Boise State showed those in attendance at Aloha Stadium Saturday night why they were ranked fourth in the BCS polls and poised for not only a BCS berth but a potential National Championship game appearance as well by easily dispatching Hawai`I, 54-9.
“The loss is tough on us all. To work so hard in practice all week and the game result is a loss. All we can do now is go back to the film room and see what we need to do to get better,” sophomore quarterback Shane Austin said.
Austin was forced into action after the injury bug bit Hawai`i (2-5, 0-4 Western Athletic Conference) again when starting quarterback Bryant Moniz was taken out of the game with a concussion, making Austin the third Warrior quarterback in the last four games.
Despite being in his first ever collegiate career game and against one of the top ranked teams in the nation, Austin completed seven of his first eight passes and finished the night with 174 yards passing on 22 of 36 passing and one touchdown.
“There’s always those first game jitters, but I got one game under my belt and the monkey off my back so now it’s time to get to work and get better,” Austin said.
Hawai`i fell behind early after committing four turnovers in the first half and found themselves in a 34-0 halftime deficit. Hawaii`’s losing streak has now reached five straight games; it’s longest since its 1998 when the team went winless.
Boise State (7-0, 2-0) was able to pull away and hand Hawai`i it’s 10th largest lost of all-time thanks in large part to the outstanding play of sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore who threw for 223 yards on 18-30 passing and had five touchdowns. The Broncos offense was not limited to the air however as they pounded the ball for 193 yards led by freshman Matt Kaiserman who had 122 yards on 23 carries in his first career game.
“We didn’t know really what to expect out of Matt (Kaiserman). It was really good to get him in there and get him some meaningful carries, get him into a rhythm, and he did a very nice job,” Boise State head coach Chris Peterson said.
Although Boise State’s offense scored an impressive 54 points, the Broncos defense was equally impressive allowing only one late fourth quarter touchdown from Austin to senior receiver Jon Medeiros. The Broncos also held the Warrior offense to under 300 yards passing for the second time this season.
“This a very hard place to play, and I think six turnovers is the reason that we were able to get such a commanding lead. I give credit to our defense; when we play like that on defense we’ll be hard to stop,” Peterson said.
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