Three stars and one goat of Boise State's win over Washington

The Boise State Broncos cruised squeaked out their third consecutive Maaco Bowl Las Vegas win against another PAC 12 opponent. Believe it or not (believe it), the Broncos won on a field goal (sort of - CC: Jeremy Ioane). Joe Southwick was impressive, the defense kept us in it, and Coach Pete was even caught smiling. Read on for the Stars!

Star No. 3: BSU Defense

Yeah - I know this one is sort of debatable. After all, we did allow 205 yards on the ground to Sankey-Pankey. And yes, that's pretty bad. On the other hand, the Bronco D basically eliminated the the "passing" game of Keith Price. The Broncos forced a fumble, had two interceptions, and forced Price to a 50% pass completion percentage. They came up huge when we needed them the most, as Washington was marching down the field with under a minute to play and approaching field goal range. The Bronco with the first pick of the season came up with the last pick of the season, sealing another Bronco victory in the Las Vegas Bowl. Congrats to you all.

Star No. 2: Joe Southwick

Joe Southwick has played incredibly well over the last 4 games of the season, throwing nine touchdowns to zero interceptions. Southwick showed progression throughout the season, and it culminated in an impressive performance against Washington on Saturday afternoon. He ended the day as follows:

26 CMP., 38 ATT., 264 YDS., 68.4% CMP%., 2 TD., 0 INT.,

Southwick also rushed 11 times for 39 yards. I loved seeing him take off a few times and go for the first down, rather than the typical slide two yards short. Your 'stache may be repulsive, but you sure do play alright. Congrats Joe - and here's to an even more interesting QB controversy this off-season.

Star No. 1: Michael Frisina

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen - a kicker is Star No. 1. And rightfully so. Frisina came up huge in the Broncos victory on Saturday afternoon. He was responsible for 10 of the Broncos 28 points, and kicked the game winning field goal with one minute remaining. He was three for three on field goals for the day. As you can see in the picture above, Frisina is not a big guy. Charles Leno makes him look like a bobble-head in this picture. Coming in at 5'5" and 162lbs, Frisina is nowhere near the biggest guy on the team. However, he grew about 10 feet in the eyes of Bronco fans Saturday as he helped anchor another victory for our beloved Broncos. Congrats, kid, you earned it.

The Goat: Keith Price

Keith Price is a gifted athlete. There is no doubt that he has talent and will lead the Huskies to many victories in his career. And lucky for Price, he won't face the Broncos defense every week. Price tossed 39 passes on the day, completing only 20 of them; good for about 50% completion. He also rushed for -2 yards. To his credit, he did have one nice touchdown run early on, but was basically taken out of the game after that.

When his team needed him the most, he threw a pick with 30 seconds left on the clock. Jeremy Ioane read his pass perfectly and intercepted what would have likely been a completion and one step closer to field goal range for the Huskies.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, this was basically the story of Price's season, as he tossed nearly as many interceptions as he did touchdowns (19TD to 13INT). He will most likely improve those numbers as he matures and progresses, but for now, he gets the Goat.

Your Turn

Who were your stars, and who was your goat? What are your plans for the next eight months? Sound off in the comments, Bronco Nation!