Boise State

Boise State football Coach Chris Petersen , because of a series of NCAA violations, will have fewer scholarships to hand out in the next two years and less time on the practice field to prepare for tough season openers against Georgia this fall and Michigan State in 2012. The sanctions already imposed on the Broncos football team are part of a broader penalty package put in place by university officials this week for men's and women's tennis, and track and field, after an NCAA inquiry identified nearly two dozen violations by coaches in those sports.

No. 19 Chicago Bears: DE Shea McClellin, Boise State - - McClellin is a farm boy from Marsing, Idaho, who has been taking care of at-risk animals since he was a child, including nursing baby skunks back to health. He's a talented and relentless football player, too, collecting a combined 16 1/2 sacks over the past two seasons. He ran a 4.63 in the 40 at the combine, second-best among defensive linemen. Comment: McClellin isn't huge, but he's relentless and would be a solid bookend to Julius Peppers.

What's happening with Boise State right now is remarkable on several phony fronts. By virtue of a dramatic 33-30 victory over Virginia Tech on Monday, the Broncos have emerged as the team America loves to … what? People watched — that's a fact. ESPN's 6.8 overnight rating for the game was up 21% from last year's Miami- Florida State game on Labor Day. Imagine that, an "upstart" program outgunning one of college football's major marquees. It was the network's highest prime-time rating since it began airing college football on Labor Day in 2003.

No. 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: RB Doug Martin, Boise State - - Compact and powerful at 5-9, 223 pounds, Martin rushed for 43 touchdowns in three college seasons, gaining a combined 2,559 yards rushing the past two years. He said he's frequently compared to Baltimore's Ray Rice. Comment: The Buccanners were too one-dimensional at running back, and if they couldn't get Richardson, Martin is a good alternative. MORE Photos: 2012 NFL draft picks First round of draft is a rush to judgment NFL considers suspending Pro Bowl after 2013     NFL draft: Buccaneers take Boise State RB Doug Martin at No. 31

Football and fate become fickle and fantastic when you can suggest Boise State needs to offer Oklahoma trick plays this week to help the Sooners defeat Oklahoma State. How about the "Statue of Stillwater," a variation of a play Boise State once used to win a Fiesta Bowl? Maybe Ian Johnson could fly to Norman this week and make another proposal. There has to be something left in Boise's bag of miracles that might help Oklahoma. Sometimes, in college football, your interests change.

Unbuckling the mailbag: Question: No. 1? Boise State? Who do they play? They open with Northern University of South Dakota at Humple A&W, and they have Denny's on their schedule for homecoming. Bill Mendell Palm Springs Answer: I agree playing Humple A&W is no way to lose weight or strengthen your schedule, but Denny's actually dropped Boise State to play "Moons over My Hammy. " Q: So winning one game puts [Boise State] in the title hunt?

Boise State running back D.J. Harper likely will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Harper, the team's second leading rusher, was injured Friday in a 51-34 victory over Fresno State when he was smothered in the backfield late in the game. Coach Chris Petersen said Harper was undergoing tests Monday, and team physicians are all but certain Harper will need surgery. Arizona switch Sophomore Nick Foles will make his first start at quarterback for Arizona on Saturday at Oregon State.

The Big East is considering adding Boise State football to help bolster the conference's chances of retaining its BCS automatic bid, though both sides still need to be convinced that it's the right move. A college football official, who spoke Thursday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the Big East's plans, says some Big East presidents are resisting adding Boise State and the school itself has reservations about joining a conference in flux.

The urge to make Boise State preseason No.1 again this year was quickly quelled by the self-inflicted force of a blunt object to the prognosticator's head. No thanks. Apparently, thinking Boise State could win the national title was like thinking Pee-wee Herman could win an Oscar. Never mind Boise nearly raced all the way to Pee-wee's Big Top. The Broncos came two plays — a tackle and a kick — from earning a trip to the Bowl Championship Series title game. Alabama, unfortunately, could not hold a 24-0 lead against Auburn at home and poor kicker Kyle Brotzman missed that chip shot in Reno.

