Boise State blows out Hawaii

By Fred Guzman

Hawaii crashed like the geese – as urban legend has it – who nosedive onto the blue turf thinking that it’s a lake. There was no mistaking what took place on Saturday on the Smurf Turf and before a national TV audience. UH was the victim of an old-fashioned butt-kicking.

Demonstrating why it’s ranked No. 2 in two of the more prominent polls, Boise State shut down Hawaii’s high-powered passing game while quarterback Kellen Moore was shredding Hawaii’s secondary in a 42-7 rout.

Taking advantage of exceptional protection, Moore amassed a career-high 507 yards and had three touchdown tosses despite sitting out the fourth quarter after Boise had opened up a 35-point lead. Moore masterfully orchestrated a no-huddle offense that rolled up a school record 737 total yards. During one stretch in the first half he completed 19 straight passes.

Defensively, the Broncos suffocated the Hawaii’s top-rated air attack. Bryant Moniz, the national passing leader in yards and touchdowns, was limited to 127 yards, completing 17 of 28 attempts while suffering seven sacks. UH managed just 196 total yards. Greg Salas, the national receiving leader, was held to a pair of catches.

Boise State improved to 8-0, extending the nation’s longest active winning streak to 22.

UH dropped to 7-3, but the softest part of its schedule awaits. Hawaii has three games left – home against San Jose State on Nov. 20, at New Mexico State and the regular-season finale aganst UNLV. Those three teams have a combined record of 4-23. So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect Hawaii to finish with double-digit wins.

For the Hawaii, the loss dealt a serious blow to its hopes of winning a second WAC championship since 2007. UH now trails Boise State and needs title contenders Nevada and Fresno State to upset the Broncos to have a shot at the title.

UH has already accepted a bid to play in the Hawaii Bowl against an undetermined Conference-USA opponent.

Hawaii’s defense had shown marked improvement during a recent run of success, forcing 17 turnovers in five WAC games. But they were sliced and diced by the Broncos, who came into the game as a 27-point favorite.

Offensively, Hawaii’s only highlight was provided by Alex Green, who ran for 107 yards on 10 carries. He also provided UH’s only score on a 43-yard jaunt with the game already well out of hand. It marked the fifth straight game in which Green rushed for triple-digits.