Broncos claim back-to-back undefeated regular seasons

MITCH ESPLIN/THE ARBITER Titus Young dives into the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown reception during the first quarter Saturday at Bronco Stadium. The Broncos finished their second straight undefeated regular season 13-0

As time expired, Boise State Bronco fans chanted, “BCS, BCS,” for the second straight week at Bronco Stadium in Boise. For the second straight week the Broncos have done their lobbying for a Bowl Championship Series bid on the field, led this week by sophomore running back Doug Martin.

Martin had his second four-touchdown game in three weeks. The victory made BSU the lone 2009 Western Athletic Conference Champions.

The Broncos dusted the New Mexico State Aggies 42-7 to finish their regular season 13-0. Their third undefeated regular season in four years under the program pilot and head coach Chris Petersen.

“I think every year it is special in its own way. It really is. I think one of the things that makes it special is we’ve done it before; so any people expect it,” Petersen said of BSU standards. “Expectations can ruin you. Good and bad, either way. It’s not about that. We’ve just got to live up to our standards and play how we play and not hear the outside noise. It’s easier said than done and I think the kids have done a great job with that.”

The Broncos started slow against the Aggies, failing to score on their first two drives. BSU finally found the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore to junior wide receiver Titus Young with 3:56 left in the first quarter to go up 7-0. It would be Moore’s only touchdown pass on the day but enough to give him 39 touchdowns to end his record-breaking season. Moore holds the record for most single season touchdown passes for the Broncos. He is second in the nation in that category behind Houston’s Case Keenum. Moore completed 63 percent of his passes for 272 yards Saturday.

“It went pretty well after the first drive or two,” Moore said. “We got the running game going and got the passing game off it. Things started rolling like we expected it to.”

The Broncos would score three more times before the end of the first half, all on the ground. The first came on a 9-yard rush by junior running back Jeremy Avery. Set up by a short field, the Broncos went to the house on just four plays for 32 yards to make it 14-0.

The rest of the game belonged to Martin.

Martin’s first score came in the second quarter for the first of his two first-half touchdowns from four yards out of the end zone.

Junior safety Jeron Johnson forced a fumble as the Aggies approached what they hoped would be their first score. Freshman linebacker J.C. Percy recovered the loose ball to set the Broncos up on their own 5-yardline.

The second came on another 4-yard rush that capped a 12-play, 95-yard drive in 1:50 just before the end of the first half to make the score 28-0.

“It feels good. It’s always nice to score,” Martin said of his four touchdowns. “I just had the right call at the right time at the right place. It feels nice though.”

The Broncos had 326 first half yards, holding NMSU to 117 yards before breaking to the locker rooms.

BSU would score on its first drive of the third quarter on a 12-play drive established by a combination of rushes and passes set up by Moore and junior running back Jeremy Avery. Martin would cap the drive with a 2-yard score to put the Broncos up 35-0.

Martin’s final score came on a 56-yard scamper to bring BSU to a 42-0 lead with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

The Aggies found the end zone with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard rush by NMSU’s Trevor Walls.

The BSU defense held the NMSU offense to six drives of four or less plays and 191 total yards. Aggies running back Seth Smith led the offense with 114 yards on the ground, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Smith rushed for over 1,006 total yards this season.

“He’s one of those guys who’s a really powerful runner,” BSU defensive end Ryan Winterswyk said of Smith. “He’s not huge but he gets under your pads when you tackle him and he gets that extra two or three yards. His O-line would just give him a crease. He would carry a tackler until another guy got there. I can see how he went over a 1,000 yards this season. He’s a real good running back.”

STATING THEIR CASE

BSU believes they have done all they need to do in order to make a BCS appearance. Following the game, each of the Boise State players and Petersen were each asked whether or not they belonged.

There was a consensus that a Texas Longhorn victory would set the stage for the Broncos’ second BCS bust in four years. Texas did just that with a 46-yard field goal by kicker Hunter Lawrence as time expired, winning 13-12.

“If that’s supposed to help us, you know it,” Petersen said of rooting for the Longhorns. “I’m rooting for them as well just because what happened to those guys last year as well. I think it would be good for those guys to get in that game.”

The Longhorns were left out of the 2009 BCS Championship game. Instead, in-conference rival Oklahoma squared off against Florida in the championship. Texas most likely will face Alabama in the 2010 BCS Championship game in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 7.

Petersen continued to show faith in the system, refusing to lobby on behalf of the Broncos. He believes that his team has proven itself on the field and that it alone will make the push for the BCS.

“I don’t think we need to lobby,” Petersen said. “I think that the record speaks for itself. We’ve got faith in the system, that it’s going to work how it should…I know the system will be right.”

Kellen Moore broke his BCS silence following the game. The Heisman Trophy hopeful has known nothing but regular season success with no in-season losses during his two years guiding the BSU offense.

“It’s been a process where we’ve been playing good football for two years now,” Moore said. “Go undefeated both years in the regular season is saying something.”

A little bit of hesitation still lingered in the air following their victory. Though there is reason to believe they will get their BCS bid, they were hesitant to state their BCS bid as certain.

“I feel we’ve played hard to this point,” Jeron Johnson said. “I feel we can compete with anybody. We deserve it, but do others feel the same way.”

A BCS bid would mean history for BSU and the modern football era. Petersen would become the first head coach of a non-AQ school to make a BCS appearance twice. It would also mean the first time that a BCS game has taken a non-AQ behind another non-AQ school, in this case the TCU Horned Frogs. It would also mark the first time there have been two non-AQ schools in BCS competition.

BSU lost to the Horned Frogs in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl 16-17.

COMPLEMENTING EACH OTHER

Avery and Martin have carried the rushing attack this season despite losing depth with injuries to junior D.J. Harper and freshman Matt Kaiserman. They have combined for 1,854 of the total 2,529 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Martin has the bulk of the scores with 14 touchdowns this year, eight coming in the last three games.

Avery is known for his shifty ability and breakaway speed when there is a clear path. Martin is described as an “angry runner,” by Coach Petersen and has become the short-yard back for the Broncos.

Martin came into a strictly rushing role after doubling as nickel back for the first three games of the season. Following Harper’s injury the Broncos moved him back as a key offensive component to their balanced offense.

“For me it’s what I’ve been doing since my freshman year of high school,” Martin said about running the football. “I look at it as an art. That position…I just love to do it.”

TOO GOOD TO PASS UP

ESPN analyst Mark Mays is known around the Boise area as someone who approaches the BCS from an elitist mentality. One that pays little favor to the non-BCS conference contenders. He picked a rematch of last season’s Poinsettia Bowl TCU-BSU showdown in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl during College Game Day Final.

“Mark May, you know he’s a good ESPN guy,” Winterswyk said with a grin. “I hope he starts rooting for us sometime.”

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Posted by Kirk Bell on Dec 6 2009. Filed under Bowl Championship Series, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.