Courtesy: New Mexico State

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle, a junior from North Platte, Neb. (North Platte HS), completed 18-of-23 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the Vandals' 34-31 win at Northern Illinois last Saturday.  He threw touchdown passes of 26, 21 and 58 yards, while directing the offense to 477 yards on the day.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - San Jose State safety Tanner Burns, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif. (Valley Christian HS), had a season-high 11 tackles (6 solo), made an interception and recovered a fumble in San Jose State's 19-9 win over Cal Poly.  The fumble recovery led to the Spartans' go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and the interception came  in the end zone to seal the victory at the end of the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK - New Mexico State kicker Kyle Hughes, a sophomore from Columbia, S.C. (Hargraves Prep), made two field goals of at least 40 yards in helping New Mexico State get its first win at New Mexico since 1999.  Hughes also punted five times for a 53.4-yard average and downed two inside the 20-yard line.  He nailed a 60-yarder, the second longest of his career.  Hughes also kicked off five times and recorded three touchbacks.

Others nominated on offense:
Kellen Moore, So., QB, Boise State - was 17-of-21 for 274 yards and two touchdowns in just over two quarters of action in Boise State's win at Bowling Green.  His completion percentage of 80.9 percent was the sixth best single game mark in school history.
Ryan Mathews, Jr., RB, Fresno State - rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries in the game at Cincinnati.  The 38 carries were one short of tying the school's single-game record.
Colin Kaepernick, Jr., QB, Nevada - threw for 146 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 59 yards and another score against Missouri.
Marcus Anderson, Sr., WR, New Mexico State - caught two passes for 27 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 39 seconds remaining against New Mexico.
Lamon Muldrow, Jr., RB, San Jose State - rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in the win over Cal Poly.  It was the most rushing yards by a Spartan since Yonus Davis had 184 against Stanford in 2006.
Robert Turbin, So., RB, Utah State - gained 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground and added four catches for a career-high 116 yards and two touchdowns against Southern Utah.

Also nominated on defense:
Jeron Johnson, Jr., S, Boise State - made seven tackles and intercepted a pass in the game at Bowling Green.
Nico Herron, Jr., LB, Fresno State - had a season-high seven tackles including one for a loss against Cincinnati.
Shiloh Keo, Jr., S, Idaho - recorded 11 tackles including one for a loss against Northern Illinois.
Dontay Moch, Jr., DE, Nevada - tallied six tackles, including 3.5 for a loss (1 sack) and forced a fumble in the game against Missouri.
Ross Conner, Sr., LB, New Mexico State - made five tackles and had his first career interception in the win at New Mexico.
Chris Randle, Jr., CB, Utah State - had six tackles and an interception in the win over Southern Utah.

Additional special teams nominations:
Titus Young, Jr., KR, Boise State - returned three kickoffs for 72 yards against Bowling Green.
Kevin Goessling, So., K, Fresno State - made both field goal attempts, including one from 49 yards (the longest by any WAC player this year), in the game at Cincinnati.
Mike Ball, Fr., KR, Nevada - returned three kicks for 104 yards, including a 52 yarder (the longest kick return by a Pack player since 2006), in the game against Missouri.
Philip Zavala, Sr., P, San Jose State - averaged 40.4 yards on five punts and placed back-to-back punts at the one-yard line in the third quarter against Cal Poly.

BRONCOS RANKED FIFTH IN THE NATION -  Following its win at Bowling Green on Saturday, Boise State moved up three spots in both the AP and USA Today coaches' polls to 5th.  The first Harris poll was also released and had the Broncos at number five as well.  It ties for the highest ranking for the Broncos ever as Boise State finished the 2006 season at number five in the AP poll.  Boise State opened the season 14th in the AP poll, the highest a WAC team has been ranked in the preseason since Brigham Young was 10th in 1985 following its national championship season.  The Broncos have been ranked in the top 25 at least once in each of the last eight seasons.  At least one team from the WAC has been in the polls every week since Sept. 17, 2006 (51 consecutive polls).

BOISE STATE LAST WAC UNDEFEATED TEAM - Boise State is one of 17 teams in the nation without a loss.  The Broncos beat Bowling Green last Saturday night to improve to 4-0 on the season.  It's the fourth time since the 2004 season that Boise State has started a season 4-0.  The previous three times, the Broncos went on to finish the regular season undefeated (2004, 2006 and 2008).

WAC AND POINSETTIA BOWL ANNOUNCE TIE-IN - The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl today announced its agreements for the next four-year bowl term (2010-2013).  The Western Athletic Conference will receive a guaranteed spot in the 2011 and 2012 games and will be a backup in 2010 and 2013 should Navy and Army not be bowl eligible in those respective years.  The opponent over the four-year term will be a team from the Mountain West Conference.  The agreement coupled with the announcement earlier this month that the WAC would receive bids to the Emerald Bowl in 2010 and 2013, gives the conference four guaranteed bowl slots through the 2013 season.

