Boise State routs Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) The return of Geraldo Boldewijn proved to be just what Boise State needed to revive its passing game.
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Kellen Moore bounced back from a rare off day a week ago to throw two of his three touchdown passes to Boldewijn and the fifth-ranked Broncos extended their dominance over former WAC rival Fresno State by handing coach Pat Hill his worst home loss in 15 seasons with the Bulldogs, 57-7 on Friday night.
Boldewijn missed the first four games because of an NCAA suspension, including last week's 30-10 win against Nevada when Moore threw for just 142 yards and was intercepted twice.
He was back and so was the potent offense for Boise State (5-0), with Moore going 23-for-31 for 254 yards.
``He's a big-time player. Obviously everyone knows that after tonight,'' Moore said. ``He's another piece to the puzzle in the wide receiver crew. He's a big-body guy, a long strider. He does a great job going up and making plays.''
Boise State led 30-0 before Fresno State (2-4) even crossed midfield, and took a 43-0 lead early in the third quarter on Doug Martin's 1-yard run to extend a run of 104 straight points against the Bulldogs.
D.J. Harper added a 3-yard TD run later in the quarter after an interception by Derek Carr and the streak finally ended at 111 straight points when Devon Wylie returned a punt 79 yards for a score on the first play of the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs.
The Broncos scored the final 10 points in a 51-34 victory here in 2009 and beat the Bulldogs 51-0 at home last year. They then scored the first 50 points of this game.
``It was just one of those nights where we wanted to do so much as a team and as a program, for our community, and for our fans, and we fell flat on our face,'' Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. ``This was probably the hardest game I have gone through since I've been here.''
Boise State nearly scored as many touchdowns (eight) as Fresno State had first downs (nine) with the final score coming on Grant Hedrick's 23-yard run with 17 seconds left.
Martin ran for 94 yards, Harper had two short TD runs, Mitch Burroughs scored on a 25-yard run and Matt Miller caught a TD pass for Boise State's first score of the game. The only problems for the Broncos came on special teams where they had two missed extra points by Dan Goodale and allowed the long punt return.
Carr struggled in his first game against Boise State, completing 17 of 30 for 126 yards with one interception and a lost fumble. Robbie Rouse was held to 72 yards rushing to end a streak of four straight 100-yard performances as Fresno State lost its 15th straight game to a ranked opponent and suffered the worst home loss in Hill's 15-year tenure.
``We spent the whole night inside our 20 and we were never in a position to dictate the game,'' Hill said. ``Except for this game we have been a very competitive team all the way through against very competitive teams.''
The teams spent the past decade together in the WAC with Boise State winning nine of the 10 meetings starting with a 35-30 win over the then-No. 8 Bulldogs in 2001. Boise State left for the Mountain West Conference after last season and will be joined in its new conference by Fresno State next year.
But the Bulldogs haven't been in the Broncos' league. Boise State has outscored Fresno State 220-51 in the last four meetings, topping 50 points each time.
They took control early this game, getting a boost on offense from the return of Boldewijn, who was suspended for the first four games for taking impermissible benefits.
Boldewijn, the biggest and fastest member of the Broncos' receiving corps, had 11 catches for 160 yards last year and was being counted on to replace Titus Young as the team's deep threat.
Boldewijn caught an 11-yard pass on Boise State's second play from scrimmage. He dropped a potential touchdown pass later in the first quarter, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Goodale that made it 10-0.
Boldewijn got his first touchdown early in the second quarter when he made a one-handed, 18-yard grab with cornerback Isaiah Green draped over him to make it 23-0.
Hunter White's blocked punt set up Harper's 6-yard TD run that made it 30-0 and Boldewijn added his second TD on a 4-yard catch with 20 seconds left in the half to make it 37-0.
``He adds a whole new dynamic to our offense,'' Miller said. ``It's great to have him back. He adds a deep ball threat we really needed. It helps stretch the defense.''
