Blue blowout
Boise State tailback Doug Martin celebrates with offensive lineman Thomas Byrd after scoring a touchdown in the first half of Friday’s game against Utah State at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah.Charlie Litchfield/IPT
More Photo Galleries
dsouthorn@idahopress.com
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
LOGAN, Utah — It's become a familiar story for the Boise State Broncos — start a little slow, get on a roll and adjust to those early mistakes.
The most important part of the story? The happy ending.
No. 6 Boise State (11-0, 6-0 WAC) kept its undefeated record intact Friday night at Romney Stadium, defeating the Utah State Aggies 52-21. The Aggies tied it at 14-14 with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first half, but the Broncos scored touchdowns on their next four drives to run away with it.
"I think what it is is that there's always a lot of energy early on to play us," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "... We're proud of how the guys settled down and just kept playing hard, got into a groove and made some plays."
Heading into Friday's game, the resurgent Utah State (3-8, 2-5 WAC) offense was ranked No. 20 in the nation in total yardage, and early on, the Aggies showed why.
The Aggies picked up 223 yards in the first 21:28, the final 24 yards by Robert Turbin on a touchdown run that evened the score at 14-14 and marked the latest the Broncos have been tied with a team this season.
Boise State's defense buckled down, giving up 140 yards the rest of the way.
"It wasn't anything physical, it was all mental errors," safety Jeron Johnson said.
Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel had 42 yards rushing and hit 10-of-19 passes for 107 yards in the first half, getting sacked just once. In the second half, he did not get a positive gain rushing and was sacked four times.
"It took us a little while to get used to him," Boise State defensive end Ryan Winterswyk said. "(The game changed) once we started containing him and the offense started scoring there, too."
The adjustments came just about when Petersen almost resorted taking matters into his own hands.
"He's hard to tackle," Petersen said. "I think I had a chance to tackle him three times on our sideline myself."
On the other side of the ball, the Broncos' offense was methodical, scoring via two rushing touchdowns apiece by Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin. The duo combined for 237 yards and six touchdowns, each averaging more than seven yards per carry.
"I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football," Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. "When that happens, it puts you in a position where you have to take a lot of chances."
The Boise State offense has scored 45 or more points in its last five games, and seemingly has started to establish some momentum even when one part of the offense may not exactly be humming. Quarterback Kellen Moore had a solid game, completing 15-of-29 passes for 233 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, but it was his first career game completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes.
"We've got both dimensions going — run game, pass game — kind of getting into a rhythm," Moore said.
The Broncos' defense has done its part, creating seven turnovers last week against Idaho and forced two more against the Aggies. Both resulted in Bronco touchdowns.
"That's why I love playing here," Winterswyk said. "Our offense, they can light up that scoreboard."
With Boise State once again unbeaten in WAC play, a titanic matchup lies ahead next Friday at Bronco Stadium. If Nevada tops New Mexico State today, as expected, the Wolf Pack will head to Boise also unbeaten in WAC play, setting up a battle for the conference crown.
Nevada has won seven straight games and averaged 50 points per game during that span.
"I think Nevada's the hottest team, certainly that we know about, in the country," Petersen said.
