Ags experience Deja Vu
BOISE – If Boise State University football team fans were worried about the big-play offense disappearing with injury to quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie, the Bronco offense put those worries to rest.
In his third career start, quarterback B.J. Rhode threw for 376 yards and five touchdowns, including four passes over 40 yards as the Broncos defeated Utah State 63-38 Saturday night at Bronco Stadium.
The loss dropped USU to 1-4 on the season, while BSU improved to 3-1. BSU has won 22 of its last 23 games at Bronco Stadium.
“They’re a good team on offense, they really are,” said USU Head Coach Mick Dennehy. “We knew they had big-play capabilities coming in.”
While big plays by the Bronco offense provided the knock-out blow, it was a familiar nemesis that hounded the Aggie defense early on – allowing their opponent to capitalize on third-down opportunities. BSU went 5-of-5 on third-down conversions to start the game, two of which the Broncos found the endzone on.
A 40-yard pass from Rhode to wide receiver Lou Fanucchi on third-and-18 kept BSU’s first drive alive. Facing third-and-short at the Aggie 8-yard line, tailback Brock Forsey put BSU on top 7-0 when he went untouched on a swing pass.
Following a 39-yard field goal by Aggie kicker Dane Kidman, Rhode and wideout Jay Swillie hooked up on a 67-yard catch-and-run on third-and-11, giving the Broncos a 14-3 lead.
From then on, the game looked eerily similar to the last meeting between the teams, two years ago. In that game, a 66-38 Bronco victory, the two teams combined for whopping 1,236 yards of total offense.
Although USU (420) and BSU (554) combined for a much lower 974 total yards of offense this time around, senior linebacker Jesse Busta said Saturday’s game sure felt the same.
“It’s something I never thought would ever happen,” he said. “I’ve had this game in the back of my head for a couple of years now. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they were going to put 60 points on us again.”
After Boise State increased its lead to 21-3 on a 38-yard fumble return by Bronco cornerback Julius Brown, the Aggie offense started matching the Broncos touchdown for touchdown.
Down 21-3, Kevin Curtis out-jumped two Bronco defenders to haul in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jose Fuentes. On that play, Fuentes became USU’s career total offense leader, passing former Aggie great Tony Adams.
Unfortunately for USU, it took the Broncos less than two minutes to answer Curtis’ TD, as Rhode found Swillie behind the Aggie D for a 57-yard touchdown.
Both teams would find the endzone two more times before the first half ended, with Boise State taking a 42-24 lead.
USU appeared to regain momentum before the half when Fuentes and Gary Coleman connected on a 24-yard TD strike, cutting the BSU advantage to 35-24. Special teams standout Jerome Dennis gave the Aggies great field position when he returned the kickoff 63 yards to the BSU 37.
However, the Broncos still had 42 seconds to tack on more points, and they were able to do just that when Rhode found tight end Rocky Atkinson in the middle of the endzone.
Although the Aggies allowed 363 yards of total offense in the first half, tailback Richard Watson said he knew the Aggies were still in the game thanks to the play of the offensive line.
“The offensive line is 10 times better than the beginning of the year,” he said. “They really gave us options, gave us plenty of choices back there [tonight].”
Unlike the first half, the third quarter was a defensive struggle, with both teams being held scoreless. Unfortunately for USU, it was unable to capitalize on its strong defensive play and good field position.
“When our offense is playing really well, our defense is not,” Dennehy said. “When our defense is playing well, our offense is not.”
With both offenses neutralized, the Aggie special teams gave USU some life. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, Ade Jimoh blocked a BSU punt, and Jamar Glasper pounced on it in the endzone.
Its lead now cut to 42-31, the blocked punt breathed some life into the BSU offense. The Broncos would find paydirt on three straight drives to put the game out of reach.
Interceptions and personal foul penalties also contributed to the Aggies’ downfall in the second half. The Broncos picked off two Fuentes passes, and USU was penalized nine times for 86 yards after halftime.
“The bottom line is we gave up too many big plays, too many turnovers, and then you just multiply things by 10 if you lose your composure,” he said.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu
Mark Estelle is helped off the field by James Samuel. Estelle was injured twice Saturday. (Photo by Zak Larsen)
Utah State´s Richard Watson tries to step over Bronco Gabe Franklin as Julius Roberts comes in from the side. (Photo by Zak Larsen)