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Final: BSU 61, Fresno 10
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One year ago, the Boise State Broncos watched the Western Athletic Conference title slip out of their hands. They saw their goals for the season go unaccomplished.
What a difference a year makes.
On Friday night at Bronco Stadium in front of 32,412 fans, the Broncos put on the show of all shows. They crushed Fresno State 61-10 in a performance where almost everything went right.
“I honestly think this is the perfect way to end a great season,” senior Ian Johnson said.
The Broncocs ended the season undefeated [12-0 8-0], reclaiming the WAC title on Senior Day.
“I think anytime you end the season undefeated is special and surprising that is just hard to do,” head coach Chris Petersen said. “That wasn’t our focus at all. Our focus was to try and get the WAC title back and we know how hard that is. Especially when you own quite a few of them.”
The Broncos stumbled a bit in the first half. They led Fresno by only three points and accumulated only 35 rushing yards.
Once the second half began, however, BSU came to life.
“We didn’t start like we were hoping it would, but it was really nice to see those guys refocus and get things done,” Petersen said.
And get things done they did. A lot of things. BSU outscored the Bulldogs 48-0 in the second half, with six different Broncos scoring touchdowns.
“It was sweet little deal,” freshman quarterback Kellen Moore said, “the third and fourth quarter we were putting up a lot of points and the offensive just started rolling and it was fun to play.”
Moore finished the game 17-23 for 213 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The defense once again provided the Broncos’ spark. Not only did they shut the Bulldogs out in the second half, but eight different players had five or more tackles on the night. A total of 28 Boise State players had at least one tackle Friday evening.
“Everyone on defense is a plan maker,” junior Kyle Wilson said. “Everybody knows the plays they’re supposed to make. I totally trust the guy next to me, I know he’s giving a 110 percent.”
Wilson had 136 all-purpose yards, including a third quarter 90-yard punt return for BSU.
The Broncos’ running game also added fuel to an already fiery second half. BSU rushed for 211 yards, headlined by senior running back Ian Johnson. He rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns Friday night, ultimately tying Marshall Faulk’s WAC record of 57 touchdowns in a college career. He only needs one more touchdown to break the record.
“Being able to put on a show in front of them [my family] and get the record, which I wasn’t even shooting for to begin with … it just goes to show, that if you play football and play football hard, good things will happen,” Johnson said.
The only flicker in the evening’s festivities was, perhaps, Boise State’s unfilled dream of another Bowl Championship Series game. But the thought of playing in a non-BCS Bowl game doesn’t seem to bother the undefeated Broncos.
“We didn’t set out for BCS, our deal was to finish every game, play as hard as we can and win the WAC championship and good things will happen to us,” Johnson said.
The Broncos ended the night on the blue, trophy in hand, with fireworks booming in the background. This celebratory spectacle echoed Johnson’s affirmation – good things happen to the hard-working Boise State Broncos.
Mary Albl
