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We’re going to preview the Division I Conferences based on the lesser-known players of all the Division I teams. Let’s have some fun and give some attention to the players you likely don’t know or talk about too much, unless something goes wrong or you say, "Hey, look at that number."

Basically, we’re going to give you each team’s (we hope their starting) Long Snapper, Punter and #69. Then we’ll give you their longest road trip of the season, last conference title, playoff appearance, and a simple Yes or No if they have a new Head Coach. I’m sure I’ll question my choice for doing season previews this way this year, but I’m limited on time due to a myriad of factors. I’ll keep dreaming of being able to do this full time. Maybe one day. If you know of any sponsors, please let us know.

Air Force Falcons

• Where: Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

• Last Year's Record: 5-7, 3-4 Mountain West

• Longsnapper: Kurt Chesney (Sr, 6 / Bull Six), Jake Helms (So, 18 / Nightriders)

• Punter: Falcons have four punters who all wear numbers in the 90s. #97 Luke Freer (Sr, 14 / Cobras), #91 Rip Perez (Jr, 24 / The Phantoms), #94 Will Duncan (So, 29 / Black Panthers), #98 Rocco D’Angelo (So, 30 / Knights of Thirty)

• #69: OL Luca Kowalik (Jr) who transferred from Marquette which hasn’t had football since 1960. In the 6 / Bull Six squadron.

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): 1,909 to East Hartford, CT to play UConn

• Last Conference Title: Beat BYU 20-13 in the 1998 WAC Championship game at the glorious Sam Boyd Stadium in greater (or lesser, your call) Las Vegas - Went 12-1, 7-1 WAC with a win over Washington in the Oahu Bowl

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: 2023, won the Armed Forces Bowl 31-21 over James Madison

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Boise State Broncos

• Where: Boise, ID

• Last Year's Record: 12-2, 7-0 MWC

• Longsnapper: Oh yeah Mason Hutton (Sr) is long snappery as hell. He’s on the Mannelly Award Watch List and led all BSU snappers with 133 snaps last season. Look at that hair, those eyes, that way too small to be blocking. The Broncos also took Hawai’i’s primary long snapper, Hunter Higham (Jr), who is from southeastern Idaho himself.

• Punter: AUSSIE FCS TRANSFERRR - Oscar Doyle (Jr) comes in from Weber State and is somehow rated as FOURTH TEAM preseason all-conference by Athlon, who seems to have a ton of time on its hand

• #69: OL Eyitayo Omotinugbon (R-Fr) - Yes, my keyboard is operational

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): USF (2,628 miles)

• Last Conference Title: 2024 Mountain West Champions, beating UNLV 21-7 in the 2024 Old Trapper Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game on the blue carpet

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: 2024, lost the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl 31-14 to Penn State, a CFP Quarterfinal

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Colorado State Rams

• Where: Fort Collins, CO

• Last Year's Record: 8-5, 6-1 MWC, missing the conference title game on a tie-break

• Longsnapper: Cody Pettit (R-Sr) has stuck around for his whole career, Walker Himebauch (Jr) transfers in from Kentucky

• Punter: Only punter listed is an AUSSIE - Nathan Sutcliffe (R-Fr), who’s new here and first American experience is Fort Collins. K/Ps are Payne Williams (R-Fr) and Casey Carr (Fr)

• #69: No, but spiritually? Bradlee Van Pelt

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Washington (1,318 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Rams were on a heater in the late 90’s and early aughts winning 6-of-9 championships from 1994-2002 - Last title was the 2002 Mountain West title, going 10-4 overall with a 6-1 conference record behind college football legend Bradlee Van Pelt before losing to former and future conference mate TCU 17-3 in the Liberty Bowl

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice 43-17 to Miami (OH)

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Fresno State Bulldogs

• Where: Fresno, CA

• Last Year's Record: 6-7, 4-3 MWC, one of only four teams with a winning conference record

• Longsnapper: Wesley Brown (Sr) did all of the long snapping in 2024 and has some Cali syle hair, also joined by freshman Jack Baldi, who has excellent hair despite his name

• Punter: AUSSIE Clay Lawrence (So) averaged 40.9 ypp last season. Nick Verdugo (Jr) did all of the holding on place kicks, but still gets to be listed as a punter.

