Presented by THE POOL DOCTOR.
Monday, October 27, 2014.
Conventional wisdom—mine, anyway—said that if Grant Hedrick had a good game, Boise State would be alright against BYU. Well, Hedrick had a great game, throwing for 411 yards, the seventh-best number in Bronco history, in the 55-30 drubbing of the Cougars Friday night at Albertsons Stadium. As much passing as Boise State has done over the years, 400-yard games are rare; Hedrick’s was only the 11th. The senior joins some pretty tall company, as only Ryan Dinwiddie, Kellen Moore and Jim McMillan have thrown for more yards in a game as a Bronco. Hedrick’s had his share of trials and tribulations this season, but you can't take that feat away from him.
Hedrick was 24-of-31 on the night for a completion percentage of 77 percent. That lifts his season accuracy to 72.5 percent, now tops in the nation. His pass efficiency rating is 151.1, which is phenomenal considering his 11 interceptions and his sub-par touchdown total of 12. No telling what the perception of Hedrick would be if you could paint a different face on that Air Force debacle (the Ole Miss game was just one of those things).
It was a 31-point explosion in the second quarter that put the game away. And there was one sequence that took much of the wind out of BYU’s sails. Boise State looked to get good field position when the Cougars were forced to punt from their own 18 after another three-and-out. Scott Arellano boomed his punt 76 yards, coming to rest at the Bronco six-yard line. BYU, trailing only 13-0, had changed the field position scenario and was pumped to get a defensive stop. On the first play of the Boise State possession, Jay Ajayi peeled off a 16-yard run. On the second, Hedrick hit Thomas Sperbeck for the 78-yard touchdown that brought the house down (what a way for Sperbeck to score his first career TD).
It was then that BYU would bring star running back Jamaal Williams off the injury shelf, but the train had left the station. The Broncos led the total offense battle at that point, 245 yards to 12. Williams rushed for 70 yards, while Christian Stewart threw for a pedestrian 259. Yes, BYU would have been different with star quarterback Taysom Hill. But, as someone told me after the game, “Taysom Hill doesn’t play defense.” Boise State rolled up 637 yards on the Cougars, and it wasn’t just Hedrick’s passing. Ajayi rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first rusher to top 100 yards this season against BYU, who entered the game holding opponents to 97 yards per game on the ground. The Broncos rushed for 227.
As you might expect, BYU is being roasted in the Salt Lake media for its performance on the blue turf. Dick Harmon of the Deseret News is calling for coach Bronco Mendenhall to re-take full control of the Cougar defense after it was gobbled up to the tune of eight yards per play by Boise State. Harmon had quite a zinger in his postgame column, writing, “BYU got whipped by a team that exemplified polish, execution, timing, intelligence, effort, moxie, swagger, organization, teamwork, blocking, tackling, imagination, gadgets, recruits, superior game planning and confidence.” Remember, this is a first-year BSU coaching staff.
Wire to wire, the crowd for the Boise State-BYU game was louder two years ago than it was Friday night. But that's because the 2012 contest wasn't decided until the final possession, as every yard was precious in the Broncos' tense 7-6 victory. The decibel meter was pushed plenty during the first half Friday as Boise State built its 41-16 lead. "That was a dynamic, wild setting," said Mendenhall on his KSL postgame show. "Boise State fans really know how to support their team." Mendenhall is accustomed to crowds of 60,000-plus in Provo. Attendance in Boise was 36,752, the second-largest in school history next to the 2012 Bronco-Cougar matchup.
This one got away from the College of Idaho at the coin flip. Southern Oregon blasted out to a 42-10 halftime lead Saturday and routed the Coyotes 66-16 at Simplot Stadium. Raiders quarterback Austin Dodge diced up the C of I defense, throwing for 443 yards and four touchdowns. In two games against the Coyotes this season, Dodge was 53-of-71 for 919 yards with nine TDs and one interception. SOU scored touchdowns so quickly Saturday, including on every first half possession, that the Coyotes had 39 minutes in time of possession. Still, C of I could manage only 260 yards of total offense. The loss evens the Yotes' record at 4-4.
Idaho State was the first to tell you the past couple of seasons it didn't have a running game. That is not the case this year, and the Bengals reached the pinnacle Saturday in their streak-busting 46-12 win at Northern Colorado. ISU's Xavier Finney rushed for 236 yards, the third-most in school history, and Mountain View High grad Daniel McSurdy added 92 yards and three touchdowns as the Bengals broke a 48-game road losing streak dating back to 2006 (my numbers were off Friday). Former Timberline standout Madison Mangum contributed mightily in the passing game with seven receptions for 104 yards. Believe it or not, Idaho State is 5-3—3-1 in the Big Sky.
One of the most talked-about plays in the NFL Sunday involved former Boise State star George Iloka. With Cincinnati leading Baltimore 27-24 in the final minute, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco uncorked a deep heave to Steve Smith Sr., who caught it and ran it in for an apparent 80-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left. But Smith was called for offensive pass interference for pushing off on Iloka, sealing the Cincy win. One friend told me it was a “flop” by Iloka, who hit the turf after contact with Smith. The consensus today seems to be that it was a good call, some going as far as calling it a “no-brainer.” Iloka was, uh, merely drawing attention to what happened. The third-year safety made five tackles in the victory.
Saturday's 4-1 win over the Ontario Reign is easily the Idaho Steelheads' most impressive of the young season. And it may stay that way for awhile. Ontario was coming off a three-game road sweep of the Alaska Aces—an almost unthinkable feat—and was playing its home opener in front of almost 9,000 fans. But Gaelen Patterson netted two goals for the Steelheads, and Olivier Roy turned away 20 of 21 Reign shots to improve to 3-0 on the season. Coupled with Friday's 3-2 win at Bakersfield, the Steelies are 3-1 after pushing four goals past the Reign's reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Week, Joe Cannata. Idaho returns home Wednesday night to host Stockton in CenturyLink Arena.
The Boise State men's basketball team is five days away from getting to play somebody else. The Broncos have been going at it in practice for several weeks now and are anxious for a test run against LaVerne University in an exhibition game this Saturday. There's one facet of Boise State's game in focus as the season nears. "We've got some really good offensive players—guys who know we have to get better defensively," said coach Leon Rice. What does Derrick Marks want to get out of his senior year? "I just look forward to winning—(pause)—and playing defense," grinned Marks.
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October 27, 2004, 10 years ago today: The Curse of the Bambino ends convincingly, as the Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918 with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. This was on the heels of one of the greatest accomplishments in sports—the rally by the Red Sox from a three-games-to-none deficit to eliminate the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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