The calendar says December now which means that attention has turned from the regular season grind to studying for finals and winter vacation on college campuses all over the country… yeah, right.
Once again we have started our annual dance to try to figure out the permutations that will allow certain teams to leapfrog certain other teams in the annual beauty pageant that the NCAA refers to as the BCS. This year though, thanks to a plucky Wolfpack, it’s a lot more straightforward and the cries of BCS opponents have become somewhat muted. Instead of arguing over who gets to play for the top prize, the arguments this year surround the much less contentious topic of who gets to play in the BCS bowls.
For instance, in the Big Ten, three teams have identical 11-1 (7-1) records, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State and as of this past Sunday, they are ranked 5th, 6th, and 8th, respectively, in the BCS. Under past Big Ten tiebreaking rules, they would have sent the team that was suffering the longest current Rose Bowl drought to Pasadena, which would have sent the Spartans to the parade of roses. However, currently, they simply use whoever is the highest ranked team in the BCS, which will more or less inevitably send the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. While I feel bad for Michigan State, who had a great season, I have a hard time arguing that Wisconsin doesn’t deserve to go given that for several weeks now, they have been the absolute best team in the Big Ten (though I believe that the football gods may be putting them up on a pedestal only to knock them down because of their three victories by scores of 70-23, 70-3, and 83-20).
As much as I am a fan of the underdogs, this simply wasn’t their season. For almost all of last year, I believed that TCU was a more worthy candidate than Boise State and that belief got thrown back in my face in the Fiesta Bowl in the form of a head to head loss to the Smurf Turf Broncos. After that game, I became a believer in Chris Peterson and Kellen Moore along with the other 19 starters they had returning but nobody who mattered seemed to jump on the bandwagon. They started the season 5th in the polls and seemed to be fighting an immense uphill battle, getting leapfrogged in the rankings four times by Oklahoma, Auburn, Oregon, and TCU. Despite winning a de facto road game against #10 Virginia Tech to start the season, they only gained ground but never moved up the rankings. After starting the season at #3, they moved up in the standings just twice and both occurrences were after a leapfrogging team that had pushed them down to #4 lost.
I’m not asking you to feel sorry for Boise State. They knew coming into this season that in order to play for the ultimate prize, they had to be perfect and in the end, they couldn’t do it, losing a heartbreaker to Nevada 34-31, missing two short field goals and getting dominated in the second half. Now all the focus shifts to TCU and unless the Gamecocks can beat Auburn, TCU will have to settle for the Rose Bowl and while that pales in comparison to the BCS National Championship Game, that’s one hell of a consolation prize. Trust me, I’m a fan of the Washington Huskies; I’d love to have my team playing in the Rose Bowl this year.
THE BOWLS
Right now the Bowl picture seems pretty clear but there is still plenty of room for chaos and that all starts Saturday in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. #1 Auburn will play #19 South Carolina in a rematch of one of the few games that Auburn struggled in this year. If the Tigers manage to lose, then TCU will undoubtedly move up to #2 and play Oregon for the national title. However, I do have to mention that Oregon plays Oregon State in the Civil War game and even though the Beavers are 5-6, you always have to take rivalry games seriously because anything can happen.
Barring disaster, Oregon and Auburn will play for all the marbles. TCU and Stanford will get into the BCS party via the “3-4 rule” saying that the 3rd and 4th ranked teams in the BCS are guaranteed BCS Bowl berths. Wisconsin looks all but certain to win the BCS tiebreakers in the Big Ten, which will leave Ohio State and Michigan State hoping for an at-large bid.
The Big XII Championship Game will be one of the more interesting games, pitting #9 Oklahoma against #13 Nebraska. Likewise, the ACC title game between #15 Virginia Tech and #21 Florida State will also be an interesting game as Virginia Tech attempts to finish their undefeated ACC season.
Which leaves the Big East. I never would have expected to write these words in all my life when talking about football… Connecticut controls their own destiny in the Big East. In that respect, it is one heck of a weird season. It is also easy to see why TCU will join the Big East which is quite simply the weakest conference with an automatic BCS bid. I’m very near willing to pencil in TCU for that berth for the next year or two but I digress.
