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| Boise State wide receiver Billy Wingfield tries to break the tackle of Fresno State |
Sometimes, there is a moment or game where you can look back and say "That was the moment that it all started".
For the Boise State football program, that moment was their 2001 game with the Fresno State Bulldogs, where the Broncos traveled to the Central Valley of California and pulled off a victory that was seen as the launching pad of their ascension to one of the top programs in college football.
The Broncos came into the game unranked with a 3-3 record under first-year head coach Dan Hawkins, who had been promoted to head coach after Dirk Koetter left Boise to take the head coach position with the Arizona State Sun Devils after a three-year run in Boise where Koetter complied a 26-10 record and led Boise State to two Big West conference championships.
The Broncos left the Big West Conference to join the Western Athletic Conference for the 2001 season where the Broncos lost their first two games of the season to South Carolina and Washington State before being embarrassed by the Rice Owls 45-14 in the fifth game of the season.
The Broncos were an afterthought in their Friday night showdown with the Bulldogs, who came into the game undefeated and visions of appearing in a major bowl game in their heads thanks to their hot start to the 2001 season.
Led by head coach Pat Hill and quarterback David Carr, the Bulldogs started the season with a 24-22 win over the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder followed by a 44-24 win over Oregon State in the Bulldogs' home opener and a 32-20 over Wisconsin in Madison as the Broncos defeated three straight teams from power conferences to propel the Bulldogs into the rankings at #11.
The Bulldogs would win their next three games, including an overtime win over Colorado State, to improve their record to 6-0 and ranking to #8 in the country as college football media starting to theorize that if the Bulldogs finished the regular season undefeated, they could earn an at-large bid in one of the bowl games of the Bowl Championship Series.
The Broncos got the ball to start the game as they would drive 77 yards in 11 plays with quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie running for 18 yards on a 2nd & 12 then completing a 12-yard pass to wide receiver Tim Gilligan to set up the sophomore quarterback's 16-yard touchdown pass to running back Brock Forsey to give Boise State the early 7-0 lead.
Fresno State would get good field position for their opening drive of the game as Bernard Berrian returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the Bulldogs' 40-yard-line as it would take six plays for Carr to lead the Bulldog offense to the end zone as he connected with tight end Alec Greco for a 19-yard touchdown to help tie the game at seven.
After a Boise State three-and-out, the Bulldogs got the ball at their 24-yard-line when it looked like the Bronco defense had forced a turnover on the first play of the drive when cornerback Gabe Franklin intercepted a Carr pass only for it to be nullfied because of a roughing the passer penalty on defensive tackle Bobby Hammer.
From there, Carr would complete six of seven passes for 66 yards on the 11-play, 76-yard drive that culiminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Carr to wide receiver Rodney Wright to give Fresno State a 14-7 lead with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
The Broncos would go three-and-out again on their next possession to punt the ball back to the Bulldogs, who took over at their 44-yard-line as they drove to the Boise State six-yard-line where they were faced with a 4th & 1 situation.
The Bulldogs would go for the 1st down which they got as Carr snuck for two yards to give Fresno State a 1st & goal at the four-yard-line when on the very next play, running back Paris Gaines took into the end zone for the touchdown to extend Fresno State's lead to 20-7(the extra point was missed) with 12:30 to play in the second quarter.
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| Fresno State quarterback David Carr 30 of 49 passes for 345 yards and threw three touchdown passes. |
Following another Boise State punt, the two teams traded turnovers as Broncos linebacker Kris Foster picked off a Carr pass to give the Broncos the ball at the Fresno State 46-yard-line only for Bulldogs linebacker Sam Williams to return the favor and intercept Dinwiddie to give Fresno State the ball back at their 36-yard-line.
The Bulldogs would end up punting the ball back to the Broncos who began their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as a 22-yard pass from Dinwiddie to wide receiver Billy Wingfield and a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Lou Fanucchi moved Boise State to the Fresno State 25-yard-line until Dinwiddie was picked off by cornerback Tierre Sams, whose 21-yard return gave Fresno State the ball at their 27-yard-line.
Back-to-back passes from Carr to Wright totaled 41 yards as the Bulldogs moved into Broncos territory until the drive stalled as Asen Asparuhov would attempt a 44-yard field goal which would sail wide left of the uprights and no good as the Broncos would take over at their 27-yard-line with 1:10 left before halftime.
The drive would begin with a 27-yard run by Dinwiddie followed two passes for 24 yards to move Boise State to the Fresno State 22-yard-line when a holding penalty pushed the Broncos back 10 yards to the Fresno State 32-yard-line where they would face a 1st & 20.
That is when Dinwiddie connected with wide receiver Jeb Putzier for 14 yards then again for the 18-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the first half to cut the Fresno State lead to 20-14 as the Bulldogs would take a knee to end the first half of play.
