Game balls for Boise State versus Nevada
by Kevan Lee on Oct 3, 2011 7:59 AM PDT
in Boise State football
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Bronco Nation got its vicarious revenge Saturday with Boise State's 58-10 win disguised as a 30-10 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack. There were many players, plays, and performances that deserve recognition (though surprisingly few left-handed ones), and I'll do my best to honor each of them with a gameball after the jump. Let me know which ones I forgot.
Let these Mtn.tv studio guys yell some highlights at you.
Reader's choice award for player of the game
Doug Martin
Martin had his first 100-yard game of the year, his new longest run of the year, and his new longest run of the year that didn't count. He was the best offensive player on the field on Saturday, which is never an easy accomplishment when you share a field with Kellen Moore.
Bronco fans were treated to some classic Martinizing, and it just goes to show how good he can be when he has a little bit of daylight and space. His natural instincts and athleticism just take over, and before you know it, he's 30 yards downfield in an end zone. More please!
Unit of the game
Boise State defense
Amazingly, 12 different Boise State players recorded tackles for loss in the Nevada game, and the Wolf Pack offense couldn't get out of its own way fast enough to avoid the impending onslaught of the Boise State defense. It's a little like those scary movies when the kids are trying to run away from the chainsaw guy or hockey mask guy or sharktopus but they end up tripping over their own feet in their haste to avoid the inevitable. Boise State's defense was the sharktopus. Nevada was the token single guy.
Players of the game, Nevada version
LBs Brandon Marshall and James-Michael Johnson
Just thank goodness it wasn't Rishard Matthews again.
Marshall finished with 14 tackles and Johnson had 11, and while some of that was due to their being on the field all the time, the two Nevada linebackers really were making plays all over the field. I don't have my WAC defensive depth charts memorized anymore (thank goodness, more brain space for xx), but I'm pretty sure these are two of the best linebackers in the conference.
Worst drop of the game
(tie) Jamar Taylor and Mitch Burroughs
Taylor dropped a would-be pick-six that hit him square in the hands. Burroughs dropped a sure-thing touchdown bomb that would have made Kellen Moore's day look significantly better. So let's just pretend it was a 44-10 win and no harm done.
Most uncomfortable halftime interview
Versus sideline reporter Anthony Herron and Coach Pete
Versus sideline man Anthony Herron grabbed Coach Pete as he was leaving the field to ask far-too-happy questions about the Boise State offense. Coach Pete answered something along the lines of: "No, the offense isn't playing well at all." Subtext: You're an idiot. This was followed by awkward silence and then I left the room because I couldn't take it any more.
Note to future sideline reporters: Begin all future halftime interviews with the question, "You can't be happy with anything, am I right or am I right?"
Season achievement game ball
Boise State special teams
I'm not sure the Bronco special teams have received enough credit so far this year. And I'm not sure a game ball will fix that. Nevertheless, special teams has played a huge role in Boise State's 4-0 start. On Saturday, Nevada had 14 drives - one started outside its own 30 and 11 began from the 20 or worse. That is not a recipe for Tyler Lantrip success (that recipe: Not wearing gloves on both hands). Credit goes to Brad Elkin for punting like a champion and the Boise State kickoff team for covering like they mean it.
Best performance in a supporting, relief role
Quaylon Ewing-Burton
Q-Burt got the start opposite Jamar Taylor at corner after Jerrell Gavins was ruled out with a knee injury. And all QEB did was lead the team in tackles and not give up any huge plays in the passing game. To be fair, I'm not sure Nevada was capable of big plays in the passing game (at least not outside the final two minutes of the game), but for Ewing-Burton to step in and play so well makes the corner spot a little less depressing from here on out.
Best catch by a person who has no business making catches like that
D.J. Harper
His touchdown grab over a defender was Austin Pettis-like.
Runner-up: J.C. Percy. I'm not sure I had even seen his hands until Saturday.
Gameball for best under-bus throwing
Chris Ault
Did you notice that freshman sensation Cody Fajardo did not play quarterback for the Wolf Pack on Saturday? Chris Ault may have noticed.
I really felt like Cody could have possibly played this week, and yet there wasn't much of an effort from his side of it.
Burn!
And what was Ault's assessment of the universally panned performance by senior starter Tyler Lantrip?
Tyler is Tyler - he was OK.
Now there's a man you want to play for.
Technical awards
- Best broadcast, non-ESPN category: Versus. I enjoyed the fun camera angles and semi-professional production so much that I'm actually looking forward to BSU's remaining games on Versus (Air Force and TCU). Now if Sean King could just get off Kellen Moore's back ...