That gives us a total of eight teams in the BCS; who will the last two be? According to BCS rules, the following teams are eligible for at-large bids (excluding those already mentioned above), placed in order of BCS rankings:
#6 Ohio State (11-1)
#7 Arkansas (10-2)
#8 Michigan State (11-1)
#9 Oklahoma (10-2)
#10 LSU (10-2)
#11 Boise State (10-1)
#12 Missouri (10-2)
Ironically, the result of the ACC and Big XII Championship Games will not affect these selections one little bit because of these teams, the choices are fairly obvious. If you run a BCS Bowl Game and you’re looking at that list of seven teams, which ones would be most likely to sell every ticket that you give to them? My guess would be Ohio State, Oklahoma, and LSU. However, since Auburn is most likely going to the title game, the Sugar Bowl would love to select an SEC team as an at-large bid and considering that it’s just a 10 hour drive from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to New Orleans I think we can safely assume that Arkansas will pack the house.
So, Missouri is out. Boise State is out (much to the old guard’s delight). LSU is out due to a head to head loss to Arkansas. Oklahoma is either going to get in via the automatic Big XII bid or they will not make it with a 10-3 record. Michigan State was a fantastic story this year but fell short of Ohio State if for no other reason, then the quality of their loss. The Spartans one loss came to an Iowa team that is now 7-5 while Ohio State’s only loss is to #5 Wisconsin. Also, it isn’t as likely that the Michigan State faithful will travel to the Fiesta Bowl or the Orange Bowl as well as the two teams above them.
That only leaves two more teams and those will be your last two at-large teams. To recap, barring some sort of terrible disaster this weekend at the hands of Oregon State and/or South Carolina, the BCS participants should be the following teams.
#1 Auburn (12-0)
#2 Oregon (11-0)
#3 TCU (12-0)
#4 Stanford (11-1)
#5 Wisconsin (11-1)
#6 Ohio State (11-1)
#7 Arkansas (10-2)
#9 Oklahoma (10-2) or #13 Nebraska (10-2)
#15 Virginia Tech (10-2) or #21 Florida State (9-3)
Connecticut (7-4)
THE HEISMAN TROPHY
With any luck the elephant in the room just turned out to be some strange show on TV. While I wish that TCU was gearing up to play for the national title against Oregon, I would never wish for Cam Newton’s amazing season to be derailed by recruiting violations. If the story that was posted on espn.com yesterday is true and he had nothing to do with the pay-for-play deal, then I think he should be able to play and I think his father should be ashamed of himself. If it’s not true and Newton did know about it, then he just dodged a bullet and yet another instance of corruption slips through the NCAA cracks.
I’m not saying that NCAA football players should get paid millions of dollar but when this much money and pride is at stake, it’s easy to see the temptation for many of these players. They don’t always come from wealthy families and it’s easy to justify taking a few thousand dollars when your family is on welfare. The NCAA needs to do several things and at the top of that list is get rid of the illusion of the amateur athlete. In principle it’s a very nice concept but what do you say to the Universities getting rich off of the labor of amateur athletes? According to a study done, the University of Florida spent about $80 million on its football program in the four years that Tim Tebow was playing for them. According to that same report, the revenue of the football program over that same time was $280 million. While I understand that Tebow himself was not responsible for that $200 million profit (two SEC championships and two BCS National Championships had quite a bit to do with that), he certainly helped.
Is it fair that the NCAA makes obscene amounts of money and doesn’t even have to pay their workers that are most responsible for it? Not really. I know that the NCAA and university presidents will say that these young men are getting a world class education for free. While that may be true, is $10,000-30,000 a year enough to prevent 18-22 year old kids from being seduced by boosters and agents when very little (if any) of that money is disposable income? You would hope it is but history shows us that it isn’t.
What’s the solution? Adding stipends to scholarships. Maybe $5,000 per semester or per year or something along those lines. I’m not sure but something has to be done and at the top of that list is getting the NCAA to pull its head out of the sand.
UMM, BACK TO THE HEISMAN…
Ah yes, the trophy that I was originally going to talk about in that section. This is one of those years where the decision is easy. I almost wonder if the NCAA expedited their investigation to make things easier on the Heisman Trust (probably not) or the BCS (most definitely). Once they declared Cam Newton eligible and not in violation of NCAA rules, you could have started engraving his name on the trophy right then and there.
I may not be a huge Cam Newton fan, especially since plenty of Heisman winners managed to make it through their college careers without even being accused of something as bad as pay-for-play, but there is no question in my mind that he deserves the Heisman. If there were such a verbose award, he would also get the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision MVP Award. His season is littered with Heisman moments, culminating with his superb second half on the road against #11 Alabama (detractors of Newton will quickly point out that in the first half of that game, Newton was nearly invisible but then again, so was the entire Auburn team).
