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This Day In Sports…September 21, 2005:
After an 0-2 start, including a 48-13 loss at Georgia and a 30-27 setback at Oregon State, Boise State goes into its home opener with some concerns. But the Broncos pinned a 48-20 defeat on another highly-touted non-BCS school, Bowling Green. Finishing drives was a problem at the outset, as Boise State had outgained the Falcons 164 yards to three early in the second quarter but had only six points to show for it. Bowling Green then tied the game with a 62-yard drive (missing the PAT).
But Lee Marks then lit the fire, breaking open the 6-6 stalemate with a 92-yard kickoff return, and Boise State didn’t look back. Jared Zabransky threw for one touchdown and ran for three more as the Broncos scored 48 straight points. Marks, the team’s leading rusher that season, added 80 yards rushing on 12 carries, and redshirt freshman Ian Johnson contributed 85 rushing yards on 16 attempts. The Boise State defense, meanwhile, forced Falcons star quarterback Omar Jacobs into the worst game of his career—he threw two three TD passes, but two weren’t until mop-up time.
The victory launched a seven-game Broncos winning streak that included a wild 44-41 win at Hawaii the following week and a 49-14 pounding of Nevada, which would tie with Boise State for the WAC championship at the end of November. The run ended with a 27-7 loss at No. 20 Fresno State, which beat the Broncos for the first time in a conference game. (The Bulldogs were riding high but would not win another game that season.)
The 2005 season was an odd one. The Boise State roster was full of players who would star during the undefeated 2006 campaign—Zabransky, Johnson. Jerard Rabb, Drisan James, Legedu Naanee, Derek Schouman, Vinny Perretta, Korey Hall, Marty Tadman, and on and on. But they never consistently hit full-stride, finishing 9-4 after falling to Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl. Coach Dan Hawkins, the architect of Boise State’s first four WAC titles, accepted the Colorado job at the end of the season, and offensive coordinator Chris Petersen took over. And there you go.
(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.)
