2001 Boise State Upsets 2008 Team; USC Shocked By LSU

2001 Boise State 34, 2008 Boise State 31
Nick Calaycay's clutch 37-yard field goal gave the surging 2001 Boise State team a dramatic 34-31 victory over the 2008 Broncos, completing a wild comeback in the Simulation Football League this afternoon.


The 2001 Broncos were down most of the second half, but Ryan Dinwiddie's 13-yard pass to Billy Wingfield tied the score in the fourth quarter at 31.  The defenses took over, with neither team able to gain momentum, until Dinwiddie led his team on a seven-play, 47-yard drive for the game-winner.


"I knew if we could get within range that Nick would come through," Dinwiddie said after the game.  He's a gamer--money in the clutch."

"This team isn't going to make the postseason, but I'm awful proud of 'em," 2001 Head Coach Dan Hawkins said.  "They're starting to buy into what I'm saying and that bodes well for the future of the Broncos."


The 2001 Boise State team drew first blood when they marched down the field on the opening drive of the game.  Jeb Putzier broke five tackles in rambling for 32-yards on a pass from Dinwiddie to set up his team with a first and goal at the two.  Brock Forsey bulled over from there to make it 7-0.  Julian Hawkins made a circus catch in the end zone five minutes later for the Poinsettia Bowl team to tie the score.  After another Forsey touchdown in the second quarter, quarterback Kellen Moore was 4-4 on a 75-yard drive that tied the score when Ian Johnson ran it in from a yard out.


Penalties for unnecessary roughness and pass interference cost the 2008 team on the next possession and Forsey did the rest with 42 yards rushing and 18 yards on receptions.  It was Forsey who ran through the defense for an 11-yard TD that put the 2001 team up 21-14 with 2:55 left.  But fans who left their seats early to get hot dogs were left out as the fireworks erupted to end the half.  Moore and the 2008 Broncos came roaring back to tie the game just 1:30 later as Jeremy Avery spurted through the line and was off for a 38-yard run to paydirt.  To their credit, though, the 2001 team came right back.  Dinwiddie led a brilliant two-minute drill, including a 43-yard pass to Jay Swillie.  That later set up Calaycay's 25-yarder as the 2001 Broncos went into halftime nursing a 24-21 lead.


After getting pep talks from their respective coaches, Dan Hawkins for the 2001 team and Chris Petersen of the 2008 team, the two squads traded punts to open the third quarter.  With 12:22 left, Kyle Wilson drifted back to take a booming punt and then weaved his way for a 76-yard punt return that gave the 2008 Broncos a first and 10 at the 14 yard-line.  Moore found tight end Kyle Efaw three plays later to give his team its first lead of the game.  Kyle Brotzman extended the lead to 31-24 on the next series but failed to convert from 49 yards out on his next try.  That left the door open for the 2001 team and they came barging through.


Dinwiddie's 36-yard pass to Lou Fanucchi keyed a drive that culminated in Dinwiddie's 13-yard pass to Wingfield to tie the game once again.

 Forsey gained an even 100 yards and scored three times to lead the improbable win for the 2001 team, now 4-7.  Putzier finished with five catches for 94 yards.  Dinwiddie was his usual accurate self, completing 20-of-30 passes for 289 yards.  Wes Nurse had a rare interception of Kellen Moore.


Moore was 26-35 for 290 yards and two scores but the 2008 team managed just 112 yards on the ground.  Avery, who has enjoyed a stellar SFL season as the league's top scorer, did run for 68 yards and a touchdown, but Johnson was held to 26 yards on 15 carries.  The 2008 team dropped to 5-6 with the loss.  




2006 Boise State 34, 2002 Boise State 29
Ian Johnson ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and the 2006 Bronco defense collected three sacks and two interceptions as the Fiesta Bowl Champion Broncos held on for a 34-29 win over the Leave No Doubt squad.



 Korey Hall's 10-yard pick six with just 3:17 gone set the tone.  Both teams were unproductive until later in the quarter when the 2002 team woke up.  Brock Forsey's 26-yard run on a draw play on third down fired up his team and backfield mate David Mikell took it in from five yards out to tie the score.


Jared Zabransky would lead his team back on the next possession as he found Drisan James alone in the secondary for a 49-yard TD play.  Nick Calaycay booted home two field goals on the next two drives for the 2002 team but the Fiesta Bowl Broncos came back on a 10-play, 58-yard drive of their own that ended with an Anthony Montgomery field goal with 30 seconds remaining in the half that extended the lead to 17-13.

