Quarterback Kellen Moore was unshakable in connecting on
25-of-33 passes for three touchdowns and cornerback Brandyn Thompson had three
interceptions in a sterling defensive effort as #13 Boise
State downed defending Western
Athletic Conference Champion Hawai’i 27-7 tonight in Bronco Stadium.
The Broncos made a strong statement in the ESPN
nationally-televised WAC showdown in running their home field record to 48-1
over the last 49 contests. The
photogenic Broncos are now 26-6 in ESPN games.
Coach Chris Petersen’s team is now 17-0 at home when they are ranked in
the Top 25. Boise
State also avenged a narrow loss to
Hawai’i last season in Honolulu
that resulted in the Rainbow Warriors making the Sugar Bowl instead of Boise
State. The defensive gem by the Broncos came just
two weeks after Hawai’i put up 32
points on nationally-ranked and highly-regarded Fresno
State in an upset of the
Bulldogs.
Hawai’i, whose front seven on defense have garnered a great
reputation for their emotion, tenacity and physical play, was unable to rattle
or affect freshman sensation Moore, who tied his career high with 25
completions and not only notched his sixth consecutive game of hitting 50
percent but burned the Rainbow Warrior secondary for 75.7% tonight. Kellen has 20 or more completions in four
straight games. He now has 16 TD passes
in six games and 11 over the last four.
When Hawai’i
did get near Moore, he was unfazed
and would still rifle the ball for a long gain downfield. The Boise
State offensive line gave their
quarterback six, seven, eight seconds to throw the ball time and time again and
Moore took advantage, finding eight
different receivers during the evening. Vinny Perretta led the barrage with six
catches for 82 yards, including a 55-yarder that he nearly took in for a score. Jeremy Childs added five catches to his total
(126 career catches), bringing him just one reception away from the all-time
Bronco top ten. Austin Pettis continued
his hot play with a highlight reel reception in traffic and one of the Moore TD
aerials, with Julian Hawkins and Ritchie Brockel getting the others.
Jeremy Avery (nine carries for 45 yards) nudged out Ian Johnson (12-41) for honors as the top rusher for Boise
State. Johnson moved to sixth on the all-time WAC
rushing list in advancing his career total to 3,789.
The storyline for the Bronco team, however, continues to be
the stinging, surging play of the defense.
Thompson had three of five interceptions of Hawai’i
quarterback Inoke Funaki, and he would have tied the school record of four when
he leaped high in the air and nearly came down with another. When a Warrior receiver did come down with a
catch, they were usually punished with a hard hit from Thompson, George Iloka
or Jeron Johnson.
Johnson and Thompson picked off Funaki on Hawai’i’s
first two possessions of the second half and enabled the Broncos to take control of
the game. Iloka’s star seems to rise
with each week and he recorded his first career interception as well. Funaki was 17-34 but for only 188
yards. The Boise
State defensive line contributed
mightily to the success, sacking Funaki five times, by far the d-line’s best
effort of the season. The line play up
front limited Hawai’i to just 56
yards rushing. Hawai’i
was held to just 288 total yards for the game.
Kyle Brotzman booted two field goals and set a career-high
with an incredible 75-yards punt in the fourth quarter. Brotzman laid two punts down inside the 20,
bringing his 2008 total to four and also hit his 90th consecutive
point-after-touchdown.
Daniel Libre was the leading threat on the ground for the
Rainbow Warriors with 27 yards on seven carries, while Greg Salas (5-75) and
Aaron Bain (6-47) led the Hawai’i
receiving corps.
The Broncos reached midseason as one of only nine unbeaten
teams in the country (6-0) while Hawai’i
slipped to 3-4 on the season. Boise
State travels to San
Jose State next
Friday in what could be a battle for first place in the WAC with the upstart
Spartans.
Report Card:
Offensive Line: One
of the youngest offensive lines in the nation continues to make progress. They opened holes for Avery and Johnson and
their pass-blocking was nothing short of superb. They need to work on consistency, holding
their run blocks longer and getting a stronger push downfield.
Grade: C+
Quarterback: Kellen
Moore sizzled on national television, showing the extreme poise, knowledge of
the game and an uncanny ability to see the field in the heat of the
moment. He did have one fumbled snap to
prove he’s human.
Grade: A
Running Backs: Jeremy
Avery had some nice runs, knifing his way through the Rainbow Warrior defense
or bouncing off a would-be tackler for a big gain. Ian Johnson began to charge through the line
and drag tacklers with him the way he did his first two years at Boise
State.
Grade: B+
Receivers: The Bronco
receivers caught nearly everything in sight, with only a couple of dropped
passes. They ran good routes and
generated yards after the catch. Their
blocking was generally solid, especially when it was a key ingredient to a particular
play’s success.
Grade: A-
Defensive Line: A
splendid performance in shutting down the running game and harassing Funaki all
night. The five sacks are the most by a
Bronco team in quite a while.
Grade: A
Linebackers: The
linebackers held their ground and were also a big factor in keeping Hawai’i
from piling up big rushing yards.
Darrell Acrey, who week-by-week is becoming a monster at the position,
made a thrilling sack and Kyle Gingg made a great tackle for loss as well.
Grade: A
Secondary: What more can
you say about the Bronco defensive backfield and the job Coach Marcel Yates has
done? Yates has the Broncos prepared
each week and they’ve made a name for themselves with their hard-hitting
physical style of play and tonight the five interceptions. This Bronco group is quite possibly the best
secondary ever to play for Boise State.
Grade: A+
Special Teams:
Brotzman was 2-4 in field goals but brilliant punting the ball. Doug Martin had a career-high 29 yard kickoff
return. Jason Robinson had two
consecutive “Boom!” hits on kickoff coverage and could win the Hammer
Award. The kickoff coverage was probably
the best of the season for the Broncos.
Grade: B+