GAME BLOG: (10) Boise State 26, (19) Utah 3

Time Remaining: Final
Score: #10 Boise State 26, #19 Utah 3
Utah's nine game bowl winning streak comes to an end as the #10 Boise State Broncos rout the #19 Utes 26-3 in front of the second largest crowd to watch a football game in the state of Nevada.

Utah's defense did everything they could to keep the Utes in the game, but the offense struggled mightily against one of the best defenses in college football. The Utes were only able to manage 198 yards, but had multiple opportunities to stay in this game. Dropped passes, untimely penalties and the inability to convert on third down (2-13) were too much for the Utes to overcome. Credit the defense though, they played their hearts out and should get credit for their performance.

Time Remaining: 6:25 Fourth Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 26, #19 Utah 3

Consecutive drops by Shaky Smithson and an unsuccessful 4th down run by T-Cain and the Broncos take over on downs. Marks the end of a really disappointing season for the Utes. Beat up on really bad teams, struggled against anyone that was decent, and got slaughtered by the good teams.

Time Remaining: 8:49 Fourth Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 26, #19 Utah 3

Utes down 20 facing 4th and goal from the 20 elect to try a field goal, but again Phillips is unable to connect. This one is over.

Broncos chew up over six minutes of clock, driving 77 yards and scoring on a 20 yard Brotzman field goal. 26-3 BSU, 8:49 4th QTR.

Time Remaining: 3:13 Third Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 23, #19 Utah 3

Boise State flexing their muscles here in the 2nd half. 4 plays, 54 yards capped off with 18 yard pass from Kellen Moore to Austin Pettis. Utah's defense has played well, but can't be asked to carry the entire team. Offense is a no show. 23-3 BSU 8:18 3rd QTR.

It is bad when you fumble the ball without even being hit. Cain fumbles and Broncos recover on BSU 37 yard line.

Utah's defense doing EVERYTHING they can to keep the Utes in this game. Kyle Brotzman's field goal attempt is blocked by Brandon Burton, and Chaz Walker returns it to midfield. Will the offense finally step up?

Time Remaining: 9:25 Third Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 16, #19 Utah 3

Reggie Dunn with great kickoff return to set the Utes up on their own 46 yard line. Field position hasn't been an issue as the Utes have had fantastic field position all game but only have 3 points to show for it.

Shaky Smithson makes a great catch for a first down, but fumbles as he is tackled. Broncos take over at own 39. Yikes. Not the way you want to start the half.

Utes dodge a bullet as Brian Blechen makes a great play to strip the ball away from Austin Pettis for what would have been a 47 yard TD. Touchback, Utes take over on own 20.

Same song, different verse. Offense goes three and out. Boise ball on own 46 after punt.

Time Remaining: Halftime
Score: #10 Boise State 16, #19 Utah 3

Poor clock management by the Utes gives Boise State another shot. It takes Moore just 3 plays, capped off with 25 yard pass to Tyler Shoemaker for a TD. The Broncos go for two but don't convert, 16-3 at the half.

Missed opportunity after missed opportunity is the perfect way to describe the first half of football for the Utes. Utah forced a BSU turnover and had the ball on the Bronco 20 yard line. Result? No points. In all, the Utes have forced four Bronco turnovers (a failed fourth down conversion attempt makes the 4th) and the Utes only have 3 points to show for it. Terrance Cain is 3-11 for 26 yards. Opposite, Kellen Moore is 17 of 23 for 151 yards and a TD.

How about total yards? Utah, just 90. The Broncos have piled up 276.

The Utes had to play a near perfect game in order to pull off this upset, and they have played far from it. Two dropped TD catches are haunting the Utes right now. The Utes have a huge task ahead of them, and with the offense showing little life outside of Shaky Smithson, I don't know if that is going to happen.

Time Remaining: 2:27 Second Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 10, #19 Utah 3

Utes go three and out. Boise State's defensive line not allowing anything up the middle and forcing Cain to scramble - and he is not good at throwing it on the run.

Boise State marches all the way down inside the red zone, but miss an opportunity as Titus Young was ruled out of bounds by a mere inch, negating TD catch from Moore. BSU does get points on the board as Brotzman makes a 29 yard field goal, extending lead to 7, 10-3 2:27 2nd QTR.

Time Remaining: 8:39 Second Quarter
Score: #10 Boise State 7, #19 Utah 3

Boise State had two fourth down conversions on their next possession, but the drive ends with a fumble. Utes' Chad Manis recovers and the Utes will have it on their own 27 yard line.

Penalties essentially kill Utes next drive, and Boise State capitalizes on Utah's tired defense as Doug Martin breaks off 84 yard run for TD. He outran nearest Ute by 5 yards, and the run marks the longest scoring play in Vegas Bowl history. 7-3 Boise State, 8:39 2nd quarter.

