San Diego, Calif. -- Boise State (9-4) did almost anything it wanted on offense, and Northern Illinois (8-6) never broke through the Boise State defense, as the Broncos secured their first Poinsettia Bowl victory in two attempts with a 55-7 win over the Huskies.
Broncos' running back Jeremy McNichols scored three touchdowns (two rushing), and quarterback Brett Rypien (former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien’s son) threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns before both sat out the entire fourth quarter.
During the game, Rypien would become the first freshman quarterback in Mountain West Conference history to throw for more than 3000 yards in a season.
The Broncos set a Poinsettia Bowl record for the most points in a quarter by scoring 21 in the first quarter, while also setting the Poinsettia Bowl record for most points scored in a half with 31. In addition, the Broncos set a Poinsettia Bowl record for most points in a single game with 55.
The Broncos outgained the Huskies in total yards by a stunning amount, 654 to 33.
The Huskies did not help their cause in the first half by turning the ball over three times, as Boise State raced out to a 31-7 halftime lead.
Boise State kicker Tyler Rausa broke the Mountain West Conference All-Time Single Season Scoring Record on an extra point following the Broncos' second touchdown, and continued adding to his record as the Broncos’ offense scored at will.
The lone bright spot for Northern Illinois was Aregeros Turner’s 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with nine and a half minutes left in the second quarter. The play set a Poinsettia Bowl record for the longest returned kick for a touchdown and cut the deficit to 24-7.
Things slowed down a bit in the second half as neither team scored until Boise State capped a 12-play, 51-yard drive with Tyler Rausa’s second field goal of the game. The 27-yard field goal was Rausa’s 25th of the season, extending his Boise State record for most field goals made in a single season.
On their next drive, the Broncos used a little trickery to add to their lead when Rypien found tight end Alec Dhaenens wide-open after a fake double-reverse had the Huskies defense completely fooled. With the touchdown pass, Boise State extended their lead to 41-7.
The inept Huskies offense ended the third quarter with minus 13 yards rushing, and only 38 passing yards, as Northern Illinois simply could not move the ball against the Broncos defense.
Even Boise State’s backups had success against the Huskies porous defense, as running back Kelsey Young ripped off a 24-yard touchdown run barely a minute into the fourth quarter. If there were any questions about this game, that run effectively put them to rest, as Boise State increased its lead to 487.
The Broncos’ backups stretched the lead to 48 points on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Thomas Stuart to finish the scoring.
By Lazaro Cruz
Contributing Writer for TheDailySportsHerald.com
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