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Johnson, Boise State race past Weber State in season opener

Aug 31, 2007 - 7:20 AM BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- Ian Johnson was the hero in Boise State's 2006 season finale. He clearly did not need to be on Thursday night.

Johnson rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns as 24th-ranked Boise State cruised to a 56-7 victory over Weber State in the season opener for both schools.

The final outcome was a far cry from the last time the Broncos took the field in the Fiesta Bowl last January.

In one of the most memorable games in recent memory, Johnson scored a game-winning two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty play to cap Boise State's improbable 43-42 victory over heavily favored Oklahoma.

Less than nine months later, Johnson once again was a regular visitor to the end zone. The 5-11 junior reeled off a one-yard score and a 54-yard rushing TD late in the first quarter to give the Broncos a commanding 28-0 lead.

"We went out there and accomplished exactly what our game plan was. We started running the rock, the play-action passes and hit some deep balls," Johnson said. "We just did exactly what we wanted to do out there. We got a lot of new guys some reps and made sure the old guys were in sync with one another with the young guys. It was definitely great and very productive."

Taylor Tharp was impressive in his debut as Boise State's starting quarterback, completing 14-of-19 passes for 184 yards and a TD. Backup tailback Jeremy Avery also was impressive for the Broncos (1-0), rushing for 105 yards and two scores on just 10 carries.

"I felt good out there. We'll look at the film tomorrow, but I was really just doing what the coaches were asking me to do," Tharp said. "We had well-designed plays and I have my reads and just make smart decisions."

Boise State took a 7-0 lead when Vinny Perretta scored on a five-yard TD run with 9:28 left in the first quarter. Tharp doubled the advantage three minutes later with a 54-yard scoring strike to Titus Young.

Jeremy Childs hauled in five receptions for 53 yards for the Broncos, who scored on their first seven possessions and improved to 14-0 under second-year coach Chris Petersen.

"Our coaches and players did an awesome job the last six months in really preparing to start the season like we did. That was impressive," Petersen said. "You never know what you're going to get out of the gate, you don't know what you're going to get from your own guys, what you'll get from your opponent that first game, but they did everything we asked them to do."

Weber State (0-1) avoided a shutout when Jimmy Barnes hooked up with Bryant Eteuati for a 21-yard TD pass with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

Barnes completed 9-of-22 attempts while Trevyn Smith rushed for 67 yards on 20 carries for the Wildcats (0-1), who fell to 7-23 all-time against the Broncos.