Boise State aims for another perfect season

Dec 22, 2008 - 10:49 PM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker College Football Editor

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Boise State rocked the sports world with a stunning 2007 Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma, completing an improbable perfect season with an unforgettable victory.

Two years later, on a much smaller stage, the Broncos will look to wrap up another undefeated campaign against another formidable opponent.

With a win Tuesday night over TCU, the Broncos would finish their second 13-0 season in the last three years.

The last time Boise State entered the bowl season with a perfect record, the Broncos were installed as a considerable underdog against the Sooners.

But they authored one of the biggest feel-good stories in college football history by beating Adrian Peterson-led Oklahoma, 43-42, in an overtime contest highlighted by a Statue of Liberty two-point conversion that capped the upset.

Wide receiver Vinny Perretta, one of the heroes of that game, feels that the Broncos deserved a return trip to the BCS after going 12-0 this season.

"We wanted to go to the BCS," said Perretta, who threw a TD pass on a trick play to set up the game-winning two-point conversion two years ago against the Sooners. "We did everything we could do."

Now the snubbed Broncos will have to shift their focus to TCU, which went 10-2 this season and boast the No. 2-ranked defense in the FBS.

The Horned Frogs' only two losses came to Utah - a nail-biter - and Oklahoma. And aside from Texas, the Horned Frogs provided the best defensive opposition to this year's high-powered Sooners offense.

"They're as good of a team as we've seen this year," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "All their rankings on defense are deserved. It will be a tremendous challenge for us, without question."

This begs the question - will Petersen have a few more trick plays up his sleeve?

Regardless, the Poinsettia Bowl promises to be among the most exciting non-BCS games of this bowl season.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS FROM BOWL SEASON'S OPENING WEEKEND:

1. Colorado State running back Gartrell Johnson is good ... really good.

After delivering an outstanding yet under-the-radar regular season with the Rams, Johnson erupted for a career-high 285 rushing yards in Saturday's 40-35 New Mexico Bowl victory over Fresno State.

It was the second-highest rushing total in bowl history. Johnson, who also had 90 receiving yards, finished with a whopping 375 total yards from scrimmage, an FBS postseason record.

With his long dreadlocks flowing from under his helmet, Johnson ripped off four plays of at least 30 yards. The Miami native sealed the upset with his 77-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to his record-setting performance, Johnson undoubtedly improved his stock in next April's NFL draft. But it begs the question: Why did the Hurricanes let Johnson slip from right under their noses in Miami for Fort Collins, Colorado?

2. South Florida's romp of Memphis in the St. Petersburg Bowl bodes very well for other bowl teams.

Playing in what essentially amounted to a home game, Matt Grothe and the Bulls coasted to an extremely easy win in which South Florida coach Jim Leavitt emptied his bench ... in the third quarter.

The Bulls had a clear advantage in this one, as the majority of the crowd was pulling for South Florida.

It bears watching how several other teams - Hawaii, Central Michigan, North Carolina, California, Louisiana Tech, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, USC, Buffalo - fare in considerably favorable venues.

3. BYU was overrated this year. The Cougars were a fun team to watch throughout the season with gun-slinging quarterback Max Hall at the helm.

But as was painfully obvious in Saturday night's Las Vegas Bowl loss to Arizona, BYU simply was overmatched against athletic teams.

The Cougars could not run with faster teams, evidenced by their blowout losses earlier to TCU and Utah.

Even though Hall played reasonably well, BYU's 31-21 loss to Arizona did not indicate how one-sided the game was. If the Wildcats did not commit a few foolish turnovers, the final score could have been even more lopsided.

Question or comment? E-mail james.ralabate@pa-sportsticker.com.