Walker on Boise State, National Title game; Idaho's amazing run

I spoke with DeWayne Walker on the phone yesterday.

Walker is in California, where he will be attending the National Title game tonight.

“I want to see it and learn from it,” Walker said. “I want to take a couple things from it. Even if I learn just two things from watching the game, that's two things I didn't know before.”

Walker was also in attendance at the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and TCU. He spoke with great admiration for both programs.

“I looked at two head coaches (BSU’s Chris Peterson, TCU’s Gary Patterson) they have gotten their teams to play at a BCS level,” Walker said. “The structure of their football teams — it’s just that — they play to win as a team. Everybody’s on the same page, from the president, to the AD to the head coach to the coordinators and players.”

Still, Walker, who attended the game with his wife Zan, said he was pulling for the Broncos, a team the Aggies lost to on Dec. 5 by a final score of 42-7.

“We were on Boise State’s side, cheering for them,” Walker said. “It was good to see. That’s one of our conference rivals playing on a national stage.”

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Watching the Humanitarian Bowl, I couldn't help but think that if Idaho can go to a bowl game, NMSU certainly can to.

The Vandals were a great story this year. Outside of their fanbase and locker room, nobody thought they would be in a bowl game. This was a team that struggled greatly in the WAC and didn't seem to be turning the corner.

Robb Akey did a great job getting his unit to believe. He's the king of optimism and spirit and it showed throughout the season. Remember when they came to Aggie Memorial Week 1 and got the victory? They really came out of nowhere.

But back to my original thought. The Vandals were not good the previous two seasons. Offensively, they put up some decent numbers, but couldn't stop anyone on defense. They were a non threat. Most thought Hal Mumme's Aggies were a notch above Idaho in the WAC pecking order.

To see them come out and go to a bowl game — let alone win in thrilling fashion — should give all Aggie fans hope. If Idaho did it, certainly NMSU can do it. One would think, anyway.