Boise State Teams Win 4 of 6 From "national champions" Including Three From Same Year

 2009 Boise State 31, 2009 Alabama 27
Jeremy Avery's shocking 64-yard run with 25 seconds remaining led the 2009 Boise State team to a hard-fought 31-27 win over the 2009 Alabama team.  The Broncos became the second Bronco team to defeat the team that was crowned "National Champion" from the same year, joining the 2006 Boise State team that beat the 2006 Florida team in Week Three.

 

"I knew there wasn't much time left and my thinking was--if they've got a good shot at me, I've got to get out of bounds," an excited Avery (the #4 rusher in the SFL) said after the game in a boisterous Bronco locker room.  "But they never caught me."


The Broncos fell behind early on two Mark Ingram touchdown runs and trailed 17-13 at the half, but turned the tide with the running of Avery.  Avery ran for 86 yards and scored three touchdowns, two in the second half, as Boise State began to establish ball control and momentum.  Kyle Brotzman's 29-yard field goal in the third quarter (one of four in the game) brought the Broncos within a point at 17-16.  That set the stage for a thrilling fourth quarter between the two heavyweights.


Brotzman's kick was true again in the fourth and Boise State led for the first time 19-17.  But Alabama struck quickly, coming back just over two minutes later to score on a 15-yard Greg McElroy to Colin Peek touchdown.  After an exchange of punts, Kellen Moore led the Broncos on a 60-yard drive with Avery's 1-yard run putting the finishing touch for a 25-24 lead.  Boise State failed a two-point try.


Alabama then went on a time-consuming drive and nearly ran out the clock before Leigh Tiffin, who booted six field goals last week, was perfect from 25 yards out to give the Crimson Tide a 27-25 lead.  They should have run out the clock.  Pinned against their goal line thanks to an Alabama surge on the kickoff and with the accuracy of a laser,  three Moore passes put the Broncos on their 36-yard line with 25 seconds left.  To everyone's surprise, Avery took the handoff and was off down the sideline.  No one could catch him and the 2009 Bronco team, now 5-1 in the SFL, went crazy.  Boise State was able to catch the 2006 Bronco team for first place in the division with the victory.


Moore was 28-41 for 262 yards in guiding the Bronco attack.  Austin Pettis had six receptions for 47 yards while Titus Young grabbed five for 63.


Ingram finished with 124 yards on 27 carries while Trent Richardson had 87 yards for the Tide.  Alabama had won four straight but saw their record slip to 4-2 with the upset.




2010 Boise State 49, 2010 Auburn 24
Boise State racked up 565 yards of total offense in dispensing of mythical "national champion" Auburn, the third victory for a Bronco team against the supposed "national champs" for that season.

Kellen Moore was 25-35 for 322 yards and five touchdowns as the Tiger secondary had no answer for him.  Moore (the #3 passer in the SFL) tossed TD passes to Titus Young (10 yards), Austin Pettis (12 & 27), Geraldo Hiwat (19) and Chris Potter (two yards), constantly finding the open man in the Auburn defense.  The Broncos kept their opponents guessing as Doug Martin ran for 122 yards and a touchdown while Jeremy Avery added 85 on just 11 carries.


Michael Dyer was able to run for 124 yards but Cam Newton was ineffective, gaining 67 yards on 28 carries and throwing for just 116 yards.


Boise State climbed back in the race in their division as they posted their fourth win of the SFL season against two defeats.  Auburn slipped to 1-5.




2002 Boise State 44, 2005 Texas 37
Boise State raced to a 36-23 lead, then held on for a 44-37 victory over the 2005 Texas team this afternoon in SFL play.


It was a case of bend but don't break for the Bronco defense, which surrendered 385 rushing yards but clamped down at crucial times.  Boise State scored the first 10 points of the game, as Ryan Dinwiddie hit Lou Fanucchi for a six-yard pass on the opening drive and Nick Calaycay kicked a 34-yard field goal six minutes later.  Jamaal Charles scored with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter and then cut loose for an 82-yard TD after Boise State punted the ball back to give the Longhorns a 14-10 advantage.  


The teams traded touchdowns with Vince Young (who had a tremendous game) running it in from 39 yards before David Mikell scored touchdowns of 9 and 74 yards, the latter coming with just 52 ticks on the clock.  Mikell's scores gave the Broncos a 30-20 lead heading into the locker room.  The defenses stiffened in the third, with Calaycay adding two field goals and David Pino kicking a 29-yarder for Texas.



Texas closed within six when Ramonce Taylor scored with 10:55 remaining.  The Broncos scored when they needed to as Dinwiddie hit Billy Wingfield for an eight-yard out pattern with 4:34 remaining and Brock Forsey ran in a two-point conversion to make it 44-30.  Texas was able to come down for another score with 2:42 left, but the Broncos ran out the clock from there.



Forsey picked up 136 yards while David Mikell added 96 for Boise State.  Dinwiddie completed 22-31 for 227 yards and two TD's for the Broncos.  


Young was a sensational 18-21 for 206 yards for Texas and also ran for 133 yards.  Jamaal Charles picked up 130 on just 17 carries and Selvin Young got into the act with 13 carries for 92 yards.  


The shocking upset helped the 2002 Broncos stay in the race in the Boise State Division of the SFL with a 4-2 record.  Texas is 4-4 and in third place in the Championship Division.




2007 LSU 21, 2005 Boise State 6
In one of the only defensive struggles of the day, LSU got 150 rushing yards from Jacob Hester and 98 from Charles Scott to control the tempo and down the 2005 Broncos 21-6.



Antwain Carter was the top ground-gainer for Boise State with nine carries for 81 yards and Boise State's only touchdown.  LSU (2-4) held Jared Zabransky to 10-of-29 passing for 161 yards and an interception.  The Broncos are now just 1-5 in the SFL.




