Boise State Beats TCU in Non-BCS Battle

The scene at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a tragic one.

On opposing sides stood two teams who have been fighting for the same thing in recent years; on opposing sidelines stood two head coaches who had once been linebackers coach (Gary Patterson) and team captain (Chris Petersen), respectively, at UC Davis. Around the country, college football fans could only sit and watch as each squad prepared for a battle with an enemy it had no quarrel with.

Boise State and TCU have been fighting for respect from the Bowl Championship Series ever since it was implemented over a decade ago. Unfortunately, despite twenty-five wins and zero losses between the two teams in the regular season, the powers that be, fearing another embarrassing spectacle, guaranteed a saving of face by eliminating any risk of a small conference team slaying a behemoth. Thus, two underdog powerhouses were forced to clash with an opponent who was, essentially, on the same side.

What was easily forgotten, though, was that, when removing any external context, two undefeated and extremely talented teams went head-to-head in front of a national audience on one of the grandest stages in college football. And, in the end, Boise State, with a play that awoke memories of its thrilling victory over Oklahoma in this very bowl three years ago, prevailed, 17-10.

Fittingly, for most of the contest, both teams were all but mirror images of each other. Each team’s quarterback—Boise State’s Kellen Moore and TCU’s Andy Dalton—struggled to find any sort of rhythm with their throws. Neither high-powered offense could amass a point total consistent with its output throughout 2009; on the flipside, both defenses were stout and resilient in shutting down the offenses they were faced with. The most telling reflection of all, though, was that the two teams were locked in a tie at ten for a sizeable portion of the second half.

The tie was a result of Bronco cornerback Brandyn Thompson returning an interception 51 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and kicker Kyle Brotzman adding a 40 yard field goal early in the second; the Horned Frogs countered with a 30 yard touchdown pass from Dalton to wide receiver Curtis Clay just before halftime and an equalizing 29 yard field goal from Ross Evans late in the third quarter.

What followed afterward was an extended stalemate where every yard was precious, every play was critical, and any mistake could be the difference between victory and defeat. Both teams, having faced off in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl, knew each other well enough to prevent the other from running away with the game; the three-and-outs mounted up and the trenches became less penetrable. By the fourth quarter, it was clear that the winning side was going to have to come up with something special and unexpected to break the tie.

With 9:39 remaining, that surprise came from an unsurprising source.

The Boise State offense had just been turned away again and faced 4th and 9 from its own 33 yard line; Chris Petersen, predictably, sent out the punt team to kick the ball back to TCU. Brotzman handled the snap, but, unpredictably, fired a pass down the middle of the field; tight end Kyle Efaw, who broke through the line and slipped downfield unnoticed, hauled in the pass for a 29 yard gain and the Bronco offense was finally back in business. Four plays later, running back Doug Martin dived into the end zone for a one yard touchdown that put Boise State up by seven with 7:21 left in the game.

Having turned over the ball on downs on its ensuing drive—despite a brilliant punt return by Jeremy Kerley and a sure touchdown pass that was dropped by Antoine Hicks—the TCU offense, with time running short, hoped their defensive counterparts could give them one last opportunity. As it turned out, some poor play calling on the Broncos’ part was all that was necessary for the Horned Frogs to get the ball back. Two incompletions from Moore forced a punt that Petersen opted to execute in normal fashion, but as a ray of light shone upon TCU, it was quickly shaded as Kerley decided to let the incoming kick go by; when the punt was finally downed by the Broncos, the Horned Frogs were left with 1:06 on the clock, and faced 99 yards worth of field between them and hope remaining alive.

The TCU offense, rendered inert ever since it erased the earlier ten-point deficit, miraculously launched a furious final stand that took them all the way to the Boise State 31 yard line with half a minute left on the clock. Just when the light had returned, though, the Horned Frogs’ mirror image for much of the past three hours made the play that shattered the glass for good. After Dalton threw into coverage and the ball bounced off a receiver’s helmet, and then came down in the hands of Bronco safety Winston Venable.

And with that, Boise State avenged its only loss of the past two seasons and won its second Fiesta Bowl. Sadly, due to circumstances out of their control, this Bronco BCS victory lacked the same drama, impact, and flat out absurdity that their first one did. In 2007, there was only one underdog and it took down the behemoth in legendary fashion; on this day, the sole miracle was the measly twenty-seven combined points put up by these two offenses.

Truthfully, no matter which team won, the end result would be the same: The little guy was going to go down in Phoenix. There was no dragon for either of these knights to slay, no old lion for either of these cubs to unseat, and no giant for these commoners to fell; all the Broncos and the Horned Frogs wanted was a proverbial shot at. Who wouldn’t like Boise State’s chances against Iowa? Would TCU and Georgia Tech really be a mismatch? Both of these teams have had their slingshots loaded for ages; when are they going to get a shot at Goliath?

The Fiesta Bowl? University of Phoenix Stadium might as well have been a confinement zone.