The 2010 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) football season was an NCAA football season played from September 2, 2010 – January 9, 2011. The Western Athletic Conference in 2010 consisted of 9 members: Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State.
Boise State, Hawaii, and Nevada all went 7–1 in conference play to share the WAC title. All three teams finished the regular season ranked in the top 25 of all four major polls. Boise State (12–1) was invited to the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas where they defeated Utah 26–3. Hawaii (10–4) was invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they lost to Tulsa 35–62. Nevada (13–1) was invited to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl where they defeated Boston College 20–13. The only other WAC team to be bowl eligible was Fresno State (8–5), and they were invited to the Humanitarian Bowl where they lost to Northern Illinois 17–40.
This was Boise State's final season as a WAC member. Amid a realignment of NCAA conferences, the school announced on June 11, 2010 that it would leave the WAC for the Mountain West Conference effective July 1, 2011.
Spring ball Team Start of Practice Spring GameBoise StateMarch 8April 17Fresno StateMarch 15April 16Hawai'iApril 1April 30IdahoMarch 23April 23Louisiana TechMarch 17April 10New Mexico StateApril 5May 1 NevadaMarch 5April 3 San Jose StateMarch 12April 22Utah StateMarch 23April 24
Preseason
WAC media days During the WAC's football preview on July 26 in Salt Lake City,Boise State Named WAC Favorite in Both Media and Coaches Polls – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com (2010-07-26). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Boise State was selected by both the coaches and media as favorites to win the conference. They received 42 of a possible 43 first place votes in the media poll with Nevada coming in second and receiving the other first place vote. The Broncos received eight of nine first place votes in the coaches poll, but Boise State head coach Chris Petersen was not allowed to vote for his own team in first place, thus the Broncos received all 8 possible first place votes.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was selected as the preseason offensive player of the year and Nevada defensive end Dontay Moch was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year. Moore and Moch were the 2009 WAC players of the year.
Media poll Boise State – 386 (42) Nevada – 333 (1) Fresno State – 300 Idaho – 207 Louisiana Tech – 200 Utah State – 196 Hawai'i – 166 New Mexico State – 81 San Jose State – 66
Coaches poll Boise State – 64 (8) Nevada – 55 (1) Fresno State – 50 Utah State – 37 Hawai'i – 36 Idaho – 33 Louisiana Tech – 26 New Mexico State – 14 San Jose State – 9
WAC vs. BCS matchups WAC teams finished the season 5–9 against teams from BCS conferences. Boise State and Fresno State defeated two each with Nevada gaining the other win. Date Visitor Home Notes Winning teamSeptember 2 USC Hawaii USCSeptember 4 Cincinnati Fresno State Fresno StateSeptember 4 San Jose State No. 1 Alabama Alabama September 4 Utah State No. 8 Oklahoma OklahomaSeptember 6 No. 5 Boise State No. 6 Virginia Tech Played at FedExField in Landover, Maryland Boise State September 11 Idaho No. 7 Nebraska Nebraska September 11 Louisiana Tech Texas A&M Texas A&M September 11 San Jose State No. 11 Wisconsin Wisconsin September 17 No. 24 California Nevada Nevada September 18 Hawaii Colorado Colorado September 25 Oregon State No. 3 Boise State ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from Bronco Stadium Boise State September 25 Fresno State Mississippi Mississippi September 25 New Mexico State Kansas Kansas December 3 Illinois Fresno State Fresno State
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-Hawaii). 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 2 5:00 pm USC Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI ESPN L 36–49 44,204 September 2 6:00 pm North Dakota Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho Altitude W 45–0 11,466 September 2 6:00 pm Eastern Washington Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada W 49–24 16,313 September 4 4:00 pm San Jose State No. 1 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama L 3–48 101,821 September 4 5:00 pm Utah State No. 8 Oklahoma Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma FSN L 24–31 85,151 September 4 6:00 pm Grambling State Louisiana Tech Independence Stadium • Shreveport, Louisiana(Port City Classic) W 20–6 34,762 September 4 7:00 pm Cincinnati Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California ESPN2 W 28–14 37,238 September 6 6:00 pm No. 5 Boise State No. 6 Virginia Tech FedExField • Landover, Maryland(Allstate Kickoff in the Capital) ESPN/ESPN 3D W 33–30 86,587 Players of the week:Verizon WAC Football Players of the Week – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com (2010-09-07). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Kellen Moore Boise State Logan Harrell Fresno State Kyle Brotzman Boise State
Week two Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 11 7:00 am Hawaii Army Michie Stadium • West Point, New York CBSCS W 31–28 30,042 September 11 9:30 am Idaho No. 7 Nebraska Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska FSN L 17–38 85,732 September 11 11:00 am San Jose State No. 11 Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin ESPN L 14–27 78,469 September 11 6:00 pm Louisiana Tech Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, Texas L 16–48 77,579 September 11 6:00 pm San Diego State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico Altitude L 21–41 16,891 September 11 6:00 pm Idaho State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah W 38–17 18,347 September 11 7:30 pm Colorado State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada ESPNU W 51–6 18,098 Players of the week:Verizon WAC Football Players of the Week – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com (2010-09-13). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Bryant Moniz Hawaii James-Michael Johnson Nevada Anthony Martinez Nevada
