2007 Boise State Broncos football team

2007 Boise State Broncos football
Hawaii Bowl, L 38–41 vs. East Carolina
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	10–3 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	Chris Petersen (2nd as HC; 7th overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryan Harsin (2nd as OC; 7th overall season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Justin Wilcox (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium (Capacity: 30,000)
Seasons ←  2006 2008  →

2007 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 19 Hawaii $		8	–	0					12	–	1
Boise State		7	–	1					10	–	3
Fresno State		6	–	2					9	–	4
Nevada		4	–	4					6	–	7
Louisiana Tech		4	–	4					5	–	7
San Jose State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Utah State		2	–	6					2	–	10
New Mexico State		1	–	7					4	–	9
Idaho		0	–	8					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos, led by second year head coach Chris Petersen, play their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the "smurf-turf", and were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Broncos finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in WAC play and failed to win the WAC for the first time since 2001. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl, where they were defeated by East Carolina, 41–38.

Previous season

The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship with an undefeated 12-0 regular-season record (8-0 in the WAC), their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years. This was also Boise State's fifth consecutive season with at least a share of the WAC title, and the fourth in that period in which they went unbeaten in conference play. They became only the second team from outside the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to play in a BCS bowl game when they faced Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, defeating the Sooners in a dramatic thriller.

The Broncos completed an unbeaten season with a 43-42 overtime win over the Sooners. The Broncos led most of the game, but lost the lead late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jared Zabransky threw an interception that was returned for an Oklahoma touchdown. They tied the game on a 50-yard hook and ladder play that ended in a touchdown with 7 seconds left. In the overtime, Sooners star running back Adrian Peterson scored a touchdown on the first play of Oklahoma's possession. Zabransky led the Broncos on a touchdown drive, capped off by a trick play in which backup receiver Vinny Peretta connected with tight end Derek Schouman on a fourth-down pass. They then gambled for the win on a two-point conversion, and tried another trick play. The Broncos ran a play very similar to the Statue of Liberty play, with Zabransky looking toward three receivers before handing the ball off behind his back to star running back Ian Johnson, who ran into the end zone untouched for the win.

Thanks to Florida's 41-14 thrashing of previously unbeaten Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game, the Broncos ended the season as the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I football, as no team in Division I-AA (officially known as the "Football Championship Subdivision") finished undefeated. (Three teams in lower divisions finished unbeaten: Grand Valley State in Division II, Mount Union in Division III, and Sioux Falls in NAIA.)

National recognition immediately followed the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State was the talk of the sports world for weeks after the game. Many thought that the Fiesta Bowl was the best game ever through online polls. Boise finished the season sixth in the USA Today coaches poll and fifth in the AP poll, with a single first-place vote in the latter. Quarterback Jared Zabransky was later named to the cover of the NCAA Football 08 video game. Four Bronco players were drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, the most ever in Boise State history. Eight more were later signed through free agency. The Broncos were also nominated and won the 2007 ESPY awards in the categories of Best Game (Fiesta Bowl) and Best Play (Statue of Liberty).

In February and March 2008, the Statue of Liberty play was voted by the fans on ESPN as the #2 greatest highlight of all time during a bracket style tournament to determine the greatest highlight ever. BSU's trick play lost in the final round to Mike Eurzione's goal against the USSR in the 1980 "Miracle on Ice".

Pre-season

Boise State was picked to finish second in the WAC by the media and by the coaches during the WAC media days. Hawaii was picked first in both polls. The Broncos were ranked #23 in the first Coaches poll and #24 in the AP poll. The Broncos enter the season with the nation's longest winning streak (13).

Pre-season awards

Ryan Clady- Outland Trophy Watch List, Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List, Playboy All American Team, NationalChamps.net 2nd Team All-American.

Ian Johnson- Heisman Trophy Candidate, Maxwell Award Watch List, Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year Award Watch List, Doak Walker Award Candidate, Athlon, Street & Smith's and NationalChamps.net 3rd Team All-American.

Marty Tadman- Chuck Bednarick Award Watch List, Walter Camp Award Watch List, Sports Illustrated First Team All-American, NationalChamps.net Honorable Mention.

During the season

The 2007 season started Thursday, August 30, 2007. Boise State played 5 games on either ESPN or ESPN2. The Southern Miss game was played on a Thursday, the Nevada and New Mexico State games were played on Sundays and the Fresno State and Hawaii games were played on Fridays. The Washington game was also televised nationally via FOX Sports NET. Any game not televised nationally was broadcast locally in Boise on KTVB.

