Beavs fall short again on the 'smurf turf'

BOISE, Idaho -- The numbers were not in the Beavers favor headed to Boise State University for Saturday's football game.

First, the No. 24 Beavers were facing the No. 3 Boise State. Second, the Boise Broncos had not lost a regular-season home game in nine years, with Boise's winning streak at 56 games going into Saturday' game.

This is Boise's first home game of the season, with a visit from ESPN College Football GameDay on the Bronco's home turf and an offer from The Home Depot for free GameDay sign supplies.

"I can't believe ESPN is finally here," said Boise fan Damian Rollins to KBOI TV, part of Fisher Communication's family of media stations. "We've been waiting for them for a long time."

Oregon State University's team, meanwhile, spent the past few days practicing on its own blue field -- temporarily painted to mimic Boise's football stadium.

Even so, the Broncos' went to half time with a 14-point lead as Kellen Moore found a wide-open Titus Youn for the 49-yard score.

It was a scary moment for OSU in the second half as James Rodgers got drilled in the helmet. He looked to be knocked unconcious for a while, but walked off the field. He did not return to the game.

Despite the Bronco's lead and OSU's player injury, the Beavers kept fighting. The Beavs moved to within 7 points by the third quarter.

With a national stage yet again, Boise State showed that even a flawed performance is good enough with Kellen Moore at the helm.

Especially at home. (View photos from the game >>>)
 

Moore completed 19 of 27 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, Doug Martin rumbled for 138 yards and the Broncos overcame a litany of special teams miscues and penalties to hold off No. 24 Oregon State 37-24 on Saturday night.

With a national television audience, the Broncos (3-0) got away with mistakes that will likely make head coach Chris Petersen livid for more than just the few minutes he spent chewing out his guilty players on the bench.

But in the popularity contest that is the Bowl Championship Series, the Broncos fell short of impressing the nation with a dominant performance. Boise State's student section started chanting "B-C-S" in the final minute, but blowouts is what will be expected in the coming weeks as the Broncos reach the soft section of their schedule.

Still, Boise State ran its home winning streak to 57 straight in the regular season and picked up their third straight win over Pac-10 schools in its final chance to make a statement against a ranked team for the next two months.

Martin had 119 yards in the second half and Titus Young had five catches for 136 yards and a 49-yard TD reception — all in the first half. Austin Pettis caught a 17-yard TD pass — this time without the somersault that landed him in Petersen's doghouse a week ago — and threw a 6-yard TD pass off a reverse to Tommy Gallarda in the first quarter.

Martin was the closer for the Broncos, touching the ball on eight of nine plays on Boise State's final drive that ate up more than seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Kyle Brotzman's 30-yard field goal, his third of the game, pushed the Broncos lead to 13 and sealed the all important victory.

The Oregon State (1-2) combo of Jacquizz and James Rodgers never got started offensively, even though James returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter — the first punt return score of his career.

Jacquizz Rodgers was held to 46 yards on 18 carries and a 4-yard TD run in the third quarter. James Rodgers was knocked out by an apparent concussion early in the third quarter while blocking on a scramble by quarterback Ryan Katz. Rodgers and Boise State safety Winston Venable collided helmet-to-helmet.

1st quarter highlights from KVAL Sports.

 1st half highlights from KVAL Sports

KVAL Sports postgame wrap

Complete KVAL coverage from Boise

The most comprehensive conference coverage around is on Inside the Pac, Sunday afternoons at 4:00 after the NFL on CBS, then again following KVAL News at 11:00 on Sunday Nights.

Oregon alum Keenan Howry will join Tom Ward & Nick Krupke for week four of ITP right after the Chargers & Seahawks game on CBS.