Of all the bumps, lumps and bruises administered during Saturday's action-packed hours of chills, thrills and spills, the school that got stopped, dropped and rolled was the team that didn't play. Boise State, as couch potatoes, got mashed. There were several games worth noting, namely Ohio State holding off Miami in Columbus, Alabama brushing off Penn State, Michigan holding off a coaching dismissal with a win at Notre Dame and Oklahoma holding off a laugh at home against Florida State.

Where they're headed Top Southland college football recruits who signed NCAA letters of intent Wednesday: Player, high school, position, college choice Donta Abron Jr., Upland, running back, Colorado Jeremiah Allison, Dorsey, linebacker, Washington State Chaz Anderson, Loyola, defensive back, Boise State Travis Averill, Servite, offensive line, Boise State Alex Ball, Westlake, kicker, Lamar ...

Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be … kickers. If you do, buy earplugs and a crate of antacids. There is no more wrenching sight in sports than seeing some mother's son shank a field goal or extra point on national, regional or local television. What a helpless, heartless feeling. Sort of like watching a kitten stuck in a tree. It's different than witnessing an NFL kicker miss. Those guys are paid professionals who don't have to face classmates in school Monday.

Reporting from San Francisco — There was an unofficial homework assignment for members of the UCLA football team's offense during their holiday break: Watch the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. Whether Arizona State could defeat Boise State was irrelevant. What was of interest was studying Sun Devils offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone , who is sliding over to UCLA. "I wanted to see what our new offense coordinator was like," running back Johnathan Franklin said. "What offense he was running, how he was coaching his players after they came off the field, stuff like that.

It's fitting only 0.0086 ended up separating No. 3 Oklahoma State from No. 2 Alabama in the final Bowl Championship Series standings. This is the year everything got 0.0086'd. It was never accurate to say before Sunday that Louisiana State and Alabama were "clearly" the two best teams in the country. And you still can't, because in the final BCS standings Alabama and Oklahoma State nearly ended up in a statistical draw. Had one BCS computer flipped and a few more voters considered Oklahoma State's case, we'd be getting an entirely more festive bowl season.

Why can't UCLA hire a great football coach? Somewhere in Southern California, seemingly every day of every football season for the last 15 years, somebody has asked that question. Why can't the largest college in America's second-largest city hire a great coach for America's most popular college sport? Why can't a leading institution in the entertainment capital of the world hire someone who can make the football team entertaining? Why can't the winningest college athletic department in American sport find a football coach who can consistently win?

UCLA's Rick Neuheisel era, ushered in with great fanfare four years ago, will end Friday night, adding another twist to an already unusual Pac-12 Conference football championship game. Neuheisel was fired Monday morning, but he will be allowed to coach in the title game. If the Bruins beat eighth-ranked Oregon in Eugene, they are off to the Rose Bowl — without their coach of the last four seasons. "We're certainly going to be playing for him," UCLA linebacker Sean Westgate said.

Just when it looked like another Boise State blowout against host Fresno State, the game turned into a wild WAC shootout. Jeremy Avery scored on a 67-yard screen pass and added a 74-yard run, providing just two of the many highlight-reel plays in No. 10 Boise State's 51-34 victory at Fresno State on Friday night. Titus Young scored two touchdowns, including a diving fumble recovery in the end zone after Avery ran it 74 yards to the 1 as Boise State (3-0, 1-0) won for the 57th time in its last 59 Western Athletic Conference games.

Kellen Moore threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Boise State survived a brief scare on the road with a 45-35 victory over upstart Louisiana Tech on Friday night at Ruston, La. Louisiana Tech had pulled to within 30-28 early in the fourth quarter on Dennis Morris ' leaping catch in the corner of the end zone. The Broncos' defense buckled down after that for Boise State (9-0, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference) to pull away with touchdowns on consecutive drives, the second score coming on Jeremy Avery's 44-yard touchdown run. Bryant leaving Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant is headed to the NFL. Bryant told ESPN.

Stanford and Boise State losing last week made marking down Louisiana State and Oklahoma State at 1-2 as easy as penciling in Ruth-Gehrig at 3-4 in the batting order. Boise State's loss all but assured undefeated Houston of a Bowl Championship Series bowl invitation. What could go wrong now? (Don't answer that.) We're happy to reintroduce two fledgling programs, Notre Dame (22) and Florida State (23) to this week's rankings. Neither has won a national title this century but both are hoping to build traditions that could develop into something special.