WSN FRES 24–21 28,907
November 19 8:15 New Mexico State BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPNU L 7–42 57,134

Week thirteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 26 1:00 PM Nevada Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT USU 21-17 15,784
November 26 3:00 PM New Mexico State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN Plus LT 44-0 17,458
November 26 5:00 PM San Jose State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA
(Rivalry) 		SJSU 27-24 25,492
November 26 6:00 PM Tulane Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV W 35-23 27,411

Week fourteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 3 1:00 PM Idaho Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV WSN NV 56-3 10,027
December 3 5:00 PM Fresno State San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA CBS Sports Network SDST 35-28 32,790
December 3 6:00 PM BYU Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI ESPN2 BYU 41-20 30,765
December 3 6:00 PM Utah State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM USU 41-20 13,631

Bowl games

Bowl Date Winner* Score Loser* Score Location Time+ Network Notes
Famous Idaho Potato Dec. 17, 2011 Ohio 24 Utah State 23 Boise, Idaho 2:30 PM ESPN
SDCCU Poinsettia Dec. 21, 2011 #15 TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24 San Diego, California 5:00 PM ESPN
Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl Dec. 24, 2011 Southern Miss 24 Nevada 17 Honolulu, Hawaii 5:00 PM ESPN
*WAC team is bolded. +Time given is Pacific Time Rankings reflect Coaches Poll

Home attendance

Team Stadium (Capacity) Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Total Average % of Capacity
Fresno State Bulldog Stadium (41,031) 27,542 32,063 33,871 28,854 27,965 25,492
—
 175,787 29,298 71.4%
Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium (50,000) 37,001 30,756 30,586 30,301 28,907 27,411 30,765 215,727 30,818 61.6%
Idaho Kibbie Dome (16,000) 12,173 10,608 15,110 15,309 10,461 8,216
—
 71,877 11,980 74.9%
Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium (30,600) 20,652 24,628 25,212 19,642 17,458
—
—
 107,592 21,518 70.3%
Nevada Mackay Stadium (29,993) 25,978 15,369 15,113 16,527 11,639 10,027
—
 94,653 15,776 52.6%
New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium (30,343) 14,728 19,751 12,711 15,782 14,227 13,631
—
 90,830 15,138 49.9%
San Jose State Spartan Stadium (30,456) 17,238 13,456 24,643 10,621 25,114
—
—
 91,072 18,214 59.8%
Utah State Romney Stadium (25,513) 18,239 22,599 17,561 16,037 14,593 15,784
—
 104,813 17,468 68.5%

References

  1. ↑ http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/news/11-07-05/2011_Maxwell_Award_Watch_List.aspx
  2. ↑ http://no2minutewarning.com/2011/07/06/2011-biletnikoff-award-watch-list/
  3. ↑ http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2011/nagurski110708.html
  4. ↑ http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2011/outland100708.html
  5. ↑ http://www.jimthorpeassoc.org/2011/07/07/2011-jim-thorpe-award-watch-list/
  6. ↑ http://www.rotarylombardiaward.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103:2011-official-list&catid=9:2011-news&Itemid=23
  7. ↑ http://www.rimingtontrophy.com/news/?id=9946
  8. ↑ http://blog.daveyobrien.org/2011/07/15/2011-davey-o%E2%80%99brien-watch-list/
  9. ↑ http://smu.edu/doakwalker/
  10. ↑ http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/2011-07-18/forty-named-walter-camp-list
  11. ↑ http://www.lougrozaaward.com/Current_Watch_List.html
  12. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205185336
  13. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205266920
  14. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205270304&DB_OEM_ID=10100
  15. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205274090
  16. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205290078&DB_OEM_ID=10100
  17. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205308112
  18. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205314019&DB_OEM_ID=10100
  19. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205317978&DB_OEM_ID=10100
  20. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205321276
  21. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205325468
  22. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205329310
  23. ↑ http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45959&SPID=4122&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205332973
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