Week three Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 17 7:00 pm No. 24 California Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada ESPN2 W 52–31 28,809 September 18 9:30 am Hawaii Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, Colorado FCS L 13–31 47,840 September 18 5:00 pm Southern Utah San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California W 16–11 16,739 September 18 6:00 pm No. 3 Boise State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, Wyoming CBSCS W 51–6 29,014 September 18 6:00 pm Navy Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana ESPN3 L 23–37 23,122 September 18 6:00 pm Fresno State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah WAC Sports Network FRES 41–24 19,059 September 18 7:00 pm New Mexico State UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas(The Battle of I-10) L 10–42 39,214 September 18 7:30 pm UNLV Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho ESPNU W 30–7 15,390 Players of the week:Verizon WAC Football Players of the Week – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com (2010-09-20). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Colin Kaepernick Nevada Aaron Lavarias Idaho Trey Farquhar Idaho
Week four ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from inside Bronco Stadium on the blue turf for the No. 3 Boise State vs Oregon State game.ESPN College GameDay & ABC Sports Headed To Boise – Broncosports.com – The Official Athletics Website Of Boise State University . Broncosports.com (2010-09-18). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. This is the first time that College Gameday was broadcast from a WAC school. Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 25 1:00 pm Idaho Colorado State Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, Colorado L 34–36 23,925 September 25 3:00 pm Nevada BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah The Mtn. W 24–13 61,471 September 25 4:30 pm Fresno State Mississippi Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi CSS L 38–55 55,267 September 25 5:00 pm New Mexico State Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas FCS L 16–42 46,719 September 25 5:00 pm San Jose State No. 13 Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City L 3–56 45,099 September 25 5:30 pm Charleston Southern Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV W 66–7 30,300 September 25 6:00 pm Oregon State No. 3 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho ABC W 37–24 34,137 September 25 6:00 pm Southern Mississippi Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana ESPN3 L 12–13 22,344 September 25 6:00 pm Utah State San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego L 7–41 45,682 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Kellen Moore (2) Boise State James-Michael Johnson (2) Nevada Rufus Porter La Tech
Week five Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 1 6:00 pm BYU Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, Utah(Beehive Boot) ESPN W 31–16 24,152 October 2 11:00 am Idaho Western Michigan Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, Michigan WAC Sports Network W 33–13 18,508 October 2 5:00 pm UC Davis San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California L 13–14 17,844 October 2 5:30 pm Louisiana Tech Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV HAW 41–21 29,469 October 2 6:00 pm No. 3 Boise State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico WAC Sports Network BSU 59–0 19,661 October 2 7:00 pm Cal Poly Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California W 38–17 37,069 October 2 7:00 pm No. 25 Nevada UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, Nevada(Fremont Cannon) The Mtn. W 44–26 28,958 Players of the week:Verizon WAC Football Players of the Week – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com (2010-10-04). Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Kealoha Pilares Hawaii Robert Siavii Idaho Shawn Plummer Fresno State
Week six Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 9 3:00 pm Utah State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana Alt/CST LT 24–6 16,073 October 9 6:00 pm Toledo No. 4 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, Idaho WAC Sports Network W 57–14 33,833 October 9 6:00 pm New Mexico New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, New Mexico(Rio Grande Rivalry) ESPN3 W 16–14 21,437 October 9 7:00 pm Hawaii Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California ESPN3 HAW 49–27 38,494 October 9 7:30 pm San Jose State No. 23 Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada ESPNU NEV 35–13 20,636 Players of the week:Verizon WAC Football Players of the Week – WACSports.com—Official Web Site of the Western Athletic Conference . Wacsports.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-22. Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Vai Taua Nevada Donte Savage New Mexico State Tyler Stampler New Mexico State
Week seven Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 16 3:00 pm Idaho Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, Louisiana Alt/CST LT 48–35 19,750 October 16 5:00 pm No. 3 Boise State San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California WAC Sports Network BSU 48–20 20,239 October 16 5:30 pm No. 21 Nevada Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI WAC Sports Network HAW 27–21 42,031 October 16 7:00 pm New Mexico State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California ESPNU FRES 33–10 32,334