By Gregg Xenakes, College Football Staff Writer

GAME NOTES: The 18th-ranked Boise State Broncos shoot for their second consecutive undefeated season in Western Athletic Conference play as they hit the field at Aloha Stadium this Saturday night in the regular season finale versus the Hawaii Warriors. The Broncos claimed their second straight conference title with their 56-3 blowout win over the Nevada Wolf Pack at home last Saturday, just their third year being affiliated with the WAC. Boise is now a perfect 7-0 in league play this year, having strung together 17 consecutive WAC wins overall and 18 victories in a row at home as well. The team is on a nine-game win streak at the moment (third-longest in the nation), with Nevada being the third opponent to be held to three points or less in 2003. The only setback for the Broncos came against Oregon State in the third game of the campaign, a 26-24 setback on the road. Had it not been for that loss Boise State would have those in charge of the BCS trying to figure out what to do with them with respect to the postseason. With the Humanitarian Bowl setting up at Bronco Stadium there's still a strong possibility that Boise State could again play on the blue field this season, but a win over Hawaii would give the squad more options and more exposure in a bigger bowl against a higher-ranking opponent. As for the Warriors, they have a record of 5-2 in conference play, which has them in fourth place heading into the week. Regardless of how the game plays out with the Broncos, Hawaii has already been offered and accepted a second straight invitation to the Hawaii Bowl, meaning the Warriors will be the hometown favorite yet again. On Saturday night Hawaii picked up its second win in a row and the sixth in the last seven outings with an impressive 37-29 triumph over the Alabama Crimson Tide out on the island. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools, it is tied 2-2 thanks to a 58-31 blowout win for the Broncos last season in Idaho. If Boise State wins the contest, it will mark the first time that a team has gone undefeated in conference play in back-to-back seasons since Wyoming turned the trick in 1987-88.

Playing in his final regular season game at home, Ryan Dinwiddie showed why he has been one of the best quarterbacks in college football over the past two season, connecting on 17-of-24 for 375 yards and four touchdowns, against just one interception before being pulled for backups late in the contest. Dinwiddie, who has one of the top touchdown-to-interception ratios in the nation this season, also posted a pair of rushing scores on four carries. David Mikell tallied the other rushing score for the Broncos, who gained 140 yards on 45 rushing attempts in an effort to kill the clock. Four different receivers recorded a touchdown for the Broncos, with Tony McPherson grabbing four balls for 104 yards. Except for Mikell and Tim Gilligan, everyone who caught a pass averaged at least 10 yards per reception. Dinwiddie, who was named the Offensive Player of the Week after playing just over two quarters against Nevada, became the school's all-time leading passer with 9,165 yards, with his 3,702 yards this season setting a new yearly standard as well, with the Hawaii contest still to build with. Dinwiddie has now connected on 62.4 percent of his pass attempts for a total of 28 touchdowns, against just four picks. Mikell is the leading rusher on the season with 1,024 yards, but his 11 rushing scores are second to the 12 that Dinwiddie has registered. Tim Gilligan as been one of the top receivers in the WAC again this year, posting 66 catches for 1,164 yards and six touchdowns, tying T.J. Acree for the team lead in touchdown receptions.

While the offense of Boise State is usually the first thing that opponents try to plan for, they often forget that the Broncos have one of the better defenses in the nation as well. On Saturday it wasn't until the third quarter that the Wolf Pack even got a sniff of the end zone, and only then did they put up a field goal out of desperation. Nevada was limited to only 12 first downs and 276 yards of total offense on 68 plays, an average of barely four yards per play. BSU held the Pack to just 3-of-17 on third down and turned them away on their one fourth-down attempt, allowing them to register just two first downs in the first half alone. While Andy Avalos was posting a team-high 10 tackles for Boise State in the win, Chris Carr (Defensive Player of the Week) was picking off three passes. With his trio of picks, the first time a single player has turned the trick for the Broncos since 1995, the BSU defense now has 17 on the year, compared to only six for opponents who have yet to figure out Dinwiddie and company. In giving up just three points over the weekend the Broncos dropped their points allowed per game to 15 ppg this season, one of the best marks in the nation. Nevada did manage to gain significant yards on the ground, but even then BSU average allowed only rose to 85.3 ypg rushing. To put into perspective just how well-rounded the program is, opponents have scored a total of just 180 points this season, seven fewer than what the Broncos have put up in just the second quarter this year.Avalos continues to be the leading tackler for the group with 95 stops, while Julius Roberts checks in with team highs of 8.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.

Backup quarterback Jason Whieldon threw for four touchdowns and ran for another in leading the Warriors to an eight-point triumph over Alabama in non- conference action from Aloha Stadium on Saturday night. Whieldon, who entered the game for an ineffective Timmy Chang early on, completed his first six passes and finished the contest 15-of-25 for 237 yards and one interception while scoring his first career rushing touchdown. Chang, ranked as the nation's second-leading offensive producer with 354.5 ypg going into the contest, made spot appearances throughout the contest but just never seemed to find a rhythm, converting only 7-of-23 passes for 38 yards for the Warriors. Hawaii finished with 409 yards of total offense, with wide receiver Jeremiah Cockheran finishing with five receptions for 124 yards and a pair of scores. While there isn't much more than pride to play for in this game on the side of Hawaii, there's still a question as to who will be under center and whether or not head coach June Jones will let that person ride out the game. Clearly Whieldon proved that he can provide a spark that the team needs in a pinch, but this team has belonged to Chang as long as he has remained healthy, and the indecision on the part of Junes could shake his confidence. Chang, who has thrown for 3,614 yards and is nearly forbidden from running with the ball, is often hit or miss in the pocket, registering 23 touchdowns in 2003, but 18 interceptions as well.

Hawaii allowed the Tide to score the first two touchdowns of the contest on Saturday, but after that nothing came for free for Alabama. The only other offense score for the Crimson Tide came with just 29 seconds left in the contest, a five-yard touchdown pass that failed to change the result of the game. In the third quarter the Warriors recorded one of their season-high six sacks, with Lance Samuseva making it in the end zone for a safety. Alabama was limited to 6-of-15 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down on the night with much of that pressure coming from Ikaika Curnan who tallied a game-high 15 tackles, three of them behind the line of scrimmage and one on quarterback Brodie Croyle. Samuseva also had three TFLs, including a pair of sacks, as did Chad Kalilimoku who finished with eight tackles overall. Travis LaBoy tallied six stops, two TFLs, one sacks and one interception. With an offense that score nearly 34 ppg, the defense generally just has to maintain composure before leaving the field to Chang. But in this case, Boise State will take full advantage of that and perhaps double up on the 27.8 ppg that the Warriors are allowing at the moment. Hawaii actually has a very strong pass defense, giving up 224.2 ypg but only 15 touchdowns through 12 contests. There's little doubt that that number is going to go up this weekend though, how high depends on the pressure that the home team is able to get on the BSU signal-caller. While Curnan leads the group in total tackles with 105, LaBoy is the one who has to get the push up the middle and add to his 20 TFLs and 12 sacks this year.

With Boise State playing in the inaugural Forth Worth Bowl, the postseason is already locked in for both squads. There is added incentive for the Broncos to play well in this game, as two straight undefeated campaigns in the WAC is something to be proud of. Expect a rested Dinwiddie to rise to the occasion and have yet another stellar outing, while Chang wonders how much he will play, if at all.

Predicted Outcome

Boise State 56, Hawaii 35