Not Again

Once again Boise State’s run at an undefeated season and a BCS bowl has ended in depressing fashion. Both times they had the game locked down. Both times I was left in shock. Both times I was left with only one sentence.

Last year at Nevada Boise State had a fairly good lead. Then in the second half they lost their large lead. The good new was that Kellen Moore had just enough time to lead one last drive. Well, to be precise, it really wasn’t a drive at all. This is because Kellen Moore got Boise down the field in one play by completing a long pass to Titus Young. Right after that pass was completed a person knew that it was the kind of play that would go down in college football history. It was the play that would undoubtedly solidify Kellen Moore as the jasathletics.blogspot.com College Football Player of the Year. All that stood between Boise and a win was a short field goal. Then the unthinkable happened. Boise’s kicker missed the field goal. He didn’t miss by much though which left me to say, “I am not entirely sure that he missed that.” After another close miss in overtime I would repeat that sentence, and unfortunately Nevada’s kicker put the game away when Nevada got the ball.

Last Saturday the unthinkable happened again. Boise State was locked in a tight game with TCU. This is when Kellen Moore reached into his back pocket and pulled out the dagger by completing a 50-yard pass for a touchdown to take a seven point lead. Then on TCU’s next possession Boise intercepted a pass and looked to have the game wrapped up for sure. After the interception Boise State ended up punting after a few plays though. This is when the Boise State defense came up big again and stopped TCU. After a TCU punt, Kellen Moore led a steady drive down the field. The clock was under three minutes and it looked like Boise was on the verge of scoring one more time to put the game away. This is when a backup running back put the ball on the ground. It was recovered by TCU. I was left with only one sentence, “Son, you have to hold onto the football.” I repeated this sentence many times as TCU drove the football down the field, scored a touchdown, and added a two point conversion to take a one point lead. Boise State did get a shot at a field goal to win, but it was missed badly.

Now you may be thinking that it was not all the running back’s fault since the Boise defense could have stepped up and stopped TCU or the kicker could have made the field goal. However, you have to remember that the defense and the kicker had already mentally prepared for a win. It’s tough to go back out there with the game on the line after you thought that it was all wrapped up.

It’s not so much seeing Boise State lose that has been tough, it’s the way they have lost (although it would be disappointing even if they had lost these games in not so grand of a fashion). Two years in a row now one mistake by one player at the wrong time has ended their chance of going to a BCS bowl game. I could accept it if Nevada and TCU had beat Boise by two touchdowns or something like that. If that had happened I would have tipped my Banning Junction hat to them and said they were the better team. However, that is not the case. There is no doubt in my mind that Boise State outplayed Nevada last year and that they outplayed TCU this year. Even more importantly, Kellen Moore did all he could in both of these games.

With this in mind, what makes this loss even tougher is that Kellen Moore is not going to get to finish his career on the big stage. He deserved to get one more shot against a top ranked opponent in a BCS bowl game. Unfortunately, the greatest quarterback in college football history (maybe a bold statement but you can say something like that when you have your own blog) is going to finish his career playing in something like the billstires.com bowl in Tempe, AZ on December 10.