The Broncos also debuted new uniforms in the 2007 season, the most notable feature being the removal of last names on backs. The last names were put back on the uniforms for the final game of the regular season against Hawaii and remained for the Hawaii Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 pm	Weber State *	No. 24	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	KTVB	W 56–7	30,278
September 8	1:30 pm	at Washington *	No. 22	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	FSN	L 10–24	70,045
September 15	6:00 pm	Wyoming *		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	KTVB	W 24–14	30,199
September 27	5:30 pm	Southern Miss *		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN	W 38–16	30,159
October 7	6:00 pm	New Mexico State		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN	W 58–0	30,239
October 14	6:00 pm	Nevada		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	ESPN	W 69–67 4OT	30,394
October 20	5:00 pm	at Louisiana Tech		Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	KTVB	W 45–31	19,199
October 26	7:00 pm	at Fresno State		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (Battle for the Milk Can)	ESPN2	W 34–21	40,607
November 3	1:00 pm	San Jose State	No. 21	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	KTVB	W 42–7	30,416
November 10	1:00 pm	at Utah State	No. 19	Romney Stadium Logan, UT	KTVB	W 52–0	18,864
November 17	12:00 pm	Idaho	No. 17	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (Battle for the Governor's Trophy)	KTVB	W 58–14	30,681
November 23	7:00 pm	at No. 14 Hawaii	No. 17	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	ESPN2	L 27–39	50,000
December 23	6:00 pm	vs. East Carolina *	No. 24	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Sheraton Hawaii Bowl)	ESPN	L 38–41	30,467
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Rankings

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	24	22	RV	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	19	17	17	24	24	RV
Coaches Poll	23	20	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	19	15	17	23	22	RV
Harris	Not released				—	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	19	15	15	22	22	Not released
BCS	Not released							—	—	22	20	18	19	25	24	Not released

Game results

Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	0	7
#23 Broncos	28	21	7	0	56

56-7. Boise State opened its season hosting the Weber State Wildcats of Division I Football Championship Subdivision's (formerly known as I-AA) Big Sky Conference. The Broncos scored on their first seven possessions to run the score to 49-0 at halftime. Ian Johnson rushed for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 54-yard run, and quarterback Taylor Tharp went 14-19 for 184 yards and 1 touchdown in his first collegiate start. Boise State gained a total of 571 yards to Weber State's 145. The victory pushed Boise States nations best winning streak to 14. ^[1]

Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Broncos	7	3	0	0	10
Huskies	14	10	0	0	24

24-10. Washington snapped the Broncos 14 game win streak. The Broncos were held to their lowest point total since losing 27-7 to Fresno State in 2005. Ian Johnson was held to 81 yards on 20 carries and Taylor Tharp went 29/47 for 281 and 3 interceptions and lost a fumble when he fell down while attempting a hand off in the loss. Washington started the game fast, jumping to a 14-0 lead. Boise State returned a kickoff for a touchdown after Washington's first score, but it was called back. Boise State never recovered.

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	14	14
Broncos	0	7	14	3	24

24-14. Boise State ran their home winning streak to 8 and 53 of the last 55 with the 24-14 win over Wyoming. Ian Johnson had another subpar game rushing 24 times for 83 yards. Taylor Tharp went 15 of 30 for 182 and two touchdowns, one being a 52 yarder to Sophomore Jeremy Childs. The Bronco defense held the Cowboys to just 35 yards on 24 rushing attempts and collected three sacks of quarterback Karsten Sween. Kick returner Rashaun Scott was awarded the WAC special teams player of the week with two kickoffs returned for an average of 36.5 yards, one being for 52 yards in the fourth quarter. Boise State is still undefeated (11-0) against teams from the Mountain West Conference since its formation.

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	10	6	0	16
Broncos	14	14	7	3	38

38-16. Ian Johnson had his best game of the season thus far as he rushed for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns on 22 carries and added 80 yards on 3 receptions to earn the WAC offensive player of the week award. Taylor Tharp surpassed 300 yards passing for the first time as a starter by posting 307 yards on 19 of 27 for 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Broncos offense surpassed 500 yards with 506 total yards. The Broncos won their 39th consecutive regular season home game in front of a crowd of 30,159 that wore blue and orange in alternating sections in what has become known as the "Blue and Orange out."