Time Remaining: 0:56 First Quarter
Score: #19 Utah 3, #10 Boise State 0

Dropped passes aplenty for both teams. After Boise State's kicker dropped what would have been a first down, Utah's Shaky Smithson and Jereme Brooks drop what should have been easy TD catches. Utes forced to punt, Boise to take over on own 20.

Utes' Chaz Walker with big interception off a Kellen Moore pass, returning it all the way down to BSU 32 yard line. Joe Phillips makes the 4th longest field goal in Vegas Bowl history (44 yards) and the Utes strike first, 3-0 0:56 left in 1st quarter.

Time Remaining: 6:03 First Quarter
Score: #19 Utah 0, #10 Boise State 0

Boise State has a big run wiped out with a holding call, and the Utes are able to force a three and out. Utah will have it first and 10 on their own 36 yard line following the punt.

Utes return the favor as a nice pass from Terrance Cain to Jereme Brooks is called back for ineligible receiver downfield (went out of bounds and came back in to catch the pass). Utes move down to the Boise State 34 yard line, but T-Cain is hit from behind and fumbles the ball. Boise State recovers.

Boise State able to march into Utah territory and goes for it on 4th down - a fake punt pass back to the punter - Kyle Brotzman - but he drops what would have been easy first down pass. Utes take over on own 47 yard line.

Time Remaining: 12:11 First Quarter
Score: #19 Utah 0, #10 Boise State 0

Utes win coin toss, elect to defer to second half. Tensions are super high - the ref just gave a sportsmanship lecture to the team captains. First time I've heard that before.

On Boise State's first possession, Utah CB Lamar Chapman sacks QB Kellen Moore, forcing a fumble and the Utes recover. First and ten Utes on the BSU 20 yard line.

Utes lose two yards, and things go from bad to worse as Joe Phillips' 39 yard field goal attempt is wide left.

Pregame Blog

Boise State (11-1) was eying a BCS bowl berth that didn't materialize and rates as 17-point favorites over Utah. The Broncos saw their Rose Bowl dreams evaporate by losing a late-November contest to Nevada. Boise State worked out a deal to play in the Las Vegas Bowl when the Pac-10 didn't have enough bowl-eligible squads to fill out its allotment.

Utah (10-2) won its first eight games before getting routed by Texas Christian and Notre Dame. The Utes squeaked by San Diego State and Brigham Young to notch their third consecutive 10-win season. The ugly losses by a combined 65 points and the fact quarterback Jordan Wynn will miss the game due to a shoulder injury have many people viewing this contest as a mismatch.

The Broncos have a stingy defense that ranks fourth in the nation in both scoring defense (13.6 points per game) and total defense (259.3). Boise State was sixth against the run (103.5 yards per game) so Utah will be in for a challenge if it decides to depend on running backs Eddie Wide (683 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Matt Asiata (673 yards, eight TDs) to take pressure off quarterback Terrance Cain.

Getting the ball into the hands of gamebreaker Shaky Smithson is crucial for a Utah upset. Smithson led the nation with a 19.7 punt return average (he returned two for touchdowns) and averaged 24.1 yards on kickoff returns. Smithson also averaged 14.9 yards per reception. Nevada's explosive offense exposed some deficiencies in Boise State's defense and the Utes have three weeks to prepare some gadget plays involving Smithson.

Boise State's Kellen Moore finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and makes up for a lack of arm strength with incredible precision and superb decision-making. Moore always seems to throw the football to the right receiver and has two big-time targets in Titus Young (65 receptions for 1,151 yards) and Austin Pettis (59 for 804). Moore has thrown for 3,506 yards and ranks fourth in the nation with 33 touchdown passes. Moore has been intercepted just five times.

Utah's Cain has a 9-1 career record as a starter so it's not like he's a novice being thrown into an impossible situation. He's not as polished as Wynn, but did complete 70.8 percent of his passes as a backup this season. He had six touchdown passes and was intercepted twice in 72 attempts.

Bowl Game Notes
#19 Utah (10-2, 7-1 MWC) vs.
#10 Boise State (11-1, 7-1 WAC))
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Site:Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800/TurfTech) Las Vegas
TV: ESPN HD
Radio: ESPN700, Sports USA Radio Network
Series Record: Boise State leads 4-2.
Last Meeting:2006 - BSU 36, Utah 3
Kickoff Weather: Rain and breezy, temps in the lower 50s

Despite all its regular season success, Boise State has lost four of its last six bowl games. That fact gets overlooked because the Broncos' two wins during that span came in Fiesta Bowls — the incredible overtime upset of Oklahoma four years ago and last season's victory over TCU. Overall, Boise State is 6-4 in bowl games.

Utah has won nine consecutive bowl games, the second longest streak in NCAA history behind Florida State's 11 straight bowl victories from 1985-95. Utah's bowl winning streak includes a rout of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh following the 2004 regular season. The Utes have two Las Vegas Bowl victories during the streak, including a win over USC in 2001. Overall, Utah is 12-3 in bowl games.

