GAME NOTES: The highest ranked team among the schools outside of the prestigious BCS, the sixth-ranked Boise State Broncos take their case to the islands in the South Pacific this weekend to battle the Hawaii Warriors in a Western Athletic Conference showdown at Aloha Stadium.

Boise State should have a small chip on its shoulder given that the team has gone undefeated this season and yet somehow dropped one place in the most recent AP poll. Last week, the squad was heading into a mid-week battle with Tulsa in Oklahoma and managed to grab a hard-fought 28-21 victory, yet the Broncos still went from fifth to sixth in the rankings, even as No. 4 Virginia Tech lost over the weekend.

Nevertheless, Boise State did get some good news on Sunday when it was placed fourth in the first BCS rankings of the season, settling in behind only Florida, Alabama and Texas. Although, should BSU slip at some point in 2009, a team like TCU is ready to assume the place of the top-ranked non-BCS school.

"Tough place for us to go, tough place for anyone to go play," Boise State head coach Chris Petersen said of the impending trip to Honolulu this weekend. "The last couple times we've been there, hasn't turned out so good so we're gonna have to do a great job of really preparing our minds and getting them right and go on over there and battle Hawaii."

As for the Warriors, their campaign has fallen apart right before their eyes, going from back-to-back wins against Central Arkansas and Washington State to begin the season to four consecutive setbacks.

"It's tough," notes Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin. "In our business, you don't want to lose one straight. It's frustrating, but the thing is, you've got to move on."

Last week, Hawaii was back on the mainland and competing against a surprising Idaho program and ended up falling in a 35-23 decision. The Vandals are now bowl eligible and the Warriors are wondering when the wheels fell off.

Boise State has won seven of the 10 meetings between these two programs, capturing a 27-7 win at home on the mainland last season, but falling to Hawaii on the road in 2007 by a score of 39-27.

Seldom used tight end Tommy Gallarda became the star of the show for the Boise State offense last week as he caught a pair of short touchdown passes from Kellen Moore to get the Broncos into the win column once again. Surprisingly, it was the first outing of the season in which BSU actually trailed an opponent, yet the game never got out of hand and turned into a raucous offensive fight as some might have expected.

Moore converted 22-of-32 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns, while Doug Martin handled much of the battle on the ground with his game-high 112 yards on 23 attempts.

Although the BSU defense surrendered three touchdowns through the air, the run defense stood tall and gave up a mere 88 yards on 26 chances. Against an offensive line that is allowing nearly four sacks per contest, Boise State's Ryan Winterswyk had two such stops and Shea McClellin 1.5 sacks for the Broncos.

Sacks haven't exactly been the strong point of the Boise State defense so far this season either, the team now averaging just 1.67 per game, yet it ranks third in the conference with that number. Few teams in the WAC can rival the Broncos in terms of total defense with the squad limiting opponents to just 277.8 ypg, tops in the league and 14th in the country overall this week.

With the Broncos getting after opponents, allowing only Fresno State to score more than 21 points this season, it is easy to see how this squad is holding foes to a mere 15.5 ppg to rank, again first in the WAC, and 18th in the country. One player who should get the lion's share of the credit for how the defense has been performing this season is Kyle Wilson who

In previous years the Broncos, whose BCS ranking this week is the highest it has ever been during the regular season, enjoyed one of the most dominant and explosive offenses in the nation, but the team has had a few games this year in which they may have played down to opponents and allowed those teams to dictate the tempo, which is why they are currently averaging 38.2 ppg. Granted, that still makes Boise State first in the conference and seventh nationally, but it's not like it was a few years ago when 50-point games were the rule rather than the exception.

Perhaps the loss of D.J. Harper to injury is beginning to take its toll on the group, but you couldn't tell from Jeremy Avery and Martin who have generated more than 800 combined rushing yards. If there is any problem with the running backs, the smart thing to do would be leave the ball in Moore's hands and let him demolish the opposition with his 69.5 percent accuracy and 234 ypg. After six games Moore has a total of 16 touchdown passes and a mere two interceptions, and yet the Broncos are still fourth in the conference and tied for 37th in the nation in turnover margin at plus-0.50 per outing.

"Defense is completely about being disciplined and then going to help your buddy to make a play," coach McMackin said of his team's recent woes. "We have to do a better job of coaching that."

Perhaps the coach was making reference to the effort the Warriors put forth against Idaho running back DeMaundray Woolridge last weekend as he recorded four touchdowns on the ground for the hometown Vandals. But run defense wasn't the only problem for Hawaii because the squad also allowed Nathan Enderle and the Vandals to turn just 14 pass completions into 226 yards and another score in Moscow.

From an offensive standpoint the Warriors, who are without injured starting quarterback Greg Alexander, tried to put signal-caller Bryant Moniz in positive situations, but it just wasn't enough for the youngster. Moniz did manage to convert 30-of-42 passes for 360 yards and a score and also posted a rushing touchdowns for the visitors, but under constant pressure the QB tossed an interception and was sacked four times.

As has been the case for quite awhile now, the Warriors leave the rushing attack on the back burner, to the point where it does very little but change the speed of the game from time to time. Right now the team is averaging a paltry 71.8 ypg on the ground and, even in the pass-happy WAC, that average is last in the league and ranks 117th in the nation.

Without a running attack of their own, the Warriors may not get a chance to practice against a competent bunch of ball carriers on a regular basis, and that may have led to the group allowing opponents a lofty 200.5 ypg, which is seventh in the WAC and 109th in the country this week.

If there is a bright spot to be found with this group it is in the form of Greg Salas who is leading the Western Athletic and is second in the nation in receiving yards with 131.8 ypg. Certainly, having a scheme that leans so heavily on the pass has helped, as did having Alexander setting up in the pocket, but it remains to be seen how Moniz's ascension to the starting role will change the production of Salas from game to game.

"I've said this all along, I think eventually it may happen," coach Petersen of his team's possible opportunity of getting a shot at playing for the national championship should everything fall into place. "I think the system is better than it was a few years back...it's on teams and conferences to play well and if you do hopefully we'll get the recognition we deserve."

Knowing that the pressure is on them, the Broncos can't allow themselves to be flat in any game, especially for four straight quarters, so expect to see this team light up the Warriors this time around.