Moore’s 3 TDs lead No. 5 Broncos past Tulsa 28-21

By JEFF LATZKE
Associated Press
Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:22 AM PDT

Boise State’s Titus Young turns the corner past Tulsa defender Tanner Antle during the first half of an NCAA

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Coach Chris Petersen would like to see Boise State learn to deliver a knockout punch instead of trading blows until the final bell.

He’ll still take a win any way he can get it.

Kellen Moore threw three touchdown passes, including a pair to tight end Tommy Gallarda, and the No. 5 Broncos fought off a late charge from Tulsa to win 28-21 Wednesday night and remain undefeated.

‘‘We’ll keep fighting, we’ll keep working and one of these days we’ll maybe get some breathing room in the fourth quarter,’’ Petersen said.

Ten days after his team allowed UC Davis of the Football Championship Subdivision to stick around deep into the fourth quarter, Petersen’s Broncos (6-0) had to cling to a seven-point lead after G.J. Kinne and Slick Shelley connected on consecutive passes for 91 yards — including a 55-yarder for a touchdown — in the final period.

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Except for those two long connections, Boise State’s defense limited the Golden Hurricane (4-2) — who led the nation in total offense each of the last two seasons — to 30 yards in the second half. But the Broncos could never shake free.

‘‘We’ll go back and rack our brain and try to figure out something. Usually, a lot of times that comes down to the run game but I thought we ran the ball well tonight,’’ Petersen said after his team gained 128 of its 193 yards rushing in the second half.

‘‘I thought the offensive line played well and I thought those backs did a good job for the most part. It would have been nice to hit a pass, a deep pass, down the line to kind of give us some breathing room. We just couldn’t make a play.’’

Tulsa had one last chance to tie it in the final 2 minutes, but Boise State forced its fourth three-and-out of the second half to ice the game. Moore finished with 187 yards passing with touchdown throws of 8 and 2 yards to Gallarda and a 17-yarder to Austin Pettis — giving him six straight games with a score.

Doug Martin had 112 yards on 23 carries in his second 100-yard game since moving back to offense after the Broncos lost running back D.J. Harper to a knee injury.

Jeremy Avery added 73 yards as Boise State trampled Tulsa on the ground in the third quarter.

Martin had 83 of his team’s 104 yards rushing in the third quarter as Boise State controlled ball for all but 2:48.

‘‘This one hurt because we wanted this one pretty bad,’’ Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. ‘‘If anything, we weren’t outplayed, we were outcoached.’’

Petersen called it a ‘‘solid win’’ but he doubted it would be the kind of impressive statement pollsters were looking for as the Broncos had the college football stage to themselves the same week the Bowl Championship Series standings are to be released for the first time.

‘‘It’s usually never good enough for a lot of people, usually including us and our team,’’ Petersen said. ‘‘Tulsa’s a good team, and this was going to be a good test for us. I think we battled hard against some really explosive playmakers.

‘‘The important thing is that we get a little bit better. Teams don’t stay the same, and we won’t either. We either need to get better or we’re going to get passed by.’’

Tulsa represented one of the few challenges remaining on Boise State’s schedule as the Broncos move into Western Athletic Conference play. The rest of the teams on their schedule have a combined 16-21 record, and in-state rival Idaho (5-1) is the only one with a winning mark.

The Golden Hurricane — playing in front of a sellout crowd of 30,000 — jumped on top early, capitalizing on a muffed punt by cornerback Kyle Wilson with some trickery on the very next play.

Kinne pitched the ball to A.J. Whitmore, Tulsa’s usual wildcat quarterback, and he found speedy receiver Damaris Johnson behind the defense for a 53-yard touchdown pass.

It was the first time Boise State had trailed this season, and Moore immediately answered by leading a 68-yard scoring drive. He hit all three of his passes for 45 yards and converted a fourth-and-1 at the 10-yard line with a sneak to set up his 8-yard scoring toss to Gallarda.

He went 6 for 6 for 62 yards on the Broncos’ next drive, answering Kinne’s 15-yard scoring pass to Trae Johnson with a 17-yard TD connection to Pettis that sparked a run of 20 straight Broncos points.