SIX GAMES OVER THREE DAYS – The WAC will feature six games over three days this week highlighted by a conference matchup between Hawai‘i and Louisiana Tech on Wednesday night.  It is the first conference game for both teams and kicks off at 7:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.  The WAC and the Mountain West meet four times this week beginning on Friday night when Utah State travels south for a game with No. 20 Brigham Young.  On Saturday, Nevada hosts UNLV, New Mexico State travels to San Diego State and Idaho hosts Colorado State.  No. 5 Boise State also plays a home game when it hosts UC Davis.

IDAHO SCHOOLS TIED FOR FIRST - Boise State's win over Fresno State two weeks ago moved the Broncos into a tie for first place in the WAC standings at 1-0.  Idaho won its first WAC game of the year at New Mexico State on Sept. 5, 21-6, to open the season.  The teams will be joined by the winner of this Wednesday's WAC contest between Hawai'i and Louisiana Tech.

IDAHO TIME CHANGE - Idaho's home game against Colorado State (3-0) on Saturday has been picked up by ESPNU and will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (PT).  The game originally was scheduled to begin at 2:00.  Due to the WAC's new contract with ESPN, a minimum of four conference games will be selected by ESPNU over the upcoming months.

COACHES MOVING UP RECORD LISTS - A couple of WAC coaches are working their way up the NCAA coaching record lists. Nevada head coach Chris Ault is in his 25th season as a head coach and is 198-94-1, the sixth winningest active coach in FBS. San Jose State's Dick Tomey is the seventh winningest active coach as he is in his sixth year with the Spartans and 29th overall with a record of 182-138-7. Tomey previously won 63 games at Hawai'i from 1977-86 and 95 games at Arizona from 1987-2000. Tomey has coached 327 games, the fourth most among active coaches. In WAC games only, Fresno State head coach Pat Hill has 64 conference victories, the fourth most in league history while Tomey has 48 WAC wins, the sixth most.

WAC TRIO WITH 232 WINS - Boise State, Hawai'i and Fresno State have combined for 232 victories since the 2001 season. That total is the third most of any FBS conference's top trio.

TEAMS RACK UP VICTORIES - Since the 2001 football season, the WAC's top teams have established themselves as some of the most successful programs west of the Mississippi River. Boise State has won 92 games over the last nine years while Hawai'i has 73 wins and Fresno State has 67. Only Texas has won as many games as Boise State. There are 53 Division IA programs west of the Mississippi that include all of the teams from the WAC, Big 12, Mountain West and Pac-10 and several teams from the Big Ten, Conference USA, SEC and Sun Belt.

2009 BOWL LINEUP -  The WAC is affiliated with three bowl games this season. WAC teams will play in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. against a Mountain West opponent, the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl in Honolulu against a Conference USA opponent and in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho versus another team from the Mountain West.  The WAC also has an agreement for this season with the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl that if the Pac-10 cannot fill its contracted spot in the bowl game, then the WAC will provide a team.  The opponent is also a team from the Mountain West.

BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES -  Since 1997, the WAC has been an official part of the Bowl Championship Series.  The WAC's champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Standings (and is the highest ranked team from a conference without an automatic bid) or if ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls. The BCS Standings are determined by a formula involving polls and computer rankings. This year's National Championship Game will be played in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 7, 2010.

WAC THIRD IN NATION IN ALL-TIME BOWL RECORDS - The WAC's nine teams have an all-time record of 34-31-2 (.522) in bowl games. That winning percentage is one of just four above .500 among all FBS conferences.  The Pac-10 is first at .533, the SEC is second (.531) and the ACC is third (.524).

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

(5/5) Boise State Broncos (4-0, 1-0 WAC)
Took four or fewer plays on its first six scoring drives against Bowling Green ... Doug Martin rushed for 116 yards on 13 carries in replacing injured running back D.J. Harper ... the number five ranking is the highest regular season ranking for a WAC team since BYU was fifth n Dec. 9, 1996 ... its 39 wins since 2006 are tied with Florida for the most in the nation while its 112 wins since 1999 are the most in the country ... has won 51 consecutive regular season home games ... its active 21-game home winning streak is currently the second longest in the nation ... has won 66 of its last 68 games (including bowl games) at home ... is the highest scoring team in the nation since 2000 averaging 40.49 points over 119 games.

Fresno State Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 WAC)
Held the ball for 43:42 in the game at Cincinnati ... Ryan Mathews' 38 carries were the most for any player in the nation this year ... the Bulldogs' three losses are against teams with a combined record of 12-0 with two of those teams currently in the top 10 (Boise State and Cincinnati) ... kick returner A.J. Jefferson is second in the nation among active players in average yards per kickoff return (30.72) ... the Bulldogs have 45 blocked kicks since 2002, the most in the nation in that time ... has 14 BCS wins since 2000, the second most among non-BCS teams during that time ... with trips to Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Hawai'i and Illinois, the Dogs will have traveled 23,354 miles when the regular season ends.