2001 Miami of Florida 35, 2001 Boise State 12
Ken Dorsey connected on 25-of-40 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns and Willis McGahee scored three TD's as Miami of Florida controlled the Broncos 35-12 this afternoon.  



Leading SFL rusher Clinton Portis was injured early in the game and picked up just 20 yards but the Hurricanes were fine without him.


Forsey picked up 85 yards on the ground and Ryan Dinwiddie was 20-40 through the air but the firepower of Miami was too much for them.  Dorsey distributed the ball to nine receivers with Jeremy Shockey (4-48), Ethenic Sands (4-45) and Andre Johnson (3-66) doing most of the damage.  


With USC's shocking loss this afternoon, the Hurricanes are all alone in first place in the Championship Division with a perfect 6-0 record.  The 2001 Broncos are the reverse, still looking for their first win after six games.




2004 Boise State 31, 2004 USC 28
Jared Zabransky's 8-yard run with 25 seconds left spelled doom for USC as the 2004 Boise State team shocked the Trojans 31-28.



"It was a passing play, but I saw an opening in the defense and had to take it," Zabransky said afterwards.  Zabransky's TD marred a terrific game by his counterpart Matt Leinart, who threw for 353 yards (21-34) and three touchdowns.  Zabransky was an efficient 16-26 for 203 yards.  


Three Tyler Jones field goals was all Coach Dan Hawkins' team could muster in the first half, but it was enough to grab a 9-7 lead heading into the locker room.  USC was able to regain the lead when Leinart hit Chris McFoy for a 19-yard score but Boise State came back when reserve running back Jeff Carpenter bust loose for a 20-yard score to make it 16-14.  Leinart and McFoy hooked up again as time expired in the third quarter for a 37-yard TD pass and USC was up again 21-16.


The Trojans extended the lead with 10:51 remaining when Bush ran in with a three-yard pass from Leinart.  The Broncos mounted a determined drive and Lee Marks' touchdown with 6:17 left closed it to 28-23.  USC could not run out the clock, giving Boise State the ball with 2:41 left.  Zabransky marched the Broncos down the field and surprised the USC defense with his scamper into the end zone.  Lee Marks scored on a two-point conversion for the final score.


The usually productive Trojan ground game sputtered with LenDale White held to 47 yards and Reggie Bush 40.  Steve Smith was the game's top receiver with five catches for 103 yards.


USC fell into second place with a 5-1 record while the 2004 Broncos advanced to 2-4.




2003 Boise State 44, 2007 Boise State 13
The 2003 Boise State team broke open a 13-10 game by outscoring the 2007 Broncos 31-3 in the second half and posted a 44-13 victory.  The Brick By Brick Broncos were able to stay in the race in the Boise State Division with a 4-2 record.



Leading SFL passer Ryan Dinwiddie was 19-29 for 341 yards and tossed four touchdown passes against the surprised 2007 team.  Tim Gilligan had five catches for 84 yards and two scores while Brock Forsey paced the Bronco ground game with 103 yards rushing.


"I felt comfortable out there," the victorious Dinwiddie said.  "My line gave me all the protection I needed and I was able to go through my reads and hit the open man."


Jeremy Childs led all receivers with eight catches for 89 yards but Ian Johnson was bottled up (19 carries for 42 yards).  As a result, the '07 Broncos fell to 1-5.




2008 Boise State 47, 2006 Boise State 26
Kellen Moore threw for 345 yards (22-30) and four touchdowns as the 2008 Boise State team shocked the Fiesta Bowl Champions 47-26 this afternoon in the SFL.


"We felt like we had something to prove," receiver Titus Young said after the game.  "All we heard was that we didn't get to the Fiesta Bowl.  I have a feeling if we play hard next year we can do it as well.  This team has a lot of pride."



The 2006 Broncos pulled within seven at 23-16 when Anthony Montgomery concluded a drive with a 33-yard field goal to open the second half but it was all 2008 Broncos after that.  Essentially, it was too much Kellen Moore.  Time and time again, the crafty quarterback hit third-down conversions with pinpoint passes as the 2008 Broncos controlled the clock.  Moore tossed TD passes to Kyle Efaw and Austin Pettis and Jeremy Avery had a 14-yard touchdown run to put the game away.  


Ian Johnson did all he could for the 2006 Broncos with 164 yards and a TD, but the Fiesta Bowl Champions had no match for Moore.  Jeremy Childs continued to be Moore's favorite receiver with six catches for 84 yards.  


The 2008 Broncos evened their mark at 3-3 while the 2006 team lost for the first time in six games.  The Fiesta Bowl team now heads into a showdown against the 2010 Broncos next week.




2002 Ohio State 41, 2003 LSU 24
Maurice Clarett ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio State put away LSU 41-24 this afternoon.



Craig Krenzel was 17-23 for 272 yards and another score as the Buckeyes dominated the Tigers.  Matt Mauck was 19-30 for three scores for LSU but Ohio State controlled the game with 33 minutes of possession.


Ohio State evened their mark at 3-3 while the Tigers slipped to 1-5.




2006 Florida 25, 2008 Florida 14
Chris Hetland booted four field goals and the 2006 Gators ate up 517 yards of total offense in defeating the 2008 Florida team.



Kestahn Moore led the charge on the ground for the 2006 Florida team with 115 yards and a touchdown.  Chris Leak was 17-25 for 275 yards in besting Tim Tebow. Percy Harvin gained 82 yards for the 2008 Gators, who could have climbed back in the race with the #2, #3 and #4 teams in the Championship Division losing but it was not to be.  They are now 3-3 while the 2006 Gators find themselves 2-4 on the SFL season.