If it comes down to a clutch field goal, Utah's Joe Phillips (32 of 36 over two seasons) rates as a better bet than Boise State's Kyle Brotzman, who missed two chip-shot field goals in Boise State's overtime loss to Nevada. Brotzman has made 14 of 20 field goals this season.

Injury Update: In addition to quarterback Jordan Wynn, Utah will also be without starting left tackle John Cullen with a forearm injury. Boise State will be without middle linebacker Byron Hout (foot).

NFL Prospects: Boise State - WR Titus Young, G Nate Potter, DE Ryan Winterswyk, WR Austin Pettis, S Jeron Johnson. Utah - CB Brandon Burton, C Zane Taylor, G Caleb Schlauderaff.

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Keys to the Game for Utah

• Shake and Bake - For the Utes to pull off the upset, Shaky Smithson will need to make big plays in the return game, either by giving the Utes great field position or even by putting points on the board.
• Open up the playbook - With the exception of the San Diego State game, Utah's offense was stagnant over the last five games. The Utes will need to open it up and let Terrance do what he does best - run the option.

Keys to the Game for Boise State

• Protect Moore - The Utes haven't had a significant pass rush this season. If the Broncos can keep that going by protecting QB Kellen Moore, he could have a big game through the air.
• Get up for the game - Their hopes of being the first non-BCS team to get a shot in the BCS championship game were dashed with a missed field goal in Reno. Should they be feeling that they deserve more and disappointed to be playing in Vegas, the Utes would be in prime position to make the upset.

MY PREDICTION: Utah 27, Boise State 24. Let me know what you think. Email me your predictions/questions rojackson@ksl.com

Team Stat Comparison for 2010-2011 Season

	Utah	Boise State	Advantage
OFFENSIVE STATS
Points For (Per Game)	35.58	46.67
Rushing Yards (Per Game)	156.75	202.00
Passing Yards (Per Game)	248.00	319.42
Total Yards (Per Game)	404.75	521.42
3rd Down Conversions (Season)	44%	50%
4th Down Conversions (Season)	69%	42%
Time of Possession (Per Game)	29:42	30:25
Red Zone Scores (Season)	87%	85%
DEFENSIVE STATS
Points Against (Per Game)	19.83	13.58
Rushing Defense (Per Game)	104.17	108.33
Passing Defense (Per Game)	215.50	155.75
Total Defense (Per Game)	319.67	264.08
3rd Down Defense % (Season)	35%	30%

Utah Miscellaneous Stats

• Utah owns the nation's longest active bowl win streak at nine games (1999, 2001, 2003-2009). The nine-straight wins ties Utah for the second-longest bowl win streak of all time with USC, which won nine straight spanning from 1923-45. Florida State holds the record with 11 consecutive bowl wins (1985-96).
• Utah leads the nation's non automatic qualifying teams with a 21-12 record against BCS teams since the BCS began in 1998. Boise State is 8-12 against BCS teams
• Utah is tied for first nationally in defending opponent fourth-down conversions (20.0%, 3-of-15)
• The Utes are ranked eighth nationally in rushing defense (104.2) and 20th in total defense (319.7)
• Utah ranks 10th in the nation in defensive three and outs, averaging 4.20 a game (50 in 12 games)
• Opponents are averaging just 3.0 yards per rush and Utah has held seven below 100 rushing yards: Pittsburgh (82), New Mexico (69), San Jose State (94), Wyoming (67), Colorado State (28), San Diego State (59) and Brigham Young (65).
• Utah ranks No. 2 nationally and first in the MWC in punt return average (18.1), while All-American Shaky Smithson leads the nation in punt return average (19.7) and total punt return yards (572)
• Utah ranks eighth nationally and leads the league in kickoff coverage (46.2 net average)
• Utah's special teams have scored four touchdowns (three on punt returns and one on a kickoff return).

Boise State Miscellaneous Stats

• The 11 wins by Boise State are the most for any team playing in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl.
• The Broncos were the only team in the country to finish the regular season ranked in the top five in both total offense (fourth; 519.50) and total defense (fourth; 259.25). The Broncos also ranked second-nationally in scoring offense (46.67) and fourth-nationally in scoring defense (13.58).
• The Boise State defense has allowed just 27 red zone opportunities in 2010, 15 of which were successful. The 56-percent success rate for opponents is the nation's second-best mark.
• The Bronco defense ranks first-nationally in sacks, averaging 3.75 per game. On the other side of the ball the Broncos are allowing just 0.58 per game, the third-fewest in the country.
• The Boise State defense has been one of the nation's best at keeping opposing offenses off the field, forcing an average of 5.00 three-and-outs per game. The mark ranks fifth-nationally, behind only TCU (6.41), Ohio State (5.75), Nebraska (5.15) and Texas (5.08). Boise State forced 55 three-and-outs during the regular season.
• This year's game features the only two teams from non-BCS conferences to have won a BCS games. Both teams are 2-0 in BCS games.

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