Boise State Broncos and Nevada Wolf Pack: A Rivalry 40 Years in the Making
Everyone who follows college football or has watched any Boise State game this season knows that Nevada crushed the Broncos’ BCS dreams last season with a 34-31 overtime victory. But what many (even dedicated) fans might not realize is that these teams have played in all but four seasons since 1971.
What’s more, the teams have carried the rivalry through four different conferences: Big Sky, Big West, Western Athletic, and starting in 2012, Mountain West. Saturday’s match up marks the passing of 40 years since the teams first began playing. In total, Boise State has won 24 games and Nevada has won 13. Several defining moments for both programs have come as a result of the match up over the years. In fact, last season’s stunning upset was not the first time the Wolf Pack have crushed the Broncos’ national title hopes. In 1990, the teams met in a Division I-AA semifinal playoff game that ended with a triple-overtime Nevada victory. Nevada went on to lose to Georgia Southern in the championship. They moved up to Division 1-A two years later.The teams have played 14 times (all but the 2000 season) since Boise State joined Nevada in Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996. Early on, Nevada looked to be the dominant team, winning the first three Division 1-A games in the rivalry. However, from 1999 to present the Wolf Pack’s lone win came last season—when the stakes were at their highest.
read more here.
Ault: Fajardo didn’t make ‘much of an effort’ to play
Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault and Fajardo downplayed the significance of the injury heading into Saturday’s game against Boise State. But it was enough to cause Fajardo to miss the game, and Ault didn’t appear happy.
“I really felt like Cody could have possibly played this week, and yet there wasn’t much of an effort from his side of it,” Ault said. “The trainers were keeping me updated all week long. We’re not going to push anybody. If they can’t practice, they’re not playing.”
Asked when Fajardo could return, Ault said: “Right now, that’s the least of my worries. I’m worried about the guys that are healthy.”
With Fajardo suited up but sidelined, Tyler Lantrip made his fourth consecutive start and never found his rhythm.
Sounds like sour grapes to me… Maybe Ault could take some lessons from this guy.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pZU5AnxwIAg
Boise State’s Moore moves up in all-time TDs, wins
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — With a pair of touchdown passes and another Boise State victory, Kellen Moore moved up the ranks among college football’s all time quarterbacks.
But he didn’t earn any style points for his latest achievements.
The lefty tossed his 112th and 113th touchdown passes in the first half in Saturday’s 30-10 win over Nevada. The second, a 3-yard toss to Matt Miller, put the Broncos up 14-0 and put Moore one shy of surpassing former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel.
The win gave Moore 42 for his career and in a three-way tie for second with Georgia’s David Greene and TCU’s Andy Dalton.
In typical fashion, Moore was more concerned about a clunky, ho-hum overall performance for the Broncos passing game than his personal climb up the NCAA record books.
“It’s not the way we want to play, certainly,” Moore said. “Bottom line: We didn’t execute.”
This time, Boise State toughens up against Nevada
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/FBC-MURPHY-COLUMN_6202538/FBC-MURPHY-COLUMN_6202538/
BOISE, Idaho — Missed field goals got all the headlines after Boise State’s overtime loss to Nevada last year, but the Broncos would never have been in that position late on that November night had their defense not been gashed repeatedly by quarterback Colin Kaepernick&Co.
Boise State’s defensive players remembered.
And, if they didn’t, coach Chris Petersen gave them a reminder last week. Of not only last year’s second-half debacle, but a string of poor second-half efforts by the defense in recent years against the Wolf Pack.
“He showed us a slide Tuesday of how they’d been whupping our butts in the second half,” linebacker J.C. Percy said.
Saturday, the Broncos’ defense did the whupping.
In the first half. In the second half. Nevada — without Kaepernick, who was a second-round NFL Draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers — amassed a mere 182 yards. This from an offense that put up more than 500 yards of total offense against Oregon and Texas Tech, one that ranked No. 15 in the nation in total offense entering the game.
When Boise State held a 30-0 lead late in the third quarter, the Wolf Pack had 11 drives, none lasting longer than six plays or advancing more than 18 yards. Nine of the drives lasted three plays or less. Four resulted in negative yards.
“We really had that chip on our shoulder. Everybody wants to say it was revenge or say it was payback. I just felt like the most physical team won,” said cornerback Quaylon Ewing-Burton, who led the Broncos with seven tackles after being inserted into the starting lineup when Jerrell Gavins suffered a knee injury in practice Wednesday.
“I’m sure last year’s game had a little something to do with it. It never gets brought up. But it’s there. They know in the back of their brains,” defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said.
Kwiatkowski made some changes for this game. In past games with Nevada, Boise State has left its cornerbacks in man coverage and focused its efforts on stopping the run. Wide receiver Rishard Matthews made the Broncos pay last year with 10 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown.
Coach K gave the corners some additional help Saturday and mixed coverage and looks in an attempt to keep first-year starting quarterback Tyler Lantrip guessing. Kwiatkowski focused on stopping the inside run and let his defense do the rest.
