First let me say that I was rooting for TCU. Second I'm not a huge fan of defensive battles on TV. Three plays and punt are about as exciting on TV as watching bread rise when you forgot the yeast. (Watching a defensive slug match in person is another story. In person your eye can take in the whole field. That allows you to focus on the line play and/or defensive backs. TV focuses on the ball and nothing but the ball. Sometimes to the point of being faked out of their pants when the QB and running back pull off a great fake.)
For two teams averaging over 40 points a game--Boise lead the nation with 44.2 points per game and TCU was fourth with 40.7 per game--this was a pretty, well, boring game from a TV viewers perspective.
Okay. Boise State played a heck of a game. The interceptions came just when they needed them most. Brandyn Thompson had two, including one in the first half returned for 51-yards and a TD that looked for all the world like it would be the only one scored by Boise. Until he made a second INT in the second half halting a TCU drive deep in Boise territory. After that INT Boise couldn't get anything going and, on a 4th-and-9, was lined up to punt from their own 33-yard line. Except they didn't Kicker/punter Kyle Brotzman threw a 29-yard completion over the middle to Kyle Efaw. Kellen Moore then played pitch-and-catch with his receivers as they marched down the field in a drive culminating in Boise's only offensive TD.
TCU quarterback Andy Dalton just seemed to be a little up tight at the start and slightly off his game when it came to ball location. He did have a respectable 25-44 for 272 yards night, but the three INTs, after tossing only five all season, were killers. One returned for a TD, one to stop a drive and eventually lead to a TD and the third with seconds on the clock as TCU again marched deep into Boise territory and threatened to tie the score. (Okay. Maybe that last one was just bad luck as the ball ricocheted around before a Boise player snatched it out of the air.)
Neither team got much going on the ground. Boise managed 77 yards on 32 rushing plays while TCU had just 36 yards on 20 ground pounders.
Boise State converted on six of 18 third downs and was 2-for-2 on fourth downs. TCU managed just one (1) of 12 on third down and was 0-1 on fourth. Each team punted eight times.
Thank goodness for that fake punt. It was the only truly exciting play in the whole game.
2 comments:
And TCU practiced for that fake punt play and still got faked out. The Frogs I watched last night just did not look like the same team I have been watching all season.
JDP
When Dalton's first pass was so far off the mark (wide to the right by a good five yards) I thought they (TCU) were in for a long night. He looked like he was pressing from the start.
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