The 2011 Western Athletic Conference football season is a college football season for the Western Athletic Conference. The 2011 season consisted of eight members: Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State.
This season the WAC's membership changed for the first time since 2005. Boise State, who joined the conference in 2001, left to join the Mountain West Conference.
This season was the last year of membership for three other schools: Fresno State, Hawaii, and Nevada. All became members of the Mountain West in 2012 (Hawaii as a football only member, other sports will join the Big West Conference). In response to their departure, the WAC added five new members in 2012. Of the new members, only Texas State and UTSA had football programs.
Preseason
Award watch lists The following WAC players were named to preseason award watch lists.
Maxwell Award: Bryant Moniz – Hawaii
Fred Biletnikoff Award: Royce Pollard – Hawaii Rishard Mathews – Nevada Noel Grigsby – San Jose State
Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Logan Harrell – Fresno State James-Michael Johnson – Nevada Bobby Wagner – Utah State
Outland Trophy: Logan Harrell – Fresno State Chris Barker – Nevada
Jim Thorpe Award: Duke Ihenacho – San Jose State
Lombardi Award: Corey Paredes – Hawaii Bobby Wagner – Utah State
Rimington Trophy: Tyler Larsen – Utah State
Davey O'Brien Award: Bryant Moniz – Hawaii
Doak Walker Award: Lennon Creer – Louisiana Tech Robert Turbin – Utah State
Walter Camp Award: Bryant Moniz – Hawaii
Lou Groza Award: Trey Farquhar – Idaho Kevin Goessling – Fresno State
WAC Football Preview During the WAC Football Preview in Las Vegas on July 27–28, Hawaii was selected as the favorite to win the conference by both the media and the coaches. In the media poll, Hawai received 18 first place votes. Fresno State and Nevada both received 11 first place votes with Utah State receiving one. In the coaches poll, Hawaii received five first place votes while Fresno State, who ranked second, received one first place vote and Nevada, who ranked third, received two first place votes.
Media Poll Hawaii – 292 (18) Fresno State – 284 (11) Nevada – 264 (11) Louisiana Tech – 184 Utah State – 164 (1) Idaho – 141 San Jose State – 85 New Mexico State – 60
Coaches Poll Hawaii – 47 (5) Fresno State – 41 (1) Nevada – 40 (2) Louisiana Tech – 31 Utah State – 22 Idaho – 21 San Jose State – 15 New Mexico State – 7
The media also voted on the WAC preseason players of the year. Hawaii's Bryant Moniz was selected as the offensive player of the year and Utah State's Bobby Wagner was selected as the defensive player of the year.
Coaches NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school WAC record Fresno State Pat Hill 15 108–71 108–71 75–36 Hawaii Greg McMackin 4 23–18 23–18 15–9 Idaho Robb Akey 5 17–33 17–33 8–24 Louisiana Tech Sonny Dykes 2 5–7 5–7 4–4 Nevada Chris Ault 27 219–97–1 219–97–1 36–17 New Mexico State DeWayne Walker 2 5–21 5–20 2–14 San Jose State Mike MacIntyre 2 1–12 1–12 0–8 Utah State Gary Andersen 3 12–23 8–16 5–11
WAC vs. BCS matchups Date Visitor Home Notes September 3^ Fresno State 21 California 36 Played at Candlestick Park September 3 Colorado 17 Hawaii 34 September 3 San Jose State 3 #6 Stanford 57 Bill Walsh Legacy Game September 3 Utah State 38 #19 Auburn 42 Utah State led by 10 with less than 5 minutes to play September 10 Fresno State 29 #10 Nebraska 42 September 10 Hawaii 32 Washington 40 September 10 Nevada 20 #14 Oregon 69 September 10 New Mexico State 28 Minnesota 21 NMSU first win over BCS team since 1999 September 10 San Jose State 17 UCLA 27 September 17 Idaho 7 #9 Texas A&M 37 September 24 Louisiana Tech 20 Mississippi State 26 Overtime September 24 Nevada 34 Texas Tech 35 October 1 Mississippi 38 Fresno State 28 October 1 Idaho 20 Virginia 21 Overtime November 5 New Mexico State 16 Georgia 63 November 12 Louisiana Tech 27 Mississippi 7^Denotes neutral site game
Regular season Index to colors and formattingWAC member wonWAC member lostWAC teams in bold
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.
