Final Four Game 1: Western Kentucky at Boise State
Boise State 45, Western Kentucky 36: In the opening final four game of the 2015 G5 playoff, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers head cross country to face the top seeded Boise State Broncos. WKU opens the game with possession and quickly use their highly rated passing attack to move downfield versus Boise State before being forced to punt just inside Broncos territory. Boise State, stuck inside their own ten yard line, struggle to move the ball versus the loaded Hilltoppers defensive front and go three and out. WKU is unable to take advantage of the great field possession gained and face a 4th-and-18 at their over 41. A shanked punt due to the wind gives Boise State the ball on their own 38. Boise State shows their big play ability and proceed to go 62 yards in three plays capped by a 37-yard touchdown strike to take a 7-0 lead with 5:59 left in the first quarter. After back to back fruitless possessions, WKU finally strikes with a 59-yard pass play that ties the game at 7-7 with :58 left in the first half. At the end of the first quarter, the game is tied at 7-7.
Boise State continues to have success versus the Hilltoppers defense early in the second quarter and retake the lead with a 46-yard field goal to lead 10-7 with 12:39 left in the first half. Boise State's secondary makes their first big play of the night on the next drive, picking off WKU quarterback Brandon Doughty and returning it to the WKU 17-yard line. Two plays later, the Boise State lead is at 10 with a seven yard run that gives the Broncos a 17-7 lead. The Hilltoppers proceed to score on back to back possessions with 23 and 31 yard field goals to cut the Boise State lead to 17-13 late in the first half. The Broncos respond with a 7-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown run to give Boise State a 24-13 lead at the half.
WKU jumps out quickly with a stop of the Boise State offense, earning good field position at their own 45-yard line for their opening drive of the second half. The Hilltoppers march downfield and score with 9:35 left in the third quarter to cut the Boise State lead to 24-20. After a Boise State fumble gives WKU the ball once again, the Hilltoppers come up just short of the goal line and settle for a third field goal to cut the Boise State lead yet again to 24-23 late in the third quarter. The Broncos respond with a 10-play, 84 yard drive that is capped by a touchdown pass to tight end Jake Roh to give Boise State a 31-23 lead with 1:23 left in the third quarter. With WKU driving, we head to the fourth quarter with Boise State leading Western Kentucky 31-23.
The Hilltoppers methodically move downfield versus the Boise State defense and end a 12-play, 77 yard drive with a one yard plunge to pull within 31-29 pending the PAT. WKU goes for two and the pass drifts just out of the grasp of Leon Allen to fall incomplete. Boise State, showing their ability to match any action by their opponent, proceed to go on their own 12-play drive capped by a 17-yard draw up the middle that ends in a touchdown. With 4:35 left in the game, Boise State leads 38-29. WKU, showing full desperation, move into scoring range with Doughty hitting Jared Dangerfield for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the Boise State lead to 38-36 with only 1:55 left in the game. After WKU calls timeouts on first and second down, Boise State faces a 3rd-and-8 with 1:29 left in the game. A run up the middle bounces outside and the Broncos are off the the races down the sideline for a 64-yard romp that puts the game away at 45-36. As the clock hits zero, Boise State moves on to the championship game versus the winner of Cincinnati and Marshall.
No comments:
Post a Comment