New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	0	0	0	0	0
Broncos	21	14	10	13	58

58-0. Boise State held the Aggies to 89 total yards of offense on -19 rushing yards and 108 passing yards. The Broncos gained over 600 yards of offense for the first time since November 20, 2004 by gaining 604 yards. Taylor Tharp went 19 of 26 for 251 and 4 Touchdowns. Jeremy Childs had the best game of his career with 6 catches for 102 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Broncos had 3 interceptions of Aggie quarterbacks (Scandrick, Wilson, Tadman). Boise State blocked 2 Aggie punts.

Nevada

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Wolf Pack	7	14	7	16	23	67
Broncos	7	21	3	13	25	69

69-67. After 1,266 combined total yards and an NCAA FBS record 136 points, Boise State was able to come away with the thrilling 69-67 win in four overtimes. Ian Johnson had 251 all purpose yards and three touchdowns, one of which was a career long 72-yard run. Taylor Tharp went 26-35 for 320, four touchdowns and one interception. Kicker Kyle Brotzman scored nineteen points on seven extra points and four field goals (40, 31, 27, 29), one coming with just three seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Jeremy Childs had a career day making 12 catches for 140 yards and one touchdown. The game was sealed when Tim Brady sacked Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied and extended the game. Boise State now has won eight straight games over the Wolfpack and stay undefeated at home all time in WAC play. Ian Johnson was named the WAC offensive player of the week and Kyle Brotzman was named the WAC special teams player of the week. (The 136 points total record was matched later in the season when Navy beat North Texas 74-62)

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	3	14	14	45
Bulldogs	7	10	7	7	31

45-31. The Broncos and Bulldogs battled back and forth for 3 quarters, being tied four times at 7, 14, 17, and 24. Then the game was changed on an Orlando Scandrick forced fumble that led to an 83-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Tharp to Jeremy Childs. Tharp and Childs hooked up again from 27 yards out to seal the game late in the fourth. The total yards were almost identical (BSU 465, LATECH 463), but the Bulldogs were doomed by 4 turnovers. Tharp finished 21 of 35 for 328, 2 INTS and a career-high 5 touchdowns. Childs went over 100 yards for the third straight game making 7 receptions for 143 and the two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Fresno State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	14	3	7	10	34
Bulldogs	14	0	0	7	21

34-21. Backup Running Backs Jeremy Avery and D.J. Harper filled the shoes of injured starter Ian Johnson by leading the Bronco rush attack that ran for 282 yards. Avery gained 124 yards on 18 carries and 3 touchdowns while Harper rushed for 153 yards on 19 carries and 1 touchdown. Taylor Tharp went 18 for 29 for 158 yards, 9 of his completions going to Jeremy Childs for 82 yards. Kyle Brotzman went 2 for 2 on field goals (43, 47, a career long) to win his second WAC special teams player of the week award this season and the Broncos blocked their sixth kick of the season by blocking a Bulldog field goal in the 2nd quarter. The Broncos beat the Bulldogs for the sixth time in the last seven years to win the Milk Can, the traveling trophy between the two schools that started in 2005. The game resulted in Boise State jumping back into the two major polls being #22 in the USA Today and tied with Wake Forrest at #21 in the AP as well as being #22 in the BCS rankings.

San Jose State

See also: 2007 San Jose State Spartans football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	7	0	0	7
#22 Broncos	0	21	14	7	42

42-7. Taylor Tharp hit nine different receivers as he went 28 of 35 for 259, 3 touchdowns and 1 pick to lead the Broncos to their 42nd straight regular season home win. The Bronco defense held the Spartan offense to 150 total yards marking the 3rd time this season the Bronco defense has held opponents to 150 yards or less (Weber State, New Mexico State). Freshman receiver Austin Pettis had a breakout game making 7 receptions for 54 yards and 2 Touchdowns. The Bronco offense gained a total of 434 yards, but special teams was able to shorten the field by having returns of 51, 38, and 48 yards. The Bronco special teams, late in the game, was also able to block their 7th kick of the season by blocking a Spartan field goal. The Broncos moved up to #20 in the BCS rankings and #19 in both the USA Today and AP polls as a result of the win.

Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Broncos	17	14	14	7	52
Aggies	0	0	0	0	0

52-0. Taylor Tharp went 26 of 29 for 283 and 2 touchdowns to lead the Broncos to their 8th straight win and their 7th straight against the Aggies. Ian Johnson broke 100 yards for the first time in 5 weeks by gaining 110 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Dallas Dobbs won WAC defensive player of the week with 4 tackles, one for a loss of 3 yards and 1 interception returned 29 yards to set up a 4th quarter Bronco touchdown. The Broncos blocked two more kicks, bringing their total to 9, 3 shy of the school record. One of the blocked kicks was a punt that was picked up and returned for a touchdown by Ia Falo. The other being a field goal blocked by Orlando Scandrick. The Broncos jumped to #15 in the USA Today coaches poll, #17 in the AP poll, and #18 in the BCS.

Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vandals	0	14	0	0	14
#15 Broncos	7	17	21	13	58

58-14. The Broncos defeated their in-state rivals for the ninth straight year, retained the Governor's Trophy, and remained undefeated in WAC play to set up an unofficial WAC championship game with Hawaii. Taylor Tharp once again had a great game going 22 of 31 for 282 and 4 touchdowns. Freshman Austin Pettis had a career game making 8 receptions for 139 yards and 3 touchdowns. Backup Quarterback Bush Hamden added 2 touchdown passes, giving the Broncos 6 TD's through the air. With the win, the Broncos capped off their 7th straight season of going undefeated in WAC play at home in all 7 years they have been in the WAC. The Broncos remained at #17 in the AP poll, dropped 2 spots in the Coaches poll to #17, and dropped 1 spot to #19 in the BCS.

Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Broncos	7	10	10	0	27
#13 Warriors	7	12	20	0	39

39-27. Boise State was unable to secure the WAC championship for the first time since 2001. Hawaii's Colt Brennan went 40 of 53 for 495, 5 TD's and 2 INT's to lead the Warriors past the Broncos for the first time since Boise State joined the WAC. The loss also ended the Broncos Conference winning streak at 17. Taylor Tharp went 22 of 36 for 231, 1 TD and 1 INT. Kyle Brotzman won the WAC special teams player of the week for the third time this season going 2-3 on FG's, 3 made extra points, and a punting average of 55.5 on his 4 punts, including a 71 yarder and 3 downed inside the 20-yard line. The Broncos blocked 2 Warrior extra points, bringing their total for the season to 11 blocked kicks.

Hawaii Bowl - East Carolina

Main articles: 2007 East Carolina Pirates football team and 2007 Hawaii Bowl

2007 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Bowl game
East Carolina Pirates Boise State Broncos (7-5) (10-2) 41 38 Head coach:  Skip Holtz Head coach:  Chris Petersen AP Coaches BCS NR NR NR AP Coaches BCS 24 22 24
1 2 3 4 Total East Carolina 10 21 7 3 41 Boise State 7 7 10 14 38
Date	December 23, 2007
Season	2007
Stadium	Aloha Stadium
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii
Favorite	Boise State

Ben Hartman's 34-yard field goal as time expired clinched the upset victory for the Pirates over the #24 ranked Broncos. Other than an 89-yard Austin Smith kickoff return for a touchdown, the Broncos really couldn't get much going in the first half. ECU's Chris Johnson set an NCAA bowl record with 408 all purpose yards as he helped ECU build a 38-14 lead mid way through the 3rd quarter. The Broncos came back to make the game 38-31 late in the 4th and were driving to try to tie the game when a Titus Young fumble appeared to seal the Broncos fate. Two plays later as ECU was trying to run out the clock, Chris Johnson fumbled which led to a Marty Tadman 47-yard touchdown return to tie the game with 1:25 to play. ECU then drove the field to lead to Hartman's game-winning field goal. The Broncos are now 5-3 all time in Bowl games, but are 1-3 in their last 4 bowl games and have had 5 straight bowl games decided on the last play of the game or decided within the last few seconds.

WAC standings

Team Conf. W-L Overall W-L Bowl Game #10 Hawaii 8-0 12-1 BCS Allstate Sugar Bowl #23 Boise State 7-1 10-3 Sharaton Hawaii Bowl Fresno State 6-2 9-4 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Nevada 4-4 6-7 New Mexico Bowl Louisiana Tech 4-4 5-7 San Jose State 4-4 5-7 Utah State 2-6 2-10 New Mexico State 1-7 4-9 Idaho 0-8 1-11

Post Season Awards

First Team All WAC

Jeremy Childs- So. WR

Ryan Clady- Jr. OL

Ian Johnson- Jr. RB

Nick Schlekeway-Sr. DL

Marty Tadman- Sr. DB

Second Team All WAC

Tad Miller- Sr. OL

Taylor Tharp- Sr. QB

Kyle Wilson-So. DB

Kyle Brotzman- Fr. K

Roster

(Updated 11/19/07)
Quarterbacks 10 Taylor Tharp - Senior  3 Bush Hamdan - Junior 15 Nick Lomax - Sophomore  7 Michael Howe - Freshman 11 Kellen Moore- Freshman Running backs 41 Ian Johnson † - Junior 22 Doug Martin - Freshman 27 Jeremy Avery - Freshman 28 Jarvis Hodge - Freshman 34 D.J. Harper - Freshman Stephen Gabbard - Freshman Fullbacks 30 Michael Lose - Senior 40 Richie Brockel - Sophomore Wide receivers† 2 Tanyon Bissell - Junior 11 Nick Harris - Junior 19 Vinny Perretta - Junior† 21 Toshi Franklin - Junior 82 Julian Hawkins - Junior  9 Jeremy Childs - Sophomore 46 Michael Choate - Sophomore 81 Evan Surratt - Sophomore 4 Titus Young - Freshman 83 Ricky Cookman - Freshman 87 Austin Pettis - Freshman 89 Tyler Shoemaker- Freshman Offensive guards 61 Jeff Biedermann - Senior 64 Pete Cavender - Senior 66 Tad Miller† - Senior 60 Andrew Woodruff† - Junior 76 Jon Gott - Junior Offensive tackles 75 Dan Gore - Senior 77 Ben Iannacchione - Junior 79 Ryan Clady † - Junior 72 Matt Slater - Sophomore 73 Nate Potter - Freshman Centers 54 Jeff Cavender† - Senior 68 Mitch Rudder - Sophomore 78 Paul Lucariello - Sophomore 65 Thomas Byrd- Freshman Other Offensive Lineman 57 Garret Pendergast- Freshman 62 Kevin Sapien - Freshman 63 Joey Chavez- Freshman 69 Sam Douthit- Freshman 70 Zach Waller- Freshman 71 Cory Yriarte- Freshman Tight ends 39 Ryan Putnam - Senior 86 Sherm Blaser - Senior 47 Ryan Angstman- Junior 88 Chris O'Neill - Junior 85 Tommy Gallarda - Sophomore 80 Kyle Efaw- Freshman		Defensive ends 97 Nick Schlekeway† - Senior 53 Sean Bingham - Junior 93 Mike T. Williams† - Junior 99 Steven Reveles - Junior 98 Ryan Winterswyk - Sophomore 48 Kapono Rawlins-Crivello - Freshman 96 Jarrell Root- Freshman Defensive tackles 90 Ian Smart - Senior 95 Sione Tavake - Senior 67 Joe Bozikovich - Junior 94 Phillip Edwards - Junior 50 J.P. Nisby- Freshman 59 Will Lawrence - Freshman 74 Billy Winn- Freshman Linebackers 13 Mike Altieri - Senior 56 Josh Bean - Senior 18 Ellis Powers - Junior 24 Tim Brady - Junior 43 David Shields† - Junior 44 Kyle Gingg† - Junior 51 Dallas Dobbs - Junior 52 Derrell Acrey - Freshman 25 Hunter White- Freshman 28 Dave Wilson- Freshman 33 Ben Chandler- Freshman 36 Arron Tevis- Freshman 42 Matt Wilson- Freshman Cody Darrington- Freshman Cornerbacks  6 Rashaun Scott - Senior 26 Ia Falo - Senior  8 Orlando Scandrick † - Junior 32 Daniel Cortez- Sophomore 1 Kyle Wilson † - Sophomore 17 Keith McGowen - Freshman 31 Antwon Murray- Freshman 38 Brandyn Thompson- Freshman Cedric Febis- Freshman Safeties 20 Marty Tadman † - Senior 37 Austin Smith - Senior 14 Garcia Day - Junior 5 Jason Robinson - Freshman 15 Shaun Jordan- Freshman 23 Jeron Johnson - Freshman Punters 49 Brad Elkin- Freshman Kickers 14 Brock Jaramillo- Junior 35 Kyle Brotzman - Freshman
† Returning Starter at position

References

1. Keith Ridler, (24) Boise St. 56, Weber St. 7, Associated Press, August 31, 2007.