Kellen Moore to Austin Pettis and 9 other game-changing moments from Boise State - Virginia Tech
by Kevan Lee on Sep 7, 2010 6:53 AM PDT
in Boise State football
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Still in the throes of a win hangover from last night's epic Bronco game, I can hardly believe it really happened, much less how it happened. Before we get too bogged down in rankings and title talk, I need to spend a few more minutes re-living the glorious game that was by recapping 10 game-changing moments from the opener.
Kellen Moore's 13-yard TD pass to Austin Pettis for the win
What a perfect pass to end a surprisingly perfect drive. Boise State hadn't moved the ball that well since the post-penalty part of its Tommy Gallarda TD drive in the first quarter. A pass here, a first down there, and before you knew it, Kellen Moore was floating a rainbow pass over a dumbstruck safety and into the waiting arms of Austin Pettis at the back of the end zone. It was a great route by Pettis, who not only shook free of the corner in a flash but also confounded the safety who was helping over the top. It was a Heisman-caliber throw by Moore, who tossed it well before it was obvious to do so and expertly enough that it looked like child's play.
After the jump, get the other nine game-changers from Monday night's win, and then vote on your favorite moment and share your thoughts on each.
D.J. Harper's 71-yard TD run
"He's back" doesn't even begin describe how I felt about that run. He ran that 3rd and short with authority and with power, and he added blazing speed to boot once he hit the open field.
But what about the timing of that run? Boise State had just fallen behind 21-20 and was reeling from a Hokie team that was slowly but surely taking over the game. If Harper goes down with the first tackle, BSU doesn't pick up the 1st down and I have a much harder time rolling out of bed in the morning. Instead, that run alone gave the Broncos a much-needed boost and provided pretty much the only offense between the first quarter and the last drive.
The no call on Jeremy Avery on Boise State's final punt return
It was what I refer to as highly skeptical blocking. Avery hit a Tech special teamer flush in either the shoulder or the back, depending on what team you were rooting for. The refs were apparently rooting for Boise State because they waived the flag off as a legal block.
Which was really convenient. Boise State would have had horrible field position had that call stood. Instead, Boise State started at the 44-yard-line and needed only 56 yards for the go-ahead score.
Tyrod Taylor throws incomplete on 3rd and 8 on Hokies' penultimate drive
I assume there will be a good deal of weeping and gnashing of teeth by Virginia Tech fans for some of the playcalling at the end of last night's game. May I suggest they begin with this play?
With two minutes left and Boise State out of timeouts, Taylor and the Hokies faced a 3rd and 8 from their 33-yard-line. Play it safe with a run to chew some clock? Take some sure yards with a short pass or screen? Roll Tyrod Taylor out of the pocket and let him make a play with his feet like he had been doing all day?
Survey says: Throw the lowest percentage pass in football. Taylor went deep, the pass fell incomplete, and the Broncos had extra time to work their 2-minute offense.
Kyle Brotzman misses 30-yard field goal
What are we considering the left hash at this point? Anything to the left of the exact middle of the field? Brotzman's 30-yard miss was a couple yards within the left hash, and instead of his traditional pull job to the right, Brotzman pushed the kick wide left. Shame, too. Boise State capped an 11-play drive with no points at a time when they really could have used some points. Worse yet, the drive stalled after a 2nd and 3 from the Hokie 13. Tech took the ball back down the field and added a field goal of their own for a 4-point lead.
Note: To be fair, how cool was it to see Brotzman nail a 47-yarder from the left hash in the first half?
Ebo Makinde called for running into the kicker
I think this play can best be summed up by a simple "Why?" which is exactly what I said to my TV when it happened. It's a 51-yard field goal from a kicker who was more Bill Grammatica than David Akers. Let him be, Ebo Makinde.
Of course, that play allowed VT to re-think its 4th down strategy, leading to this ...
Jarrett Boykin scores on Brandyn Thompson missed tackle
I believe that the all-out blitz on 4th and 6 was the right call by defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. It was just a bad play by Brandyn Thompson. Credit Tyrod Taylor for a good throw and Boykin for a good play, but you also have to blame Thompson for tentative coverage and a really bad tackle. Instead of Boise State stopping a Hokie drive with no points, Virginia Tech gets an immediate answer to D.J. Harper's touchdown run and regains the lead.
