2010 Boise State Upends Miami of Florida in SFL Semi

(Note:  The regular season games were played with just one simulation and the result was recorded.  To ensure the best chance for an accurate result in the playoffs, 50 simulations were played (they take about five seconds each.)  For the team that won the most simulations in those 50, an appropriate sample was chosen for the game below.)


2010 Boise State 33, 2001 Miami of Florida 22
The 2010 Boise State Broncos came back from deficits of 9-0 in the first quarter and 19-17 at the half to defeat the Championship Division first-place Miami Hurricanes this afternoon 33-23 in the Simulation Football League Playoffs.





Miami raced to a 9-0 lead, the result of a Clinton Portis 25-yard run midway through the first quarter and a Todd Sievers 22-yard field goal with 2:38 left.  After Boise State had penetrated to the Miami 36 on the opening drive, the Broncos elected to punt on a fourth and five.  But Ken Dorsey completed two 25-yard passes, one to Andre Johnson and the other to Ethenic Sands, and a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness placed the ball on the Bronco 25.  Portis squirted through the Bronco line for the game's first score.  The extra point attempt by Sievers was no good.


The Broncos were unable to generate any offense on the ensuing possession and had to punt.  Miami threw a mix of pass and run to drive to the Boise State five before making way for Sievers.





Down 9-0, Boise State came charging back.  A good kick return by Titus Young put the Broncos in business at their 36.  Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore found Young open for 22.  Two plays later, Doug Martin bulled ahead for 11 yards on a sweep to the left.  After a Jeremy Avery run of four yards on a draw play, the quarter ended.  When play resumed, Moore dropped back and spotted tight end Tommy Gallarda, who caught the 21-yard pass for Boise State's first score.


It did not take long for the Hurricanes to answer, four plays in fact.  On the fourth play of the drive, Dorsey hit  Jeremy Shockey in stride and the big tight end found paydirt for a 55-yard touchdown.  That gave Miami a 16-7 lead and once again the Broncos were against the wall.  


Boise State's ensuing drive was more methodical, an 11-play march down the field, with the big play being a Moore to Tyler Shoemaker 26-yard play that gave Boise State a first down on the Miami 16.  On a third-and-10, Moore swung the ball to Martin in the flat, and the talented junior did the rest on his own to make it 16-14.  





Consecutive sacks by Michael Atkinson and Winston Venable put Miami into a hole and forced a punt.  The Broncos advanced the ball to the Miami six before Kyle Brotzman came on to boot home a field goal.  Coach Chris Petersen's team had their first lead at 17-16 with 4:04 remaining in the half.  Sievers answered with a field goal of his own (26 yards) with 45 seconds left and the half ended with Miami clinging to a 19-17 lead.


The two heavyweight teams entered a defensive struggle, where Brotzman's 25-yard field goal was the only score of the third quarter.  The third lead change of the game gave Boise State a 20-19 advantage.  Dorsey then engineered a time-consuming 15-play drive that took 6:16 but Boise State's defense kept the Hurricanes to a Sievers field goal from 20 yards.  





That was a key turning point for the bend-but-don't break Bronco defense.  Moore guided the Broncos on a 10-play drive of their own, hitting Geraldo Hiwat for 11 and Austin Pettis for 19 to put Brotzman within range and the senior delivered with a 46-yard field goal to once again put Boise State ahead 23-22.





The Bronco defense took over from there.  Jerrell Gavins picked off an errant Dorsey pass and returned it 15 yards to the Miami 19.  Moore hooked up with Young once again for a 17-yard gain to the one-yard line and Avery dove over from there.  Brotzman's PAT made it a 30-22 game with 7:51 remaining in the game.  The Broncos forced Miami into a three-and-out and when Brotzman tacked on his fourth field goal of the game with 4:07 remaining, the Broncos could sense the victory.


A Ryan Winterswyck interception at the Boise State 16 on the next Miami possession effectively ended the game.


It was definitely a team victory for Boise State--they were outgained 515-398 as the Bronco running game struggled (65 yards on 33 carries).  But the Broncos made the plays they had to in coming out victorious.  Moore was 26-42 for 303 yards and the two scores while Joe Southwick came on briefly and hit 4-5 for 30. Senior receivers Austin Pettis (6-91) and Titus Young (6-64) were key targets as they have been all year.   


For Miami, Portis finished with 127 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.  Dorsey hit 27-44 for 376 yards and a touchdown but also the costly interception.  Johnson (5-91) and Sands (5-75) paced the Hurricane receivers while Shockey had four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.


Boise State advances to the SFL Championship next Saturday against the 2009 Boise State team, which downed USC 59-37 earlier this afternoon.  The 2010 Broncos are now 12-1 while the 2009 team is 10-3.  Miami ends the season 11-2 with consecutive losses to the 2009 Alabama team on the final weekend of the regular season and the loss today.