First Responder Bowl Provides Matchup For History Books
December 23, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Boise State's well-earned reputation adds another layer to BC bowl game.
History is often treated as sacred text to sports fans in Boston. It lays the foundation for the present, and it sets the tone for future emotions. What will happen is a reflection of what did happen. What is currently happening is contextualized through the lens of the past, giving everyone a sense of appreciation for how to write history based on what made history.
Boston College heads to the 2018 SERVPRO First Reponder Bowl this week to play the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos are a nationally-ranked team, as high as No. 23 in the Associated Press Poll and at No. 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and play an excitingly balanced brand of football. But it's their history that provides the spark and foundation for the postseason game in Dallas.
"I grew up loving Boise State," quarterback Anthony Brown said. "They always played hard against Oklahoma and others. So playing against this team will help us develop more. We're clearly looking for an eighth win, but it's not going to be easy. This team is really good. There are athletes all over the place. It's going to take a lot of work, but it's doable."
In 2006, college football craved its Cinderella story. It had a small taste when Utah won the Fiesta Bowl two years earlier, but Boise State's bowl bid against Oklahoma felt remarkably different. The Broncos earned an automatic qualifier spot by finishing in the Top 12 of the BCS computer rankings, and they traveled to the Fiesta Bowl to play a Top 10 team and one of college football's blue blood programs.
The ensuing game was an instant classic. The Broncos led, 28-17, before 18 fourth quarter points put Oklahoma up by a touchdown. Quarterback Jared Zabransky ran a hook-and-ladder play to Drisan James, who lateraled to Jerard Rabb for a 35-yard score to force overtime. During that extra session, wide receiver Vinny Peretta threw a wide receiver, Wildcat option pass, and Ian Johnson ran in a two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty gadget play to earn a shocking win.
The win over the Sooners entrenched Boise State's reputation for college football history, but it wound up going further. The Broncos added two more Fiesta Bowl victories, including one during the College Football Playoff era. The Broncos went to the 2014 Fiesta Bowl as the automatic qualifier among the "Group of Five" conferences and subsequently beat No. 10 Arizona.
The wins cemented Boise State's legacy, and the Broncos head to Dallas as legitimate kryptonite for power conference teams. They play in a "non-AQ" conference but consistently carve out a niche as one of the best teams in the nation.
"We talk about playing good football teams," head coach Steve Addazio said. "(They) have a history of beating power five teams in a bowl game. They're talented and motivated. They're tough and physical. Our focus is truly on Boise, and we're excited about playing at the Cotton Bowl in that venue in a city like Dallas."
It's a great proving ground for the Eagles, who enter the bowl season having to refocus after how the regular season ended. BC entered November as the No. 17 team in the nation and hosted ESPN's College GameDay with very real upset dreams against No. 2 Clemson. Three straight losses ensued, leading to a bitter feeling about what could have been.
So this bowl game became something of a second chance and a pleasant surprise for the Eagles. Boise State is a 10-3 team that had a legitimate shot at a New Year's Six game. It was ranked No. 19 heading into the Mountain West Conference Championship but lost to No. 25 Fresno State in overtime at home.
"Our focus is always on winning the next game," Addazio said. "Truthfully, our focus has really been on development since the first practice, and then the focus went to Boise. Nobody here is worried about the beginning, middle or finish to the season. The season is what it is. You get 15 practices, and that's like another spring ball. That block of time, at the end of that time, your focus becomes about Boise. That's what the eighth win would be. We want the next one, and right now, we're not focused on anything else."
It's a team that will present a whole host of challenges for the Eagles. Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien threw for over 3,700 yards this season with a 67% completion rate. He threw over four times as many touchdowns than interceptions, and he has not thrown a pick in his last three games. He threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns in his only game against a power conference team, completing 70% of his passes in a loss to Oklahoma State.
Rypien is backed up by running back Alex Mattison's 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns. He ranks seventh in the nation in yards and tied for fifth in touchdowns, but his 302 carries are most among FBS schools. He finished the season as one of only two ball carriers with 300 or more touches, having hit 30 carries in three of the last four games.