With senior cornerback Jamar Taylor locked up with Matthews most of the game, the senior receiver didn’t catch his first pass until less than a minute remained in the third quarter. The defensive front overran Nevada’s offensive line. Of Nevada’s 55 plays, 12 went for loss. Twelve different Broncos contributed to those negative plays.
Lantrip, who completed just 5-of-16 passes, took a pounding despite not being sacked. Pressure from Shea McClellin led to an interception from Percy. Safety George Iloka stripped Lantrip to end another drive.
“How the offensive front goes is how we’re going to go and that front just got handled today by the Boise defensive line. That’s as good of a front as you’re going to see,” Nevada coach Chris Ault said. “… The offense was horrific.” It is a scene Ault has seen before.
The last time Boise State played Nevada without Kaepernick, in 2006, the Wolf Pack gained 141 yards. In the four years in between, Nevada averaged 42 points per game against the Broncos — many of them in the second half.
Call it revenge. Call it payback. Call it pride. Boise State’s defense was determined not to relive those nightmares.
“It wasn’t necessarily what we did today. It was more what we did last week in practice. The coaches were on us about details and being as perfect as we can in practice,” Percy said. “It showed up today.”
When the defense stopped the show and earned its headlines.
Nevada football: Boise treats sparse Pack fans well
BOISE, Idaho — More than two hours before kickoff at Bronco Stadium on Saturday, the search for a Nevada fan was like the search for the Fountain of Youth.
After thousands and thousands of orange or Bronco blue shirts, there they were, four fans wearing Nevada gear.
Last year’s 34-31 Nevada win at Mackay Stadium, followed by what Boise State fans said was poor behavior by some Nevada fans, was reason enough for concern about how Wolf Pack fans would be treated Saturday.
Like guests, Rick Caldwell said.
Caldwell, who made the trip from Reno along with three friends and family, said they had no negative experiences at Bronco Stadium.
“No, fans are great up here,” he said. “Just getting some stares. That’s it.”
Caldwell and his group were in search of the Nevada tailgating section. No one — not security, police or even Boise State athletic department personnel — knew where it was. Maybe it wasn’t at all. Nevada spokesman Chad Hartley said the university sold all 1,000 tickets allotted by Boise State, but two hours before the game they were either not wearing Wolf Pack gear or maybe having breakfast in town.
And that left Caldwell’s foursome to fend for themselves. He wasn’t worried … well, at least not much.
“Their fans are first class,” he said. “It’s early, though.”
Speaks to the largess of Bronco Nation when 2000 miiles away I had no problem finding a Bronco tail gate in Toledo.
Nevada offense bogs down in 30-10 loss against No. 4 Boise State
BOISE, Idaho — Nevada coach Chris Ault didn’t see this coming.
Entering Saturday’s game against No. 4 Boise State with one of the nation’s most productive offenses, the Wolf Pack were inept and ineffective in a 30-10 loss.
How bad was it?
Nevada failed to cross midfield until the third quarter, and only did so with the aid of a long kick return and a Bronco personal foul. Any chance of closing a 30-0 gap ended two plays later when quarterback Tyler Lantrip fumbled.
Nevada’s first points came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
The passing game misfired, the running game got bogged down and an offense averaging 483 yards per game ended a long afternoon with only 182 yards and 10 points.
“Our offense was inept all day,” Ault said. “I think the offensive front … I am really surprised at how poorly they played. I thought our quarterback play was average at best. We just didn’t get anything going offensively.”
If there is anything for Nevada to look forward to, it’s playing at home next week for the first time all year against UNLV. The Wolf Pack (1-3) opened their season with one of the nation’s most traveled teams, a four-game swing that began with a blowout at Oregon.
Nevada then won at San Jose State, but lost a tough one a week later at Texas Tech.
Then came Saturday’s meltdown.
As poorly as his pistol offense performed against the Broncos, Ault says he was at least pleased with the play of his defense. The Wolf Pack held Kellen Moore to a career low 142 yards passing, sacked him once and picked off two passes.
“I thought our defense played hard all game, but our offense put the defense in a hole. I thought defensively speaking, we really played hard.”
But the day really belonged to the Boise State defense, which helped avenge last year’s second-half collapse that cost the Broncos any hopes of playing for a national title. After leading by 21 points in Reno, Nev., last season, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the Wolf Pack offense, roared back and beat their — at the time — Western Athletic Conference rivals 34-31 in overtime.
Lantrip played the entire game because redshirt freshman Cody Fajardo, who has traded snaps with Lantrip through the first three games, is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in last week’s loss at Texas Tech. Lantrip was 5 of 16 for 50 yards, was sacked once and threw one interception.
Ault had hoped all week Fajardo would be healthy enough to play, and add another running threat to the Nevada offense.
“I’m concerned about our quarterback situation to be honest,” Ault said. “I really felt Cody could have played this week. The trainers were keeping me up to date on what was going on, but we aren’t going to push anyone.”
The problems on offense weren’t just at quarterback, however.
Mike Ball, who started the day averaging 120 rushing yards per game, was held to 35 yards on 15 carries and Nevada rushed for a measly 59 yards all game.
“How the offensive front goes is how we’re going to go, and that front just got handled today by the Boise defensive line,” Ault said.