Fresno State would get the ball to start the second half as they would drive 82 yards in eight plays as Carr completed passes of 12 yards to Berrian, then two straight passes to Wright for 45 yards, before going back to Berrian for an 18-yard touchdown that with Carr finding Berrian in the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion, increased the Bulldogs' lead to 28-14.
The Broncos would respond with a 10-play, 82-yard drive which saw Dinwiddie hit Putzier for a 23-yard completion, then again for the 19-yard touchdown to once again make it a one-score game at 28-21 in favor of Fresno State with 8:01 to go in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs would begin their next possession at their 24-yard-line as they would drive to the Boise State 41-yard-line until on a 3rd & 1, Gaines fumbled the football after a hit by Broncos linebacker LaGary Mitchell as the ball would be caught in mid-air by defensive back Travis Burgher, whose return set Boise State up at the Fresno State 41-yard-line.
Seven plays later, Forsey would take a pitch from Dinwiddie around the right side and dive it into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 28 with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.
A botched squib kick on the ensuing kickoff would give the Bulldogs great field positon for their next drive which started at their 48-yard-line as Carr and the Fresno State offense moved it down to the Boise State 21-yard-line until Carr was sacked by defensive end Ryan Nelson for a seven-yard loss on 3rd & 1, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt by Asparuhov.
But just like in the first half, Asparuhov would miss the kick, this time with ball hooking wide right, as the game remained tied at 28 with 11:41 left in regulation.
Boise State would drive to around midfield before punting the ball to the Bulldogs who would go three-and-out on their next possession to give the ball back to the Broncos, who would take over at their 46-yard-line.
That is when Dinwiddie fired a laser to Swillie who made the catch around the Fresno State 25-yard-line then bounced off a hit by Bulldogs free safety Bryce McGill and raced into the end zone for the 54-yard touchdown to give the Broncos their first lead of the game at 35-28 with 7:12 left in the fourth quarter.
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| Boise State quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie threw for 297 yards and four touchdown passes. |
The Bulldogs would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line as a 21-yard pass from Carr to Wright help move Fresno State into Boise State territory until the drive stalled as the Bulldogs would punt the ball back to the Broncos who would take over at their 13-yard-line hoping to take some time off the clock.
But a quarterback sack followed by Dinwiddie tripping over his own center pushed the Broncos to their one-yard-line when on 3rd & 22 when Broncos defensive end Nick Burley dove over a Boise State blocker to sack Dinwiddie in the end zone for safety to cut the Boise State lead to 35-30 but more importantly give the ball back to the Bulldogs with a chance to drive for the game-winning touchdown.
Following the free kick, the Bulldogs would get the ball at their 43-yard-line with 3:51 left on the clock as the drive would begin with a five-yard run by Gaines followed by a seven-yard scramble by Carr for a Fresno State 1st down at the Boise State 45-yard-line.
After two straight incomplete passes, Carr found wide receiver Charles Smith for a 11-yard completion and a 1st down at the Boise State 34-yard-line as Carr would then run for 11 yards another 1st down at the Boise State 23-yard-line.
A two-yard run by Gaines and two incomplete passes would set up a do-or-die 4th & 8 when Boise State was called for 12 men in the huddle, giving the Bulldogs five free yards to make it 4th & 3 when Carr threw a pass that was deflected by Broncos defensive end Marcus Purkiss but caught by Smith for a four-yard gain and a Fresno State 1st down at the Boise State 12-yard-line.
Two runs by Gaines for seven yards and an incomplete pass would put Fresno State in another 4th down situation, this time needing three yards to continue the game, when Boise State blitzed Carr as Broncos linebacker Greg Sasser would make the sack to force a turnover on downs and give the Broncos the ball at their 11-yard-line with 51 seconds to go in the game.
Dinwiddie would take two knees to run out the clock to complete the 35-30 upset win for the Broncos as the Bulldogs' chances of getting into a BCS Bowl were dashed.
The Bulldogs would lose another heartbreaker the following week as they gave up a touchdown in the final seconds to fall to the Hawaii Warriors 38-34 as Fresno State would finish the regular season with a 11-2 record but in second place in the WAC conference race.
Fresno State would then play Michigan State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose, California where the Spartans would prevail in a 44-35 shootout as the Bulldogs finished the season with a 11-3 record as Carr finished the season with 4,839 yards and 46 touchdowns passes as he would be selected with the #1 overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft by the expansion Houston Texans.
As for the Broncos, they would finish the season with a 8-4 record but shockingly would not be invited to play in a bowl game.
However, over the course of the next quarter of a century, the Broncos have appeared in 23 bowl games, won 10 or more games 17 times, won 15 conference championships, finished ranked in the top 25 fourteen times, five times in the top 10, and completed two undefeated seasons.
