Morning Playbook – BYU defense pitches shutout, but No. 24 Boise State wins 7-6

BYU's defense was good Thursday night. Really good in fact, but despite shutting out Boise State on the blue turf it was the Broncos who exhaled and escaped with a win.

No. 24 Boise State 7, BYU 6 (Recap) – If you like watching defense, this was the game to be watching because the offenses for both teams were atrocious. BYU turned the football over five times and missed on a two-point conversion attempt but the defense kept Boise State to just 261 yards of offense. The Broncos only scored once in the game, with nose tackle Michael Atkinson's 36-yard interception return for a touchdown (read that again – FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN) eventually proving to be the game-winning score. That is the second straight tough loss for BYU, who lost a tight one at Utah last week. Boise State improves to 2-1 but shows just how much the offense needs to rebuild after losing Kellen Moore, Doug Martin, Tyler Shoemaker and more from last year's team.

As mentioned earlier, FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN…

The last time Boise State was held to just seven points at home was in 2005 in a 27-7 loss to Fresno State. The Broncos scored 70 the following week against Idaho. The last time Boise State failed to score any offensive points came in a 58-0 loss at Washington State in 1997, when the Broncos were a part of the Big West.

Tonight's Game, Baylor at Louisiana Monroe – Can the Warhawks pick up a second win over a team from a big conference? A second-straight upset bid was not to be last week against Auburn but now getting a chance to return home and play in front of their own fans, maybe they can come up with another big win against Baylor Friday night.

For entertainment purposes only, we take a look at some of the betting lines for this weekend's line-up. Also, early analysis of LSU vs. Auburn.

One of the big games this weekend, if not the biggest game on the schedule, pits Florida State and Clemson in an ACC bout. Do the Seminoles need to beat Clemson to mark their return to prominence? [Dennis Dodd]

The reporting of injuries has been a hot topic lately, especially this week when USC's Lane Kiffin cut a media session short after just 29 seconds. The question remains whether or not injuries should be reported at all. The opinions vary on the subject. [New York Times]

The TicketCity Bowl is seeking a new sponsor. [Dallas Morning News]

Wisconsin is replacing Danny O'Brien with Joel Stave as the starting quarterback this weekend against UTEP. [ESPN]

Rattlesnakes, rats and dragons… oh my? No, just a Mike Leach presser. [Football Scoop]

Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin never wants to see players returning a punt call for a fair catch. [Vanderbilt Athletics]

Brian Kelly says he has not had any talk of lowering the academic standards at Notre Dame. [Sports Radio Interviews]

Good news for Arkansas? Tyler Wilson cleared to play against Rutgers. [AP, via Yahoo! Sports]

It is hard to defend against a football culture when some alums are posting this billboard in State College. The message sends mixed signals, despite what may be good intentions. [USA Today]

Urban Meyer says Braxton Miller is more talented than Tim Tebow. Discuss. [Fansided]

An excerpt from When Saturday Mattered Most by Mark Beech.[Sports Illustrated]

An eight-year old Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson? [Kegs 'n Eggs]

Congratulations to our friends at Coaches By The Numbers for being highlighted by Forbes.

Tweet of the Day

So much talk about iPhones this week (I updated my 4s to iOS 6 this week), but Georgia's Watts Dantzler asks a good topical question.

 

 

Video of the Day

This video should get the Florida State fans a little juiced for this weekend's game against the Clemson Tigers.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0INBEJfFsW4?feature=player_embedded

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About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

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