BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Last season: 13-1, 8-0.
Last bowl: Won 34-31 vs. TCU in 2003 Ft. Worth.
Coach: Dan Hawkins, 33-6 in 4th year.
Returning starters: 4 offense, 6 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 34, lost 19.
Offensive star: Senior WR T.J. Acree had 51 receptions (14.9 per catch) as a walk-on.
Defensive star: Senior LB Andy Avalos was first-team WAC with team-high 113 tackles.
Stadium: Bronco Stadium, artificial, 30,000.
Schedule:
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S4: Idaho O23: Fresno State
S11: Oregon State O30: Hawaii
S18: at UTEP N13: at San Jose State
S25: BYU N20: Louisiana Tech
O2: SMU N27: at Nevada
O16: at Tulsa
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FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS
Last season: 9-5, 6-2.
Last bowl: Won 17-9 vs. UCLA in 2003 Silicon Valley.
Coach: Pat Hill, 55-35 in 8th year.
Returning starters: 8 offense, 8 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 52, lost 12.
Offensive star: Junior QB Paul Pinegar, hampered by pectoral injury, was 6-2 as starter last season.
Defensive star: LT Logan Mankins had 14 starts as a freshman but sat out 2003 with torn ACL.
Stadium: Bulldog Stadium, grass, 41,031.
Schedule:
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S5: at Washington O30: SMU
S11: at Kansas State N6: at Rice
S18: Portland State N13: Hawaii
O2: at Louisiana Tech N20: Nevada
O9: UTEP N27: at San Jose State
O23: at Boise State
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TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Last season: 8-5, 6-2.
Last bowl: Lost 52-10 vs. Georgia Tech in 2003 Humanitarian.
Coach: Steve Kragthorpe, 8-5 in 2nd year.
Returning starters: 8 offense, 9 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 44, lost 15.
Offensive star: Senior QB James Kilian was second-team WAC with 56.8% pass completion.
Defensive star: Sophomore MLB Nick Bunting named WAC freshman of the year with 79 tackles.
Stadium: Skelly Stadium, artificial, 40,385.
Schedule:
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S4: at Kansas O23: at Nevada
S11: at Oklahoma St. O30: Rice
S18: Navy N6: at SMU
S25: SW Missouri St. N13: at La. Tech
O2: at Hawaii N20: San Jose State
O16: Boise State N27: UTEP
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HAWAII WARRIORS
Last season: 9-5 (5-3)
Last bowl: Won 54-48 (3 OT) vs. Houston in 2003 Hawaii.
Coach: June Jones, 40-25 in 6th year.
Returning starters: 10 offense, 3 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 58, lost 20.
Offensive star: Senior QB Tommy Chang threw for 4,199 yards and needs 2,218 yards to become the NCAA leader in career passing yards.
Defensive star: Junior MLB Ikaika Curnan. Had 12 tackles for loss among his team-leading 121 tackles last year.
Stadium: Aloha Stadium, artificial, 50,000.
Schedule:
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S4: Florida Atlantic O30: at Boise State
S18: at Rice N6: Louisiana Tech
O2: Tulsa N13: at Fresno State
O9: Nevada N20: Idaho
O16: at UTEP N27: Northwestern
O23: San Jose State D4: Michigan State
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RICE OWLS
Last season: 5-7, 5-3.
Last bowl: Lost 33-7 vs. Kansas in 1961 Bluebonnet.
Coach: Ken Hatfield, 51-60-1 in 11th year, 164-122-4 in 24 seasons.
Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 46, lost 14.
Offensive star: Junior RB Thomas Lott rushed for 763 yards (7.3 per carry) last season in 10 starts.
Defensive star: Junior DE John Syptak had 19 tackles as a true freshman and followed that with 81 tackles (8 for a loss) last year.
Stadium: Rice Stadium, artificial, 70,000.
Schedule:
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S4: Houston O23: at Navy
S18: Hawaii O30: at Tulsa
S25: at Texas N6: Fresno State
O2: at San Jose State N13: at UTEP
O9: SMU N27: Louisiana Tech
O16: at Nevada
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NEVADA WOLFPACK
Last season: 6-6, 4-4.