He ranked second in the nation in passer efficiency at 185.6 (Kellen Moore led at 188.0), throwing 24 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions while completing 67.9% of his passes. He also ranked 10th nationally with 1,336 yards rushing (leading the SEC) and 3rd nationally with 18 rushing touchdowns.
In my mind the only other viable candidate was Kellen Moore. His final numbers (188.0 rating, 3,269 yards on just 311 attempts, 71.1% completing percentage, 30 touchdowns and 5 interceptions) are gaudy but what really stood out to me was the fact that in his last three games, his overall rating dropped each time and his rating in each of those games was 180.9, 174.1, and 180.1, respectively. He had four games with a rating over 200 and his lowest of the season was 134.1 when he threw three touchdowns without an interception (basically on the road) against #10 Virginia Tech to start the season.
I don’t disagree with Cam Newton getting the Heisman and to be honest, if I had a vote, he’d be my winner. All I’m saying is that I’m hoping Kellen Moore doesn’t get overlooked the way that Boise State did this year.
Well, that’s about all for now. Later I’ll be weighing in after the BCS match-ups to provide predictions and analysis. Until then, get ready for a Saturday full of good football!
Showing posts with label Boise State Broncos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boise State Broncos. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30
THE SCORE
Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30
THE STAR
Kellen Moore. The junior went 23-38 for 215 yards and three touchdowns but more importantly, he went 4-5 on the final drive for 43 yards and the winning touchdown while maintaining the coolness that has made him a household name in the past year.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Broncos outgained the Hokies 383-314 (215-186 through the air and 168-128 on the ground) to help them offset the difference in time of possession (34:20-25:40 Hokies), penalty yardage (55 for the Hokies, 105 for the Broncos), and turnovers (2-1).
THE SPIN
The Broncos keep their hopes for a national championship berth alive by outplaying the Hokies down the stretch. Virginia Tech maintains some hope of making it that far given their high ranking in the coaches poll coming into this game (5th).
In short, the Broncos proved they can play on a high level and the Hokies proved that they may have one of their strongest teams in the past few years.
BLOW-BY-BLOW
While most people have to wait until September 13th for the first Monday Night Football game of the 2010 NFL season, college football fans were given their own treat a week earlier between the #3 Boise State Broncos and the #10 Virginia Tech Hokies. Leading up to this game, many people wondered how Boise State would respond to being given the third ranking in the preseason poll. Before the game, head coach Chris Petersen simply said that they had to “try and win every game, no matter the opponent”.
From the opening snap of the game, the Hokies of Virginia Tech was determined to knock the Boise State Broncos off of their game. While the flea flicker pass was drastically underthrown by Tyrod Taylor, it still resulted in a pass interference penalty and the raucous crowd of over 80,000 started cheering louder. It didn’t last long.
On the second snap of the game, Taylor fumbled the snap and immediately handed the ball to Kellen Moore and the potent Broncos offense. On their sixth snap of the game, Virginia Tech had a punt blocked and gave it to the Broncos on their own 12 yard line. Two plays later, it was 10-0 Boise State.
In the first quarter, the biggest difference between the two teams was discipline. Virginia Tech looked like they wanted to sprint around and make the big hit and get the huge crowd behind them while Boise State looked like they wanted to simply execute their game plan. This lack of discipline was extremely apparent on the Broncos third drive. On a third and long on their first set of downs, Kellen Moore threw over the middle for a fifteen yard gain and the Hokies safety came up and made a big hit on Broncos receiver Austin Pettis. While Hokies safety Eddie Whitley celebrated the big hit, Pettis hopped up and went back to the huddle with a subtle taunt, handing the ball to Whitley as if to say “is that the best you’ve got?”
After an illegal procedure penalty against the Broncos, they threw a screen pass for no gain and then Kellen Moore got hammered in a nine yard sack to set up a 3rd and 24 and the crowd began to rumble. The first big mental error occurred when the Hokies allowed the Broncos to rumble 23 yards on that play to set up a 4th and 1. The next play could very well be the play that we’ll look back on and say that was the play where the Hokies lost the game.
