Fresno State @ #8 Boise LIVE blog

1ST QUARTER

Fresno State jumps out quickly on an interception returned for a touchdown by Damion Owens. Bulldogs out to a 7-0 lead.

Lead short lived as Boise drives right down the Bulldogs throat and quarterback Kellen Moore hits Jeremy Childs from 8 yards out to tie the game 7-7.

After a quick 3 and out by Fresno, Boise was driving but a couple of good defensive plays and Boise had a field goal attempt. Thanks to great special teams play from the Bulldogs, it was tipped and hit the right upright and is no good. Game still 7-7. Great defense on that drive.

Offensive line is getting manhandled by Boise State right now, Brandstater is getting little to no time to throw and they can't get the running game going. They are really missing Ryan Mathews at this point, it shows how much of an impact he makes on this offense.

Brandstater took another hard shot on a linebacker blitz and looks to be shaken up, we'll see if he's able to continue though I don't doubt that he'll be back out there. Pat Hill might get Sophomore backup Ryan Colburn up and throwing to get loose, just in case.

After a full quarter of play, the Bulldogs are hanging in there. 7-7 tie, Bulldogs will have the ball 3rd and 3 to start the 2nd quarter.

2ND QUARTER

Brandstater really looks like he's favoring his right ankle as he came off the field after an incomplete pass on 3rd down. Boise will take over on their own 9.

The Bulldogs got a good rush on 2nd and 15, but a good pass by Kellen Moore to Jeremy Childs and it's 3rd and 6

Austin Pettis with a 10 yard reception, 1st and 10 Boise State

Boise State making it look easy on this drive. After starting on their own 9 yard line, they're up to mid-field after a 23 yard reception by Ian Johnson.

After a holding penalty, the Bulldogs tried to come on a blitz, but was read nicely by Broncos' quarterback Kellen Moore. Moore dumps it off to Avery and it's first and goal from the Bulldogs 7 yard line. The Bulldogs need to step it up defensively because this looks way too easy for Boise State right now.

Fresno State seems to know when to play defense when it's inside the Red Zone, but I'm trying to figure out why they're not this good the rest of the time. Boise State will be forced to another field goal, the previous one was blocked but no problem on this 28-yarder. Boise takes their first lead in the game, it's 10-7 Broncos.

After a 3rd down completion from quarterback Tom Brandstater to Sr Tight End Bear Pascoe, Fresno State gets dumped behind the line for the 2nd time in a row on two rushing attempts from Lonyae Miller. The Bulldogs just can not run the ball on this Broncos' defensive line.

Screen pass from Brandstater to Anthony Harding on a 3rd and 13 and a great effort from Harding on the last few yards gets the Bulldogs a much needed 1st down.

Fresno State inside the Red Zone for the first time today. First and goal from Boise State 9 yard line. Complete pass to Adam McDowell, 6'4" 290 lbs former offensive lineman. Second and goal from the 6 yard line.

Incomplete pass from Brandstater on 3rd down, but an injury timeout will give the Bulldogs an opportunity to think about going for it on 4th down. I don't know how you can this early only down 3 points, kick the field goal and tie up the game.

The Bulldogs do kick the 21-yard field goal to tie up the game. Fresno State 10 Boise State 10...the Bulldogs playing the 8th ranked Broncos tough.

Boise State driving again and is already inside Fresno State territory to the 28 yard line, but Fresno State starting to hold tough. An incomplete pass from quarterback Kellen Moore and then a stop behind the line on 3rd down brings up another field goal try. This one from 46 yards and it's right down the middle. Boise back on top 13-7 with just over a minute left in the first half.

The Bulldogs continue to struggle on the ground, they are unable to put any dent in the Boise State defensive line. If the Bulldogs can't get their ground game going, it's gonna force Brandstater to use the pass more and it may not go the way they want.

Brandstater completion to Chastin West to the Bulldogs' 35 yard line, then hits Marlon Moore across the 40 for a first down. They will have to use their first timeout and with just 0:35 seconds to go in the half, can they get Kevin Goessling into field goal range. Let's not forget, Goessling hit a 58-yarder to win the game against Utah State a few weeks ago.