The WAC has teams in four different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (Central–Louisiana Tech, Mountain–New Mexico State, Utah State, Pacific–Fresno State, Idaho, Nevada, San Jose State, 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 1 6:00 p.m. Bowling Green Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ALT L 15–32 12,173 September 3 10:00 a.m. Utah State #19 Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL ESPN2 L 38–42 85,245 September 3 2:00 p.m. San Jose State #6 Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA(Bill Walsh Legacy Game) CSNBA L 3–57 47,816 September 3 ^ 4:00 p.m. Fresno State California Candlestick Park • San Francisco(TicketCity Battle by the Bay) CSNCA L 21–36 31,563 September 3 6:00 p.m. Colorado Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI ESPN2 W 34–17 37,001 September 3 6:00 p.m. Ohio New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM ALT L 24–44 14,728 September 3 9:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS(Rivalry in Dixie) FSN L 17–19 22,356 ^ Neutral site
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Bryant Moniz Hawaii Paipai Falemalu Hawaii Taveon Rogers New Mexico State
Week two Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 10 9:30 a.m. Hawaii Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA RSNW L 32–40 63,252 September 10 12:30 p.m. Nevada #14 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR FX L 20–69 58,818 September 10 1:30 p.m. New Mexico State Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN BTN W 28–21 48,807 September 10 2:00 p.m. North Dakota Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID SWX W 44–14 10,608 September 10 4:00 p.m. Fresno State #10 Nebraska Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE BTN L 29–42 85,101 September 10 6:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN3 W 48–42 OT 20,652 September 10 6:00 p.m. Weber State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT(Beehive Boot) W 54–17 18,239 September 10 7:00 p.m. San Jose State UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA Prime Ticket L 17–27 42,685
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Andrew Manley New Mexico State Jonte Green New Mexico State Devin Wylie Fresno State
Week three Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 17 1:00 p.m. Nevada San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA WSN NEV 17–14 17,238 September 17 4:00 p.m. Hawaii UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV The Mtn. L 20–40 21,248 September 17 4:00 p.m. Idaho #9 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX FSN PPV L 7–37 86,623 September 17 6:00 p.m. Houston Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN3 L 34–35 24,628 September 17 6:00 p.m. UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM(The Battle of I-10) ALT L 10–16 19,751 September 17 7:00 p.m. North Dakota Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN3 W 27–22 27,542
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Mike Ball Nevada Logan Harrell Fresno State Jake Hurst Nevada
Week four Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 24 1:00 p.m. New Mexico State San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA SJSU 34–24 13,456 September 24 2:00 p.m. Fresno State Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID WSN FRES 48–24 15,110 September 24 4:00 p.m. Nevada Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX FCS L 34–35 55,664 September 24 6:00 p.m. UC Davis Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI Oceanic PPV W 56–14 30,756 September 24 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS ESPNU L 20–26 OT 55,116 September 24 6:00 p.m. Colorado State Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT ESPN3 L 34–35 2OT 22,599
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Bryant Moniz Hawaii Travis Brown Fresno State Kevin Goessling Fresno State
Week five Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 30 6:00 p.m. Utah State BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPN L 24–27 63,513 October 1 11:30 a.m. Nevada #5 Boise State Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID(rivalry) Versus L 10–30 34,098 October 1 12:30 p.m. Idaho Virginia Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA ESPN3 L 20–21 OT 39,827 October 1 1:00 p.m. San Jose State Colorado State Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, CO The Mtn. W 38–31 27,863 October 1 5:00 p.m. New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM(Rio Grande Rivalry) The Mtn. W 42–28 30,019 October 1 6:00 p.m. Hawaii Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN Plus HAW 44–26 25,212 October 1 6:15 p.m. Mississippi Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN2 L 28–38 32,063
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Matt Christian New Mexico State Keith Smith San Jose State Justin Hernandez Idaho
Week six Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 7 6:00 p.m. #6 Boise State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN L 7–57 33,871 October 8 1:00 p.m. UNLV Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV(37th Battle for Nevada) ESPN3 W 37–0 25,978 October 8 2:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN3 LT 24–11 15,309 October 8 6:00 p.m. Wyoming Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT ESPN3 W 63–19 17,561 October 8 7:15 p.m. San Jose State BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPNU L 16–29 59,783
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Chuckie Keeton Utah State Brett Roy Nevada Ryan Allen Louisiana Tech
Week seven Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 14 6:00 p.m. Hawaii San Jose State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA ESPN SJSU 28–27 24,643 October 15 1:00 p.m. New Mexico Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 49–7 15,369 October 15 6:00 p.m. Idaho New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM ALT2 NMSU 31–24 12,711 October 15 7:00 p.m. Utah State Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA ESPN3 FRES 31–21 28,854 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Chandler Jones San Jose State Khalid Wooten Nevada Travis Johnson San Jose State
Week eight Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 22 1:00 p.m. Fresno State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV WSN NEV 45–38 15,113 October 22 1:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Utah State Romney Stadium • Logan, UT LT 24–17 16,037 October 22 6:00 p.m. New Mexico State Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI HAW 45–34 30,586 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Mike Ball Nevada Adrien Cole Louisiana Tech Ryan Allen Louisiana Tech
Week nine Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 29 2:00 p.m. Hawaii Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN Plus HAW 16–14 10,461 October 29 3:00 p.m. San Jose State Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA LT 38–28 19,642 October 29 6:00 p.m. Nevada New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM WSN NEV 48–34 15,782 Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Cody Fajardo Nevada Aaron Brown Hawaii Kenton Chun Hawaii
Week ten