The 2009 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) football season was an NCAA football season played from September 3, 2009, to January 4, 2010. The Western Athletic Conference consists of 9 members: Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State. Boise State won the 2009 WAC title going 13–0, 8–0 in conference and were invited to play in the Fiesta Bowl, in which they defeated previously unbeaten TCU. Nevada, Fresno State, and Idaho also played in bowl games, the Hawaii Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, and Humanitarian Bowl, respectively. Nevada lost to SMU and Fresno State lost to Wyoming, while Idaho beat Bowling Green.
Preseason
Preseason poll The 2009 WAC preseason poll was announced at the league's football preview in Salt Lake City on July 29. Boise State was overwhelmingly selected as the favorite to win the conference by both the league's coaches and media that cover the WAC. Although the Broncos did not receive all first-place votes in the coaches' poll, their selection was effectively unanimous; league rules prohibit coaches from casting first-place votes for their own teams. Accordingly, Broncos head coach Chris Petersen voted for Nevada.
Coaches poll Boise State – 64 (8) Nevada – 55 (1) Fresno State – 45 Louisiana Tech – 45 Hawaii – 36 San Jose State – 34 Utah State – 21 New Mexico State – 13 Idaho – 11
Media poll Boise State – 519 (55) Nevada – 444 (3) Fresno State – 365 Louisiana Tech – 360 Hawai'i – 275 San Jose State – 263 Utah State – 170 Idaho – 110 New Mexico State – 104
Colin Kaepernick of Nevada was voted the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Kyle Wilson of Boise State was voted the preseason Defensive player of the year.
Award watch lists Award School Player Bronko Nagurski Trophy Boise State Kyle Wilson Nevada Kevin Basped Dave Rimington Trophy Boise State Thomas Byrd Fresno State Joe Bernardi Hawaii John Estes Louisiana Tech Lon Roberts Lombardi Award Boise State Ryan Winterswyk Fresno State Ben Jacobs Fresno State Andrew Jackson Idaho Mike Iupati Louisiana Tech Rob McGill Louisiana Tech D'Anthony Smith Nevada Kevin Basped Nevada Alonzo Durham Nevada Virgil Green San Jose State Justin Cole San Jose State Carl Ihenacho Utah State Paul Igboeli Manning Award Boise State Kellen Moore Nevada Colin Kaepernick Maxwell Award Boise State Kellen Moore Nevada Colin Kaepernick Lou Groza Award Boise State Kyle Brotzman Fresno State Kevin Goessling Outland Trophy Idaho Mike Iupati Fred Biletnikoff Award Fresno State Seyi Ajirotutu Hawai'i Greg Salas Walter Camp Award Boise State Kellen Moore Jim Thorpe Award Boise State Kyle Wilson San Jose State Duke Ihenacho Bednarik Award Boise State Kyle Wilson Doak Walker Award Louisiana Tech Daniel Porter Nevada Vai Taua Davey O'Brien Award Boise State Kellen Moore Nevada Colin Kaepernick
Mike Iupati of Idaho was one of three finalists named for the Outland Trophy, won by Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.
Kellen Moore of Boise State was named one of the ten finalists for the Manning Award, won by Colt McCoy of Texas.
Regular season Index to colors and formattingWAC member wonWAC member lostWAC teams in bold
The WAC has teams in 4 different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (Central-Louisiana Tech, Mountain-New Mexico State, Boise State, Utah State, Pacific-Idaho, Fresno State, San Jose State, Nevada, Hawaiian-Hawai'i). Conference games start times are that of the home team.
Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS poll will be used.
