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BOISE, Idaho -- It happened long enough ago that its become a footnote in Boise States history.Fifteen years ago, Washington State arrived in Boise and handed the Broncos a 41-20 beating. In the time since, Boise State is unbeaten in 33 non-conference regular-season games on its blue turf.Oregon visited and walked away with a loss. The same with Oregon State, Washington and BYU along the way.And now the Cougars return to Boise State on Saturday night for a game with increased importance for Washington States psyche. The Broncos must have a win to be part of the national conversation as the season goes on.The urgency for Washington State comes after the Cougars stumbled for the second straight year in an opener against an FCS program. Last year it was Portland State. This time, it was neighboring Eastern Washington pulling out a 45-42 victory.But traveling to Boise State presents itself as the kind of game Washington State could win considering the circumstances. Its what the Cougars did last season on their way to nine wins, many of those coming when they were least expected. That team displayed its resilience immediately after the opening loss to Portland State last season by winning on the road at Rutgers.Does this group have the same resolve?Maybe we have a certain mentality on the road, like us against the world, Washington State quarterback Luke Falk said. Maybe we need to get that at home.Washington States loss in the opener was also a potential setback for the Broncos. Washington State was supposed to be the marquee opponent on the Broncos non-conference slate that still includes Oregon State and BYU.We certainly have a big challenge trying to slow those guys down, Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said.Other things to watch as the Broncos and Cougars meet for just the fifth time:FAMILY TREE: Excuse Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien for disagreeing with some members of his family this week. Rypiens uncle, Mark, is in the Washington State athletic hall of fame and he has also been one of his nephews major supporters.Except for this week. The Rypien clans loyalties are split. Everyone wants to see Brett have a good game and hes coming off throwing for more than 300 yards in the first half of Boise States season-opening win over Louisiana. But some of the family would like to see the Cougars come out on top.(Marks) already told me, he hopes I throw for a lot of yards in that game, but we lose by three, Rypien said.FALKS CHOICE: Growing up in Logan, Utah, Falk saw Boise State regularly when it would visit Utah State. Falk had interest in the Broncos as a senior in high school and tried to draw their attention. The response he got from Boise State fell in line with other programs.Not much. Pretty much like every school, Falk said.If Washington State is to win in Boise, it will need Falk to be at his best. Falk did his part against Eastern Washington, throwing for 418 yards and four touchdowns. But the Cougars failed to score on four straight possessions late in the second quarter and into the third quarter.Last week is over and well learn from the mistakes that were there, Falk said.FEELING BLUE: Boise State is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its blue turf this season, but Washington State coach Mike Leach is not necessarily a fan of the tinted field.Im glad I dont have to watch film on it every day, to be honest with you, Leach said. I think secretly those assistant coaches and those coaches at Boise, despite the fact its a trademark thing, would rather watch their guys practice on grass so the bodies, theres a little more contrast with them running around than on blue turf. Id rather watch it on green than a variety of colors.PROTECT THE BLUE: Boise State has not won on its home field since Oct. 24, 2015. The Broncos lost their final two home games of last season to New Mexico and Air Force. It was the first time Boise State dropped consecutive home games since 1997. China Jerseys Wholesale . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. China Jerseys Outlet . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.chinajerseyspaypal.com/ . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. China Jerseys Fake . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. China Jerseys Authentic .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. It has been interesting to hear the talk of late advocating a place in Super Rugby in the future for the Pacific Islands.I have always been an advocate for their cause. Unless they can have a competition offering them some financial benefit they are never going to progress and nor will their national sides.If they are included there will be issues around sponsorship and there needs to be a business model behind it; these competitions are about drawing money out of the public to go and watch and if you cant draw that money it is going to be tough.Theres also the case of where would they be based? Do you take them on the road or do they find a location where they can draw money out of people? If they are talking about a future for such a side they will no doubt be looking