Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson suspended Louisiana Tech freshman safety Chad Boyd for the first half of the upcoming Fresno State-LaTech game as a result of a flagrant foul he committed against an LSU receiver in last weekend's 24-16 Tech loss.

On the play, which occurred close to the 13-minute mark of the third quarter with the Bulldogs leading 13-10, Boyd leapt into LSU receiver Terrance Toliver and appeared to lead with his helmet.

The play made YouTube, but went undetected by the game officials.

"A flagrant personal foul should have been called by the game officials, and Boyd should have been ejected from the game at that time," said Benson.

"By NCAA rules, I am required to review these types of situations and it was determined that the player clearly committed a flagrant foul, and thus will be suspended. Protecting a defenseless player from a hit to the head has been a point of emphasis for two years and cannot be tolerated even if it goes undetected by the game officials."

The suspension should hurt Tech, who is already suffering from a number of injuries, including the loss of senior All-WAC safety Antonio Baker for the season.

The Bulldogs are going to have their work cut out for them this week with Ryan Mathews out because of his concussion.

There's a reason the coaching staff ran him 213 times and the next back 56 times. There's a reason they passed four times at the goal line in the last game when Mathews was sitting the bench and some aren't really convinced it was because they were behind and needed to score quickly.

The "other" running backs -- particularly seniors Anthony Harding and Lonyae Miller -- have been limited in action this season, and many say rightfully so.

"Mathews", as freshman RB Robbie Rouse said Tuesday, "is a beast."

Rouse has rushed 56 times for 381 yards. Miller has run 53 times this year for just 276 and Harding has had 14 carries this season for 30 yards.

The Bulldogs are 6-4, and regardless of the outcome in their last two games against Louisiana Tech and Illinois, they will be headed to a bowl game.

Which one? The New Mexico Bowl. Here's why.

Boise State (No. 6 in the BCS) will win the rest of its games and enter a BCS game as an at-large bid because automatic-qualifying schools like USC keep losing.

Idaho is going to the Humanitarian Bowl because the game is in Boise and the Vandals don't have a large fan base that's guaranteed to travel outside the state. So you keep the team, which hasn't been to a bowl since '98, in-state.

Nevada, which hosted Hawaii in Reno during the regular season, will be sent to the Hawaii Bowl after losing to Boise in Boise on Nov. 27.

That leaves Fresno State headed back to the N.M. Bowl because no other WAC team will be bowl eligible.

Nevada's Vai Taua has Ryan Mathews-like numbers and Ryan Mathews is out.

Taua, Nevada's lead back, has 160 yards and two touchdowns at the half as the Wolf Pack lead 24-14 at the half.

Mathews, the nation's leading rusher, left the game with about 3 minutes left in the half after a hit by safety Jonathon Amaya.

He has not come out to the field for the second half.

The Bulldogs could be in trouble here because Nevada has the ball first in the second half.

Neither defense could stop the opponent on the first drives of this Fresno State-Nevada game.

Colburn hit Hamler on a blown coverage for a 57-yard score three minutes into the game. About two minutes later Vai Taua hti a dive for a 50-yard score to tie the game.

This one is looking like a shootout early. Let's see if the defenses make an adjustment.

Andrew Jackson's 31-game starting streak is expected to end Saturday when the Bulldogs take the field inside Nevada's Mackay Stadium.

Fresno State's starting right guard sprained his left knee against Idaho last week and coach Pat Hill said he expects Jackson to sit.

Jackson dressed in shorts, warmups and helmet like the rest of the team Friday inside the stadium, but he went through workouts on his own during special team drills, seeming to test the knee out.

Leslie Cooper, a sophomore guard from Compton, will get his first start in Jackson's place.

Fresno State could be headed to the Hawaii Bowl to meet a familiar foe: June Jones.

Hawaii's football team, which has an automatic bid to the Hawaii Bowl when it is bowl eligible, likely will not be bowl eligible this season. That opens the door for other WAC teams like the Bulldogs.

The Hawaii Bowl pits the WAC versus Conference USA, which former Hawaii coach June Jone now belongs to as Southern Methodist's coach.

According to Ferd Lewis' article in the Honolulu Advertiser, ESPN Regional Television (which owns and operates the game) would like to bring Jones back to Hawaii to face the Warriors. But if the Warriors don't make it, what about the Bulldogs facing their old WAC foe?

Unless Fresno State has a tremendous collapse, this game is over.

The Bulldogs got out to a quick 24-0 lead at the half.

Ryan Mathews has a 77-yard touchdown run and a one-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Ryan Colburn is a perfect 8 for 8 passing with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Seyi Ajirotutu and Kevin Goessling knocked in a 52-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a commanding lead.

Bad news is, starting right guard Andrew Jackson appears to have a knee injury. He's been sitting out the first half with his left knee wrapped. Jackson has started 31 straight games for the Bulldogs, including Saturday's game.

The Bulldogs continue to drive successfully, and now lead 17-0.

Ryan Colburn hit Seyi Ajirotutu on an 18-yard corner route to go up 14-0 and Kevin Goessling's stellar saeson has continued as he hit a 52-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead.

This is the Vandal's biggest deficit at home this season.

Fresno State is running away with this thing early.

Ryan Mathews literally ran away from the Idaho defense fo a 77-yard score on the first play from scrimmage.

Idaho freshman DB Aaron Grymes was successfully picked on in the Bulldogs' second drive. Fresno State wideout Marlon Moore sped down the left sideline and beat Grymes deep for a 41-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Colburn to the Idaho 20. Three plays later, Colburn hit receiver Seyi Ajirotutu on an 18-yard corner route on third down for the Bulldogs' second touchdown of the game to make it 14-0 with 8:32 to play in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs have started FAST. Just the way they wanted to. 14-0, 8:32 left in the first.