- Seriously, what was up with Tyler Lantrip's gloves award: Tyler Lantrip. It looked like Kurt Warner was giving him fashion advice.
- Most WAC-like officials: The Mountain West crew. Seriously, were they working with a quota?
- Kicker of the year: Dan Goodale. I may be exaggerating a little bit, but it sure was nice to see a field goal go through the uprights.
- Cover corner of the game: Jamar Taylor. I'm not sure Tyler Lantrip had the wherewithal to get the ball to Rishard Matthews, but Taylor made sure that wasn't even an option, covering Matthews like a wet blanket all afternoon. Matthews' first catch didn't come until the second half.
Your turn
What plays, players, and performances do you think deserve game balls? What was your favorite defensive play? What was your favorite score? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Comments
Under-bus award
I read Aults comments and thought, what a d-bag. I really don’t like that guy.
"Kellen Moore has shown the difference between best in the SEC & and best in the Nation" - pjohn56
Jamar & Mitch redeemed themselves later on, but oooh what painful drops.
Yep, KM’s game does look 1000% better if those two right-on passes are held-onto passes. But I’m good with 44-10.
And Ault is a piece of work. Coach Pete would never be snide about a player. Ault is truly a small man.
Now that time has gone by, I’m looking at the dvr and thinking this was actually a better game than I remembered. Good.
"Grateful to the friends and the circumstances that enabled me to be a Bronco. I'm just glad I lived to see these days." SeniorChief
Ault has lots of class...
…unfortunately its all low.
Think the elf was a little sad to be beaten that badly. Hope he got a flat tire heading home. Leadership is not his strong point…you NEVER EVER bad mouth a player in public for attitude in public. He is kind of the anti-Pete.
I will root for Alabama or Ohio State when they play the Chinese...maybe.
anti-Pete. Good one! lol
I would always wonder if I screwed up would he spit out my name to the press like he did Fajardo. No way would I give that man my best. My team, certainly, but not because of the “leader”.
"Grateful to the friends and the circumstances that enabled me to be a Bronco. I'm just glad I lived to see these days." SeniorChief
Newest game superstition
Kellen not playing with his usual one chin strap undone. Why was he all snapped up for this game? Effect him?
"Kellen Moore has shown the difference between best in the SEC & and best in the Nation" - pjohn56
Imposter
My only explanation for KM’s play Sat.
You cannot reason a man out of something he didn't reason himself into in the first place.
doppelganger
maybe a promo for the new version of “the thing”…just wasn’t him
Noel.Diggity.....NO DOUBT!
Bronco Nation...where the heavens and our hallowed ground are both BLUE!
by Noel.Diggity on Oct 3, 2011 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions
Is it Hout or Hunt?
It was funny to hear the announcers call Byron Hout “Hunt” during the game. Not that I was counting, but it seemed like about 15 times. At least they finally said his name correctly.
plus the sideline guy said Hoot before correcting himself!
The Bulldogs had no answers, so they called timeout. And at that moment, every single person in the stadium knew that Georgia was in over its head. It was instant singularity of Boise State's greatness.
-Kevan Lee
by TooMuchYoung on Oct 3, 2011 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions
Stadium Color Scheme Rating 7 out of 10
Some fans didn’t get the memo and wore the wrong color in their section. Color scheme set by a select committee of color blind mice did not have a consistent layout . Some sections of Blue were too big and some Orange too small. But the uniforms and field colors were great. Why didn’t Boise have a Blue Man Group stadium “Blue Out” in honor of Blue Man Group concert in Boise and warm regards to the Mountain Best (west), “Boise Broncos” . Come ON now! ….Boise nation get in the game and have an all Blue at least once this year to honor the Mountain West (uniform boycott) and Best. BSU Broncos. You lost your chance this year. Stadium 0-1 for the season. Broncos undefeated.
The funniest part.
They called him Hunt/Hoyt/Hoot until the camera finally showed the back of his jersey, then they corrected themselves.
The ultimate irony in arguing that "stats are for losers" is that you ultimately have to use stats to prove that exact point - Spencer Hall, The Alphabetical Week 4, 2011
Worst part was
that it wasn’t until the 3rd quarter.