• #69: RT Jacob Spomer (Sr) started four games at tackle last year after transferring from the excellently named Diablo Valley Junior College prior to the 2022 season. Based on his bio, this is his third senior season.

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Hawai’i (2,514 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Won the 2022 Mountain West Championship with a 10-4 overall and 7-1 conference record in Jeff Tedford’s return season, beating Boise State on the road 28-16 in the title game

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 28-20 to Northern Illinois in double overtime

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes, Matt Entz, former NDSU head coach (2019-23) and AHC/LB coach at USC (2024) - Entza Entza

Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors

• Where: Honolulu, HI

• Last Year's Record: 5-7, 3-4 MWC

• Longsnapper: In the article about the new punter, Jack Mowrey (So transfer from James Madison) is noted as the top long snapper. Local Nick Pang (Jr) transferred from Division III Pacific Lutheran before last year, but didn’t play.

• Punter: Sean Olvera-Harle (So) transfers from Saddleback College, BUT WAIT… AUSSIE Billy Gowers - former AFL star and barber Billy Gowers - comes in as a 29 (!) year old freshman punter! He’s noted as the third-oldest player in FBS this season.

• #69: None? Really? They had two in 2024!

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Air Force (3,341 miles) not that much different than Colorado State (3,288 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Shared the 2010 WAC title with Boise State and Nevada - Last outright title was the amazing Colt Brennan 2007 team that went 12-1 overall and 8-0 in the WAC before the 41-10 loss to Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: 2021 Hawai’i Bowl cancelled due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols - Won the 2020 New Mexico Bowl 28-14 over Houston in a Todd Graham vs Dana Holgorsen Bowl

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Nevada Wolf Pack

• Where: Reno, NV

• Last Year's Record: 3-10, 0-7 MWC

• Longsnapper: The only long snapper listed is local freshman Cian Stack.

• Punter: The wonderfully named Tyler Manship (Jr) redshirted last year, and the Pack brought in AUSSIE freshman Bailey Ettridge.

• #69: Nope. Didn’t hit that on the Reno roulette wheel.

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Penn State in the season opener (2,467 miles)

• Last Conference Title: The Wolf Pack were 2010 tri-champs of the WAC - The last outright title was the 1995 Big West team that went 9-3 overall and 7-0 in the BWC - Southwestern Louisiana, Arkansas State, Northern Illinois, and Louisiana Tech were Big and West that year.

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl 24-52 to Western Michigan

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

New Mexico Lobos

• Where: Albuquerque, NM

• Last Year's Record: 5-7, 3-4 MWC

• Longsnapper: Trey Dubuc (So) transfers from USF and freshman Caden Beck comes from the largest high school in Texas

• Punter: Charles Steinkamp (R-Jr) was primarily the kickoff man last year, and the Lobos bring in the AUSSIE Juco transfer Daniel Hughes

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Michigan (1,549 miles)

• Last Conference Title: The Lobos shared a MWC Mountain Division title in 2016, and won the 1997 WAC Mountain Division title but lost in the championship game. Rewind 33 years and they shared 1964 WAC title with Utah and Arizona. The last outright title was the 1963 WAC championship, going 6-4 overall and 3-1 in the league… but only winning because Arizona State (3-0) didn’t play enough WAC games. The 1962 WAC Champs went 7-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the WAC, tying last-place Utah to avoid the entire league finishing in a tie.

