Final
Boise St.-Tulsa Preview
Oct 12, 2009 - 7:54 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior WriterNo. 9 Boise State (5-0) at Tulsa (4-1), 8:00 p.m. EDT
Boise State is hoping to once again seize a BCS berth from one of the power conferences, but performances like it had last time out won't help its case.
Following a bye week spent cleaning up mistakes, the fifth-ranked Broncos look for a more polished effort Wednesday night when they visit Tulsa.
With impressive victories through its first four games, Boise State (5-0) was rewarded with a No. 5 ranking in the Sept. 27 poll, its highest in school history. But it hardly looked like a team with BCS bowl aspirations in a lackluster 34-16 victory over UC Davis on Oct. 3.
The Broncos, who haven't earned a BCS berth since defeating Oklahoma 43-42 in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2006 season, were expected to dominate the Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but their high-powered offense never got in gear.
Boise State came into the contest averaging 214.3 rushing yards per game behind running backs Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin, but the team was limited to a season-low 101 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Kellen Moore did his best to make up for the sluggish running game by throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to receiver Austin Pettis, but the offense still had trouble sustaining drives. The Broncos had nine penalties, were stopped on six of 10 third-down attempts and produced 13 points on four first-half trips in the red zone.
The defense wasn't much better.
Boise State held the Aggies to just 28 yards rushing, but recorded just one sack and didn't force a turnover for the first time this season.
"I'm frustrated with a couple different phases," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "Too many penalties, when you can't score inside the 4 and 5 yard line when you have multiple tries, that's frustrating.
"We'll have their attention without question here and get a few things corrected."
The flat performance dropped the Broncos one spot in the poll, a spot they managed to reclaim after LSU's loss to Florida this past week.
Still, an uninspiring effort against a lesser opponent doesn't help win style points that might benefit them in the polls and BCS standings.
"We just need to get better and we can't control any of that type of stuff," Petersen said. "Even when you play good or sometimes you don't put your best foot forward. I just hope this game just really refocuses everybody around here about not paying attention to things like that."
Boise State hopes the expected return of cornerback Kyle Wilson, the team's defensive leader and top punt returner, can give the Broncos a boost.
Wilson, a senior and starter the last 3 1/2 years, was out against UC Davis because of a strained shoulder and his presence was missed as the defense allowed season highs of 206 yards through the air and two passing touchdowns. With Wilson in the lineup the first four games, the Broncos yielded an average of 163.3 passing yards with two touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Wilson and the Broncos secondary will have to step up against a Tulsa team led by quarterback G.J. Kinne, who ranks seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a 161.7 passer rating and has thrown for 1,142 yards with 10 touchdowns to only two interceptions.
Kinne wasn't fazed much by a constant rain in the Golden Hurricane's 27-10 victory at Rice on Oct. 3, completing 21 of 32 passes for 251 yards and throwing a 39-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Whitmore in the fourth quarter.
Tulsa (4-1), which played with Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference before moving to Conference USA in 2005, is 0-4 all-time against the Broncos. The teams haven't met since 2004.
The Golden Hurricane, winners of 13 of 14 at home, are hoping to deliver a strong performance against a highly touted opponent to gain respect, something they failed to do in a 45-0 loss at then-No. 12 Oklahoma on Sept. 19.
"The Oklahoma game was a big game and we didn't play very well," Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. "We just have to continue to get guys healthy and keep playing. This game is definitely a huge game and an opportunity for us to go out and gain some credibility."
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BOISEST 8 10 10 0 28
TULSA 14 0 0 7 21 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TULSA - TD, DAMARIS JOHNSON 53 YD PASS
FROM A.J. WHITMORE (KEVIN
FITZPATRICK KICK), 6:35.
TULSA 7-0
BOISE ST - TD, TOMMY GALLARDA 8 YD PASS FROM
KELLEN MOORE (AUSTIN PETTIS
PASS TO K
Oct 14 11:20 PM - NCAAF
BOISEST 28
TULSA 21 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 14 11:20 PM
TD TULSA SLICK SHELLEY 55 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 28, Tulsa 21 4th - 9:29Oct 14 10:55 PM
TD TULSA SLICK SHELLEY 55 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 28, Tulsa 21 4th - 9:29Oct 14 10:55 PM
TD TULSA SLICK SHELLEY 55 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 28, Tulsa 21 4th - 9:29Oct 14 10:55 PM- NCAAF
BOISEST 28
TULSA 14 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Oct 14 10:34 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 2 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 25, Tulsa 14 3rd - 9:44Oct 14 10:04 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 2 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 25, Tulsa 14 3rd - 9:44Oct 14 10:04 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 2 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 25, Tulsa 14 3rd - 9:44Oct 14 10:04 PM- NCAAF
BOISEST 18
TULSA 14 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Oct 14 9:30 PM
TD BOISE ST AUSTIN PETTIS 17 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 15, Tulsa 14 2nd - 11:03Oct 14 8:56 PM
TD BOISE ST AUSTIN PETTIS 17 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 15, Tulsa 14 2nd - 11:03Oct 14 8:56 PM
TD BOISE ST AUSTIN PETTIS 17 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (KYLE BROTZMAN KICK)
Boise State(5) 15, Tulsa 14 2nd - 11:03Oct 14 8:56 PM- NCAAF
BOISEST 8
TULSA 14 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 14 8:43 PM
TD TULSA TRAE JOHNSON 15 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 14 1st - 0:16Oct 14 8:41 PM
TD TULSA TRAE JOHNSON 15 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 14 1st - 0:16Oct 14 8:41 PM
TD TULSA TRAE JOHNSON 15 YD PASS FROM G.J. KINNE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 14 1st - 0:16Oct 14 8:41 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 8 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (AUSTIN PETTIS PASS TO KYLE EFAW FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 7 1st - 4:00Oct 14 8:32 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 8 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (AUSTIN PETTIS PASS TO KYLE EFAW FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 7 1st - 4:00Oct 14 8:32 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 8 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (AUSTIN PETTIS PASS TO KYLE EFAW FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 7 1st - 4:00Oct 14 8:32 PM
TD BOISE ST TOMMY GALLARDA 8 YD PASS FROM KELLEN MOORE (AUSTIN PETTIS PASS TO KYLE EFAW FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION)
Boise State(5) 8, Tulsa 7 1st - 4:00Oct 14 8:32 PM
TD TULSA DAMARIS JOHNSON 53 YD PASS FROM A.J. WHITMORE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 0, Tulsa 7 1st - 8:25Oct 14 8:21 PM
TD TULSA DAMARIS JOHNSON 53 YD PASS FROM A.J. WHITMORE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 0, Tulsa 7 1st - 8:25Oct 14 8:21 PM
TD TULSA DAMARIS JOHNSON 53 YD PASS FROM A.J. WHITMORE (KEVIN FITZPATRICK KICK)
Boise State(5) 0, Tulsa 7 1st - 8:25Oct 14 8:21 PM
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