Behold the most noteworthy performances from Friday night's 61-10 pounding of Fresno State, complete with glowing Ian Johnson talk and Ryan Winterswyk fantasizing. We know. We're pathetic.
Most appropriate performance on senior night
Ian Johnson
The face of the Boise State program saved his best game of the season for his last regular season game at BSU. David Augusto couldn't have written a better ending, although that didn't keep him from trying. The Ian Johnson who was breaking tackles and turning on the jets was like the Ian Johnson of old. He showed us a glimpse against Nevada, but on Friday, he put together a complete game and reminded everyone of just how great he truly was.
Greatest Pat Hill coaching blunder
(tie) second quarter clock management, starting Tom Brandstater
Fresno State's head coach had some serious issues with the clock at the end of the second quarter. His comedy of errors included not calling a timeout fast enough, yelling at his players for no particular reason, not having the field goal unit ready, and putting Tom Brandstater in a tough position where the senior QB had to think. On that note, starting Brandstater in the first place turned out to be a very bad decision also.
Best impersonation of an actual turnstile
Fresno State OT Bobby Lepori
Poor Lepori. It appeared that he had no idea what he was up against with Winterswyk lining up across from him. Either that, or Lepori just conceded quarterback hurries at the behest of not getting run over by Winterswyk. The Boise State demon of a DE was in Brandstater's face all night, pressuring the Fresno QB into hurried throws, poor throws, throws to the other team, throws to the sideline, and general incompetency. But at least Lepori didn't make himself look all that bad.
Fake grass playing surface injury of the week
Mike T. Williams
Williams injured his ACL on a fairly innocuous QB pressure that looked like every other QB pressure Williams has ever had. Instead, he is out for the rest of the season. Brandstater's knee-high blue stockings must be laced with kryptonite.
The worst way to watch Bush Hamdan's pick-six
ESPN
Hamdan's INT TD could have been a lot worse, considering that none of ESPN's national viewing audience saw it. In lieu of the pick-six, ESPN watchers were treated to overtime of the preseason NIT championship game between Oklahoma and Purdue. The translucent score update in the upper right-hand corner flashed "Fresno State 7, Boise State 0," and then ESPN cut away to a quick highlight of the play before cutting it off mid-interception to show more of a timeout on the b-ball game. This never would have happened on KTVB.
Least touched punt returner of the game
Kyle Wilson
Wilson's 90-yard punt return TD probably wasn't as easy as it looked, although when he was mid-return, we definitely thought to ourself that we could do that if we had 4.3 speed and white-man dreadlocks. As it was, Wilson's return was really a lesson in great punt returning, considering the move he made after the catch, the way he set up his blockers, and the speed he used to dash toward the end zone. In other words, we would have lost yardage had we been returning the ball. And fumbled.
Wilson was named WAC special teams player of the week for his efforts.
Inaugural starting-linebacker-turned-backup-linebacker-turned-starting-linebacker award
Dallas Dobbs
The senior LB got the start on Friday night and made the most of it, recording a team-high eight tackles and earning consideration for WAC defensive player of the week. Dobbs was perhaps the Broncos' best linebacker a year ago, but he lost playing time this season with the emergence of Derrell Acrey and the shift in philosophy to a Big Nickel defense against spread attacks. Fresno State's traditional running offense played right into Dobbs hands, and he made the most of his opportunity, which is good, because he might not see much playing time against the spread offense of Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
Kellen Moore award for excellence in being Kellen Moore
Kellen Moore
The freshman quarterback was overshadowed by his older, elder teammates, but he had as big of a hand as anyone else in the Broncos' win. After riding pine on the first series in favor of senior Hamdan, Moore came in and consistently drove the Broncos downfield. Kyle Brotzman did not punt all game long. Moore helped steady Boise State after Fresno State's interception score, and then he let his teammates do the touchdown work the rest of the way.