BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…December 28, 2005:
The Dan Hawkins era and the 31-game winning streak on the blue turf come to an end for Boise State in the MPC Computers Bowl. Boston College, ranked 19th in both polls, burst out to a 27-0 lead behind quarterback Matt Ryan before a furious Broncos second half rally. And they were on the verge of winning it with a first-and-goal at the Eagles five-yard line in the final minute before an interception with 37 seconds left closed out a 27-21 BC victory.
Boise State’s comeback didn’t actually start until a minute and a half remained in the third quarter. That’s when Jared Zabransky hit Drisan James with a 53-yard touchdown pass, and suddenly the 30,453 chilled fans in Bronco Stadium actually believed. Then early in the fourth quarter, Boise State’s Quinton Jones peeled off an electrifying 92-yard punt return for a TD, tying a school record he had set earlier in the season at Hawaii, and it was non-stop noise from there on out.
Boston College was fired up for this game. The pregame stories in the Boston papers were all about the “Beyond The Game” banquet two nights earlier, and Eagles coach Tom O’Brien ripped the event in his postgame comments. It was even mentioned on ESPN SportsCenter. I emceed the banquet, and here’s what happened: Boise mayor Dave Bieter and one bowl sponsor punctuated their comments with “Go Broncos!” and another sponsor seriously mispronounced the name of BC star Mathias Kiwanuka. The references were, I believe, innocent and fun-intended. But at the same time they were unfortunate and uncomfortable. O’Brien took it and ran with it, calling it a “pep rally.”
Talk about a glass half-empty or half-full situation for Zabransky—he was named the Broncos’ bowl MVP, but it was the second straight year his season ended with an interception in a bowl game (it had also happened in the 2004 Liberty Bowl against Louisville). In the half-full category, Zabransky threw for 279 yards against Boston College and connected on some nice deep throws, including the TD to James and a fourth-down connection with freshman Vinny Perretta to keep the Broncos’ final drive alive. Zabransky was also hurt by some key drops in the game.
Hawkins left for his new job at Colorado after the game with a 53-11 record in his five years at Boise State, including four WAC championships and three top 15 finishes. He choked up in his postgame press conference when talking about his successor, Chris Petersen—then the emotions and tears really flowed when he walked outside for his KTVB interview and talked about his eight years overall in Boise. Exactly one year and three days later, Boise State would win one of the greatest college football games ever played, and Zabransky would be MVP.
(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.)
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