BOISE, Idaho — This Day In Sports…December 17, 2011:
In its 15th year, and its first as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise’s bowl game produces a thriller. Utah State, making its first postseason appearance since the inaugural Humanitarian Bowl in 1997, led Ohio the entire way until 13 seconds remained in the game. That’s when Bobcats quarterback Tyler Tettleton ran in a one-yard keeper to give Ohio a 24-23 win, its first bowl victory in school history. The Aggies, despite being snakebitten all season long, finished with their first winning season since 1996 nevertheless.
Tettleton recovered from a mistake-prone start, as the Ohio offense was out of sync well into the third quarter. In fact, OU got the ball to start the second half. The Bobcats had all halftime to call their first play—at least time during the kickoff return. But they had to call a timeout. That first play? A loss of seven yards. But, trailing 16-7, Ohio then caught fire, chiefly because of the playmaking of wide receiver LaVon Brazill who had eight catches for 108 yards with a 44-yard touchdown. Brazill also made an acrobatic catch on fourth-and-six that took the ball to the brink of the end zone at the end.
Utah State did pick up some Famous Idaho Potato Bowl firsts. There had never been a safety in the bowl until the Aggies scored one in the first quarter when Tettleton ran out of the end zone with a fumble. And USU was the first team to produce two 100-yard rushers, as Michael Smith went for 157 yards and two touchdowns and future NFL running back Robert Turbin gained 101. Now, if the Aggies could have just erased the final minute of the game—and three others earlier in the season. Were it not for the finishes against Auburn (a four-point loss), Colorado State (one point), BYU (three points) and Ohio, Utah State would have been 11-2.
Finally, Ohio was coached by Frank Solich, who one week ago was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Solich was particularly happy to come to Boise for the bowl, as he had family living in Eagle. And after retiring from OU following the 2020 season, he moved there. Solich led the Bobcats program for 16 years and, with 115 victories, is the winningest coach in MAC history. He had previously coached at his alma mater, Nebraska, and was fired in 2003 despite a 58-19 record. It was a “be careful what you wish for” moment for the Cornhuskers. You could argue that they’re still trying to recover.
(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.)