Doug Martin fumbles late in the second quarter
This play was all sorts of disappointing. First, Martin failed to pick up a 1st down on a 3rd and 2. Second, Martin fumbles trying to pick up the 1st down. Third, Thomas Byrd does a bellyflop on the ball in the open field, letting it squirt out so that a VT defender can recover. Fourth, the Hokies finish off the drive with a touchdown right before half to cut the Bronco lead to 20-14.
Virginia Tech's D.J. Coles's two special teams penalties on one play
There are dumb special teams penalties and then there are dumb special teams penalties committed by D.J. Coles. At least Ebo Makinde didn't cheapshot a Hokie player after he was called for running into the kicker. Coles did. His poor play kept a Bronco drive alive and let Boise State get seven more points on the board for a 17-0 lead.
Austin Pettis blocks a Virginia Tech punt
Pettis's punt block was the Billy Winn safety of the Broncos' season opener. Not only was it a great play by Pettis, but it also led to seven points (courtesy of Pettis) and a 10-0 Boise State lead with barely five minutes into the game.
Honorable mention
- Kellen Moore's fumble. Comically/tragically forced by Nate Potter, the fumble led to a VT touchdown and the Hokies' first lead of the game.
- Billy Winn's fumble recovery. You typically do not want to start the game with fumbled snaps from center, which is something that Boise State can tell you all about.
- Any one of Boise State's 11 penalties for 105 yards. Seriously, pick any of them. They all seemed to be big ones at the wrong time.
- Tyrod Taylor's 3rd down scramble on the Hokies' first scoring drive. Virginia Tech had done nothing to that point, but Taylor's nine yard gain on 3rd and 8 fixed that. The Hokies' went on to score.
- Tommy Gallarda's touchdown catch. Seriously, Tommy Gallarda? Seriously? That was insane.
- Virginia Tech late hit penalty on Boise State's final drive. It didn't necessarily change the game, but it sure didn't help the Hokies very much.
- Boykin's drop on Tech's final 4th down try. It would have been an incredible catch by Boykin, and man, was it close. If you're a Hokie fan looking for pass interference on that play, I think it was too close to call. Both players were jostling pretty evenly.
Your turn
What game-changing moment do you remember most from Boise State's win over Virginia Tech? Which one was the most important? Which ones did I forget? Share your thoughts in the comments, and vote in the poll.
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They way I understand it
is if you block a guy and he lands on his back, it’s not a block in the back. Avery got him on the shoulder. It makes sense, if you hit me in the back I will pancake, hit me in the shoulder I’ll try, and fail, to get my balance which would end up with me on my back.
Good point ...
I’d buy that reasoning. Not sure if VT fans would.
"Please put your fat finger down!" - Lars
VT Fan Agrees
VT Alum here. You’re right, that wasn’t a block in the back at all. I’d say 8 out of 10 times that’s a non-call, and the other 2 times it’s a bad call. I’ve seen a lot of junk being talked about on blogs and such, and just remember to look at this game objectively my Boise brethren. Two great teams played a great game. The thing I was most disappointed in, as a biased Hokie, is how our team, once again, in a giant game, came out sluggish and flat. We did the same thing against Bama. Same script. Came back to take the lead, only to lose it due to bad play calling and going to sleep on defense after playing pretty well. I will say this though: Boise State has the most composed QB in the game today, and one of the best offensive coaches. I sure wish we could borrow him. Good luck this season, and maybe we’ll see you guys again!?!
by polyrhythms7 on Sep 8, 2010 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
A whole new "Experience"
Mitch Burroughs proves that Coach Pete knows best by shining in his role as punt returner.
I am going to give Brotz a pass on the left hash since the bad snap may have thrown off his timing. I sleep better at night convincing myself that his left hash woes are over.
At one point Taylor was 14-16 passing but missed 5 of his last 6. I wonder what his percentage was when he stayed in the pocket. More reason to roll him out on 3rd down to kill the clock.
BSU corners were scary. If not for some late or underthrown passes by Taylor, the outcome could have been much different.
The defensive front four looked great all night. McClellin must be loving all the attention teams are giving to Swyk.
"...east and west is the problem, north and south the solution."
Ya
I’m definitely scared about BSU’s corner play right now. I’m hoping it was the result of using the safeties to try and contain Taylor’s running and/or help out in the running game. Because if it is not, there will be some ugly games coming up.
It seems we went through this last year.
By the 3-4th game, I gave the Boise secondary a name.. all of which I have forgetten.
