Gutsy Boise State Steals BCS Spotlight

Gutsy Boise State Steals BCS Spotlight
By ANDREW BAGNATO Friday, January 05, 2007

Oklahoma players Rufus Alexander (42) and Carl Pendleton (68) react as Boise State's Ian Johnson (41) scores the game-winning two point conversion during the overtime of the Fiesta Bowl college football game, Monday, Jan. 1, 2007, in Glendale, Ariz.. Boise State won, 43-42. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Boise State Broncos left their resort hotel Tuesday to make room for the Florida Gators, who arrived to prepare for next week's BCS title game against Ohio State. But the ninth-ranked Broncos remained the talk of college football on the day after their exhilarating 43-42 overtime victory over No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night in Glendale. That's what happens when a team comes out of the college football hinterlands and takes down a traditional powerhouse with plays that looked as if they were drawn up in the dirt.

For one day, at least, Boise State's victory cast a shadow over the Bowl Championship Series title game. Florida coach Urban Meyer and Ohio State's Jim Tressel both fielded questions about the upstart Broncos and their miraculous victory.

"I hate to say this, I fell asleep and my wife kept hitting me," Meyer said after the Gators landed at Sky Harbor Airport. "She said it was the greatest football game she ever saw."

Shelley Meyer wasn't alone. In a crowded bowl season, Boise State's victory was an unexpected delight that turned the tradition-laden Rose Bowl between Michigan and USC, which preceded it, into a virtual junior-varsity game.

"This probably goes down in the history of college football," said Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky, who threw three touchdown passes to earn offensive most valuable player honors.

The Broncos blew an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter, then twice overcame touchdown deficits _ once in the final minute and again in overtime.

Two plays made it happen and left fans buzzing as they returned to work on Tuesday.

The first came on a hook-and-lateral pass with the Broncos trailing 35-28 and facing fourth-and-18 from the 50-yard line in the final seconds of regulation. Zabransky hit Drisan James at Oklahoma's 35, and James pitched the ball to Jerard Rabb, who outran the pursuit to the end zone with 7 seconds to play.

"You hope you never have to call it because it's not a good situation," said Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who is 13-0 as a head coach. "But we work on it every week, once a week on Friday. The guys love it."

That sent the game into overtime. After the Sooners' Adrian Peterson scored on a 25-yard run on the first play, the Broncos tied it up on a fourth-down pass from receiver Vinny Perretta to Derek Schouman.

Sensing that his players were exhausted, Petersen had already decided to go for 2. "We liked the play we had for a 2-point conversion," Petersen said. "It really wasn't a difficult decision at that point."

The Broncos lined up with three wide receivers to the right. Zabransky faked a pass to that side, then handed the ball behind his back to tailback Ian Johnson, who swept around left end and into the end zone.

"We were kind of like in awe the way (Zabransky) did the misdirection with the ball," Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander said.

If either play had failed, the Broncos would have become a footnote. Instead, the Western Athletic Conference champions became a prime exhibit in the case for opening the BCS to unaffiliated conferences.

"Boise State controlled the game," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "After Oklahoma came back, when Boise State had to pull out the trick plays, they pulled them out. And they didn't execute them against Sacramento State on Sept. 1. They executed them perfectly against Oklahoma on Jan. 1.

"I think it will, hopefully, at least diminish some of the fear or the concerns that were out there within the college football community that we didn't belong," Benson said.

Non-BCS conferences are 2-0 in BCS games. Two years ago, Mountain West champion Utah crushed Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Meyer coached the Utes that night, but he had already accepted a big-money offer from the Gators. Two years later, he discounted the distinction between the six BCS conferences and their oft-overlooked brethren.

"I think that the separation of BCS, non-BCS, I think that era is over," Meyer said. "Everybody knows what Oklahoma was getting into _ everybody that knows football."

Still, there's a vast difference in resources. According to U.S. Department of Education statistics, Oklahoma reported that its football program earned $33.7 million and spent $13.8 million in 2005-06, the most recent figures available. Boise State reported that its football team earned $8.5 million and spent $4.5 million.

The Broncos were only invited to the Fiesta because the BCS, facing threats of federal legislation and lawsuits, eased access for unaffiliated conferences this year when it added the stand-alone title game. A year ago, Boise State would not have been guaranteed a BCS slot.

"I think that it is harder for some of the smaller conference schools to make it, but the BCS committee and the whole process has made it easier access, which is the right thing to do," Meyer said.

Ian Johnson: Heisman candidate?
His speed, vision, power and patience have some people tossing around the ‘H' word
By Chadd Cripe
Idaho Statesman | Edition Date: 11/01/06
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Boise State strength coach Tim Socha reminded sophomore tailback Ian Johnson all summer what was expected of him this season.
"I kept calling him our horse," Socha said. "I told him he'd have to carry us."

Eight wins and 18 touchdowns later, Johnson has delivered — barging into the Heisman Trophy race.

No. 14 Boise State will begin touting Johnson as a Heisman candidate at tonight's nationally televised game against Fresno State (6:06 p.m., ESPN2).

Johnson (5-foot-11, 194 pounds) ranks fifth in the nation with 147.6 rushing yards per game and first with those 18 TDs. He's on pace to set school single-season records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per carry (7.0) while running behind arguably the greatest offensive line in school history.