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Won the 2016 Gildan New Mexico Bowl over UTSA, 23-20. The last non-Albuquerque bowl was the 2004 Emerald Bowl played in SBC Park - the San Francisco Giants’ baseball stadium

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes, Jason Eck from Idaho, who is making dreams come true

San Diego State Aztecs

• Where: San Diego, CA

• Last Year's Record: 3-9, 2-5 MWC

• Longsnapper: Tyson Chavez (Jr) is living the dream and has been on the travel squad for two years without snapping once. Transfer Luke Williams (Jr) is also here

• Punter: Transfers galore! Hunter Greene (Jr) was an FCS All-American, averaging 45.0 ypp and was first team All-Big Sky and a Jerry Rice Award finalist (AS A PUNTER) at Northern Colorado, juco transfer Tashi Dorje (Jr) averaged 42.6 ypp, and FINNISH punter Eemil Herranen (Jr) transfers from Northern Arizona after averaging 40.9 ypp over two years.

• #69: Somehow a true freshman pulled this, and Alex Bleszynski from high school power Mater Dei got the nod

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Hawai’i (2,608 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Went 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the Mountain West, went from West into Mountain for the conference championship game, and beat Wyoming 27-24 in the title game in Laramie.

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2022 EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl 23-25 to MTSU in the first bowl game played at the semi-temporary Clarence T.C. Ching Complex

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

San Jose State Spartans

• Where: San Jose, CA

• Last Year's Record: 7-6, 3-4 MWC

• Longsnapper: AJ Campos (Sr) transferred in from Sac State and Matthew Fadelli (R-Jr) was the No. 1 juco long snapper in 2023

• Punter: Trent Garrizosa (R-Jr) averaged 43.2 ypp last year and is somewhere on the totem pole of Phil Steele Preseason All-MWC guys. Transfer Adrian Melesio (R-Sr) is on his fourth school in five years

• #69: Offensive Lineman Uluakinofo Taliauli (R-Jr)

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Texas (1,716 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Spartans won the 2020 MWC title with an undefeated 7-0 regular season in the CoVID year, going 7-1 total with an Arizona Bowl loss to Ball State. SJSU tied Fresno State for the 1991 Big West championship. Their last traditional season outright title was the 1990 Big West championship team that went 9-2-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big West, taking out Central Michigan in the California Bowl

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2024 Hawai’i Bowl to South Florida, 41-39 in FIVE overtimes!

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

UNLV Rebels

• Where: Las Vegas, NV

• Last Year's Record: 11-3, 6-1 MWC

• Longsnapper: Andrew McIlquham (Sr) transferred from Temple with first year Special Teams Coordinator Adam Scheier. Freshmen are Andrew O’Reilly and Sam Wolfenden.

• Punter: Rebels have two walk-ons - Konner Melzer (Jr) and Carter Jula (R-Fr), who “comes from the rival school up north” - and an AUSSIE freshman Cam Brown

• #69: No. HOW!? Well, they took headshots in these killer letter jackets

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Miami (OH) (1,923 miles)

• Last Conference Title: The Rebels shared the 2023 MWC title with Boise State and San Jose State at 6-2, losing to Boise State in the conference championship game

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Won the 2024 Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk 24-13 over Cal

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes, Dan Mullen, returning to coaching after four years

Utah State Aggies

• Where: Logan, UT

• Last Year's Record: 4-8, 3-4 MWC

• Longsnapper: Hyrum Hatch (So) transferred in from New Mexico along with Bronco Mendenhall, where he was a honorable mention freshman All-American. Owen Edwards (So) transferred from FCS Hampton, where he picked up a 6-yard carry vs Norfolk State

• Punter: Landon Rehkow (So) comes from BYU, Dylan Sprague (So) comes from Saddleback College, and in-state freshman Zachary Robbins

• #69: Outside Linebacker Nu’uletau Sellesin, a transfer from BYU

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Hawai’i (3,009 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Won the 2021 Mountain West title at 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the league with a 46-13 true road-road win over San Diego State at the LA Galaxy’s stadium in Carson, CA, while Snapdragon was being built

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Georgia State, 45-22

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes, Bronco Mendenhall, formerly of BYU, Virginia and New Mexico (who lost to Montana State last year. Yes, Montana State Brigit wrote this part). Interesting for him to be back in Utah but like 125 miles away from Provo.