Last bowl: Won 18-15 vs. Ball State in 1996 Las Vegas.
Coach: Chris Ault, 163-63-1 in 21st year.
Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 41, lost 23.
Offensive star: Senior RB Chance Kretschmer led all rushers in NCAA as freshman with 1,732 yards (5.7 per carry) and had 1,162 last season returning from injury.
Defensive star: Senior FS Keone Kauo started all 12 games in 2003 with 86 tackles, 4 for a loss.
Stadium: Mackay Stadium, artificial, 31,900.
Schedule:
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S4: Sacramento State O23: Tulsa
S11: at San Diego St. O30: at La. Tech
S18: Buffalo N6: San Jose State
O2: at UNLV N13: at SMU
O9: at Hawaii N20: at Fresno State
O16: Rice N27: Boise State
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LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS
Last season: 5-7, 3-5.
Last bowl: Lost 49-24 vs. Clemson in 2001 Humanitarian.
Coach: Jack Bicknell III, 27-32 in 6th year.
Returning starters: 7 offense, 8 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 54, lost 19.
Offensive star: Junior RB Ryan Moats ran for 1,300 yards (6.5 per carry) and had 27 receptions.
Defensive star: Senior LB Byron Santiago led team with 107 tackles.
Stadium: Joe Aillet, grass, 30,600.
Schedule:
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S11: Louisiana-Lft. O23: UTEP
S18: at Miami (Fl.) O30: Nevada
S25: at Tennessee N6: at Hawaii
O2: Fresno State N13: Tulsa
O9: at Auburn N20: at Boise State
O16: at SMU N27: at Rice
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SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS
Last season: 3-8, 2-6.
Last bowl: Won 48-24 vs. Central Michigan in 1990 California Raisin.
Coach: Fitz Hill, 12-24 in 4th year.
Returning starters: 3 offense, 6 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 35, lost 30.
Offensive star: Senior RB Tyson Thompson, a juco transfer who originally signed with TCU, sat out last season because of grades.
Defensive star: Senior DT Eddie Brown started only 7 games, but registered 12 tackles after returning from a knee injury in 2002.
Stadium: Spartan Stadium, grass, 28,867.
Schedule:
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S4: at San Diego State O23: at Hawaii
S11: at Stanford O30: UTEP
S18: Morgan State N13: Boise State
S25: at SMU N20: at Tulsa
O2: Rice N27: Fresno State
O9: at Washington State
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TEXAS-EL PASO MINERS
Last season: 2-11, 1-7.
Last bowl: Lost 38-23 to Boise State in 2000 Humanitarian.
Coach: Mike Price, 1st year, 83-77 (46-44 in Div. I-AA) in 22 seasons.
Returning starters: 8 offense, 9 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 58, lost 10.
Offensive star: Senior RB Howard Jackson had 2,146 all-purpose yards and was first-team WAC.
Defensive star: Senior MLB Robert Rodriguez led all in WAC with 135 tackles and 4 sacks.
Stadium: Sun Bowl, artificial, 51,500.
Schedule:
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S2: at Arizona State O23: at LSU
S11: Weber State O30: at San Jose State
S18: Boise State N13: Rice
O2: New Mexico State N20: SMU
O9: at Fresno State N27:at Tulsa
O16: Hawaii
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SOUTHERN METHODIST MUSTANGS
Last season: 0-12, 0-8.
Last bowl: Won 27-20 vs. Notre Dame in 1984 Aloha.
Coach: Phil Bennett, 3-21 in 3rd year.
Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense.
Lettermen: Returning 40, lost 12.
Offensive star: Senior WR Matt Rushbrook led with 30 receptions for 359 yards.
Defensive star: Senior NG Allan Adami, a second-team WAC pick, had 75 tackles (5 for loss) in 2003.
Stadium: Gerald J. Ford, artificial, 32,000.
Schedule:
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S4: Texas Tech O16: Louisiana Tech
S11: at TCU O30: at Fresno State
S18: at Oklahoma St. N6: Tulsa
S25: San Jose State N13: Nevada
O2: at Boise State N20: at UTEP
O9: at Rice
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Next: Big East Conference %%