"He's a star waiting to emerge," said ESPN analyst and former NFL running back Robert Smith, who ranks Johnson fifth among Heisman Trophy candidates for ESPN.com. "… He's very good at finding creases and once he finds them, he accelerates so quickly and gets to such a high speed it's tough for people to catch up to him."

BSU will pass out 20,000 Heisman-themed cheer cards at tonight's game. The school also has launched a Web page dedicated to Johnson at broncosports.com.

And the Heisman talk isn't just local. CBSSportsLine.com ranks Johnson fourth on its Heisman Trophy watch list. He's tied for 10th on ESPN.com's list.

Johnson has scored nine TDs in two ESPN appearances this season. Another night like that, Smith said, could vault him into the thick of the Heisman race.

"(Tonight) is going to be huge for him," Smith said. "… When people start to realize what kind of numbers he has put up on an undefeated team, you can't help but put the guy in Heisman contention."

Johnson's success is a combination of all the traits that Smith says make him an NFL prospect — speed, vision, patience and powerful bursts that allow him to accelerate through holes and shed tacklers.

Some of it is coaching. Some of it is attitude. Most of it is natural ability.

"The running back position is one of those positions where a truly great back and a big-time player has just got it," BSU coach Chris Petersen said. "It's such an instinctual position."

One play in Johnson's signature performance — 240 yards and five touchdowns in an ESPN game Sept. 7 against Oregon State — illustrates his talent.

The 19-yard TD run in the third quarter is his favorite play of the season.

Johnson took a handoff moving to his right. He shuffled his feet searching for a hole (patience), cut back to his left (vision) and turned on the burst that Smith likes so much (speed).

He blasted between two would-be tacklers (power) and lunged across the goal line with two defenders on his legs (determination).

"That's everything we teach right there," Johnson said.

For most running plays, Johnson starts with a predetermined path to the quarterback, an aiming point in the offensive line and a defensive player he must read to determine which way he cuts.

If everything goes right, he hits the hole as fast as he can.

Oftentimes, though, something goes wrong. A block gets missed. A defender reacts in an unexpected way. The timing isn't quite right.

"It turns to mud," Johnson said, "and it all changes and it's so much different."

That's when he's at his best. He knows how to wait for the right opportunity and how to spot it. An 8-second play, Johnson said, can feel like 2 minutes.

"He's not in a hurry," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "He knows how to play at different paces."

Once he gets into the defense, Johnson's speed and power take over.

He has been clocked in the 40-yarddash at 4.46 seconds and he is explosive in his ankles, knees and hips — the areas that produce power. He's strong in the weight room, coaches say, but stronger on the field.

"People talk about a 6-inch pop," Petersen said of the last second before a collision. "… He's one of those guys that has that finish to him."

Some of that pop comes from Johnson's attitude, the product of a no-nonsense set of parents.

Sterling Johnson is a Los Angeles firefighter. Colleen Johnson is a special education teacher. Ian is from San Dimas, Calif.

Sterling regularly reminds his son to treat every run like his last.

"He runs strong," BSU right guard Jeff Cavender said, "and he runs angry."

Johnson's game has evolved the past few years.

He could outrun everybody in high school so he didn't know how to run with power when he arrived at Boise State in 2004. He learned quickly and averaged 5.6 yards per carry last season in a tailback committee.

Still, he had something to prove this year — a season for which he was the only viable candidate to become a featured back.

Could he handle 25 to 30 carries a game? After all, this is the same guy who crochets beanies and scarves for spending money.

Johnson proved his toughness Sept. 30 at Utah. He barely practiced that week because of a knee bruise and coaches weren't sure he would play. He carried 14 times for 88 yards against a strong defense.

The Broncos want to pack another 10 pounds onto Johnson's frame in the offseason to increase his durability, but no one doubts his toughness.

"The first impression you get of Ian is he's kind of a goofy kid, and not in a bad way at all," running backs coach Jeff Choate said. "… You're thinking, ‘Is this guy going to be tough enough?' And there is absolutely no question he's one of the tougher football players I've been around."

All this praise could go to a young player's head.

Johnson has been interviewed by Smith on ESPNEWS. He spent three days last week working with a reporter and photographer from ESPN The Magazine.

This week, a crew from ESPN's College GameDay will visit Boise to produce a feature on him.

And of course there's that ‘H' word — Heisman.

Johnson shrugs off the hype.

"It's really nothing huge right now," he said. "It's speculation and what-ifs."

Coaches worry that he will get overexposed, yet they see few signs that the attention affects him.

Just to be safe, Petersen plans to cut back Johnson's media time next week.

"It's all about staying grounded," Choate said. "Ian got what he's getting because he deserved it, because he worked his tail off."

That started in summer conditioning, when he rebuilt a body softened by a couple months off for hernia surgery.

Cavender set a seemingly lofty goal for Johnson of 1,500 yards during fall camp. Johnson could pass that mark next week at San Jose State.

"From the effort he put in in the summer, this was what I expected," Socha said. "It's what everyone knew he had in him."

Contact reporter Chadd Cripe at ccripe@idahostatesman.com

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