On the Broncos punt, Hokies wide receiver DJ Coles came through the offensive line and ran into the punter after the punt was away and a flag came out. Coles began to head downfield and hit the punter again, knocking him to the ground after the ball had been received. Not done yet, Coles continued downfield and hit another Broncos kick cover man after the tackle had been made. Instead of a 35 yard return and a 1st and 10 from their own 40 yard line, two penalties were called on Coles, 5 yards for running into the punter and another 15 for a personal foul. A few plays later, Kellen Moore threw a beautiful pass from the one yard line (where the ball had been spotted after a Hokies pass interference penalty in the end zone) to Tommy Gallarda who made a diving one handed catch. 17-0 Broncos.
In the first quarter, Virginia Tech had five yards of offense and was penalized four times for 28 yards.
However, with the start of the second quarter came a different Hokies team. After the whistle blew on the first quarter, they marched down the field, going 67 yards on 9 plays to make the score 17-7. The Hokies would actually go on to handle the second quarter, outscoring the Broncos 14-3 but the first half was scattered with mental mistakes by Virginia Tech and a dominate first quarter by the Broncos. It wasn’t until Boise State’s fifth possession that they failed to score and it wasn’t until Virginia Tech’s fourth possession that they even got a first down. Despite that and a laundry list of mental errors, the score at halftime stood at 20-14 Broncos.
From the end of the first quarter until midway through the third quarter, it appeared that the Broncos were sitting on the lead that they had built. Their offense seemed stale and their defense seemed like they had lost a lot of the spark they had in the first quarter. Most of this was probably due to the fact that Virginia Tech stepped up and began playing not only hard but also disciplined. In the third quarter the two teams traded touchdowns and where the first half was marked by defensive heroics, the third was marked by offensive fireworks.
After Boise State fell behind in the second half for the first time since November 23rd, 2007, against Hawaii (which was also the last time the Broncos lost a regular season game; they have since won 25 straight), they answered with a 71 yard touchdown scamper and seemed to retake much of the momentum they had lost in the second and early third quarters. On the ensuing drive, the mental mistakes that had bitten Virginia Tech in the first quarter finally reared their ugly heads on the Boise State side of the field.
The Hokies got backed up to 4th and 10 from the BSU 33 yard line. The 51 yard field goal sailed far to the right but a Boise State kick cover man dove for the block and rolled into the kicker for a five yard penalty. Rather than attempt a 46 yard field goal, Frank Beamer went for the first down and Tyrod Taylor hit his receiver who eluded a defender, and ran the last twenty yards for a 28 yard touchdown pass. Because of Boise State’s blocked extra point and Virginia Tech’s failed two point conversion, the score at the end of 3 stood at Virginia Tech 27-26.
Coming into the fourth quarter, I’m not entirely sure that either team wants to win this game. I think the combination of coaches playcalling getting a bit stale and execution getting a bit sloppy on this humid Maryland night is contributing to the fact that with just under 12 minutes to go in a one point game, I don’t see momentum squarely on one side or another and neither team has shown me that they are capable at this point of putting the game away. Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh as this is the season opener for both teams and both teams are ranked in the top ten so on top of the early season sloppiness, there’s the fact that you’re going up against a very good opposing team, but I just feel like both teams should be showing me more. Whichever team wins this game will look back and see that they had many chances to lose it as well.
Back to the action. Boise State misses a 30 yard field goal after a good, prolonged drive which was reminiscent of the drives they put together at the beginning of the game. Speaking of mental mistakes, Tyrod Taylor scrambles around and tries to make a big play through the air and throws an incomplete pass. However, BSU defensive end Ryan Winterswyk hit Taylor late and drew a 15 yard personal foul penalty; the drive moves on. Third and eight from the Boise State 17 yard line; Taylor throws the pass high and his receiver can’t hang on. Field goal good; Virginia Tech takes a 30-26 lead.
On Boise State’s next possession, they never really got their offense rolling and ended up punting with about five and a half minutes to go in the game. The Hokies tried to run out the clock but then they called a pass play on 3rd and 8 with 2:08 to go and because of an incomplete pass, Kellen Moore and the Broncos get the ball back. After a decent punt, they returned the ball out to their own 45 but an apparent illegal block moved them back. However, the officials waved off the flag so they start their potential final drive at their own 44 with 1:47 to play.
Their first play takes just 8 seconds to get a first down as well as into Virginia Tech territory. On their next play, they gained another good chunk of yardage on a pass play and then gained 15 more yards on a questionable late hit penalty.
1st and 10 from the 13 yard line. An incomplete pass from Moore makes it 2nd and 10 with 1:14 to go. On their next play, Moore throws 13 yards to Austin Pettis for the touchdown and the first sign of life from the Broncos in what feels like ages. They go 56 yards on 5 plays in just 38 seconds.