He went over 100 yards five times in the last six games of the season, including back-to-back 200-yard games at the end. His three touchdowns against Utah State helped send the Broncos to the conference championship game, where he ran for another score on 40 carries.
The MWC Championship was actually the second game the Broncos played against Fresno State in four weeks, and Mattison was a factor in both. In the first game, he ran for 144 yards on 30 touches, scoring twice in the Broncos' victory. In the second game, which Fresno won, he had 40 carries and another score.
"Without question, this is a really good football team," Addazio said. "The quarterback is an accurate thrower, and the tailback is one of the better runners in the country. You have to stop the run, but you have to be cognizant of a good quarterback."
"They're a solid football team," linebacker Connor Strachan said. "They have a very good offense. So it's just about preparing. I'm excited for the challenge. They're pretty consistent. Their running back is an unbelievable player. It's going to be a challenge to stop him."
The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl will mark just the second meeting between these two teams. They met in 2005 in the MPC Computers Bowl, a game hosted at Boise State's "Smurf Turf" home stadium. It was technically a neutral site game, but the Eagles snapped a 31-game winning streak for the Broncos within their home walls. Matt Ryan threw for 256 yards, Will Blackmon had 144 yards receiving and Ryan Glasper intercepted Jared Zabransky with 37 seconds left in a 27-21 decision.
There was no way of knowing how history would deviate and intertwine once again. Boise State and Boston College left that stadium for very different trips into college football's ranks. The Eagles rose to the No. 2 team in the nation in 2007 but remain in the process of consistently competing within the nation's best college football league. This year took the first steps, and a win over a football power would help cement BC as a program continuing to rise.
Boise State, meanwhile, has one of the sport's most-respected reputations. The Broncos are a "power team" because their history contextualized them as college football kryptonite for "Power Five" schools. They became what they once beat, and this bowl game is a chance for them to add another chapter to that history. It's one of the best matchups of the bowl season, and it all plays out in one of its most historic venues.
The 2018 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. ET from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It can be seen on ESPN with streaming options at WatchESPN.com or via the WatchESPN app. The game can also be heard on the BC IMG Sports Network on 850 AM WEEI and on satellite radio on Sirius 98, XM 193 and Internet channel 955.
Boston College heads to the 2018 SERVPRO First Reponder Bowl this week to play the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos are a nationally-ranked team, as high as No. 23 in the Associated Press Poll and at No. 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and play an excitingly balanced brand of football. But it's their history that provides the spark and foundation for the postseason game in Dallas.
"I grew up loving Boise State," quarterback Anthony Brown said. "They always played hard against Oklahoma and others. So playing against this team will help us develop more. We're clearly looking for an eighth win, but it's not going to be easy. This team is really good. There are athletes all over the place. It's going to take a lot of work, but it's doable."
In 2006, college football craved its Cinderella story. It had a small taste when Utah won the Fiesta Bowl two years earlier, but Boise State's bowl bid against Oklahoma felt remarkably different. The Broncos earned an automatic qualifier spot by finishing in the Top 12 of the BCS computer rankings, and they traveled to the Fiesta Bowl to play a Top 10 team and one of college football's blue blood programs.
The ensuing game was an instant classic. The Broncos led, 28-17, before 18 fourth quarter points put Oklahoma up by a touchdown. Quarterback Jared Zabransky ran a hook-and-ladder play to Drisan James, who lateraled to Jerard Rabb for a 35-yard score to force overtime. During that extra session, wide receiver Vinny Peretta threw a wide receiver, Wildcat option pass, and Ian Johnson ran in a two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty gadget play to earn a shocking win.
The win over the Sooners entrenched Boise State's reputation for college football history, but it wound up going further. The Broncos added two more Fiesta Bowl victories, including one during the College Football Playoff era. The Broncos went to the 2014 Fiesta Bowl as the automatic qualifier among the "Group of Five" conferences and subsequently beat No. 10 Arizona.
The wins cemented Boise State's legacy, and the Broncos head to Dallas as legitimate kryptonite for power conference teams. They play in a "non-AQ" conference but consistently carve out a niche as one of the best teams in the nation.
