Punters, who usually:

• fly under the radar
• don't get interviewed
• are never in the spotlight
• and never get cheered for (the only noise a crowd will ever make for them is the "boos" after a shanked punt)

From Backup Punters stabbing the starting punter in the leg to Off Campus Assaults it's been a long year for these unsung heroes.

Perhaps it's built up frustration?

The Bulldogs are 32-0 in the 3-year-old McCarthey Athletic Center and won their final 12 home games at their old court, "The Kennel".

The streak began Feb. 22, 2003, with a 69-60 win over Tulsa University. The last time the Bulldogs lost in Spokane was Feb. 19, 2003, to the University of Portland 72-68 in The Kennel.

This December is going to be one of the toughest in Gonzaga basketball history. The month began with last Saturday’s game against No. 25 University of Texas.

Three other ranked teams are on the schedule for the month:

• University of Washington, ranked #8 by USA Today/ESPN and 13th by the Associated Press on Dec. 9th.
• Duke University (tied No. 7 AP; No. 9 USA Today/ESPN) on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden.
• University of Nevada (20/19) on Dec. 30 in the Battle in Seattle.

Update:

Gonzaga ends it's Longest home Winning Streak in the NCAA at 50 games.

Darren McFadden established himself as one of the better running backs in the NCAA.

Being only a sophomore leaves McFadden with years of glory ahead of him with Arkansas (should he choose to stay with Arkansas and not part ways to the NFL draft).

Without the bowl game, here are McFadden’s current stats for the year:

Rushing: 265 ATT - 1,557 YDS - 14 TD - 5.9 AVG - 80 LNG

Receiving: 10 REC - 130 YDS - 1 TD

The 6 foot 2 inch, 205 pounder also sports a nice Quarterback rating, after throwing 3 Touchdowns this year.

With McFadden, WR Marcus Monk, and highly touted freshman recruit Quarterback Mitch Mustain the Arkansas Razorbacks have years of dominance ahead of them.

Scheduled to join the Bulldogs next season are:

• Austin Daye, Woodbridge High in Irvine, Calif.
• Steven Gray, Bainbridge High, Bainbridge, Wash.
• Robert Sacre, Handsworth Secondary School, North Vancouver, British Columbia
• Ira Brown, a junior college transfer from Phoenix College Ariz., originally from Conroe, Texas.

Daye, a 6-10, 190-pound wing, was ranked as the 32nd-best player nationally and as the ninth best small forward of the Class of 2007. He was named to the Hot 100 players for 2007, selected by Sports Illustrated. Daye averaged 16 ppg, 9 rpg and 3.4 blocks/game as a junior in high school.

Gray, a 6-4, 190-pound guard, was ranked as the 52nd best player and the 13th best shooting guard in the Class of 2007.

Brown graduated from Willis High in Texas in May of 2001 and pursued a professional baseball career. He was drafted in the eight round of the 2001 Major League Draft by the Kansas City Royals and played four seasons of minor league baseball, including the 2002 season with the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League. He attended Phoenix College last season, averaging 17.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, shooting 57.6 percent (253-for-439) and blocking 59 shots.

It's the first time Gonzaga has ever had a recruiting class nationally ranked, being #11 out of all NCAA basketball teams.