Boise State got on the board first midway through the first quarter when Moore fired a 21-yard TD pass to D.J. Harper, who beat linebacker James Michael Johnson down the middle of the field.
After Moore fired his second TD pass with 5:51 left in the second quarter, the Broncos’ defense forced another Nevada punt that Mitch Burroughs returned 25 yards to the Wolf Pack 25-yard line.
The Broncos and Martin wasted little time expanding their lead. Moore preserved the drive by tossing an 11-yard pass to Burroughs on fourth down, then two plays later Martin scored from 5 yards out and led 20-0 at the half after failing on the 2-point conversion.
Martin, who rushed for a season-best 126 yards, put the game out of reach early in the third quarter when he dashed 43 yards down the left sideline to put Boise State up 27-0.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2011 College Football Rankings – Week 5
The SEC continue to dominate with LSU staying on top of the rankings while Alabama crushed Florida, climbing up to number two, meaning the SEC West owns the top two spots in the nation. This is the 10th time in the last four seasons that the SEC had the top two teams in the nation.
1. LSU Tigers, 5-0 (40 first place votes) – Another impressive home win for LSU, another week at the top of nation, after beating Kentucky 35-7.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide, 5-0 (12) – Completing the SEC West domination, Alabama crushed Florida in Gainsville 38-10, jumping up a spot, making the first time since 2000 with the 1-2 spots occupied by teams from the same division.
3. Oklahmoa Sooners, 4-0 (7) – Despite a 62-6 win, the weak opposition didn’t impress the voters, dropping the cream of the Big 12 down a spot after beating Ball State.
4. Wisconsin Badgers, 5-0 – The best team in the Big Ten got a big win over Nebraska in Madison, beating the Huskers 48-17 in Nebraska’s first Big Ten conference game, moving the Badgers up three spots.
5. Boise State Broncos, 4-0 (1) – A 30-10 drubbing of Nevada, allowing them points only in garbage time, dropped the Broncos a spot but kept their number one vote alive.
6. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 4-0 – Didn’t play, dropped a spot.
7. Stanford Cardinal, 4-0 – Another impressive Andrew Luck performance (23-27, 3 TD) got Stanford a 45-19 win over UCLA, still falling down a spot.
8. Clemson Tigers, 5-0 – The best in the ACC beat another ranked opponent with a very impressive 23-3 win over Virginia Tech, jumping 5 spots up the charts.
9. Oregon Ducks, 3-1 – Didn’t play, didn’t move.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks, 4-1 – Bounced back from their loss with a huge comeback against Texas A&M, beating the Aggies 42-38, jumping 8 spots up the charts.
11. Texas Longhorns, 4-0 – A 37-14 win over Iowa State helped the Longhorns rise six spots.
12. Michigan Wolverines, 5-0 – A huge 58-0 drubbing of Minnesota gave the Wolverines a seven spot rise in the rankings.
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 5-0 – An impressive 45-35 win over North Carolina State lifted GT eight spots.
14. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 4-1 – Lost their first ever conference game in the Big ten, 48-17 against Wisconsin, dropping six spots.
15. Auburn Tigers, 4-1 – Made a huge leap back into the rankings after a big win over previously no.10 and undefeated South Carolina, 13-16.
16. West Virginia Mountaineers, 4-1 – Didn’t beat the best of opponents (Bowling Green), but their 55-10 win propelled them six spots.
17. Florida Gators, 4-1 – Dropped five spots after their home loss to Alabama, 10-38.
18. South Carolina Gamecocks, 4-1 – No longer undefeated, lost to unranked national champions Auburn at home 13-16, falling down 8 spots.
19. Illinois Fighting Illini, 5-0 – A huge fourth quarter comeback win over Northwestern kept the Illini perfect with a 38-35 win, climbing three spots.
20. Kansas State Wildcats, 4-0 – A 36-35 win over ranked Baylor put the Wildcats in the top 25 for the first time this season and the first time since 2007.
21. Virginia Tech Hokies, 4-1 – Dropped 10 spots after a home 3-23 loss against Clemson.
22. Arizona State Sun Devils, 4-1 – Jumped up three spots after their 35-20 win over win less Oregon State.
23. Florida State Seminoles, 2-2 – Didn’t play.
24. Texas A&M Aggies, 2-2 – Lost for a second straight week, losing 42-38 to Arkansas, falling ten spots and realizing how hard SEC life is going to be.
25. Baylor Bears, 3-1 – Fell ten spots after a 36-35 loss against Kansas State.
Dropped from rankings – South Florida, TCU.
I herd it said this weekend that the only top 15 teams not wanting to trade schedules with Boise State were the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan Wolverines! Looking at who’s left on their schedules I would have to agree.
Said to see TCU drop a another game but the facts remain the rest of the MW teams are doing fine and all have strong records.
Mountain West Standings
| TEAM | CONF | OVERALL |
| Colorado State | 1-0 | 3-2 |
| TCU | 1-0 | 3-2 |
| Boise State | 0-0 | 4-0 |
| San Diego State | 0-0 | 3-1 |
| Wyoming | 0-0 | 3-1 |
| Air Force | 0-1 | 3-1 |
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