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Boise State outlasts Holbrook and the Aggies offense
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LAS CRUCES, NM — A win is a win.
The Boise State Broncos found that out Sunday night against a feisty New Mexico State team that didn’t want to go away. The Broncos defensive secondary had some troubles against Aggie quarterback Chase Holbrook, giving up 526 yards through the air.
“We just didn’t compete as best we could and we just didn’t play up to our standards,” Bronco safety Gerald Alexander said. “But New Mexico State has a good offense, they’re a potent team and you got to tip your hat off to them. But we know we can play better.”
Boise State got off to a good start as Holbrook threw an interception to linebacker Korey Hall on his second attempt of the game. Hall’s interception set up a 7-yard Ian Johnson touchdown run to give Boise State a 7-0 lead. On the next Aggie possession, the Bronco defense forced a three-and-out and set up the offense with great field position again. Quarterback Jared Zabransky immediately went to a play-action pass for a 34-yard gain to Jerard Rabb all the way inside the Aggie 10-yard line. Johnson again finished off the drive, this time from a yard out.
On New Mexico State ’s third possession, receiver A.J. Harris fumbled the ball, which the Broncos’ recovered. The Bronco offense then went on a 9-play, 50-yard touchdown drive. The drive was capped off by another Johnson touchdown run. Johnson finished the first quarter with 36 yards on nine carries and three touchdowns.
Early in the second quarter, the Aggies showed a little life as safety Eric Carrie intercepted a Zabransky pass intended for Legedu Naanee. Once again the Bronco defense was stiff and forced a 38-yard field goal attempt. Aggie sophomore kicker Matt Pratt sent his kick wide left and the Broncos kept their 21-point lead.
Holbrook and the Aggie offense finally got hot mid-way through the second quarter on a 12-play, 84-yard drive. Running back Jeremiah Williams finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown plunge.
The Broncos struck back with 3:34 remaining in the first half as Johnson scored his fourth rushing touchdown. This time it was from 17 yards out. Before the half could end, Holbrook and the quick-strike Aggie offense got some points on the board.
Holbrook hooked up with Derek Dubois for a 65-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies got the ball back with under a minute remaining and drove into Bronco territory. With :02 seconds left in the half and the ball on the Boise State 24, the Aggies chose to throw the ball into the endzone rather than attempt a 41-yard field goal. Holbrook was pressured hard and his pass was intercepted by safety Marty Tadman, which brought an entertaining first half to a close.
Even though Boise State held a 27-14 halftime lead, it was apparent the Aggie no-huddle offense was starting to go into affect against the Bronco secondary.
“That’s one of the more difficult things,” Alexander said. “That’s one thing I didn’t really expect, the no-huddle offense the whole game. It’s difficult because they line up and you’re searching for what defense you’re going to run and stuff like that.”
The Bronco offense started the second half in anything-but stellar fashion, immediately going 3-and-out. The Aggie offense wasted no time before going to work. Holbrook led the Aggies down the field and into Bronco territory on their first drive of the second half. Faced with a fourth and 10, Holbrook found Dubois over the middle, who slipped a tackle and ran the ball inside the Bronco 5-yard line. Holbrook kept the ball himself from a yard out later in the series to bring New Mexico State within six points at the 9:19 mark of the third quarter.
Suddenly, it was a game again. Facing a huge third and nine on the next Bronco possession, Zabransky completed a 19-yard pass to Rabb to keep the drive alive. On the same drive, facing a fourth down, Zabransky threw a pass over the middle that was dropped by Drisan James. However, the Broncos’ were bailed out by a roughing-the-passer penalty, which kept the possession going. Zabransky ultimately hooked up with Jeremy Childs for a 22-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone. Boise State tried for the two-point conversion rather than kick the extra point and failed.
With 1:04 remaining, New Mexico State made a decision to try a 30-yard field goal. A decision head coach Hal Mumme would probably like to take back. Pratt, the struggling Aggie kicker got his 30-yard attempt blocked.
“They had things moving and we were struggling,” Bronco linebacker Colt Brooks said. “It was a great thing we got in there and we were able to stop the play and show them we were still there. It was a great play and it boosted our moral too.”
Boise State cashed in on the golden opportunity with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Zabransky to Vinny Perretta on the ensuing drive. Perretta had a birthday Saturday and all he wanted was a touchdown.
The touchdown gave Boise State a little breathing room, extending the lead to 40-21 with more than 13 minutes to play.
The Aggies refused to give in completely, however. Holbrook drove the Aggie offense down field and found Chris Williams for a 7-yard touchdown with 5:47 remaining. Williams tallied more than 150 yards receiving with the catch, the first Aggie to do so since Nov. 16, 1974.
Junior kicker Ryan Bowling attempted the extra point, rather than Pratt. Bowling converted and brought the score to within 12 points with 5:47 to go. Pratt did come out on the ensuing kickoff to attempt the onside kick that Boise State eventually recovered.
A steady diet of Johnson and Brett Denton on the Broncos’ last possession ran the clock down to 15 seconds before Holbrook completed two meaningless passes to end the game. The Broncos improved to 7-0 on the season (3-0 Western Athletic Conference, and New Mexico State dropped to 2-4 (0-2 WAC).
A little side-note to go along with the game was the Bowl Championship Series rankings being released. Coach Chris Peterson didn’t want to talk about where the Broncos were ranked and said he wasn’t concerned, but the Broncos came in at No. 15 in the first rankings of the season.
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Boise State vs. New Mexico State
Boise State 21 6 6 7 – 40
NM State 0 14 7 7 – 28
First quarter
BSU-Johnson 7 run ( Montgomery kick), 9:41
BSU-Johnson 1 run ( Montgomery kick), 6:02
BSU-Johnson 3 run ( Montgomery kick), 0:34
Second quarter
NMSU-Williams 3 run (Pratt kick), 6:12
BSU-Johnson 17 run (Montgomery kick failed), 3:34
NMSU-Dubois 65 pass from Holbrook (Pratt kick), 1:27
Third quarter
NMSU-Holbrook 1 run (Pratt kick), 9:19
BSU-Childs 22 pass from Zabransky (Pass failed), 4:47
Fourth quarter
BSU-Perretta 33 pass from Zabransky ( Montgomery kick), 13:13
NMSU-Williams 7 pass from Holbrook (Bowling kick), 5:47
Game Stats
BSU NMSU
First Downs 23 28
Rush Yards 255 8
Pass Yards 215 526
Att-Comp-Int 14-21-1 49-65-2
Sacks by/yards 4-21 0-0
Punt Returns-yards 1-20 1-0
Kick Returns-yards 4-67 4-50
Punts-Average 2-41.5 2-35.5
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 6-55 7-64
Time of Possession 28:26 31:34 |
KYE JOHNSON
Assistant Sports Editor