at those sorts of issues.You could base a team in Hawaii at Aloha Stadium, which would appeal to the Island nations while also catering for interest in the United States. You could base a team in Auckland or Sydney but, really, all that does is dilute the public and the same dollar is there to be spent on the Blues or Waratahs, or the Pacific Nations team.There has been a long time to study how it could best work and hopefully that would provide the correct business model.Just how that would affect New Zealand, Australian and now Japanese, sides who include Fijians, Tongans and Samoans in their teams, remains to be seen. But New Zealand has always had a policy of picking New Zealand players first with the option of including two Pacific Island players. The first option of Pacific Island players should be playing for their team and that should be their pathway.In the final analysis, New Zealand has to look at developing All Blacks. And if the Pacific nations have their own team their core responsibility is to develop their own players and the only reason they havent done it is that they havent had a competition to be part of to do so.It would give them the vehicle to get stronger and if they get the chance to do it imagine what could result. The combinations they could build inside a Super Rugby competition could be truly amazing.They are the perfect athletes for the game of rugby.It is something that needs to be done from a rugby purists perspective to help the second tier nations. It has to happen and the headache is on the financial side and how it all works.In my mind, if Super Rugby is looking to tap into the U.S. then Hawaii and Aloha Stadium is the perfect place to situate it.The exercise of taking a game to Fiji was a good one, in spite of the wet weather. The Chiefs, whose home game it was, did well once again demonstrating that it is still possible to beat top sides when decimated by injury.Inside that camp there is a lot of self-belief in who they are as a team and as a squad, and that is a really good sign. It says a lot for the management team that obviously runs it. Theyve got a culture of self-belief that the Crusaders have had and that game on Friday showed who had surpassed who.Dave Rennies tenure at the Chiefs has just been fanttastic.dddddddddddd. From where that franchise has been to where it is now, he has taken it to a whole new level. They didnt get there last year, but you would have to say they are contenders again and it will be interesting to see where Liam Messam fits in when he comes back now following his Olympic Games omission.I guess it is a little sad for him for not making the squad for Rio, but that is just the nature of professional sport. Hes probably got one eye on Ardie Savea and saying: You b-----d, I wish I had made that call a few months back.The Highlanders arent entirely safe either, especially having to meet the Jaguares away this weekend and then hosting the Chiefs in Dunedin in the last round. The Jaguares at home are a dangerous side, as they proved against the Bulls last Sunday.I thought the Blues might have got a win watching that first half against the Hurricanes; there were a couple of pretty angry loose forwards in Jerome Kaino and Steven Luatua who proved something on Saturday night. Theyre at different ends of their careers but they both sent out a dont forget about us message.Kaino was clearly unhappy about being put on the bench for the third Test against Wales and made an appropriate statement while Luatua saw Elliot Dixon and Liam Squire run out there when 16 months ago that was probably him.The encouraging thing about that is that Luatua hasnt given up. And when you combined his efforts with Kara Pryors game you could see how much it spurred on the rest of the pack. They had some real grit and hunger about them which, for a Blues fan, is great to see as its been a long time between drinks.The positive and abrasive nature in how they went about their game against the Hurricanes was a step up from what they showed before the break against the Crusaders. Take nothing away from the Hurricanes, they weathered the storm in the first half and came back from behind to put on a pretty convincing performance.And talking about blindside flankers/locks; what about Vaea Fifita? Ive watched that kid for a long time. Hes Liaki Molis cousin and I first came across him in the IRANZ Academy as a 16-year-old -- hes really got some talent. I noted Chris Boyds comments that he had a bit of work to do on defence, but that is fairly typical of young guys who are still developing.A lot of it is confidence. Its something you can work on, develop and coach and just because at one stage of their career they are not the most devastating tackler, it doesnt mean they cant get better.The Hurricanes have got a tough finish to the competition against the Waratahs and Crusaders, but even the seven-time champions hit a bit of a speed bump at the weekend.Its the time of the year when all the calculators come out. But the nature of the competition is that you have just got to keep winning. Everyone wants to have momentum going into the play-offs. And if you get to the final, youve still got to win it. ' ' '