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A quick look at the regional college football teams in action this weekend.
Idaho State
The bright spots have been hard to find for Idaho State in 2010.
About as hard as tackling Tavoy Moore in the open field.
The Bengals' junior college transfer has been one of the team's few success stories through five games. He returned two kicks for touchdowns in last week's 47-28 loss to Montana, giving him four return touchdowns this season.
He's two return TDs away from tying the league and FCS record of six, set by Montana State's Cory Smith in 2003 and Eastern Washington's Bashir Levingston in 1998.
And he's got the attention of coaches throughout the league.
""Any good returner makes the first guy miss,"" Weber State coach Ron McBride told the Idaho State Journal on Wednesday. ""When he returned that punt for a touchdown (against Montana last Saturday), he made that first guy look like a donkey. That guy went one way, and he went the other. He made another guy miss, and the next thing you know he was in a seam.
""He does things you don't teach people to do.""
The Bengals (1-5, 0-4 Big Sky) will need more big plays from Moore on Saturday whey they play host to rival Weber State at Holt Arena. Kickoff is set for 3:35 p.m.
Weber State is just 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Sky, and fighting issues of its own. But the Wildcats have won seven straight and 23 of the last 25 over the Bengals, including last year's 44-17 thrashing in Ogden, Utah.
The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Cameron Higgins, who threw for 315 yards and three TDs in a loss to Eastern Washington two weeks ago. Weber was off last week.
Former Skyline High School standout Brian Jankowski is expected to start for the Wildcats at tight end. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound sophomore has three catches for 16 yards this season.
In other Big Sky games Saturday, Eastern Washington plays at Northern Colorado, Montana State plays at Northern Arizona and Montana plays at Portland Sate.
Boise State
The third-ranked Broncos are still making plenty of headlines as they prepare for their second Western Athletic Conference game of the season Saturday San Jose State.
Boise State will likely be No. 1 when the first BCS rankings are released this weekend, according to ESPN. Brad Edwards, ESPN's BCS guru, also said it's unlikely the Broncos will remain at the top if they finish the season undefeated.
BSU quarterback Kellen Moore, the nation's leader in pass efficiency (183.28), took the lead in ESPN's Heisman watch this week. ESPN polls 15 of its college football writers and analysts each week, and Moore received eight first-place votes and was named on 13 ballots, giving him 54 points. Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was second with 45 points and Oregon running back LaMichael James was third with 44 points.
Idaho
The Vandals (3-2), fresh after a bye week, jump into WAC play Saturday at Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 1-1) are coming off a solid 24-6 win over Utah State and feature a new coach (Sonny Dykes) and a new offensive style.
""They have a new coach and a new way of doing things,"" Idaho coach Robb Akey said. ""They're a good throw-the- football outfit. That's what they like to do. They've found out they can run the ball and they have different ways of doing it. We've got to handle that well. You have to stop the run first - no different than when you play anybody else.""
The Vandals defense continues to play well, ranking third nationally in fumble recoveries (nine), tied for fourth in sacks per game (3.4), tied for ninth in forced turnovers (15), tied for 10th in red-zone defense and tied for 18th in tackles for loss per game (7.4).
In other WAC games Saturday, Nevada plays at Hawaii and New Mexico State takes on Fresno State.
BYU
The Cougars put an end to their four-game losing skid last week with a 24-21 win over San Diego State.
Things get considerably tougher for BYU (2-4, 1-1 Mountain West) this week. The Cougars hit the road for a game at fourth-ranked TCU (6-0, 2-0), which pounded BYU 38-7 last season.
The numbers aren't encouraging for BYU.
The Cougars are averaging just 16.7 points and 329 total yards per game, compared to 41.7 points and 481.7 yards per game for the Horned Frogs.
But BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said his Cougars showed more heart in last week's win, something they'll need against the Horned Frogs.
""We played harder and with more effort and executed at a higher level for longer than we have this season,"" Mendenhall said. ""They gave us exactly what we were looking for.""
Utah
Pity the poor Utes, who thrashed Iowa State of the Big 12 68-27 last week, then dropped a spot in the AP Top poll.
What's a team gotta do to get some respect?
If Utah keeps playing like this, the respect will come. The Utes (5-0, 2-0 Mountain West) have broken 50 points in each of the last three games and are averaging 49 points a game. They lead the nation in kickoff returns (31.1 per return), sacks allowed (one) and tackles for loss allowed (11).
Senior return specialist Shaky Smithson piled up 261 all-purpose yards, caught a touchdown pass and three another against the Cyclones. Quarterback Jordan Wynn passed for 325 yards and two TDs.
None of that is good news for Wyoming, who plays host to the Utes at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Cowboys (2-4, 0-2) have faced a brutal schedule so far this season with losses to Texas, Boise State, Air Force and TCU and wins over Toledo and Southern Utah.
Things won't get any easier for the Cowboys on Saturday.
