How valuable has kicker/punter Kyle Brotzman been for Boise State this season?

"If you were saying, 'OK, we're going to take 22 guys.' He'd probably be in that group," special teams coach Jeff Choate said.

I've never understood the animosity of coaches, players and fans toward the kicker. Points are riding on his leg every time he takes the field.

Brotzman is 9-for-12 on field goals this season with a long of 51 yards. But he is also one of the top punters in the nation right now, at least statistically.

We have two tickets to award for each Boise State home men's basketball game this season and with the popularity of our Name the Score contest in football, we've decided to have a contest on this here blog.

So a few days before each home basketball game I will post a question. You submit your guesses down below and the closest to the actual answer will earn the tickets for the next home game.

Trust me, it's not that complicated.

Sports merchandise giant Nike is preparing Boise State merchandise for potential appearances in the Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Rose bowls.

Don't get too excited: Nike is doing the same for all of its schools with a chance at the Bowl Championship Series.

"As a fan, it's cool for me to be a part of the process. You start getting your hopes up. This is going to be pretty cool," said Travis Hawkes, the owner of the Blue and Orange Store, who visited the Nike campus for a sneak peek at their Fall 2009 line of Boise State merchandise.

While there, he got a look at the bowl game gear.

I was doing some WAC bowl calculations while in the Portland airport on Sunday — and, while yes, I know that makes me something of a dork — I thought the results were interesting, especially in light of the league's agreement with the San Diego-based Poinsettia Bowl.

This is what I came up with:

Boise State (7-0)
Games remaining: New Mexico State, Utah State, Idaho, Nevada, Fresno State
Projected record: 12-0
Bowl game: BCS/Poinsettia Bowl

San Jose State (5-3)
Games remaining: Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, Fresno State
Projected record: 9-3
Bowl game: Humanitarian Bowl

Fourth quarter

Boise State 33, San Jose State 16

BSU: Kyle Brotzman 31 field goal, 5:50
Drive notes: Running back Jeremy Avery had a key third-down conversion off a short catch on third-and-9. Avery made a quick move and plowed ahead for the first down.

BSU: Ian Johnson 10 run (Kyle Brotzman kick), 1:04
Drive notes: Johnson became the school's leader in career rushing touchdowns with the TD.

• Safety Jeron Johnson has returned to the game. He was out of the game after picking up a personal foul in the third quarter.

Third quarter

Boise State (6-0) faces one of its biggest tests of the season tonight at San Jose State. We have plenty of ways to get ready for the big game televised on ESPN2.

Here is my audio prediction.

Getting ready to travel to San Jose State — and thanks to the free wireless at BOI — I'm getting this week's Name the Score contest up and running.

By now, you guys know the drills. We've had winners parts near and far, so I wanted to thank everyone for participating throughout the season. We'll be doing this all season and probably for the bowl game, too. Maybe even the H-Bowl, if Boise State is playing elsewhere.

Here are the rules for the newcomers:

It's that time of the year again: the coaching rumor mill has started.

Boise State coach Chris Petersen, like it or not, is going to have his name linked to jobs all over the country and, especially, any job on the West Coast.

The talk of Coach Pete to Washington started several weeks ago.

The Seattle P-I has been counting down the days until current Washington coach Tyrone Willingham is fired for about a month. Petersen's name pops up whenever Willingham's impending dismissal is discussed.

Some interesting numbers while looking over the WAC stats:

• Boise State has allowed nine touchdowns all season, No. 1 in the WAC and two fewer than San Jose State, this week's opponent.

• Idaho has allowed 48 touchdowns, 17 more than any other team in the WAC.

• Boise State ranks second nationally in scoring defense, allowing 10.5 points per game. San Jose State is second in the WAC and 16th nationally, allowing 16.6 points per game.

• San Jose State ranks 13th nationally in total defense. Boise State is 32nd nationally. The pair is 1-2 in the WAC in that category.

The WAC reached an agreement with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl to provide a team for the Dec. 23 game in San Diego if the Pac-10 does not have seven bowl-eligible teams. The deal is for 2008 and 2009.

The bowl also features the No. 2 team from the Mountain West Conference.

There is actually a pretty good chance of this happening this year. The Pac-10 currently has six teams with at least four victories.