A Star Is Born

Just when they needed it most, Boise State got a dominating win against Hawai'i and came away from the islands with something few teams can claim--a win. Matt Kaiserman rushed for 122 yards and his first collegiate touchdown and Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore fired a career-high five TD passes to lead the Bronco offense and Boise State's defense forced six Warrior turnovers.

A resurgent Boise State football team finally got the big win they had been hoping for the last three weeks and found yet another weapon in the process. 

Hawai’i is a place that traps most teams—lulls them into sleep in perfect weather conditions and an exotic tropical atmosphere.  Last night, Boise State avoided the trap with a convincing 54-9 win over the Warriors in Honolulu .

Redshirt freshman Matt Kaiserman from Nampa ’s Skyview High School showed the kind of effort Bronco coaches expect from their tailbacks, breaking out for an amazing 122-yard performance that featured dozens of broken tackles, 23 carries and a style reminiscent of former Boise State great Brock Forsey, another Boise area product.

When Kaiserman wasn’t ripping the arms of Hawai’i defenders apart, Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore was striking the Warrior defense with precision passes and long bombs.  Moore finished 18-of-30 for 223 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes.  Moore began the day #6 in ESPN’s race of Heisman contenders and elevated his status with a defining night.  Moore, the nation’s #1 passer, has now launched 21 scoring strikes with just two interceptions.

"We're really proud of how we came out here. It's a totally different environment than we are used to," Moore said. "If you relax too much, you get into the vacation atmosphere. I think we focused well."

Meanwhile, the Bronco defense returned to the form displayed in the win over Top 10 Oregon earlier in the season, forcing six turnovers that led to 30 Boise State points.  Safety Jeron Johnson led an opportunistic Bronco defense with two interceptions, including one in the end zone, and a fumble recovery on Hawai’i ’s opening drive.

"You get one, you want to get another one," Johnson said. "You get two, you want to get another. That's how it was all night. We just kept fighting, trying to get the ball."

Hawai’i , which had battled Idaho throughout a road contest last week, suffered their worst loss since losing by 46 to #1 USC to open the 2005 campaign.

"Things piled on us early," Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said.

Bryant Moniz, who started the season as the third-string quarterback, started his third straight game but suffered a concussion in the first quarter and was replaced by Shane Austin.   

"We needed a big victory for ourselves," Moore said. "We certainly feel we didn't play up to our potential the last two weeks, and I think we can feel pretty good about our performance and got at it on both sides of the ball and we're excited about that."

Petersen fooled Hawai’i with a fake punt in Boise State territory early in the first quarter as punter Kyle Brotzman tossed a 28-yard pass to Jason Robinson that kept the drive alive.  Moore then  sucked the Warrior defense to him on a fourth-and-2 from the Hawai’i 45 and then dumped a pass to Tyler Shoemaker who ran untouched into the end zone to give Boise State a 10-0 lead.

Hawai’i receiver Greg Salas was stripped by Winston Venable while fighting for some extra yards and Brandyn Thompson scooped up the ball on the Hawai’i 14. Moore threw a bullet to Austin Pettis on the next play, putting Boise State up 17-0.

Austin finally got the Warriors moving in the quarter, leading a drive to the Boise State 14.  But Johnson made a superb interception in the end zone.  The Broncos capitalized with five quick plays that resulted in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Titus Young.  Pettis fired a perfect 28-yard pass to Kyle Efaw to aid the Bronco cause. 

Young also snatched a 10-yard TD pass to put Boise State up 31-0 with 1:22 left in the half. And the Broncos weren't done yet.   Hunter White picked off a pass just moments later and Kyle Brotzman nailed a 28-yard field goal to give Boise State a 34-0 halftime advantage.  Brotzman ended the night with a career-high four field goals.

Hunter White intercepted a pass by Austin , leading to Kyle Brotzman's 28-yard field goal that gave the Broncos a 34-0 lead at halftime.

Jeremy Avery complemented Kaiserman’s effort with 72 yards rushing on just 11 carries.  Young finished with eight catches for 115 yards and three TD’s but a late-game celebration penalty that drew the ire of his coaches overshadowed his performance.

Boise State advanced to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference with the key road win

Boise State ’s win enabled them to achieve several historic marks.  Win #7 assured the Broncos of a winning season, their 12^th in 14 seasons at the major college level.  That gives Boise State an 85.7 percentage as they became just the fourth school in college football history to top 85.5% (The others are Michigan , Ohio State and Alabama .)

They became just the sixth team in history to win seven consecutive games in eight consecutive seasons.  Boise State is now one of just 16 schools to win seven or more games in each year of a decade and they are the 22^nd team since 1920 to win seven or more games in 11 consecutive seasons.

The Broncos return home for the first time in a month when they host a gutsy San Jose State team in Bronco Stadium next Saturday afternoon.