Star No. 1
Matt Miller
This was Miller's first 100-yard game of his career? Let me rephrase that. This was Miller's first 100-yard game in a string of 24 consecutive 100-yard games (foreknowledge). The yards were nice, but it was when and where he got them that made Miller Boise State's most important person of the game. He scored on a 52-yard pass in the third quarter on the first play after Nevada scored on its opening second half possession. He had two big third-down pickups that either led to points or to more time running off the clock. He was clutch, whatever that means. It seems an appropriate word.
Star No. 2
Teammates claim that Harper set the tone for the offense with his tough running and all-out play, calling it the hardest he's ever run. He finished with 130 yards and a touchdown and picked up key yards on multiple Bronco scoring drives. He also went over 1,000 yards on the season for the first time in his career - six years for those of you scoring at home.
Star No. 3
Percy gets Star No. 3 as the representative for the Boise State defense, which got its seventh first-half shutout of the season and became the only team all year to hold Nevada under 30 points. Percy led the team in tackles with 13.
The defense was particularly solid in the first half on third down, stifling several third-and-shorts (teehee, "shorts") with tackles-for-losses. Had Nevada converted any of those and kept on driving, the score could have been drastically different. Throw in a timely second half turnover (see below) and enough resistance to keep the Nevada offense on the wrong side of the clock, and the Bronco D is well deserving of a star in this one.
The goat
Nevada tight end Zach Sudfeld
Sudfeld's catch-and-run toward the end zone with his team trailing 24-7 in the third quarter went from decisive, drive-capping touchdown to deflating, drive-killing turnover in the time it took Boise State linebacker Blake Renaud to poke the ball away and J.C. Percy to land on it.