I settle disputes via kissing contests.
by sczmbz on Oct 3, 2011 11:57 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
aw come on, Mukrino,
H plus “out” is a difficult 4 letter, 2 syllable smashup. You know yourself, Mikrhino, that communication through oral-auditory transference is often suspect. Throw in the dipthong with the vocalized H and who the hell knows what would come out. OOps. a vocalized H just did. my bad. Wait until they get ahold of Geraldo. Whhhoooo boy.
"Grateful to the friends and the circumstances that enabled me to be a Bronco. I'm just glad I lived to see these days." SeniorChief
Man, this Jeraldo kid is fast and tall.
I settle disputes via kissing contests.
by sczmbz on Oct 3, 2011 6:09 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Honestly, despite the big penalties called on him...
I think Iloka played balls to the wall the whole game and his hustle was something fierce. He contributed big to the overall defense on several key plays. Some great pass break-ups, great coverage and awesome rushing off the edge. He deserves a game ball for something… maybe best player with the most flags?
A couple of the flags he drew were pretty questionable calls, though.
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." -The Dude
"If you're always worried that something could blow up on you, you're not going to push the envelope and not going to try new things. Some of the stuff does blow up on us, but the tradeoff is the problems we're creating for defenses when it works." -Chris Petersen
by BroncoInDuckLand on Oct 3, 2011 11:17 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Iloka was fierce...he brought it for the team...
and seemed to want to be the one man beat down. It did not look like Pete was too mad at him…
Agree, rec’d on a special game ball for channeling we fans :)
I will root for Alabama or Ohio State when they play the Chinese...maybe.
Players of the game, Nevada version
Give Nevada game balls to LBs Brandon Marshall and James-Michael Johnson,
but add at least a helmet sticker to Brett Roy! Besides the first sack of Moore this year, and knocking a pass down, he did some serious damage to our run game by jacking some off our linemen into the backfield. Dougie had to make cuts 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage just to get going.
Personal Fouls
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t Johnson the Pup-pack player who had two, count ‘em two, different plays where he had a double personal foul. I wasn’t sure and couldn’t hear the number very clearly in the stadium, but I thought he earned a hands to the face personal foul followed by a facemask personal foul. Later in the game he got the roughing the passer foul followed by the unnecessary roughness penalty. If this was him, then he really needs a game ball from us as he was probably our second leading ground gainer.
We must be the change we wish to see in BRONCO NATION---Mahatma Ghandi (if he had the chance to be a Bronco fan)
by Oregon Bronco on Oct 3, 2011 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions
You are right...
It was Johnson that had the facemask on Martin and even though the play-by-play doesn’t list the other offender, I believe it was Johnson who had the illegal hands to the face on the same play. In addition to the double roughing on Southwick, he was also guilty of a roughing penalty on Kellen earlier in the game. He had five personal fouls in the game and was responsible for 45 of Nevada’s 101 penalty yards.
The second hit on Southwick should have resulted in an ejection as it was a blatant hit on a defenseless player away from the play. Not only did the MWC officiating crew not eject him, the Little General didn’t pull him and he played the rest of the series. Another great show of class by Ault – maybe that is what they mean by Nevadatude.
"...east and west is the problem, north and south the solution."
"he had five personal fouls in the game"
Hmm, that gets you ejected in college hoops.
Hate New TV crews
When I came home and reviewed the broadcast, I was sick of hearing “smurf turf” real fast. Gilmore and Tessitore aren’t good, but at least they aren’t giggling at themselves saying “smurf turf” over and over.
Boise....... State!!!!!!!!!
Why was Mathews on the field on the last drive?
Having your only good receiver on the field late when you are down 4 touchdowns is dumb. I was rooting for a blown knee so Ault could explain why he doesn’t have any young receivers that need/deserve snaps at the end of blowouts.
Congrats on scoring against the Bronco third string D with your starters Coach! Good thing you are already in the Hall of Fame.
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2012 Boise State Football Schedule
@ Michigan State  |
Fri 08/31 | 6:00 p.m. MT |
| Miami (OH) | Sat 09/15 | 2:00 p.m. MT |
| BYU |
Thu 09/20 | TBA |
| @ New Mexico | Sat 09/29 | TBA |
| @ Southern Miss | Sat 10/06 | TBA |
| Fresno State | Sat 10/13 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| UNLV | Sat 10/20 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Wyoming |
Sat 10/27 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| San Diego State | Sat 11/03 | 8:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Hawaii | Sat 11/10 | 5:00 p.m. MT |
| Colorado St. | Sat 11/17 | 1:30 p.m. MT |
| @ Nevada | Sat 12/1 | TBA |