"We talk about playing good football teams," head coach Steve Addazio said. "(They) have a history of beating power five teams in a bowl game. They're talented and motivated. They're tough and physical. Our focus is truly on Boise, and we're excited about playing at the Cotton Bowl in that venue in a city like Dallas."
It's a great proving ground for the Eagles, who enter the bowl season having to refocus after how the regular season ended. BC entered November as the No. 17 team in the nation and hosted ESPN's College GameDay with very real upset dreams against No. 2 Clemson. Three straight losses ensued, leading to a bitter feeling about what could have been.
So this bowl game became something of a second chance and a pleasant surprise for the Eagles. Boise State is a 10-3 team that had a legitimate shot at a New Year's Six game. It was ranked No. 19 heading into the Mountain West Conference Championship but lost to No. 25 Fresno State in overtime at home.
"Our focus is always on winning the next game," Addazio said. "Truthfully, our focus has really been on development since the first practice, and then the focus went to Boise. Nobody here is worried about the beginning, middle or finish to the season. The season is what it is. You get 15 practices, and that's like another spring ball. That block of time, at the end of that time, your focus becomes about Boise. That's what the eighth win would be. We want the next one, and right now, we're not focused on anything else."
It's a team that will present a whole host of challenges for the Eagles. Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien threw for over 3,700 yards this season with a 67% completion rate. He threw over four times as many touchdowns than interceptions, and he has not thrown a pick in his last three games. He threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns in his only game against a power conference team, completing 70% of his passes in a loss to Oklahoma State.
Rypien is backed up by running back Alex Mattison's 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns. He ranks seventh in the nation in yards and tied for fifth in touchdowns, but his 302 carries are most among FBS schools. He finished the season as one of only two ball carriers with 300 or more touches, having hit 30 carries in three of the last four games.
He went over 100 yards five times in the last six games of the season, including back-to-back 200-yard games at the end. His three touchdowns against Utah State helped send the Broncos to the conference championship game, where he ran for another score on 40 carries.
The MWC Championship was actually the second game the Broncos played against Fresno State in four weeks, and Mattison was a factor in both. In the first game, he ran for 144 yards on 30 touches, scoring twice in the Broncos' victory. In the second game, which Fresno won, he had 40 carries and another score.
"Without question, this is a really good football team," Addazio said. "The quarterback is an accurate thrower, and the tailback is one of the better runners in the country. You have to stop the run, but you have to be cognizant of a good quarterback."
"They're a solid football team," linebacker Connor Strachan said. "They have a very good offense. So it's just about preparing. I'm excited for the challenge. They're pretty consistent. Their running back is an unbelievable player. It's going to be a challenge to stop him."
The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl will mark just the second meeting between these two teams. They met in 2005 in the MPC Computers Bowl, a game hosted at Boise State's "Smurf Turf" home stadium. It was technically a neutral site game, but the Eagles snapped a 31-game winning streak for the Broncos within their home walls. Matt Ryan threw for 256 yards, Will Blackmon had 144 yards receiving and Ryan Glasper intercepted Jared Zabransky with 37 seconds left in a 27-21 decision.
There was no way of knowing how history would deviate and intertwine once again. Boise State and Boston College left that stadium for very different trips into college football's ranks. The Eagles rose to the No. 2 team in the nation in 2007 but remain in the process of consistently competing within the nation's best college football league. This year took the first steps, and a win over a football power would help cement BC as a program continuing to rise.
Boise State, meanwhile, has one of the sport's most-respected reputations. The Broncos are a "power team" because their history contextualized them as college football kryptonite for "Power Five" schools. They became what they once beat, and this bowl game is a chance for them to add another chapter to that history. It's one of the best matchups of the bowl season, and it all plays out in one of its most historic venues.
The 2018 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. ET from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It can be seen on ESPN with streaming options at WatchESPN.com or via the WatchESPN app. The game can also be heard on the BC IMG Sports Network on 850 AM WEEI and on satellite radio on Sirius 98, XM 193 and Internet channel 955.
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