Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…November 14, 2015, 10 years ago today:
Junior wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck makes 20 receptions for 281 yards, shattering Boise State records in both categories, but it comes in a loss as the Broncos are stunned 31-24 by 30.5-point underdog New Mexico. True freshman quarterback Brett Rypien also set new Boise State standards with 75 pass attempts and 41 completions while throwing for 506 yards, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Broncos from losing only their fifth game on the blue turf in the new century. Based on the point spread, it was the biggest upset in a game involving two FBS teams that season.
So how does something like this shocking loss happen? Blown opportunities early in the game, including a ricochet interception, an overthrow, and a missed chip-shot field goal. Bites by the defense on the New Mexico triple-option that turned into huge pass plays. Dropped passes—lots of them, by almost everybody not named Sperbeck. And an obsession with a deep passing game that was not working. The Broncos seldom had to play from behind back then, and they didn’t respond well when the Lobos backed them into a corner.
And things had started out so swimmingly. New Mexico had the ball first and lost 13 yards on three plays (plus five more on a false start). The Broncos got the ball, and Rypien hit Sperbeck for 42 yards on the first snap. Then Shane Williams-Rhodes, perhaps overly excited at the prospect of his first touchdown catch of the season, turned toward the end zone before securing the ball and it hit the turf. And Rypien’s first pick came on the next play at the goal line.
The Lobos got just one first down before punting on their next possession—and the Broncos marched 78 yards to the New Mexico five-yard line. That’s where they stunningly missed a 22-yard field goal try, and the Lobos were officially hanging around. After the game, UNM coach Bob Davie gathered his squad at midfield for a triumphant team photo on the Blue, and that image stuck with Boise State for a long time. New Mexico hasn’t beaten the Broncos since.
Let’s look at those records, though. Sperbeck’s for receiving yardage broke the mark of 264 yards set by Winky White 25 years earlier in the Division I-AA Playoffs at Nevada. Sperbeck’s record for receptions snapped the previous standard of 16 held since 2003 by Tim Gilligan at Louisiana Tech. That same game in Ruston, LA, also produced the two records that Rypien eclipsed: Ryan Dinwiddie’s 60 attempts and 40 completions.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