Montgomery nailed another field goal midway through the third and after a series of punts, the 2006 team rushed in and blocked the punt at the 2002 14-yard line.  Ian Johnson took it in on the next play and the 2006 Broncos opened up a 27-13 lead.  The 2002 Broncos roared back with a Calaycay 44-yard field goal and a Forsey one-yard run but the two-point conversion failed and they still found themselves trailing 27-22.  Zabransky hooked up with Legedu Naanee for two passing plays totaling 33 yards and Johnson scored what proved to be the winning touchdown.


Ryan Dinwiddie led his team on a 13-play, 73-yard drive to close the gap to 34-29 and the 2002 defense was able to force a punt.  But Quinton Jones' interception on his own 47 ended the game.


"Whew!" said Jones in an interview.  "Coach had us very prepared and I just did my job.  We knew Dinwiddie was dangerous, but we just stayed in our spots and did what we were supposed to do."

Johnson ran for 148 yards and two scores and Zabransky connected on 13-20 for 232 yards for the 2006 team.  The Fiesta Bowl Champions are mathematically alive for a playoff spot with a 7-4 record.


Forsey finished the game with 95 yards rushing for the 2002 team, which dropped to 5-6.




2009 Boise State 42, 2003 Boise State 31
Kyle Brotzman booted four field goals to break open a close game and help the 2009 Boise State team escape with a 42-31 win over the upstart Brick by Brick Broncos.  Brotzman kicked seven field goals for the Fiesta Bowl team, with his only miss being from 50 yards.  The 2009 team clinched the Division Championship outright with the victory.  They will play the second place team in the Championship Division in the upcoming SFL playoffs.


 "Brotz really came through for us," head coach Chris Petersen said.  "He's been a great kicker for us, but to make seven--that's above and beyond."


The 2003 team had closed to 30-28 with 4:41 left in the third quarter on a five-yard run from David Mikell.  And, while the 2009 team couldn't close the door, they were able to get field goals from Brotzman on each of their last four drives.  

Jeremy Avery continued to shine with 134 yards and a TD on the ground, three catches for 43 yards and four punt returns averaging 35 yards for the Broncos.  Titus Young hauled in six catches for 140 yards and a score while Austin Pettis grabbed five receptions for 65 yards and another score.  Kellen Moore was 30-45 for 416 yards this afternoon for Boise State.  Billy Winn, Hunter White and Chase Baker all posted sacks for the 2009 defense.


Mikell enjoyed a good game, rushing for 100 yards and three touchdowns.  Ryan Dinwiddie was sharp, hitting 20-29 for 329 yards for the 2003 Broncos, with five of those completions going to Tim Gilligan and four to tight end Trent Lundin.  




2004 Boise State 50, 2005 Boise State 14
This was a mismatch from start to finish.

Lee Marks gained 146 yards and ran for three scores as the Liberty Bowl Broncos ran away from the 2005 team 50-14 this afternoon.  The 2004 team rolled up 31 first downs to just 11 for the '05 team, picked up 223 yards on the ground to 109 and 276 through the air to 155.  


"We couldn't get anything going," tackle Daryn Colledge said.  "People have to understand--we're not the same team we were last year."

Jared Zabransky enjoyed an incredible game, hitting 21-of-24 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns for the winners.  Tyler Jones added three field goals for the 2004 team.




2010 Boise State 35, 2007 Boise State 14
Kellen Moore threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremy Avery added two TD's on the ground as the 2010 Broncos stayed alive in their quest for a SFL playoff this afternoon with a 35-14 win over the 2007 team.

Moore hit 24-35 passes with several of his receivers enjoying good games.  Tyler Shoemaker caught three passes for 117 yards, including a 66-yarder that set up one score.  Titus Young had six receptions for 37 yards and another touchdown and Austin Pettis had four grabs for 59 yards and a touchdown.  


"We had to keep the pressure on," Moore said.  We knew the 2007 team was fired up for this game and we had to play our best to win."


Jeremy Childs led the 2007 team with seven catches for 71 yards but there weren't enough other weapons.




2001 Miami of Florida 27, 2007 LSU 20
2001 Miami survived an early knockdown and came back to score a 27-20 win over a determined 2007 LSU team this afternoon.

Miami spotted LSU 17 early first-quarter points but fought back to remain undefeated in the Simulation Football League.  Jacob Hester flew by the shocked Hurricane defense for a 43-yard touchdown and Early Doucet slipped by the Miami secondary for a 63-yard pass play from Matt Flynn on LSU's next possession.


Miami, now 11-0 in the SFL, finally got on the scoreboard with 13:14 in the half on a 37-yard field goal from Todd Sievers.  Sievers added another field goal on Miami's next series and when Frank Gore ran in a 15-yard touchdown with 1:44 left, Miami was back in it.


