IDAHO STATESMAN (10/28/03):
The Boise State logo at midfield of Bronco Stadium and the San Jose State Spartans have one thing in common.
Both got trampled Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans angered the Boise State football team by stomping on the logo during warmups, then felt the Broncos? wrath the rest of the afternoon.
The Broncos whipped the Spartans 77-14 in the greatest scoring display in school history and the best in the nation this year, earning their 14th straight WAC win and taking sole possession of first place. A season-low crowd of 26,062 turned out for the first afternoon game of the year.
?That?s one thing I would advise another team coming in not to do on the blue,? Boise State quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie said of the pregame display. ?They awoke a sleeping dragon.?
Dinwiddie made a case for his fourth WAC player of the week award in five weeks with another spotless performance. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 350 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed for a score.
He led the Broncos (7-1 overall, 4-0 WAC) to 30 points in the second quarter and a school-record 47 in the first half.
?We really wanted to prove to them that we?re a team here, you?re a bunch of individuals and we?ll show you how to play football,? Dinwiddie said.
The Spartans sparked some hostility during the week, Dinwiddie said, by calling Broncos they knew from high school or junior college to talk trash.
It got much worse when the Spartans (2-5, 1-3) ended their pregame warmups by gathering on the Boise State logo. They spilled across the 50-yard line, bumping into the Broncos, and jumped up and down on the logo.
Spartans linebacker Paul Okumu got into a pushing match with at least one BSU player.
?There was almost a fight, but nothing really happened,? said Spartans punt returner Jamall Broussard, who was in the middle of the mayhem.
The situation could have turned ugly quickly ? just check out Miami and Florida State on ESPN Classic ? but the Broncos didn?t seem interested in a fight.
?That?s being grown up,? BSU tackle Daryn Colledge said. ?This isn?t grade school. We?re not going to get into a pushing and shoving match.?
At least that might have been a contest. The game was an absolute laugher.
?It was total domination in all three phases,? Dinwiddie said.
Defense and special teams set the tone. Nine of the Broncos? 10 first-half drives started at the Boise State 44-yard line or better, thanks to two fumble recoveries, a partially blocked punt and two big kickoff returns.
The Broncos cranked out 47 points with a field goal, a safety and six touchdown drives. The TD drives averaged 80 seconds in duration.
?We were playing Arena League ball,? BSU coach Dan Hawkins said.
The Broncos shredded the Spartans down the middle of the field. San Jose State?s safeties seemed more concerned with stopping the run than the pass, even though Dinwiddie had thrown for more than 500 yards in two of his past three games.
Dinwiddie hit Lawrence Bady for a 37-yard touchdown, T.J. Acree for a 27-yarder and tight end Derek Schouman for a 44-yarder on a perfect play-fake for a 40-0 lead.
The San Jose State secondary?s ineptitude was never more obvious than on the next touchdown, a 20-yarder to Acree for a 47-0 advantage. He waved a hand above his head to let Dinwiddie know how open he was, because no defender followed him out of his break toward the end zone.
Dinwiddie added a 51-yard bomb to senior Tim Gilligan on the Broncos? third play of the second half, and Dinwiddie?s last of the game.
It was 56-7.
?They were playing a lot of two-deep (coverage), and with R.D. at quarterback, if he sees two safeties on the hash marks, he starts drooling,? Hawkins said. ?If we have somebody going to the hole, he usually finds him.?
Gabe Franklin tacked on the Broncos? first defensive touchdown of the year, and freshman backup quarterback Jared Zabransky delivered a 77-yard touchdown throw to Jerry Smith to get the Broncos to 70 points by the end of the third quarter.
The Spartans began chewing up the clock, but junior Mike Sanford ? the other backup quarterback ? led the Broncos 72 yards to the San Jose State 2 early in the fourth quarter.
Tight end Kevin Louwsma rushed for no gain, in a desperate attempt by the Broncos to get him a touchdown. Sanford also was stuffed on a sneak.
On third down, Sanford ran the option to his left. Jeff Carpenter of Kuna, who rushed for 34 and 14 yards earlier in the drive, took the pitch, fought off a tackler and lunged toward the goal line for the touchdown.
The touchdown broke the school scoring record set in the first game on blue turf, a 74-0 whipping of Humboldt State in 1986.
Amazingly, the Broncos only held the ball for 23 minutes, 22 seconds in the game.
?It was a great day for us, and a great day for R.D.,? Colledge said. ?We wanted to show what we had for the WAC the rest of the year.?
The Broncos are in full control of the conference race. They are the only unbeaten team left after Nevada fell to Louisiana Tech on Saturday at home.
The Broncos play their three biggest conference rivals ? Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii ? in the last three weeks. All three teams have winning records in league play.
First, the Broncos face one of the most anticipated non-conference opponents in school history.
The Broncos visit BYU for the first time Thursday. The Cougars are widely followed in Idaho because of their longtime football success and the state?s heavy LDS population.
?I?ve had this one circled,? said Acree, who grew up with a bunch of BYU fans in Pocatello. ?I?m going to be ready for those guys.?
And, presumably, the Broncos won?t dance on the Cougars? logo.
