(8) Boise State (3-0) at Bowling Green (1-2)

Published online on Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

GAME NOTES: Winners of seven straight road games, the eighth-ranked Boise State Broncos give it another go this weekend against the Bowling Green Falcons in non-conference action at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Ohio.

Boise State has already had its share of wild games this season, beginning with a 19-8 victory over Oregon in the opener. After sending Miami-Ohio packing in a 48-0 romp back on September 12th, the team opened its Western Athletic Conference slate against Fresno State on the road last Friday. In a game filled with enough highlights to satisfy a year's worth of action, the Broncos managed to escape with a 51-34 decision. The victory was the ninth straight in conference play for BSU after it ran the table in the WAC a year ago.

As for the Falcons, who are hosting a top-10 team for the first time ever at Doyt L. Perry Stadium, they've gone from beating Troy in the season opener (31-14) to bowing to both Missouri (27-20) and Marshall (17-10) on the road in recent weeks.

This matchup marks the final non-conference opponent for Bowling Green as it awaits the arrival of Mid-American Conference member Ohio University next weekend.

Boise State won both previous meetings against the Falcons, although last year's 20-7 victory at home in the second game of the season failed to live up to expectations as it was the lowest regular-season scoring output for the Broncos since defeating Wyoming, 17-10, in 2006.

The Broncos have been relentless in their pursuit of perfection in the WAC, winning for the 57th time in the last 59 tries versus league foes with the decision against Fresno State.

"We're really fortunate we could miss tackles like that, give up that many yards and points and still come up with the 'W'," said BSU head coach Chris Petersen after the wild outing at Fresno. "When you can't control the run game, it's not a good feeling...We had that going on for both sides. We had guys in position, we just didn't tackle well. That's the bottom line."

Petersen was referring to the fact that the Broncos watched as Ryan Mathews ran wild for the home team, posting three touchdown runs of at least 60 yards. And yet, as tough as it was to get a grip on the big plays being produced by the Bulldogs, the Boise State offense also had its share of monumental plays, particularly the one involving both Jeremy Avery and Titus Young.

Avery, who himself had three plays of 60 yards or more, had a 67-yard TD reception and also broke free for a long run late in the contest, but was stripped of the ball just short of the goal line. Thankfully for the visitors, Young was right on his tail and ended up making the recovery in the end zone for the score.

"A lot of playmakers making plays out there," remarked Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore after the frantic contest. "Good running backs on both sides making plays out of nothing and breaking tackles here and there."

While Moore threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns, running backs Avery and DJ Harper rattled off 186 and 107 yards rushing, respectively, and Young chipped in 154 yards on five kickoff returns on his way to being named the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

However, not all is cheerful in Boise at the moment because Harper was recently diagnosed with a torn left ACL and is now out for the remainder of the season. With Harper out the Broncos lose their most productive running back who gained 284 yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground. With that being the case, BSU will now have to lean even more heavily on Avery who is second on the team with 279 yards on 45 attempts.