Virginia Tech starts with the ball at their 35 yard line with 1:02 remaining in the game with two timeouts. On the first play, Taylor went deep the way they haven’t all night long but the senior defensive back Thompson for Boise State knocked the ball away inside his own 20 with 54 seconds left. On 2nd and 10, Taylor was sacked for a loss of a yard. 3rd and 11 with 46 seconds remaining. On 3rd and 11, Taylor threw the ball down the field over the middle to a WIDE OPEN receiver and the ball was underthrown and incomplete. 4th and 11: Taylor goes deep but the receiver drops the ball as he falls out of bounds for a turnover to Boise State.
Game Over.
Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30
THE STAR
Kellen Moore. The junior went 23-38 for 215 yards and three touchdowns but more importantly, he went 4-5 on the final drive for 43 yards and the winning touchdown while maintaining the coolness that has made him a household name in the past year.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Broncos outgained the Hokies 383-314 (215-186 through the air and 168-128 on the ground) to help them offset the difference in time of possession (34:20-25:40 Hokies), penalty yardage (55 for the Hokies, 105 for the Broncos), and turnovers (2-1).
THE SPIN
The Broncos keep their hopes for a national championship berth alive by outplaying the Hokies down the stretch. Virginia Tech maintains some hope of making it that far given their high ranking in the coaches poll coming into this game (5th).
In short, the Broncos proved they can play on a high level and the Hokies proved that they may have one of their strongest teams in the past few years.
BLOW-BY-BLOW
While most people have to wait until September 13th for the first Monday Night Football game of the 2010 NFL season, college football fans were given their own treat a week earlier between the #3 Boise State Broncos and the #10 Virginia Tech Hokies. Leading up to this game, many people wondered how Boise State would respond to being given the third ranking in the preseason poll. Before the game, head coach Chris Petersen simply said that they had to “try and win every game, no matter the opponent”.
From the opening snap of the game, the Hokies of Virginia Tech was determined to knock the Boise State Broncos off of their game. While the flea flicker pass was drastically underthrown by Tyrod Taylor, it still resulted in a pass interference penalty and the raucous crowd of over 80,000 started cheering louder. It didn’t last long.
On the second snap of the game, Taylor fumbled the snap and immediately handed the ball to Kellen Moore and the potent Broncos offense. On their sixth snap of the game, Virginia Tech had a punt blocked and gave it to the Broncos on their own 12 yard line. Two plays later, it was 10-0 Boise State.
In the first quarter, the biggest difference between the two teams was discipline. Virginia Tech looked like they wanted to sprint around and make the big hit and get the huge crowd behind them while Boise State looked like they wanted to simply execute their game plan. This lack of discipline was extremely apparent on the Broncos third drive. On a third and long on their first set of downs, Kellen Moore threw over the middle for a fifteen yard gain and the Hokies safety came up and made a big hit on Broncos receiver Austin Pettis. While Hokies safety Eddie Whitley celebrated the big hit, Pettis hopped up and went back to the huddle with a subtle taunt, handing the ball to Whitley as if to say “is that the best you’ve got?”
After an illegal procedure penalty against the Broncos, they threw a screen pass for no gain and then Kellen Moore got hammered in a nine yard sack to set up a 3rd and 24 and the crowd began to rumble. The first big mental error occurred when the Hokies allowed the Broncos to rumble 23 yards on that play to set up a 4th and 1. The next play could very well be the play that we’ll look back on and say that was the play where the Hokies lost the game.
On the Broncos punt, Hokies wide receiver DJ Coles came through the offensive line and ran into the punter after the punt was away and a flag came out. Coles began to head downfield and hit the punter again, knocking him to the ground after the ball had been received. Not done yet, Coles continued downfield and hit another Broncos kick cover man after the tackle had been made. Instead of a 35 yard return and a 1st and 10 from their own 40 yard line, two penalties were called on Coles, 5 yards for running into the punter and another 15 for a personal foul. A few plays later, Kellen Moore threw a beautiful pass from the one yard line (where the ball had been spotted after a Hokies pass interference penalty in the end zone) to Tommy Gallarda who made a diving one handed catch. 17-0 Broncos.
In the first quarter, Virginia Tech had five yards of offense and was penalized four times for 28 yards.
