Top 10 Memorable Performances by the Boise State Broncos Since 2000

The Boise State Broncos have had their share of impressive performances on the national stage, as well as their share of SportsCenter Top 10 highlights.

Here is the list of the 10 ten memorable performances by Boise State football players, in no particular order, some showing just exactly how far the Boise State Broncos have come over the years.

From a junior college program to the Big Sky conference of Division II to the perennial WAC champion in Division I.

Boise State vs Fresno State- Oct. 19, 2001

The game that announced Boise State to the world. Fresno State came into the game undefeated, all but assured a WAC title, and with the future No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, David Carr. Boise State came into the game as a newbie to NCAA Division I football.

The way the two teams left the game was more important than the way they entered it. Fresno State left crushed by a 35-30 defeat to an inferior team. Their undefeated season was over and so was their hope at a WAC title.

Boise State rallied to eight wins and used the momentum from the 2001 season to catapult them to a 12-1 season in 2002.

Boise State vs Fresno State- Oct. 18, 2002

One year after breaking Fresno State's BCS hopes, the Broncos laid a good old fashioned butt whooping on the Bulldogs. The 67-21 final score didn't begin to describe how the Broncos dominated.

As a team they put up a school record 688 yards. Bronco QB Ryan Dinwiddie came back from an broken ankle that had kept him sidelined for most of the season to throw five TD passes in two-plus quarters, amassing 406 yards on only 19 completions.

Boise State vs TCU- Dec. 23, 2003

The game in which Boise State proved it could win an important game away from the blue turf. Also, in which they proved they could win a bowl game NOT the Humanitarian Bowl.

Boise State came into the game 12-1, riding a 10 game winning streak, while TCU came in 11-1. The game was also the swan song for Broncos QB Ryan Dinwiddie and WR T.J. Acree.

Both played their hearts out. Dinwiddie threw for another 300 yards to go with three TDs, finishing the season with the most efficient passing season in college football history. Acree finished with 8 catches for 150 yards and a 27 yard score.

In the end though, it was a 51-yard field goal that came up short that made the difference. Boise State emerged from the Fort Worth Bowl with a three point victory and confidence they could win a big game again.

Boise State vs San Jose State- Nov. 13, 2004

The Boise State Broncos first undefeated season was on the line. With 1:07 left in the fourth quarter, San Jose State lined up for a 30 yard field goal, a chip shot, which would hopefully derail their opponents season, and 20 game winning streak.

The game was in the bag for one of the worst teams in the WAC. Gerald Alexander had other ideas.

The cornerback made the play of the season, the play that saved the season, when he blocked the field goal attempt and sent the game into overtime.

With a new lease on life, the Broncos matched TD with the Spartans before shutting down QB Adam Tafralis, long a thorn in the side of the Broncos, on a fourth down attempt.

The Broncos walked away with a 56-49 victory, and kept their undefeated season alive, losing only their finale, the Liberty Bowl to Louisville.

Boise State vs Georgia- Sept. 3, 2005

Who said all of the most memorable moments have to be good ones?

This game was supposed to be Boise State's coming out party on the national stage. Upsetting Georgia, in Athens, was a program making victory. Sadly, Georgia showed up for the game.

With new QB D.J. Shockley taking snaps for the first time, Georgia took advantage of Boise State errors to jump to an early 14-0 first quarter lead.

It just got worse from there. Taking advantage of FOUR Jared Zabransky interceptions, Georgia built a 24-0 lead going into halftime and it was 38-0 before the Broncos even got on the board.

While the game wasn't memorable for any GOOD reason, it was memorable. That loss was ingrained into the heads of Boise State players, and fans too. Zabransky would get his revenge, but it would take two more years.

Boise State vs Oregon State- Sept. 7, 2006

The Broncos win in their second game of the 2006 season was impressive enough. Beating a decent Oregon State team in absolutely dominating fashion, 42-14.

The star of the show was little known Ian Johnson, who used this game to shoot himself to the top of the depth chart. In addition, he catapulted himself into Heisman consideration, and the Broncos to an undefeated season.

Johnson notched five touchdowns on the night, each one more impressive than the one before, running through, around, and past Oregon State defenders, tying the BSU single-game record, in front of a national audience.

This also marked the beginning of Johnson's reign of terror on ESPN, where he dominated every opponent, averaging over 100+ yards and multiple touchdowns. IJ also averaged 10.5 yards per carry, finishing the night with 240 yards.

