• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Boise St takes advantage of turnovers in rout of Utah

Sep 30, 2006 - 10:09 PM SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Korey Hall and Boise State made life miserable for Brett Ratliff, Tommy Grady and Utah.

Hall registered two of his team's four interceptions of Ratliff and Grady as the 22nd-ranked Broncos routed the Utes, 36-3, in a non-conference matchup that was thought to be the toughest contest remaining on their schedule.

Jared Zabransky passed for 210 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score for four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Boise State (5-0), which improved to 11-0 all-time against opponents currently in the Mountain West Conference since moving up to Division I-A in 1996.

Zabransky, who sat out the final 10 1/2 minutes, completed 15-of-21 passes with an interception as he improved to 25-5 as a starter.

The game was tied, 3-3, before Zabransky threw a three-yard touchdown to fullback Brad Lau in the opening seconds of the second quarter.

Vinny Perretta added an eight-yard TD with 5:27 left in the quarter and, though Anthony Montgomery missed the extra point, the Broncos soon pushed their lead to 23-3 when Colt Brooks intercepted a pass by Ratliff and ran 12 yards for a score.

Boise State's advantage was 26-3 in the third quarter when Grady replaced Ratliff. On his second series, the Oklahoma transfer was intercepted by Hall, who returned the ball 41 yards to the 4. Hall fumbled the ball, but teammate Kyle Gingg fell on it at the 2, setting up a one-yard leaner by Zabransky that made it 33-3 with 1:02 to play in the period.

Montgomery capped the scoring with a 22-yard field goal with 10:31 remaining.

Ratliff was a woeful 5-of-21 for 30 yards and three interceptions, while Grady went 3-of-6 for 21 yards and a pick for the Utes (3-2).

Boise State, which outgained Utah, 398-178, has won the last three meetings to grab a 4-2 series lead.

One bright spot for Utah was defensive back Eric Weddle, who had a pair of interceptions, including one that set up the team's lone score, a 37-yard field goal by Louie Sakoda with 6:08 left in the first quarter.