Boise State hammers San Jose State, 45-7; Broncos move to 8-0 on the season

Boise State started slowly but finished strong, hammering San Jose State with timely takeaways and Kellen Moore TDs for the 45-7 win. Moore had three passing TDs and a rushing TD, Kyle Wilson took a pick for a score, and the Bronco defense confused and confounded SJSU QBs all afternoon long.

What stood out for you in the Broncos' big win? Who was your MVP? Vote in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments. Analysis coming.

The five minutes that changed everything

Late in the first half, Boise State led only 10-7. And then San Jose State's world caved in.

• Q2 1:15 Kellen Moore completes a 3rd and 10 pass for 12 yards to Matt Kaiserman down to the San Jose State 18.
• Q2 0:44 Kellen Moore to Mitch Burroughs for an 18-yard TD. Broncos lead 17-7.
• Q2 0:35 With first and 10 from their own 23, SJSU's Lamon Muldrow is stripped by Jason Robinson who recovers the fumble and gives Boise State the ball at the 22.
• Q2 0:20 On third and 10, Kellen Moore completes a 21-yard pass to Tyler Shoemaker for a first down at the SJSU 1.
• Q2 0:03 Kellen Moore scores on QB sneak. Broncos lead 24-7.
• Q3 San Jose State goes three-and-out on first possession.
• Q3 Boise State goes 62 yards in 8 plays and 2:26, capped by an Austin Pettis TD catch. Broncos lead 31-7.
• Q3 9:26 On the second play of San Jose State's next possession, Jordan La Secla is picked off by Kyle Wilson who returns the pick 27 yards for a TD. Broncos lead 38-7.
  

In less than five minutes of actual game time, the Broncos score 28 unanswered points. And that was all she wrote.

Kellen Moore's Heisman invite gaining legs

Moore was clutch against San Jose, converting some important third downs and making some pretty throws. He finished with typical Moore numbers: 21-for-33, 278 yards, 3 TDs, no picks. And he's going to get better in his junior and senior years? I can hardly imagine that at this point.

The Kirby Moore era will undoubtedly be a good one

Kellen's brother had his best day as a collegian, catching 4 passes for 80 yards and a beautiful TD catch from older brother Kellen. Moore got extra playing time with the half-benching of Titus Young who was left out of several packages thanks to his celebration antics in last week's Hawaii game. With Moore seeming to hit his stride, could regular playing time be in store regardless of who's half-benched?

Kyle Wilson gets what he deserves

Wilson got both his first INT and his first TD out of the way on the same play early in the second half with a pick-six of Jordan La Secla. Wilson stepped in front of SJSU's Kevin Jurovich and took the pass 27 yards to the end zone. Wilson was oh-so-close on a couple of completions to Jurovich in the first half, and he finally got the extra step he needed on the INT.

Good for him. Wilson was due, and it could be the first of many big plays that Wilson records as the season winds down.

Did anyone get the number of the truck that hit San Jose State's offense?

Take away 77 yards on San Jose State's lone touchdown drive, and the Spartans finished the afternoon with less than 150 yards of total offense. Credit the Bronco defense, which played fundamentally sound all afternoon. The fact that the defense might get overlooked for its performance in today's game just goes to show how far this defense has come that we fans expect performances like this week in and week out.

Fortunately, Kellen Moore had plans to dress up as a giant bruise for the post-game Halloween party

Saturday may have been the roughest game for Kellen Moore since last season's P-Bowl. Moore took several heavy hits, including a crushing blow on the sack-fumble in the first quarter that seriously hindered his double high-fiving for the rest of the game. As noted in the game comments, was the offensive line mad at Kellen Moore? The pass blocking was as leaky as ever, and for the first time all season I mentally prepared myself for Michael Coughlin taking meaningful first half snaps. I then wept softly for a few minutes.

The Mitch Burroughs Experience finding new ways to shock and awe

Burroughs scored his first collegiate touchdown on a blown assignment to end all blown assignments by the San Jose secondary. At least it wasn't a bubble screen. Am I right, people?

Did Burroughs' TD catch raise his profile in your eyes? My jury is still out.

Garrett Pendergast and Co. with the biggest turnaround since San Jose State in pass coverage

Pendergast was the goat of the first half with his blown block on Kellen's sack-fumble. He struggled to contain Adonis Davis on nearly every snap for the first quarter-and-a-half, as did much of the rest of the line with whoever they were supposed to block.

Credit the Bronco coaching staff and the offensive line for making adjustments and making it work from late second quarter and on. That was a different game once the Broncos flipped the switch. It was a game I could watch without sweating every drop back.

Doug Martin makes it a real blowout again

Martin worked some more last drive magic to add seven more points to the Broncos' total and make the final score even worse than it would have been.

Was 38-7 going to look that hot? Like I say every night before I go to bed, "Thank God for Doug Martin."

Other notes

• Is Winston Venable on the blitz the scariest thing you can imagine?
• Only one fumbled snap is probably a moral victory at this point for the Broncos.
• Was that the worst drop of Austin Pettis' career? Same for Tyler Shoemaker?
• Crowd of 31,000 was lowest in a long time. Is there really that much else to do in Boise on a Saturday afternoon?
• Pettis should trademark that jump back move he does in the open field. 60 percent of the time it works every time.
  
• Aaron Tevis has been coming on strong as of late, and it's good to see Derrell Acrey back in the lineup again.
• Kaiserman continued to get carries over Doug Martin. I'm not sure how this makes me feel.
• Defensive tackle update: J.P. Nisby had his knee scoped and will miss a couple weeks, and Michael Atkinson's balky ankle kept him out against SJSU. Billy Winn was out temporarily with an injury, but he appeared fine.