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Christmas came early on Wednesday night as the Broncos delivered one of the greatest gifts a fan can receive: a bowl victory. Boise State sent the Utes packing with a dominating 26-3 win on a cold and rainy night in Sin City. Join me after the jump as I break down my three stars and one goat of Boise State's win over Utah.
Let the excuses begin. It's at about this time every year after a quality victory over a quality opponent that the naysayers of the world link arms like a giant game of red rover and begin the long off-season of walking all over Boise State.
"If it hadn't been for a few lucky plays, Boise State never would have come away with a win."
Yeah, yeah, I know. And we couldn't handle the grind of the SEC or Big Ten either. Heaven forbid our players start trading autographs for tattoos because of the grueling schedules and constant stress.
Regardless of what the Mark Mays and Craig Jameses of the world may ignorantly think, Boise State has once again proven why they belong in the big time. The Broncos solidified an already dominating season and sent off our seniors with another bowl victory and 12-win season.
Star No. 3: Austin Pettis WR
Austing freaking Pettis. The hybrid reincarnation of a homing pigeon and a Honda Accord. Oh how I'm going to miss your sweet one handed impossible catches. Oh how every WAC and Mountain West cornerback is not going to miss that. I never really thought that it would come to this; me having to say goodbye to you. But it has, and so it is. Goodbye, my friend. Bronco Nation will celebrate your uncanny athletic ability to catch any ball within five yards of you for many years to come. You went out in style, Austin. In fact, I almost put you ahead of Kellen but I'm really afraid of imaginary pistol bullets. Sorry. 12 receptions for 127 yards and one touchdown. You were as clutch as ever, catching what needed to be caught and putting our offense in a dominant position for most of the game. You're Boise State's career leader in receptions and you have nearly 3,000 yards throughout your fruitful career. It has been an amazing journey, but I have a hunch someone may be looking for you at the next level. I know you won't disappoint. Congratulations, Austin, and thank you.
Star No.2: Kellen Moore QB
Kellen started the night uncharacteristically slow. Passes weren't where they needed to be and timing was off. It was obvious that the Broncos, Kellen included, do much better for big games with more time to prepare. There was a little bit of rust, but a few slings with that goofy cannon and the rust fell right off. Wednesday night's first quarter shutout was the first since UC Davis in 2009. Not a stat to be proud of, but Kellen came back out in the second quarter and truly got the offense rolling. Granted he had some help from the muscle hamster (more on that later), but Kellen commanded the troops as efficiently as ever. 28-for-38 passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns. He completed over 70 percent of his passes and was a true leader on the field when we needed him the most. I can't wait to see what he will be able to do next year in his senior season. Thank you, Kellen, and congratulations on being Star No. 2 of Boise State's win over Utah.
Star No.1: Doug Martin RB
Doug Mad. Doug Smash. And smash the muscle hamster did on Wednesday night. Boise's offense was sluggish at best until a Maaco Las Vegas Bowl record of 84 yards occurred. Doug Martin took off and lit a fire under the Bronco offense, and it was all downhill from there. Realistically you could switch the three stars around into any order you want, but Doug got the nod tonight for his ability to create a play and inspire a team. Without that run, Utah may have been able to fire back and make it a more competitive game. Doug ended the night with 17 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown. With the absence of Jeremy Avery next year, and D.J. Harper's annual ACL tear on the third game of the season, Doug should get the majority of the carries and easily break 1,000 yards rushing again. Congratulation on a great win, Doug, and on being Star No. 1 of Boise State's win over Utah.
The Goat: DeVonte' Christopher
I'm sure many of you are wondering right now who in the world this guy is. The name doesn't sound very familiar. He couldn't be a Utah player because I most definitely didn't hear his name called in Wednesday night's match-up. Well, Bronco Nation, he is a Ute.
DeVonte' Christopher, or as his Tweeps like to call him, Mramazinhimself. And yes he did think of that cute name all by himself. On December 20, 2010, Mramazinhimself tweeted the following:
I can't wait to get out here wit these Boise State or should I say Girlse State they a bunch of cheerleaders...lol
First off, what is a "girlse"? This sounds like something Mr. Fiskers should take care of, but I must insist that DeVonte' give me a reasonable explanation as to what a girlse is. I'm pretty sure that's not even a word, Mramazin. Regardless of DeVonte's lack of punctuation, correct spelling, and proper grammar, he did get out there with those cheerleaders. And those cheerleaders handed him a pretty ugly loss. A loss in which Mramazinhimself had 0 catches for 0 yards. Impressive stats. Maybe this is why Coach Pete forbade the Broncos from using Twitter during the season. Imagine how embarrassed he must be now. I bet he wishes Coach Kyle Whittingham would have outlawed Twitter as well after Wednesday night. I know I would.
Your Turn
Who were your stars and who was your goat? Was I too hard on DeVonte'? Am I the only one devastated that this is the last three stars article of the season? Was anyone else yelling obscenities at the TV when Brotzman dropped that pass? Did anyone else see that bottle thrown at Hiwat during his diving play into the endzone? Will Kaiserman live to play another day? Sound off, Bronco Nation!