Hawai'i Warriors (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Senior QB Greg Alexander has thrown a touchdown pass in 10 straight games ... junior WR Greg Salas had his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game with six catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns at UNLV ... he leads the nation in receiving ... after opening the season at home, UH won't play again at Aloha Stadium until Oct. 10 ... the span of 36 days is the second longest in the country behind UAB (37) ... finished last season with a non-losing record for the eighth time in the last 10 years ... for the first time since 1998, UH did not have a 3,000-yard passer last season ... UH is 24-0 when scoring 40 or more points since 2005 ... is 9-3 in WAC road games since 2006 ... is celebrating its 100th anniversary of its first football team.

Idaho Vandals (3-1, 1-0 WAC)
Has three wins against FBS schools in the same season for the first time since 2006 ... has won two road games for the first time since 2006 ... is 3-1 for the first time since starting the 1994 season at 7-0 ... was up 34-16 at Northern Illinois, before allowing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter ... DeMaundray Wooldridge rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries ... running backs Princeton McCarty and Deonte' Jackson each added a receiving touchdown ... Nathan Enderle completed passes to 10 different players ... there were no interceptions or fumbles lost by either team in the game ... the Kibbie Dome underwent significant renovation this summer with the replacement of the west end wall with translucent panels.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Had a stretch in the second half against Nicholls State where it scored a touchdown on five consecutive possessions ... DB Antonio Baker had four tackles against Nicholls State and now has 324 for his career, the third most on any active player in the nation ... Porter is 988 yards shy of tying the school's career record of 3,342 yards held by Jason Cooper (1991-94) ... junior Phillip Livas has caught a pass in 26 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... he has scored multiple touchdowns four different ways: reception (4), rush (3), kickoff return (2) and punt return (3) ... Derek Dooley is the only individual to hold the dual role of both athletic director and head football coach in the FBS.

Nevada Wolf Pack (0-3, 0-0 WAC)
Is 0-3 for the first time since 1999 ... Vai Taua was injured on the first punt return of the game and missed the rest of the contest ... Luke Lippincott made his first start at running back since Sept. 6 of last year and rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries ... it was his 11th 100-yard rushing game of his career ... trailing 21-13, Lippincott fumbled at Missouri's three-yard line early in the fourth quarter ... freshman Brandon Wimberly caught six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown ... freshman Mike Ball leads the WAC in kick returns with a 3.5-yard average ... recovered two fumbles against Missouri, the first takeways for the Wolf Pack this season ... is one of 10 teams in the nation without a win this year.

New Mexico State Aggies (2-2, 0-1 WAC)
Beat New Mexico for the first time since 2002 and for the first time in Albuquerque since 1999 ... is 2-2 for the fourth year in a row ... freshman Trevor Walls made his first career start at quarterback and was 10-of-19 for 77 yards with one interception ... junior Jeff Fleming came into the game in the fourth quarter and led the Aggies to the game-winning touchdown with 39 seconds remaining ... Fleming was 4-of-5 for 19 yards and a touchdown ... sophomore Donyae Coleman led all Aggies with three catches for 18 yards ... junior Seth Smith rushed for 113 yards on 31 attempts ... New Mexico missed two field goals in the second half including a potential game-tying one from 47 yards out with no time left.

San Jose State Spartans (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Gained 242 yards rushing last week against Cal Poly, more than in their last seven games combined (163) ... recovered a fumble in that game and is tied for the national lead with eight on the season ... Lamon Muldrow's 184 yards on the ground against Cal Poly were more than three times the Spartans' rushing total for the first three games ... it was his first major college start ... Kevin Jurovich surpassed 100 receiving yards for the third time this season and eighth time in his career ... he finished the game with seven catches for 108 yards ... Ryno Gonzalez, normally a linebacker, made his first start on the offensive side of the ball as a college player at a running back spot ... head coach Dick Tomey is the president of the AFCA for 2009.

Utah State Aggies (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
The 53 points scored against Southern Utah are the most by a WAC team this year and the most for the Aggies since scoring 56 against Weber State on Nov. 17, 2001 ... their 604 yards of total offense were the most since getting 684 in that same game against Weber State ... Robert Turbin became the first Aggie since Emmett White in 2000 to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game ... Turbin and Michael Smith became the first USU tandem to both rush for 100 yards since 1989 ... sophomore RB Robert Turbin has scored a rushing touchdown in five straight games ... with his 104 rushing yards, Turbin became the first USU running back with three straight 100-yard outings since Emmtt White in 2001.