Grading the Broncos' Win Over Tulsa

Week 4 has come to an end, and Boise State is once again undefeated. It was their home opener against the Tulsa Hurricanes and the Broncos jump out of the gates early in this one. By halftime the Broncos had scored 27 points to the Hurricanes' zero and, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be yet another Boise State blowout, once again proving that the Broncos are an unstoppable force at home.

That is until Tulsa crawled back into the game, not necessarily worrying the Bronco fans, but definitely aggravating them. The final score was 41-21 and Boise State was a 33-point favorite, a number the could have easily covered had it not been some sideline decisions. 

In spite of that fact a win is a win right? Well, not always as we could see when Boise State dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 in the coaches poll. So how did our boys in blue do in their win over Tulsa? Here is their Week 3 report card.

Quarterbacks: Kellen Moore, Joe Southwick, and Grant Hedrick

Grade: A-

Kellen Moore statistically was himself yet again. tossing 23-of-29 for 279 yards and four touchdowns.  The Heisman hopeful's stats would have been much higher if he weren't sidelined midway through the third quarter because the Broncos' had such a large lead. He was more apt to toss longer passes in this game than he was in previous games, picking up what have become his favorite deep targets Tyler Shoemaker and Matt Miller.

Early on Moore did have some uncharacteristic mistakes, like fumbling the ball and having his passes batted down. But it mattered not as "the surgeon" as he has become known as once again sliced up the offense.

Sophomore Joe Southwick was in for a full quarter and showed that his scrambling ability and arm are better then Kellen Moore's but has nowhere near the pocket presence, composure, or vision that Kellen Moore has. 

During his time in, he was only able to drive the Bronco's downfield for one touchdown and it was only after favorable field position due to a pick off.  If he is to be the quarterback next year he will have to learn a lot for Moore this year. But who better to have as a teacher.

Freshman Grant Hedrick was in for only a handful of read option plays, but low and behold when he kept the ball he gained 11 yards. I think he will become an asset for this team, and I am excited to see what he can do when he passes because, if my gut feeling is right, we may have a Colin Kaepernick style QB on our hands.

Running Backs

Grade: C+

Save for the one impressive 33-yard touchdown run by Doug Martin, it was a rough day for the running backs. Averaging only 2.9 yards a carry against a Tulsa team that is 108th in overall defense. I keep saying that these backs will have a breakout game, but it just does not seem to happen. I found myself yelling at the TV to just let Kellen Moore pass the ball as that seemed to be the only thing that was effective.

I will say that Doug Martin is still one of the hardest runners in college football always running downhill, but that may be to his disadvantage at times. On one occasion he broke through the line easily, but was so far forward that he ended up falling down.

Brent Pease, the Bronco's offensive coordinator, said during this past week that he wanted to get Martin at least 20 touches. Martin in fact got 23 touches, but the cost was that he only averaged 3.5 yards and that includes his pass receptions. 

The remaining backs saw little success, as well.

Receivers: All 10 of Them

Grade: A+

That's right I said 10 of them. Kellen Moore hit 10 different receivers this game topping his past two games where he only hit nine. I am really starting to get a good vibe from this group of receivers, and I fully believe, as I have said the past two report cards, that when Boldewijn returns to the lineup the Broncos' will have 11 good receivers.

Tyler Shoemaker, Mitch Burroughs and Matt Miller continue to be Kellen Moore's main targets, with Shoemaker continuing to be a touchdown machine racking up six TDs in three games.

Miller is becoming Moore's deep pass go-to guy as he has displayed excellent deep route running and the ability to make tough catches using his large frame. Meanwhile Burroughs has become as reliable as death and taxes, catching six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Kyle Efaw and Gabe Linehan also had touchdown catches.

All in all the receivers had 28 catches for 327 yards and five touchdowns. All great numbers. 

Offensive Line

Grade: B

The offensive line once again had an excellent day supporting Kellen Moore, but then again they always have and they are a big part of why there are so many passing touchdowns. And aside from letting Southwick get sacked in what is the first allowed sack this season from the O-line, they still did their job.

However, not taking that away from them, I am going to focus on what they are not doing. They are not opening holes for any of the backs to run through. I have never seen a Bronco back have to fight so much for yardage against essentially the same teams BSU has always played. 