The Boise State logo at midfield of Bronco Stadium and the San Jose State Spartans have one thing in common.
Both got trampled Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans angered the Boise State football team by stomping on the logo during warmups, then felt the Broncos? wrath the rest of the afternoon.
The Broncos whipped the Spartans 77-14 in the greatest scoring display in school history and the best in the nation this year, earning their 14th straight WAC win and taking sole possession of first place. A season-low crowd of 26,062 turned out for the first afternoon game of the year.
?That?s one thing I would advise another team coming in not to do on the blue,? Boise State quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie said of the pregame display. ?They awoke a sleeping dragon.?
Dinwiddie made a case for his fourth WAC player of the week award in five weeks with another spotless performance. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 350 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed for a score.
He led the Broncos (7-1 overall, 4-0 WAC) to 30 points in the second quarter and a school-record 47 in the first half.
?We really wanted to prove to them that we?re a team here, you?re a bunch of individuals and we?ll show you how to play football,? Dinwiddie said.
The Spartans sparked some hostility during the week, Dinwiddie said, by calling Broncos they knew from high school or junior college to talk trash.
It got much worse when the Spartans (2-5, 1-3) ended their pregame warmups by gathering on the Boise State logo. They spilled across the 50-yard line, bumping into the Broncos, and jumped up and down on the logo.
Spartans linebacker Paul Okumu got into a pushing match with at least one BSU player.
?There was almost a fight, but nothing really happened,? said Spartans punt returner Jamall Broussard, who was in the middle of the mayhem.
The situation could have turned ugly quickly ? just check out Miami and Florida State on ESPN Classic ? but the Broncos didn?t seem interested in a fight.
?That?s being grown up,? BSU tackle Daryn Colledge said. ?This isn?t grade school. We?re not going to get into a pushing and shoving match.?
At least that might have been a contest. The game was an absolute laugher.
?It was total domination in all three phases,? Dinwiddie said.
Defense and special teams set the tone. Nine of the Broncos? 10 first-half drives started at the Boise State 44-yard line or better, thanks to two fumble recoveries, a partially blocked punt and two big kickoff returns.
The Broncos cranked out 47 points with a field goal, a safety and six touchdown drives. The TD drives averaged 80 seconds in duration.
?We were playing Arena League ball,? BSU coach Dan Hawkins said.
The Broncos shredded the Spartans down the middle of the field. San Jose State?s safeties seemed more concerned with stopping the run than the pass, even though Dinwiddie had thrown for more than 500 yards in two of his past three games.
Dinwiddie hit Lawrence Bady for a 37-yard touchdown, T.J. Acree for a 27-yarder and tight end Derek Schouman for a 44-yarder on a perfect play-fake for a 40-0 lead.
The San Jose State secondary?s ineptitude was never more obvious than on the next touchdown, a 20-yarder to Acree for a 47-0 advantage. He waved a hand above his head to let Dinwiddie know how open he was, because no defender followed him out of his break toward the end zone.
Dinwiddie added a 51-yard bomb to senior Tim Gilligan on the Broncos? third play of the second half, and Dinwiddie?s last of the game.
It was 56-7.
?They were playing a lot of two-deep (coverage), and with R.D. at quarterback, if he sees two safeties on the hash marks, he starts drooling,? Hawkins said. ?If we have somebody going to the hole, he usually finds him.?
Gabe Franklin tacked on the Broncos? first defensive touchdown of the year, and freshman backup quarterback Jared Zabransky delivered a 77-yard touchdown throw to Jerry Smith to get the Broncos to 70 points by the end of the third quarter.
The Spartans began chewing up the clock, but junior Mike Sanford ? the other backup quarterback ? led the Broncos 72 yards to the San Jose State 2 early in the fourth quarter.
Tight end Kevin Louwsma rushed for no gain, in a desperate attempt by the Broncos to get him a touchdown. Sanford also was stuffed on a sneak.
On third down, Sanford ran the option to his left. Jeff Carpenter of Kuna, who rushed for 34 and 14 yards earlier in the drive, took the pitch, fought off a tackler and lunged toward the goal line for the touchdown.
The touchdown broke the school scoring record set in the first game on blue turf, a 74-0 whipping of Humboldt State in 1986.
Amazingly, the Broncos only held the ball for 23 minutes, 22 seconds in the game.
?It was a great day for us, and a great day for R.D.,? Colledge said. ?We wanted to show what we had for the WAC the rest of the year.?
The Broncos are in full control of the conference race. They are the only unbeaten team left after Nevada fell to Louisiana Tech on Saturday at home.
The Broncos play their three biggest conference rivals ? Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii ? in the last three weeks. All three teams have winning records in league play.
First, the Broncos face one of the most anticipated non-conference opponents in school history.
The Broncos visit BYU for the first time Thursday. The Cougars are widely followed in Idaho because of their longtime football success and the state?s heavy LDS population.
?I?ve had this one circled,? said Acree, who grew up with a bunch of BYU fans in Pocatello. ?I?m going to be ready for those guys.?
And, presumably, the Broncos won?t dance on the Cougars? logo.