Boise State gets a sack on Brandstater and it forces Fresno State to use their 2nd timeout with 27 seconds left to play. They'll need a few big plays to get into field goal range and get a tie going into half time.

A completion from Brandstater to Chastin West, but West can't get out of bounds and the Bulldogs will have to heave the ball towards the end zone or hope they can do a quick out pattern and get out of bounds for 1 more play.

They get a great completion over the middle but there wasn't enough time to get another play off before half time. A disappointing way to end a first half not being able to get into field goal range to tie up the game, but you take a victory of staying within 3 points of the 8th ranked Boise State Broncos. Fresno State is still in the game with another half of football to play.

HALF TIME: BOISE STATE 13 FRESNO STATE 10

First half stats:

Fresno State: Tom Brandstater 15-18, 134 yards, Lonyae Miller 6 carries 15 yards

Boise State: Kellen Moore 12-18, 175 yards, 1 TD, Ian Johnson 7 carries 31 yards


3RD QUARTER

We're underway in the 2nd half, Boise State will have possession and will start from their own 30-yard-line.

Kellen Moore complete to Jeremy Childs on 3rd and 4 nets Boise State a first down. The Bulldogs need to get better coverage on Moore's favorite target.

Kellen Moore getting all sorts of time the pick the receiving he wants to throw to. The Bulldog defensive line needs to put a whole lot more pressure on him and force Moore to make a decision. He can't just be allowed to stand back and have that kind of time.

Just when I talk about the defensive line, Broncos' running back Jeremy Avery scores from 30 yards out. Boise State jumps out quickly here in the 2nd half. 20-10 Boise State.

Fresno State seems to be abandoning the run to start the 2nd half, two straight pass plays, the first an incompletion to Bear Pascoe, the 2nd a completion to Marlon Moore, but still 5 yards short of a first down.

Brandstater hits Seyi Ajirotutu gets his first catch but a yard short of the first. Fresno State is gonna go for it on fourth down, but not before they spend a timeout to discuss it.

Real quick note, I'm getting real tired of the ESPN announcers dogging Fresno State for just about every decision they've made thus far. I know you're biased, but don't make it so obvious.

A big first down by Lonyae Miller...ESPN's guy still dogging Fresno State. "A risky decision, I wouldn't have done it, what would have happened if they didn't make it." Are you serious?

Fresno State, after a big fourth down play, has two dropped passes and will have to punt.

Well, it looks like Boise State is the 2nd half team because they just got a 90 yard punt returned for a touchdown, they now take a 27-10 lead over Fresno State. This game has quickly gotten away from Fresno State.

Well, this hasn't gone the way Fresno State fans hoped it might go after only trailing by three points after one half of play. Boise State, since then, has gotten a 90 yard punt return for a touchdown, two interceptions, and has turned both of those into touchdowns. A 21-0 run by Boise State here in the 3rd quarter and there's still 5 minutes left to play and another full quarter of football after that. How much worse can this get?


Final thoughts: Well, it got uglier by a long shot. Boise State runs off 49 unanswered points in the 2nd half and shuts out Fresno State and currently leads 61-10. This was not the 2nd half that Pat Hill and his Bulldogs were hoping for and what a disappointing season end for Sr. quarterback Tom Brandstater. He came off limping after the last drive and will be replaced by Sophomore, and future Bulldog quarterback, Ryan Colburn with just over 5 minutes left to play in the game.

What can you say about this Boise State team though, give them a ton of credit, they in my opinion deserve a shot at a BCS bowl. I think they would give a big time team a lot of trouble, just like they did when they upset Oklahoma a few years ago in the Fiesta Bowl. Congrats to Chris Peterson and the 12-0 Broncos, they've had an amazing season. Here's an unbelievable stat for you, the Boise State Broncos have gone undefeated for the third time in five seasons. There isn't another team in the country that can say that! I'm a Bulldog fan, but I'm also a fan of the Western Athletic Conference, so congrats to Boise State.