Where are the giant holes Ian Johnson used to run through? This is supposedly the best line we have ever had. It is forcing the Broncos to run to the outside a lot. Something they have never really been successful at and also makes it hard to utilize play action.  

So keep up the good work on pass blocking, but you have to start giving your running backs some love.   

Defensive Line

Grade: A

The Bronco's defensive line did a great job in disrupting the pass by allowing only 136 passing yards. As far as rushing is concerned, the 155 yards Tulsa put up were mostly in the fourth quarter when Chris Petersen was cycling through second- and third-string defenders. 

The Hurricanes did not present anything the defense could not handle, especially the first string. This line essentially kept Tulsa in their own territory for the entire first half not allowing a single Tulsa point to be put up on the board. 

With that being said, I cannot give the Bronco line an A-plus because of Tulsa's ability to drive against them late in the game. 

Linebackers

Grade: A+

This was the first game where an impression was made by the linebackers. Byron Hout was lights-out on the run being involved in just about every play that came past the line of scrimmage and even a few back field tackles. 

Another shining moment was on an Aaron Tevis diving interception on a screen pass, something the defense worked on this past week due to the success Toledo had with it. This was bar none the best play I have seen out of the Boise State linebackers in a while. Their work effectively kept Kinne from throwing over the middle.   

Secondary

Grade: A+

Excellent coverage all night for the Boise State secondary. The Tulsa passing game was limited to screens and quick slants the entire game, and the cherry on top was four interceptions to go along with the linebackers one. Gerrell Gavins added to his season interception total by picking off two Tulsa passes.

This was the best secondary performance I have seen from BSU this season. Not one time did I see a Boise State defender beaten on a long route by a Tulsa receiver, and the fact that the Hurricanes were held to just 136 yards passing is impressive, especially when the Hurricanes put up 309 passing yards against Oklahoma State. 

Special Teams

Grade: B+

The special teams improved this week but was not perfect. A blocked field goal and once again punting the ball out of bounds showed some sloppy play. However, the punting team did do a specacular job pinning the Hurricanes into their own territory. In fact Tulsa only had one play past the in BSU territory in the first 38 minutes. That is a testament to the defense, but the punting team really stepped up.

The Broncos twice used a system where a reciever runs down the line to catch the punt deep in Tulsa territory, and this was very successful. It was almost so successful that I could see a fake punt pass to that receiver as he seemed completely uncovered both times. 

With a steady improvement, we may see some field goals in the future, and it seems Boise State's punt team is as strong as ever. 

Coaching

Coaching: B

Once again Chris Petersen and his staff ironed out the mistakes from last week, but there is something that he does that I disagree with at just about every game. The fact that when the score appears to be out of reach for the opposing team, he pulls the starters.  

The reason I have an issue with this is two-fold. First, it limits the "style points" that have become an unfortunate necessity for Boise State. If Oklahoma beats Tulsa by 33, the Broncos have to beat them by at least 34. In the age of the BCS where the haters are looking for reasons to keep the pesky Broncos out, Boise State must prove them wrong with their domination. 

I know Coach Pete is not about running up the score, and I am all for giving the second-string guys the snaps, but that just means Boise does not look as good as they should. We saw proof in what the current system does to BSU if they let off the gas when the coaches poll dropped them from No. 4 to No. 5. 

The second issue I have is that Coach Petersen has an obligation to allow his starting quarterback to be as successful as possible, and that includes allowing him to get the stats to make a strong run at the Heisman trophy. Pulling Moore out halfway through the third quarter limits his potential. Maybe Moore was a little banged up so he came out and Petersen is protecting his star, but there is a fine line.

In the future, I suggest Petersen play his starters until they have at least reached 40 points or the fourth quarter, whichever comes second. Then by all means pull them out. 

That is my only beef, now he can go on being the best coach in college football.

Intangibles

Grade: A

I would just like to point out the stellar job Doug Martin did in pass blocking. Every single game he is back there picking up blocks buying Kellen Moore crucial extra seconds which make Kellen that much more successful. Doug Martin may not have had a breakout game on the rushing side, but he is definitely and asset in the backfield for Kellen Moore.

I would also like to express my amazement that both Boise State and Tulsa were able to see the Broncos when they wore all blue. As far as I could tell, it looks like Tulsa was playing a bunch of floating arms, legs and numbers. Thank God the Mountain West remedied that by enacting the rule that BSU can't wear all blue at home, otherwise how could I write my report card articles.