Game Day: Hawaii at Boise State

It's Saturday! It's game day! Time to pee in your Bronco blue toilet water to make it Warrior green! Haha!

Here are some news articles to flip through before the big game.

Dave Reardon has a gameday preview titled Warriors Willing to Run*.

Jones raved about the Warriors' offensive-line play last week, saying: "They pass-protected about as good as I've seen."

Starting center Sam Satele said the Warriors are looking forward to doing some more run-blocking, too.

"I want to see how they act when Nate Ilaoa runs for 200 yards," said Satele, who has dealt with a painful bruise to his collarbone area.

That would be something to see. As long as Colt still gets his 400 yards passing!

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview has a section about how Boise tries to prepare for Nasty.

In preparing for this game, the Broncos had difficulty casting a player to portray Ilaoa in practices. "We wanted to put a lineman in there, but the problem is no lineman can move like (Ilaoa)," Bronco defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said: "You can't really simulate a guy like that. There aren't too many 250-pound guys who can run like him."

Ferd Lewis talks about the matchup between QBs Colt Brennan and Jarad Zabransky.

Kalani Simpson goes back to the well that is Jerry Glanville with another funny column, this time about life on the road.

"We got off the plane in Chicago," Glanville said, "and we're walking down the corridor to get on another plane and one of my best players says, 'Coach, this is the first time I've ever been in Michigan.'"

Um ... "We're in Chicago," Glanville said gently. Because, you know, Chicago is in Illinois.

"Yeah," the guy said without missing a beat, "I've never been in Michigan before."

At last, Glanville said, "Well, I think you'll like it here."

Stephen Tsai talks to BSU running back Ian Johnson and OC Bryan Harsin about getting ready for the game, and gives a pre-game Warrior injury update.

Inside linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who is suffering from a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, was wearing an ice pack. Backup outside linebacker Brashton Satele, who is suffering from a sprained acromioclavicular (A.C.) joint, participated in non-contact drills.

Right cornerback A.J. Martinez, who skipped Thursday's practice because of a groin injury, competed on the first team yesterday. Center Samson Satele, who has a bruised collarbone, also practiced without difficulty

We'll need everybody healthy for this game. Looks like Solomon will be out, but it's like having an extra coach anyway.

Dave Reardon writes about the growing rivalry between Boise and Hawaii, what with the heartbreaking close loss last year along with the blowouts. Here's a quote from a BSU fan:

"Close last year doesn't count, and we're ready to kick your (butt) this year," said Boise State student Heather Santos, who has relatives in Hawaii. "It's definitely a big game for us and we love the rivalry."

Grrr. But read the article for quotes from the Warrior players and coaches on how they're preparing for the game, along this quote from Jerry Glanville:

"The running back (Ian Johnson) is better than the guy at Alabama (Ken Darby). The left tackle (Ryan Clady) is better than the guy at Alabama (Andre Smith). And you can go on and on and on," Glanville said.

That should make Bama fans mad, but it's probably true. It'll be a tough, tough game, but I have confidence! GO WARRIORS!!!!



*I'd like to think Dave Reardon is playing off the title of this blog, but he probably doesn't even know it exists! Or maybe he does, but can't be bothered. Nonetheless, I must say Dave is a great writer and analyst and I think he could make a career in TV after watching him on that June Jones Show roundtable. If anything, hopefully this counterbalances the times I teased his fu manchu, which he doesn't even have anymore, which makes me doubly sad.