LSU's talented kicker, Colt David, hit a 32-yard field goal to open the second half and put the Tigers up 20-13, but that would be their last hurrah.  Miami struck back on an 11-play drive when Ken Dorsey found Kevin Beard in the end zone for a nine-yard scoring play to tie the game.  Willis McGahee's 21-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter proved to be the difference.

Dorsey completed 23-of-39 passes for 232 yards and the TD but he suffered two interceptions.  Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Ethenic Sands and Daryl Jones each caught four passes for Miami while Clinton Portis ran 20 times for 98 yards.


"This was a little too close," Dorsey said.  "We were fortunate to pull this one out," he continued.  "Hats off to LSU--they played a great game."


Hester picked up 171 yards for LSU (4-7) while Doucet finished with seven catches for 127 yards.




2009 Alabama 43, 2002 Ohio State 17
Alabama broke open a 17-16 halftime game with 26 points in the second half, while the Crimson Tide defense shut out Ohio State.

Mark Ingram ran for 95 yards and had five catches for 73 yards while Trent Richardson had 42 yards and a TD.  Greg McElroy continued to be efficient, hitting 21-of-29 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns.  Rolando McClain put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown.


Maurice Clarett gained 119 yards on the ground with a score for Ohio State, which slipped to 3-8.




2003 LSU 37, 2004 USC 27
Justin Vincent ran for 157 yards and a touchdown as LSU shocked the 2004 Trojans this afternoon.

LSU scored the first 10 points of the game on a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Gaudet and a 57-yard run from Vincent.  That margin proved to hold up and stunned USC could never battle back.  Matt Mauck enjoyed one of his best games of the season, hitting 25-of-38 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns.  Michael Clayton had six catches for 70 yards while Devery Henderson had four receptions for 68 yards and Eric Edwards had four for 60.  The Tiger defense got to USC quarterback Matt Leinart five times, with Cameron Vaughn notching two sacks on the afternoon.


LenDale White gained 90 yards on the ground with a touchdown but Reggie Bush was held to 12 yards on seven carries.  Steve Smith led the Trojan receivers with six catches for 56 yards.


USC dropped to 8-3 with the startling loss, but can still clinch a playoff spot with a victory next week or a loss by Texas.  The Trojans own the tie-breaker with the Longhorns by virtue of their victory over Texas last week.

USC Coach Pete Carroll took the typical laid-back California approach after the game:  "It's no big deal.  We win next week and we're in."




2005 Texas 22, 2010 Auburn 21
Hail Mary!

Vince Young's last-second prayer was answered as Limas Sweed jumped up and caught the 47-yard pass in the end zone and Texas survived a wild 22-21 this afternoon.


Auburn came back from a 10-0 halftime deficit with touchdowns from Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb in the third quarter.  David Pino kicked his second of three field goals to bring Texas within 1 and that was the way it would stand until late-game fireworks.  Texas engineered a late-game drive to grab their first lead 16-14 as Pino booted home a 22-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining.

But hold everything.  On the ensuing kickoff, Demond Washington touched it at the three, found a wedge and slipped down the sideline for a 97-yard kickoff return.  Now there were 26 seconds left.  But Texas was able to drive to the Auburn 47 with three passes from Young.  Then, with no time left on the clock, he let if fly and Sweed came up with the ball in a crowded end zone as Longhorn fans hugged each other with excitement.


Young was 15-24 for 277 yards through the air and gained 55 yards on the ground.

"This one was too close," Texas coach Mack Brown said after the game.  "It was one we had to win but we couldn't get enough offense going.  I think I'm going to start looking elsewhere for a new offensive coordinator."


Michael Dyer led Auburn with 101 yards and a touchdown while Cam Newton picked up 86 yards.




2006 Florida 43, 2008 Florida 37


DeShawn Wynn broke free for a 37-yard touchdown as time expired to give the 2006 Florida team a thrilling 43-37 win over their counterparts from 2008.


The 2008 team held a 37-27 lead with 10:18 left in the fourth, but the 2006 Gators rallied on the following series with a 31-yard run from Mon Williams.  With 1:56 left, Chris Hetland tied the game at 37.  The 2008 Florida team then lost a fumble on the ensuing drive, setting up Wynn for his heroics.


Wynn finished as the leading Gator rusher with 126 yards and a TD.  Chris Leak was 25-37 for 363 yards and two touchdowns, with six completions going to Percy Harvin (for 108 yards and a TD) and five to Jemalle Cornelius (for 100 yards).

"You always take a lot of pride in being the best team in your school's history," Wynn said.  I really want to thank Blue Through and Through for putting together the Simulation Football League because otherwise, we wouldn't know which team was better.  This way, we got to prove it on the field."


Chris Rainey destroyed the 2006 defense with 135 yards and a TD on the ground while Percy Harvin gained 121 yards and two touchdowns.