Boise State vs San Jose State- Nov. 11, 2006

Two years later, same situation. The Broncos were in a pickle. They trailed by eight points to San Jose State with under seven minutes to go.

That's when Jared Zabransky, who up until those last seven minutes had played less than spectacular ball, took the reigns and simply took over the game.

He led the Broncos down the field to the touchdown that brought them within two points.

Next came the two point conversion. Zabransky, who was always a threat with his feet, scrambled around before finding Jerard Rabb in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 20.

After a defensive stand, the Broncos got the ball back and Zabransky again drove them into field goal range, where Anthony Montgomery nailed his third field goal of the game, locking down the Broncos tenth win of the season.

Boise State vs Nevada- Oct. 14, 2007

In a game that was probably just as exhausting to watch as it was to play, the Broncos eked out a victory at home 69-67 in four overtimes. It was quite possibly the most exciting college football game ever played on a Sunday.

The two teams combined for 49 points BEFORE halftime, and after a pretty uneventful third quarter (only 10 points), the teams blew up for 30 more points in the fourth.

The Broncos had absolutely no answer for Nevada freshman QB Colin Kaepernick, who threw for 243 yards and three scores AND ran for 177 yards and two more TDs, and RB Luke Lippincott, who ran for 187 yards and four TDs.

Only a Kyle Brotzman field goal as time expired, sending the game into OT, saved the Broncos from their second loss of the season. Once regulation ended, the fun REALLY began. Both teams traded one play touchdowns in the first OT, a 25-yard run for the Wolfpack and a 25 yard pass for the Broncos.

The second OT saw the Broncos score on the exhausted Nevada defense on one play again, also a 25 yard pass. This time it took Nevada two plays to score on the ragged Broncos D.

In the third OT, both teams traded field goals before setting up an epic fourth overtime. The Broncos used five plays to set up a one yard Ian Johnson touchdown run.

Then they got a Taylor Tharp pass to Jeremy Childs for the two-point conversion to put the Broncos up by eight.

Nevada also scored to bring the Wolfpack within two, but the worn-down defense made one last stand, with Tim Brady taking down Kaepernick short of the goal line, sending the Broncos to 5-1, and the most exciting win in team history...in the regular season anyways.

Both teams had well over 600 yards of total offense, with the Wolfpack getting almost 400 of those on the ground. The Broncos on the other hand NEEDED 300+ passing yards and four scores from Taylor Tharp and 200+ rushing yards from Ian Johnson, in order to secure the win.

Boise State vs Oklahoma- Jan. 1, 2007

Known in Boise State lore as, "the Game," the 2007 Fiesta Bowl changed things.

Yeah, Utah had dismantled Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl the year before to score the first BCS win for a non-BCS team, but Oklahoma was GOOD! They had Adrian Peterson, a talented QB in Paul Thomspson, and a trio of receivers that would wind up making millions in the NFL (Juaquin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson, and Quentin Chaney).

The fashion in which the game played out also made for the most dramatic game in NCAA football history. Boise State jumping out to an early lead, looking dare I say, dominant. Then the comeback by the Sooners.

Then the Jared Zabransky interception, which broke the hearts of millions of Bronco fans everywhere. Only to be outdone by the most incredible play, quite possibly ever, the good ole hook and ladder, which tied the game, sent it into overtime and made possible the good ole statue of liberty.

Boise State vs Oregon- Sept. 20, 2008

World, meet Kellen Moore. Kellen Moore, meet the world.

The record setting freshman QB played well in his first two games of the season, but it is safe to say he "arrived" in his third, against favored Oregon. The Ducks came into the game undefeated, ranked No. 17, and with a two-headed running attack that average around 300 rushing yards per game.

Not to mention they had the extra oomph of playing in front of their home crowd, one of the toughest place to play in all of college football.

Behind the arm of Moore, the Broncos jumped to a 24-6 lead at halftime en route to a 37-32 victory, jump-starting the team to another undefeated season. Moore played the best he did all season, tossing three touchdowns and 386 yards.

The Moore to Perretta 73 yard TD pass to increase the lead to 31-13 was possibly the best play of the season.

More importantly, this was only Moore's third career start, and lucky for Boise State fans, there's plenty "Moore" to come from this talented youngster.