Wyoming Cowboys

• Where: Laramie, WY

• Last Year's Record: 3-9, 2-5 MWC

• Longsnapper: Carson York (Sr) has snapped in every game for the Pokes for the last three years and is the younger brother of LSU kicking legend Cade York. Charlie Houston (Fr) will be the backup.

• Punter: Gavyn Helm (R-Fr) redshirted for the Cowboys last year, Bart Edmiston (R-Fr) comes from Mississippi Juco Jones College. He is from Ocean Springs, MS (elevation 23 feet) to Laramie (elevation 7,165 feet)

• #69: Nope

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Hawai’i (3,321 miles)

• Last Conference Title: The Cowboys shared the 1993 WAC title with BYU and Fresno State. Their last outright title was the 1988 WAC title, going 11-2 overall and 8-0 in the WAC. Their losses were on the road to Andre Ware’s Houston and in the Holiday Bowl to Barry Sanders’ Oklahoma State

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Won the 2023 Arizona Bowl 16-15 over Toledo

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

PAC-12

Oregon State

• Where: Corvallis (Love), OR

• Last Year's Record: 5-7, 1-0 Pac-12

• Longsnapper: Dylan Black (R-Sr) was a finalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year award with his battle of testicular cancer. Black was recently declared cancer free by his doctors after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. Black was a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year award in 2024. He enters his seventh season with the program in 2025. Jackson Robertson (R-So)

• Punter: AJ Winsor (R-So) and Max Walker (R-Jr) are listed

• #69: OL Jacob Strand (R-Jr)

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Appalachian State (2,704 miles)

• Last Conference Title: 2024 Pac-12 Champs with 41-38 win over Wazzu; Besides that…. Shared 2000 Pac-10 title with Washington & Oregon (11-1 overall, 7-1 Pac-10), losing by 3 at UW and beating Oregon by 10. Won the Fiesta Bowl 41-9 over Notre Dame that year. Only outright conference championships are 1956 Pacific Coast (7-3-1, 6-1-1 PCC, lost to Iowa in Rose Bowl) and the 1941 Pacific Coast (8-2, 7-2 PCC). That game is famous for the Rose Bowl played at Duke because of the Pearl Harbor attacks, with OSU beating the Blue Devils 20-16

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl to Notre Dame, 40-8, under interim head coach Kefense Hynson

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Washington State

• Where: On the Palouse in Pullman, WA

• Last Year's Record: 8-5, 0-1 Pac-12

• Longsnapper: Colson Brunner (R-Sr), Sean Bures (R-So), and Colton Peoples (Sr transfer from UT Martin)

• Punter: Simple sentence Troy Petz (R-So) who was a redshirt at Washington the last two years and Adlai Lounsbury (Fr)

• #69: OL Kyle Martin (R-So) who won the team’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week award twice last year and once in ‘23

• Longest Road Trip (Miles): Wazzu got left out of the ACC move but goes to Virginia twice this year - UVA (2,558 miles) and James Madison (2,532 miles)

• Last Conference Title: Gardner Minshew, Mike Leach, and Gardner Minshew’s mustache went 10-2 and tied for the Pac-12 North title at 11-2 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12, but an Apple Cup loss kept them from the conference title game. Mike Price led Wazzu to the Rose Bowl in 2002 with a shared title (10-3, 7-1) thanks to a tie-break win over USC. The only outright titles were in 1930 (9-1, 6-0 Pacific Coast Conference, 24-0 loss to Bama in Rose Bowl) and 1917 (6-0-1, 5-0 in the Northwest Conference, 3-0 in the Pacific Coast Conference - yes, two conference titles in the same season)

• Last Bowl Game Appearance: Lost the 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl 52-35 to reliable Honda McCord and the Syracuse Orange

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes - Jimmy Rogers takes over for Jake Dickert, who went to Wake Forest

Thank you for reading!! Am I going to make it through all the conferences???? Maybe!!

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