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Moore, Boise State cruise past Southern Miss

Oct 12, 2008 - 5:26 AM HATTIESBURG, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Kellen Moore continued his surprising season on Saturday.

The redshirt freshman passed for 178 yards and three touchdowns as 16th-ranked Boise State cruised by Southern Mississippi, 24-7.

Moore completed 21-of-30 passes and threw one interception. The 6-0 southpaw has tossed 10 touchdowns this season while completing 67 percent (98-of-147) of his passes.

After a scoreless first quarter, Moore threw all of his touchdowns in the second as Boise State (5-0) took control of the contest.

"I thought Boise did a good job of getting pressure on us," Golden Eagles coach Larry Fedora said. "They got the safeties involved in stopping the run, and we couldn't make any plays over the top to get them out of the coverage."

Moore engineered a 92-yard drive, capped by a 28-yard scoring strike to Jeremy Childs that gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 13:41 left in the half.

Boise State doubled its lead just over five minutes later when Moore connected with Austin Pettis on a 5-yard touchdown. The Broncos made it 17-0 on Kyle Brotzman's 32-yard field goal with 6:35 left.

Damion Fletcher cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to 17-7 with a 17-yard run, but Moore answered with his third touchdown of the half, hitting Pettis from 3 yards out to give the Broncos a 24-7 bulge 39 seconds before the break.

Moore was 16-of-20 for 142 yards in the first half.

Southern Mississippi (2-4) had a good chance to cut into the deficit late in the third quarter, driving down to the Boise State 21-yard line. But on fourth-and-two, the Broncos were able to hold the Golden Eagles without a point.

Austin Davis drove the Golden Eagles into Broncos territory twice in the fourth quarter, but again the drive would stall on fourth downs as Boise State maintained its lead.

"We're disappointed as a staff and football team about where we are right now," Fedora said. "I still think we are getting better. Boise State is a good football team, they were the better football team tonight. They made more plays than we did."

It was the third straight home loss for Southern Mississippi, which had not lost three straight at home since 1977.

"It is very disappointing, to work hard and then come out with an 'L'," said Fletcher, who was held to 69 yards rushing one week after gaining 260. "You work hard all week to come out here and get a 'W'."