BOISE, Idaho — This Day In Sports…August 20, 2008:
On what he said was a “gut feeling,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen names redshirt freshman Kellen Moore as his starting quarterback. Moore would become the first freshman to open a season at quarterback in Broncos history after beating out fifth-year senior Bush Hamdan. Moore came to Boise State with a stunning resume from Prosser High in Washington, where he threw a state record 66 touchdown passes as a junior, then topped that with 67 as a senior. He had 173 career TD passes, also a state high school record.
Coach Pete said Moore had the “it” factor. “’It’ is the instinctual things you can’t coach,” Petersen said that day. He went on to say that “it” is consistency, decisiveness and poise—and football smarts. Petersen said Moore was much further along than any freshman he had ever coached. The guidelines that Petersen had laid down for the starter’s job made Moore’s selection noteworthy. He said all along that the Broncos weren’t playing for the future; they were playing to win the next game. Moore wouldn’t be wearing “trainee” on his helmet.
With a crowd of 32,000 awaiting him in Bronco Stadium for his debut against Idaho State in 10 days, Moore was asked at the presser about the biggest crowd he’d ever played in front of. “Uh, the spring game?” he answered with a grin. Then Petersen chimed in: “He’s already played in the Fiesta Bowl—he was there taking every rep, believe me.” Moore was indeed in the stands at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl as a new Boise State commit, predicting every play to his Dad and high school coach, Tom.
In the fall of 2007, Moore redshirted, and the importance of that cannot be overstated. By 2008, there wasn’t a sliver of the Broncos offense he didn’t know. Boise State went on to an undefeated regular season in Moore’s first year, and you know the school’s most famous stat by the time he was done: 50-3, the winningest quarterback in college football history. Two of the losses were by one point to TCU. The other, a three-point defeat at Nevada, does not need to be rehashed.
In his Boise State career, Moore completed just under 70 percent of his passes (1,157 completions, 1,658 attempts). He threw for 14,667 yards, still ninth in college football history, and 142 touchdowns, still second, against only 28 interceptions. There will never be another one like him. It was the zenith of the Broncos’ glory days.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