"Everyone counted us out. I don't know why they keep doing that." -- Kyle Wilson
Corners
It seemed to me that most of the big plays (except for Thompson’s bad play on Boykin’s TD) were the result of either miscommunication or blown (mis-heard) coverage in the secondary. It seemed like all of VT’s big pass plays came when the corners were either supposed to have safety help, or thought they were supposed to have safety help over the top. I don’t know if those situations were the corners of safeties fault. But it seemed like most of the plays are easily fixable. Yes Thompson blew the play on the TD, but overall I don’t feel that concerned about the secondary. It was the first game, there will be mistakes, but those mistakes seemed fixable.
"All we can do is win the games on our schedule" - Coach Pete
by givemesomemoore on Sep 7, 2010 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions
I think it had to do a lot with safety help,
noticed quite a few times that they were stacking the box heavily and playing man.
Shake It Kid
the block in the back
no call was definitely it. The late hit penalty later in the drive – which was even MORE questionable – probably didn’t change anything except leave Moore with 15 less passing yds and VT with an extra 10-20 seconds on the clock. But starting at their own 10 or whatever, rather than the 40 … that was huge.
From where I was sitting, it definitely looked like a block in the back – indeed (as I said in my response to the previous wrap-up post), it looked like it was going to be a block in the back a full second before Avery hit the guy. That said, I haven’t seen a replay or really know the exact rules, so maybe it was the right call.
If it was the right call, then I guess something else goes here. Maybe the roughing the kicker penalty on the kick that seemed to go further to the right than it did towards the goal posts. After that and the TD strike was when I started really thinking BSU was going to lose.
by killtacular on Sep 7, 2010 7:26 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
"No call" was it-TD is game winner and I wouldn't call it "game changer"-maybe I'm too technical.
Gotta’ admit OBNUGers- I wasn’t feeling it last night. But when they waived off that hit, and I could see us at 44 yard line, I KNEW KM was going to win it, at least as much as I’m ever going to admit to knowing anything. As for late hit call when Austin was out of bounds, ref was standing there blowing whistel and waiving when guy came in-I think that’s why they called it. I know we ahd a lot of penalites, but these refs were right where they needed to be on every call. Look at Pettis game winner-ref right there.
tvmunson
I didn’t think the late hit call was all that bad. I think what most people are upset about is that Pettis was still running as if he was in bounds after he stepped out a couple yards before. But even then, he was back out of bounds when the VT guy hit him. Does that make any sense?
"Please put your fat finger down!" - Lars
Makes sense
And I noticed last night that he did step out of bounds while trying to get around the fist defender and the ref was right behind him. I watched the replay and you can hear the whistle blown long before the defender hit Pettis out of bounds. And then watching the replay Pettis steps out of bounds, the whistle is blown, Pettis takes two steps and then is hit. Good call by the refs on that one.
One quick question on a different note. Can someone explain the new clock rules to me? I didn’t understand the clock not stopping when players went out of bounds at the end of the game.
"All we can do is win the games on our schedule" - Coach Pete
by givemesomemoore on Sep 7, 2010 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Clock only stops on out of bounds plays inside of two minutes, I believe. Otherwise, clock stops until ball is set and then it goes.
"Please put your fat finger down!" - Lars
yup
It was one of the “lets make these games not quite so long” rule changes from a year or two ago, right?
Ref was maniacally waiving-you can only see a flash of it but he starts as soon as Pettis steps out. I agree-not gad call.
I think this summer the refs, college and pro, got an earful about concussions as injuries. I think we’ll see tighter calls all year. First “big” game of the year, I think they’re sending a message. Baker’s roughing call was close in the day, but I think last night harbors in a new era and one-step to QB will get called. HBO and 60 Minutes, plus others, have really shown what concussions do. I think game’s will be called differently. I’ve heared Big 10 refs call tighter. I think WAC callis interference tighter; I think Taylor’s play on last toss woudl have been called in the WAC. Not sayin’ it’d be right, but it’s be called IMO. these were good refs and I’m saying that as a guy whose team got 105+yards in penalties
tvmunson
cool
I haven’t actually watched the game on tv yet or any replays, I’m just going on what I could see from my (very, very distant) vantage point at the game. If the ref was blowing the whistle and waving the VT guy off and he hit Pettis anyways, then sounds good to me.
The “no call,” though. And I totally agree with you – I had pretty much resigned myself to a loss when BSU punted the last time (and was kind of expecting it for a while longer before that). But when KM had the ball at the 44, I was like: wait a second, we might actually still win this!