However, with the start of the second quarter came a different Hokies team. After the whistle blew on the first quarter, they marched down the field, going 67 yards on 9 plays to make the score 17-7. The Hokies would actually go on to handle the second quarter, outscoring the Broncos 14-3 but the first half was scattered with mental mistakes by Virginia Tech and a dominate first quarter by the Broncos. It wasn’t until Boise State’s fifth possession that they failed to score and it wasn’t until Virginia Tech’s fourth possession that they even got a first down. Despite that and a laundry list of mental errors, the score at halftime stood at 20-14 Broncos.
From the end of the first quarter until midway through the third quarter, it appeared that the Broncos were sitting on the lead that they had built. Their offense seemed stale and their defense seemed like they had lost a lot of the spark they had in the first quarter. Most of this was probably due to the fact that Virginia Tech stepped up and began playing not only hard but also disciplined. In the third quarter the two teams traded touchdowns and where the first half was marked by defensive heroics, the third was marked by offensive fireworks.
After Boise State fell behind in the second half for the first time since November 23rd, 2007, against Hawaii (which was also the last time the Broncos lost a regular season game; they have since won 25 straight), they answered with a 71 yard touchdown scamper and seemed to retake much of the momentum they had lost in the second and early third quarters. On the ensuing drive, the mental mistakes that had bitten Virginia Tech in the first quarter finally reared their ugly heads on the Boise State side of the field.
The Hokies got backed up to 4th and 10 from the BSU 33 yard line. The 51 yard field goal sailed far to the right but a Boise State kick cover man dove for the block and rolled into the kicker for a five yard penalty. Rather than attempt a 46 yard field goal, Frank Beamer went for the first down and Tyrod Taylor hit his receiver who eluded a defender, and ran the last twenty yards for a 28 yard touchdown pass. Because of Boise State’s blocked extra point and Virginia Tech’s failed two point conversion, the score at the end of 3 stood at Virginia Tech 27-26.
Coming into the fourth quarter, I’m not entirely sure that either team wants to win this game. I think the combination of coaches playcalling getting a bit stale and execution getting a bit sloppy on this humid Maryland night is contributing to the fact that with just under 12 minutes to go in a one point game, I don’t see momentum squarely on one side or another and neither team has shown me that they are capable at this point of putting the game away. Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh as this is the season opener for both teams and both teams are ranked in the top ten so on top of the early season sloppiness, there’s the fact that you’re going up against a very good opposing team, but I just feel like both teams should be showing me more. Whichever team wins this game will look back and see that they had many chances to lose it as well.
Back to the action. Boise State misses a 30 yard field goal after a good, prolonged drive which was reminiscent of the drives they put together at the beginning of the game. Speaking of mental mistakes, Tyrod Taylor scrambles around and tries to make a big play through the air and throws an incomplete pass. However, BSU defensive end Ryan Winterswyk hit Taylor late and drew a 15 yard personal foul penalty; the drive moves on. Third and eight from the Boise State 17 yard line; Taylor throws the pass high and his receiver can’t hang on. Field goal good; Virginia Tech takes a 30-26 lead.
On Boise State’s next possession, they never really got their offense rolling and ended up punting with about five and a half minutes to go in the game. The Hokies tried to run out the clock but then they called a pass play on 3rd and 8 with 2:08 to go and because of an incomplete pass, Kellen Moore and the Broncos get the ball back. After a decent punt, they returned the ball out to their own 45 but an apparent illegal block moved them back. However, the officials waved off the flag so they start their potential final drive at their own 44 with 1:47 to play.
Their first play takes just 8 seconds to get a first down as well as into Virginia Tech territory. On their next play, they gained another good chunk of yardage on a pass play and then gained 15 more yards on a questionable late hit penalty.
1st and 10 from the 13 yard line. An incomplete pass from Moore makes it 2nd and 10 with 1:14 to go. On their next play, Moore throws 13 yards to Austin Pettis for the touchdown and the first sign of life from the Broncos in what feels like ages. They go 56 yards on 5 plays in just 38 seconds.
Virginia Tech starts with the ball at their 35 yard line with 1:02 remaining in the game with two timeouts. On the first play, Taylor went deep the way they haven’t all night long but the senior defensive back Thompson for Boise State knocked the ball away inside his own 20 with 54 seconds left. On 2nd and 10, Taylor was sacked for a loss of a yard. 3rd and 11 with 46 seconds remaining. On 3rd and 11, Taylor threw the ball down the field over the middle to a WIDE OPEN receiver and the ball was underthrown and incomplete. 4th and 11: Taylor goes deep but the receiver drops the ball as he falls out of bounds for a turnover to Boise State.
Game Over.
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