Boise State blows out Hawaii, 54-9; Kellen Moore throws five TDs

The Boise State Broncos made quick work of the Hawaii Warriors, jumping to a 34-0 lead at halftime and never looking back. Will a 54-9 win impress voters? Did voters even bother staying up?

Kellen Moore threw five TDs, Jeron Johnson collected three turnovers, and Titus Young scored three times in the Bronco win. Analysis coming soon. In the meantime, leave your thoughts, reactions, and analysis in the comments.

Broncos win convincingly, which is nice for a change

There can be no second-guessing the scoreboard this week. Boise State made it obvious that they are leaps and bounds better than the Hawaii Warriors, save for a center-QB exchange contest. A meandering victory over UC Davis and a one-score win at Tulsa left plenty of room for interpretation from the barbaric national media. A 54-9 win over Hawaii should stem that.

Even more importantly, Boise State pulled the trick on the same day that TCU put on a clinic at 16^th-ranked BYU. Voters will undoubtedly see TCU's win as better than Boise State's, but at least the Broncos don't have to make excuses for eking out a victory over Hawaii. Boise State is doing its best. There's nothing to complain about with their performance in Hawaii.

Hey look! Even you can be ranked No. 4 in the country and not have center-QB exchanges figured out

Excuse me for a second.

/hitting head against the table, /lighting things on fire, /weeping, /shaking fist at the sky and yelling, "Why God? Why?!"

There. That's better.

What was up with the snaps on Saturday? Thomas Byrd was all over the place. Garrett Pendergast was no better. It was unbelievable to watch. Just when you thought that the bad snaps were bound to end, another one would fly over Kellen Moore's head or dribble under his legs. Absolutely incredible. I'm not sure what's worse: how many bad snaps there were on Saturday or how this has been a problem for nearly two months.

All of which begs the question: Is Thomas Byrd going to have to change positions? He's too good to not be on the field, but he's becoming a liability.

The Broncos open up the playbook. Hi, playbook!

Austin Pettis and Kyle Brotzman completed passes against Hawaii, which is music to Bronco fans' ears. Pettis' WR pass to Efaw was vintage Boise State, and the fake punt with Brotzman was beautifully designed and professionally executed. More of this, please.

Matt Kaiserman > Doug Martin?

I don't mean to rain on Kaiserman's parade, but why did Doug Martin get zero carries and Kaiserman got 23? Am I the only one who's thinking this?

Now the good news: Kaiserman looked really solid running the ball. He was quick to the hole, patient with his blocks, and he made guys miss. His final stats on the night: 23 carries, 122 yards, and one TD. Could Martin have had 122 yards, too? Probably.

Matt Kaiserman = Brock Forsey

Stop me if you've heard that one before.

Turnovers make things so much easier

A big reason why Boise State was able to pour it on was the big play ability of the Boise State defense. The Broncos finished plus-6 in turnover differential, including a barrage of TOs in the second quarter that helped push Boise State to a big halftime lead.

Games like this just go to show how big turnovers can be when it comes to the way a game is viewed. If Boise State fails to get any turnovers in the first half, it might have been a 17-7 halftime score. The final score certainly wouldn't have looked so lopsided. Thank goodness for the Bronco defense tonight. For the first time since Bowling Green, they didn't make us fans sweat the result.

Would you pronounce the red zone offense as fixed?

I wouldn't. There were too many miscues (mostly bad snaps) and too many points left on the field. This game could have been even worse than 54-9 if the Broncos had punched it in a couple more times. The center exchanges will take the blame this week, but I'm not fully convinced that cleaning up snaps will cure the red zone problems. Kellen Moore still did not play lights out on third down, which has been an issue for him all year. We'll see what happens next week.

Bronco coaches obviously read this blog; Kirby Moore sees much more playing time

Li'l Moore earned big minutes Saturday against the Warriors. His catch on the Broncos' first drive may have been his only one of the game, but the fact that he was even on the field that early is saying something. Moore was involved in the offense more than he has been all season, which tells me that he's learning the playbook faster and coaches are trusting him more. This pleases me.

It's games like these that remind me why I love Jeron Johnson

Johnson's two picks and fumble recovery were the types of big plays that Bronco fans love from the junior safety. When he's on the top of his game, Johnson plays a great centerfield. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

All he does is catch touchdowns

Titus Young is quickly becoming synonymous with the blowout. His previous big game was against Bowling Green, and Saturday against Hawaii he went end zone nuts again, scoring three times. When things are going well for the Broncos, things are going well for Titus Young. Coincidence? What do you guys think?

Other observations:

• What was Bryant Moniz out with? Sprained braids?
• That was the worst camera work of all-time. I had to take a Dramamine five minutes into the first quarter.
• What has happened to Derrell Acrey?
• I wouldn't worry too much about a lack of pass rush. Hawaii QBs were getting rid of the ball pretty fast.
• Not sure why Titus Young's "hang loose" was considered taunting the third time he did it and not the first two times.
• Anyone concerned with Winston Venable in pass coverage? I'm not. It's not like he was two or three yards away from his man when he caught the ball.
• I'm just glad Tom Scott didn't call Matt Kaiserman "Shea McClellin" all game.
• Would Ghandi have pulled Kellen Moore late in the fourth quarter? That's what I thought.
• I'm not sure the islands could have enough mojo to counter the fact that Hawaii is a Greg McMackin-coached team.
• Kyle Brotzman is solid, but not automatic. Guess we'll have to live with that.
• Interesting how the Broncos didn't bother isolating Kyle Wilson on Greg Salas. Shows how confident Justin Wilcox is in the rest of his defensive secondary.