I voted other
And the reason is this. All of those events were great, and all provided a type of game changing momentum either for us or against us. The block in the back no call was great, and so was Kellen’s pass over the middle to Austin for the TD. However, I think a true momentum shift in our direction was when the late hit penalty was called in our favor. As Pettis caught the ball and ran for a few yards I started screaming to run out of bounds to stop the clock. He tried to duck back in bounds and keep running. What we couldn’t see on our TV was that he had already stepped out of bounds and that the player flying in would get a penalty for a late hit. The penalty was half the distance to the goal, which put us at 15 yards out. This for me was an incredible shift in momentum, excitement, and hope on the sidelines. It was this play that replaced the fear and doubt creeping up with a true sparkle of belief that we could pull this off.
"From lurker to front page poster."
The biggest game changing moment was Pettis' TD but I have my own close second.
The entire first quarter.
OH… MY… GOODNESS!
Boise State came out with their hair on fire to start that game. That was the best thing that could have possibly happened. The Hokies battled back and ended up playing pretty well, but man oh man, was I hootin’ and hollerin’ when the defense went all Incredible Hulk on the Hokie O-line. Billy Winn and Shea McClellin made me pee in my pants a little on those first couple defensive series. That set the tone, and Kellen Moore kept it.
All I can say is… GO BRONCOS!!
I'm always right. Your Welcome.
Ivan Maisel said this...
Over on his ESPN blog “Moore is a walking Staples button”. The article can be found at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=5541645
How true is that? It’s hard to pick which event was the real game changer. Harper’s amazing run was followed up by a Hokie score. I think that Pettis’ last TD might take the cake. Once we got back in the lead and had a great chance of holding on, Jeron Johnson came back on the field (who from what I could tell had sat out much of the 4th)
That shows determination to win. Even though 3/4 of our D was cramping up, the stars really wanted to cap off the night.
There was a lot of close calls and our D line for the most part did an amazing job. McClellen and Winn were all over Taylor all night applying pressure and sacking him.
Sounds like an addition to my signature to me.
"Everyone counted us out. I don't know why they keep doing that." -- Kyle Wilson
Anyone still concerned about Kellen's arm strength?
Looked last night like he had considerably more zip on the ball. Good God man, Martin and Harper are going to go beast mode on the rest of the opponents…thunder and thunder.
Where was Winston?
I saw a lot of WV early in the game, was he having cramping issues? Anyone notice him in the second half? Maybe he was out there shutting down his player and that’s why we didn’t notice him. I just didn’t see as much of WV as I thought I would coming into the game.
Lots of Hunter White, that's for sure
Cameras had trainers working on Venable cramping on the sideline.
"Please put your fat finger down!" - Lars
Well, you guys know how I feel about DJ.
We had nothing going and our defense had been on the field a lot and the O wasn’t giving them anything to get fired up about.
The homerun from our real homerun threat guy fired them up even though the O didn’t keep the ball long. It kept the team’s belief in themselves going. They kept fighting hard and didn’t give up.
BSU don't need smoke and mirrors to get the job done, they got orange pants.
Least Valueable Player?
I’m going to have to go with our training staff which apparently did not get the guys properly hydrated over the days leading up to the game.
I remember hearing some announcer say during one of the other weekend games that their training staff planned out a hydration schedule up to 5 days in advance of their game in order to minimize cramping.
I’m wondering how much of the “bad coverage” was due to either a.) players being out of the lineup due to cramps, or b.) Players on the field who didn’t have their full legs due to that lingering soreness that cramping will give ya.
Just a thought.
I have attended every home Boise State football game since 1992.
Im sick of this crap....
I love how this morning all cowturd says is how Boise State has a cake schedule, shouldnt ever be considered for the national title blah blah blah blah… Even Herbstreet comes on and for the most part loves on the Broncos, but then says we need to win every WAC game by 4TDS to be in the title conversation… Interesting how Oklahoma, USC, and Cincinnati couldn’t beat WAC teams convincingly (or at all) and nobody says a peep about that… Its also interesting that our weak schedule doesn’t involve ANY FCS schools, a claim that Alabama, Ohio State, Texas or Florida cannot make… Now Im not saying that the WAC can hold a candle to the SEC, Big10 or Big12, but I am sick and tired of the ignorant one sided comparisons that we get… If BSU is held to a certain standard, then the “big boys” need to be accountable as well.
I love how we did everything possible to LOSE that game (ie. horrible turnovers giving VaTech a short field, more stupid penalties than I’ve EVER seen a Bronco team commit, missed FGs and extra points) and yet we can still go all the way across the country and pull out a win on a NON-neutral field. This team IS a legit National Title contender and I will kick anyone in the face that says otherwise!
