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Boise State earns WAC title with win at Nevada

Nov 23, 2008 - 4:18 AM RENO, Nevada (Ticker) -- Kellen Moore threw three touchdown passes and Ian Johnson ripped off a long scoring run to lead No. 9 Boise State to a 41-34 victory at Nevada on Saturday.

The Broncos (11-0, 7-0 WAC) clinch the WAC title with the win and kept alive hopes for a second BCS bowl berth in three years.

Boise State led, 24-3, at the half, but two of Moore's three interceptions were returned for touchdowns in the third quarter as Nevada closed to within 31-24.

The game ended with the Wolfpack (6-5, 4-3) throwing four straight incompletions after reaching the Broncos 26.

"They've got a great program here. Coach Ault does a tremendous job with these guys," Boise State coach Chris Peterson said. "They are getting better every year. We are just fortunate to come here and get a win."

Moore completed 29-of-48 passes for 414 yards. He threw for 319 yards and two scores in the first half as the Broncos raced to a 21-point lead.

Colin Kaepernick was 19-of-49 for 241 yards and a touchdown for Nevada. He also ran for 70 yards and moved the Wolfpack to the Broncos' 26 with 28-yard pass to Chris Wellington on 4th-and-6.

But Kaepernick misfired on his next three attempts, and on 4th-and-13, his pass to Marko Mitchell in the end zone was knocked away by Brandyn Thompson and Kyle Wilson as time expired.

"Our defense kept us in the game without question, but I am disappointed in our offense," Nevada coach Chris Ault said. "We knew we had to throw the ball. We had people open and didn't get it to them. When you get the opportunity you have to do it. We had ours and didn't do it."

"The defense played great tonight and kept our hopes alive," Kaepernick said. "Offensively, they did great up front. I didn't make passes when I needed to. That was the difference in the game."

The halftime break was the worst thing that could have happened to Moore, who came out a totally different quarterback in the third quarter.

Moore was intercepted three times in the third, and Nevada returned two for touchdowns, outscoring Boise State 21-7 in the quarter to get back in the game.

Linebacker Jerome Johnson rumbled 28 yards with the second pick of the third quarter, and linebacker Josh Mauga returned another 46 yards to make it 31-24.

"I just stepped in front of it, jumped as high as I could, and took off," Johnson said.

Ian Johnson finished with 70 yards on seven carries, 66 of them on a TD run right after Nevada had picked up some momentum after Jerome Johnson's interception return.