UPDATED 1:47 p.m. — ESPN.com blogger Graham Watson has posted her first-half recaps and second-half outlooks for Boise State and Idaho. Click here to read them.

One disagreement with Watson: Boise State's defensive MVP for the first half should be defensive tackle Billy Winn.

UPDATED 1:43 p.m. — Sporting News magazine named Boise State senior cornerback Kyle Wilson to its first-team midseason All-American team. Wilson has 16 tackles and one pass breakup in five games.

Wilson sat out the UC Davis game.

Wilson is one of four players from non-BCS conference schools on the team, joining BYU tight end Dennis Pitta, TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes and Central Michigan punt returner Antonio Brown.

Here is the complete team:

OFFENSE

QB Jimmy Clausen, Jr., Notre Dame

RB Mark Ingram, Soph., Alabama

RB Toby Gerhart, Sr., Stanford

OL Jeff Byers, Sr., USC

OL Maurkice Pouncey, Jr., Florida

OL Mike Johnson, Sr., Alabama

OL Russell Okung, Sr., Oklahoma State

OL Sergio Render, Sr., Virginia Tech

WR Jordan Shipley, Sr., Texas

WR Mardy Gilyard, Sr., Cincinnati

TE Dennis Pitta, Sr., BYU

DEFENSE

DT Ndamukong Suh, Sr., Nebraska

DT Terrence Cody, Sr., Alabama

DE Jerry Hughes, Sr., TCU

DE/LB Eric Norwood, Sr., South Carolina

LB Brandon Spikes, Sr., Florida

LB Rolando McClain, Jr., Alabama

LB Chris Galippo, Soph., USC

CB Joe Haden, Jr., Florida

CB Kyle Wilson, Sr., Boise State

S Eric Berry, Jr., Tennessee

S Taylor Mays, Sr., USC

SPECIALISTS
K Kai Forbath, Jr., UCLA

KR Chris Owusu, Soph., Stanford

P Drew Butler, Soph., Georgia

PR Antonio Brown, Jr., Central Michigan

••••

From the AP:

Sen. Orrin Hatch is asking President Barack Obama to launch a Justice Department investigation into college football’s Bowl Championship Series over antitrust laws.

Hatch tells the president in a letter Wednesday that a “strong case” can be made that the BCS violates antitrust laws. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

Under the BCS system, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in top-tier bowls while others don’t, and the automatic bid conferences also get far more of the revenue. Hatch represents Utah, and he says the current system unfairly discriminates against some conferences. The BCS has said it simply recognizes the teams people want to watch.

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department has an immediate comment.

From Murph: Look no one likes the idea of the feds — who have more important things to do — getting involved in college football. But previous BCS changes have been spurred by government attention to the sport.

Hatch is just going back to what worked the last time.

••••

Boise State is 6-0 and ranked No. 4 in the BCS Standings.

But everyone wants to find something wrong with the Broncos — and that includes Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who feels this team has a lot of room for improvement and has not been shy about telling his team that.

The players know it, too.

“It lets you know that the sky’s the limit for you,” safety Jeron Johnson said. “You’re 6-0 and you’re not playing as well as you think you can play. That lets you know that there’s no limit for where you can go.”

The national media has punished the Broncos for two lackluster performances by dropping them in the polls, much to the chagrin of many Boise State fans.

But that’s what happens at the top of the polls. Alabama jumped Florida after the Gators had a poor performance against Arkansas.

There is much more scrutiny in the top 5 than around No. 15.

I do think Boise State is being scrutinized more than other BCS-conference teams, but that is to be expected as the Broncos continue to break new ground. Their No. 4 ranking in the BCS is the highest for any non-BCS conference team.

Even if there isn’t much room to climb in the polls, the Broncos feel that there is room to improve.

“It’s a really good thing. We’re 6-0, but we’re not near where we need to be. As soon as we start fulfilling our potential, we’re going to be really taking off,” said defensive end Ryan Winterswyk.

••••

I spoke with Idaho coach Robb Akey this morning for a column that will appear in Thursday’s editions of the Idaho Statesman.

We touched on his contract status during our conversation. Akey is in the third year of a 5-year contract.

Akey said he and athletic director Rob Spear have talked about it and decided “the best thing for us to do is get together at the end of the season.”

According to the contract he signed in 2006, Akey is paid $240,000 between his base coaching salary and media contracts. He will receive a bonus for reaching bowl eligibility this year, if he remains with the Vandals through July 2010.

If Akey — whose name might come up for vacancies around the nation — leaves Idaho before Jan. 1, 2010, his buyout is $750,000. If Akey leaves between Jan. 2, 2010 and Jan. 1, 2011, his buyout is $500,000.

“Every program that’s having a lot of success, people talk to those guys,” Akey said. “That’s college football.”

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Brian Murphy is co-author of "Blue Magic: Boise State's Unlikely Journey to a Fiesta Bowl Win." You can click here to purchase the book.