Dude, chill...
VT Alum here. I’m not sure whether you’ve been paying attention or not, but, uh, you started the year #3 in the country? Hello? Anyone with half a brain knows if you go undefeated you deserve a shot. However, that said, just like March madness, your resume counts. So, if it’s Bama and Ohio State that are undefeated….well, they’ve played a tougher schedule, and you know the rest. I know it isn’t your fault and things will change with the newly aligned conference, that’s for sure. And I’m certainly not saying that Boise couldn’t compete with or even beat either of those teams….just sayin’ that’s the way it is.
As for the game, remember, VT and Boise are pretty much the same…just at different times in their evolution. VT hasn’t won the title, neither has Boise. It took VT a good number of years to finally get respect, same with Boise. The difference, I believe, in this game is that Boise had great experience and it showed early and late. Two great teams, one with experience, one without. That about sums it up.
by polyrhythms7 on Sep 8, 2010 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Who was that DB
who made the fantastic play on first and 10 on Tech’s last possession when Taylor bombed it to an open receiver downfield and the DB made an incredible play to knock the ball down?
That one. If he doesn’t do that Kellen Moore has to lead Boise downfield for another score.
Play-by-play says it was Brandyn Thompson, which I thought I remembered right, but checked to be sure.
"Everyone counted us out. I don't know why they keep doing that." -- Kyle Wilson
Pretty sure that was Dr. Brandyn
But Mr. Thompson sure showed up a lot on other plays.
We want to build a university our football team can be proud of. -- Dr. George Lynn Cross
by marktgarten on Sep 7, 2010 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
#13-thompson; jury out as to whether that makes up for a lot of bad plays; FOREMAN: VERDICT?
tvmunson
Hope he'll be ready by the UH game
cause the Warrior’s passing attack looked pretty good against USC
We want to build a university our football team can be proud of. -- Dr. George Lynn Cross
mark-What's this about you wonderin' where you're going to be in 2 weeks?
Our corners did not bring it last night-although Gavisn was in on last play goin’ after QB. Plus replay today showed Taylor kinda’ “spyin’” qb and making play.
tvmunson
Biggest play of the game...
was the 71 yard TD run by Harper. I kept yelling at the TV screen “Don’t give up the big play! Let them get the 1st, just don’t give up the big play!” And what does an inexperienced defense do? They went “feast or famine” and tried to blow it up, missed the tackle, and paid the price. LB Taylor had Harper in the backfield but was moving with too much momentum and couldn’t keep hold. Oh well. College football, gotta love it.
by polyrhythms7 on Sep 8, 2010 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Out Hokie-Balling the Hokies...especially early on...
…when we tackled them behind the 20 on the first kickoff (mostly because the VT player decided to run it out when he shouldn’t have), you could see a shocked look on their faces…
…when Pettis blocked the punt? They were completely stunned…
Statistically we outperformed them in EVERY facet of the game (unfortunately to include penalty yards…in the bad direction)…They were the ones who started the game off with a “trick play”…we never used one…we played smash-mouth football with them and won. More rushing yards and yards per carry. More passing yards…and passing TD’s.
Coach Pete wanted to make a statement…we can beat you with YOUR kind of football…and he did. That’s what’s shutting people up. That is why Boise State won more than just the game. That is why the media are, for the most part, slobbering all over Boise State.
Let the Media's excuse begin...again: "It was Boise State's first game of the year!" whilst completely ignoring that it was VaTech's first game, as well.
by TheShrewdOne on Sep 7, 2010 9:36 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
You're wrong...
about the statistics. VT won in time of possession, and in first downs. And without that 71 yard run / missed tackle behind the line of scrimmage, VT would have had more total yards. I know you guys are excited, just as we Hokies were on our rise to prominence, but take it easy. You have the respect….you ARE #3 in the polls aren’t you? Pettis blocked the punt because of a ridiculous miscue by our young “protectors”. Nobody even looked at him or blocked him. Heck, my slow behind could have blocked that. Really, you have to look at it objectively and admit that VT had things under control for the 2nd, 3rd, and most of the 4th. But Boise was smart, and has great coaches that had their experienced team ready to rock. And that’s why I can’t take anything away from Boise. Y’all are a great team, period. You came out intense, and ended the game with a great, composed drive. That’s what great teams do. Good luck this year!
by polyrhythms7 on Sep 8, 2010 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions
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