Week one Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 3 7:00 p.m. Utah State #18 Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City The Mtn. L 17–35 45,333 September 3 8:15 p.m. # 14 Oregon #16 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho ESPN W 19–8 34,127 September 4 7:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Hawai'i Aloha Stadium • Honolulu W 25–20 33,298 September 5 12:30 p.m. San Jose State #4 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles FSN L 3–56 84,325 September 5 12:30 p.m. Nevada #23 Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana NBC L 0–35 80,795 September 5 5:00 p.m. Idaho New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico IDA 21–6 16,772 September 5 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama ESPNU L 13–37 81,143 September 5 7:00 p.m. UC Davis Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California W 51–0 37,267
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Greg Salas Hawai'i Nico Herron Fresno State Bobby Cowan Idaho
Week two Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 12 9:00 a.m. Fresno State Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin ESPN L 31–34–2OT 80,353 September 12 12:30 p.m. Idaho Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle FSN L 23–42 58,980 September 12 2:00 p.m. Hawai'i Washington State Qwest Field • Seattle W 38–20 42,912 September 12 2:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland CBS College Sports L 14–32 29,102 September 12 6:00 p.m. Miami (OH) #11 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho W 48–0 32,228 September 12 7:30 p.m. #17 Utah San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California ESPNU L 14–24 23,684 September 12 6:00 p.m. Prairie View A&M New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico W 21–18 15,902 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Greg Alexander Hawai'i Corey Paredes Hawai'i Philip Livas Louisiana Tech
Week three Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 18 6:00 p.m. #10 Boise State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California ESPN BSU 51–34 35,637 September 19 2:00 p.m. Nevada Colorado State Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, Colorado L 20–35 24,967 September 19 2:00 p.m. San Diego State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho W 34–20 10,324 September 19 5:00 p.m. Utah State Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, Texas L 30–38 73,599 September 19 5:00 p.m. Hawai'i UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas CBS College Sports L 33–34 29,717 September 19 6:00 p.m. Nicholls State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana W 48–13 19,400 September 19 6:00 p.m. San Jose State Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California L 17–42 33,560 September 19 6:00 p.m. UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruises, New Mexico L 12–38 20,439 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ryan Mathews Fresno State JoJo Dickson Idaho Titus Young Boise State
Week four Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 25 6:00 p.m. #21 Missouri Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada ESPN L 21–32 18,269 September 26 9:00 a.m. Fresno State #15 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati L 20–28 32,910 September 26 12:30 p.m. Idaho Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois W 34–31 16,320 September 26 5:00 p.m. #8 Boise State Bowling Green Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, Ohio W 49–14 22,396 September 26 6:00 p.m. Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah W 53–34 18,472 September 26 5:00 p.m. Cal Poly San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California W 19–9 13,510 September 26 8:00 p.m. New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, New Mexico The Mtn. W 20–17 35,248 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Nathan Enderle Idaho Tanner Burns San Jose State Kyle Hughes New Mexico State
Week five Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 30 7:00 p.m. Hawai'i Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana ESPN2 LT 27–6 21,263 October 2 7:00 p.m. Utah State #21 BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah The Mtn. L 17–35 64,103 October 3 1:00 p.m. UNLV Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada W 63–28 24,078 October 3 6:00 p.m. UC Davis #5 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho W 34–16 32,497 October 3 6:00 p.m. New Mexico State San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, California L 17–34 21,184 October 3 7:30 p.m. Colorado State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho ESPNU W 31–29 16,000 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Mike Ball Nevada Shiloh Keo Idaho Trey Farquhar Idaho
Week six Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 9 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada ESPN NEV 37–14 11,975 October 10 5:00 p.m. Idaho San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California IDA 29–25 15,321 October 10 6:00 p.m. Utah State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruises, New Mexico NMSU 20–17 15,283 October 10 6:00 p.m. Fresno State Hawai'i Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI FRES 42–17 38,566 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Colin Kaepernick Nevada Desia Dunn Fresno State Marcus Anderson New Mexico State
Week seven Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 14 6:00 p.m. #6 Boise State Tulsa Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Oklahoma ESPN W 28–21 30,000 October 17 1:00 p.m. Nevada Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah NEV 35–32 15,103 October 17 2:00 p.m. Hawai'i Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho IDA 35–23 12,763 October 17 3:00 p.m. New Mexico State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana LT 45–7 20,773 October 17 7:00 p.m. San Jose State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California FRES 41–21 35,495 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ryan Mathews Fresno State Aaron Lavarias Idaho Robert Malone Fresno State
Week eight Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 24 1:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah USU 23–21 14,229 October 24 1:00 p.m. Idaho Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada NEV 70–45 16,611 October 24 6:00 p.m. #4 Boise State Hawai'i Aloha Stadium • Honolulu BSU 54–9 37,928 October 24 8:15 p.m. Fresno State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico ESPNU FRES 34–3 18,893 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Colin Kaepernick Nevada Jeron Johnson Boise State Kyle Brotzman Boise State
Week nine Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 31 10:00 a.m. New Mexico State #17 Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio Big Ten Network L 0–45 104,719 October 31 1:00 p.m. San Jose State #7 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho BSU 45–7 31,684 October 31 1:00 p.m. Hawai'i Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada NEV 31–21 13,889 October 31 2:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho IDA 35–34 15,236 October 31 2:00 p.m. Utah State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California FRES 31–27 27,721 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ryan Mathews Fresno State Kyle Wilson Boise State Justin Veltung Idaho
Week ten Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance November 6 7:00 p.m. #7 Boise State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana ESPN2 BSU 45–35 23,240 November 7 6:00 p.m. Utah State Hawai'i Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI HAW 49–36 31,499 November 7 7:15 p.m. Fresno State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho ESPNU FRES 31–21 12,418 November 8 5:30 p.m. Nevada San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California ESPN NEV 62–7 11,103 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Leon Wright-Jackson Hawai'i Lorne Bell Fresno State Kevin Goessling Fresno State
Week eleven