BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…November 20, 2004:
Redshirt freshman Jon Helmandollar becomes the first Boise State player to score five touchdowns in a game, not only rushing but of any combination, as the Broncos extend Division I-A’s longest winning streak to 21 games with a 55-14 rout of Louisiana Tech. Helmandollar would be sole possessor of the record for less than two years, as Ian Johnson matched him with five TDs against Oregon State in 2006, and Jay Ajayi did the same versus Utah State in 2014.
Helmandollar, the former Eagle Mustang, was fourth on the running backs depth chart behind Lee Marks, Antwaun Carter and Jeff Carpenter. He was typically a short-yardage specialist, and he was generally true to form against La Tech. Helmandollar’s scores covered 1, 1, 4, 12 and 3 yards. But he did bust off a 38-yard run during the game and led all rushers with 91 yards on just 10 carries. Helmandollar ran for just 231 yards on the season, but he racked up 14 TDs.
Boise State actually trailed the Bulldogs 14-10 midway through the second quarter before the Broncos went on a 45-0 run. In a dizzying 29 minutes of clock time, Boise State rolled up 437 yards. It was the final home appearance of the season—and Boise State’s sixth sellout in seven games at Bronco Stadium. The Broncos’ other two touchdowns came on a 19-yard run by Marks and a 31-yard pass from Jared Zabransky to Carpenter. They also got two field goals from Tyler Jones, who would go on to lead the nation in scoring that season.
The next day the Broncos, unranked at the beginning of the season, vaulted into the top 10 in both polls for the first time in school history. Speculation at that point was that Boise State, with a win at Nevada in its season finale, would be invited to the Liberty Bowl to face Louisville in a dream matchup of non-BCS top 10 teams. The Broncos and Cardinals were also one-two in the nation in scoring. Boise State would go on to beat Nevada to finish the regular season undefeated and would get the Liberty Bowl berth, falling 44-40 in a wild game in Memphis.
(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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