Boise State Finishes On High Note With 26-3 MAACO Las Vegas Bowl Victory Over Utah

SB Nation’s Boise State and Utah communities are reeling this morning for what are obviously different reasons, following the Broncos’ 26-3 slow-pitch romp over the Utes in Wednesday night’s 2010 MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. One Bronco Nation Under God runs down the top five plays of their victory, taking issue with what they think should’ve been another BSU touchdown:

Left off the list but topping our nightly rankings is another Austin Pettis moment, the one involving a two-yard pass to himself.

Block U, meanwhile, mourns the win that could have been after an evening that was, somehow, even more mistake-prone than Boise State’s:

On a reverse near the goal line, Pettis tried to get the ball in the endzone. Instead, it was tipped by one of Utah’s defenders. From there it went right back to Pettis, who caught it and ran forward two yards.

On the day, Pettis grabbed 12 catches for 127 yards with a touchdown. It was the final game of his college career, which has seen Boise win 51 of 53 games.

Connect with Boise State and Utah fans in our live game threads.

Our participants have combined for 35 yards after almost seven minutes of football, most of it on one 20-yard run by Utah RB Shaky Smithson.

Join One Bronco Nation Under God and Block U for more on the Las Vegas Bowl.

SB Nation’s Boise State and Utah communities discuss keys to a Utes victory in Wednesday night’s Las Vegas Bowl:

Name three keys to victory for your team. Name one key to certain defeat.

The offense has to somewhat keep Utah in the game. That’s going to be hard because the Broncos have a pretty spectacular defense, but I think Moore has the ability to really pick apart the Utes’ secondary at times. This is going to be a game where Boise State probably rolls out to a comfortable lead of two scores and the offense is going to have to find a way to get back into the game. If they don’t, it’s lights out.

That doesn’t mean the defense is free to take the night off, though. Hopefully they can withstand the Bronco charge, make adjustments and play very similar to the way they did against BYU. The Cougars’ offense, which as I type this is wrecking UTEP, had found a great deal of life the last few weeks heading into the Holy War and the Utes were able to really keep them in check for much of that rivalry game. It won’t be as easy to do against a very mature and explosive Bronco offense - but they’ve got to at least keep it within a close margin. Beyond that, they have to play pretty flawless out there. Boise State is the better team. Boise State should win this game. Hell, Boise State should roll Utah solely based on each team’s body of work. Then again, that’s what everyone thought about Alabama heading into the 2009 Sugar Bowl. We’re hoping for a similar outcome to that game. If they come out and play like they did against TCU and Notre Dame, where the offense stagnates, then this won’t even be a game at the half - Boise will romp.

SB Nation’s Utah and Boise State communities discuss whether the Broncos will be able to gin up enough enthusiasm to win a lower-tier bowl game in Las Vegas when they had hoped to compete for a national title in 2010:

Since the 2003 season ended, Boise State is 0-4 in non-BCS bowl games. Is this a concern and why the discrepancy recently?

A lot of Bronco fans believe it has to do with injuries/personnel late in the season. Boise State is either banged up or suspending folks by late December. I buy that for the most part, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think there was some hidden motivational flaw in this team when it comes to bowls that aren’t Fiestas.

My No. 1 reason for the discrepancy is that there isn’t one. Boise State’s bowl losses are just as close as their bowl wins. Bowl season football is all about good teams playing good teams, and when that happens, games often can go either way. The Broncos were in position to win all four of them, and they just happened to go the wrong way. A bounce here, a made FG there, and Boise State has a six- or eight- or ten-game bowl winning streak.

To help prime you for the second of four consecutive game days this week, we’ve compiled this handy list of fun factoids concerning the 2010 Las Vegas Bowl.

Proper name: Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, which you can tell is a fancy game because the location goes at the end.

Setting: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada