Moore, Boise State Broncos Closing In On Perfection Friday

Sports News - November 19th, 2009 - Written by John

With ambitious postseason hopes out of their hands, and a quarterback who's play demands consideration for the Heisman Trophy, the Boise State Broncos attempt to complete yet another undefeated season. Two regular-season games are left, beginning with Friday night's conference match-up against Utah State on Friday night.

Winners of eight in a row against the Aggies, the sixth-ranked Broncos are 23-point favorites, according to BetUs and the College Football Betting Lines, with a total of 62 points.

A win would mean 11-straight victories for a program dying for another a BCS bowl bid, if not a title shot. The Broncos haven't been invited to the big party since their thrilling win over Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Since then, Boise State has completed another undefeated season, and hope 2009 is the fourth in six years.

They've got the single-best quarterback in the country leading the way. Kellen Moore is atop the country in touchdown passes (32) and is the no. 1-rated passer. On ESPN.com's Heisman ranker, Moore is currently in sixth place, receiving two first-place votes. He is the only player other than Alabama's Mark Ingram and Stanford's Toby Gearhart to get a first-place vote.

His odds of winning the race are slim, however, because of a meager schedule that boasts but one ranked team. He torched his most recent opponent, Idaho (which is projected to make the Humanitarian bowl), 63-25, on 299 yards passing and five touchdowns.

“I don’t care,” Moore said of his Heisman hopes. “We’ve got enough other business to take care of.”

The Broncos boast the highest-scoring offense in Division-1 as well, scoring at a 43.6 per game clip. A big reason has been the improvement at wide receiver by Austin Pettis. The junior caught four touchdowns last week and is the school-record holder with 14 total this season. Running back Jeremy Avery is just one solid game away from cracking the 1,000-yard barrier and, as a team, the Broncos are averaging 4.9 yards a carry.

But with a big match-up against Nevada on the horizon, the Boise State will have to make sure to keep it's eye on Utah State. Despite troubles on defense, the Aggies still carry the 15th-ranked rusher in the country in Robert Turbin. The sophomore had a career-high 190 yards and two touchdowns last week and for the season has 1,122 yards.

Even if Boise State were to win out, it would likely need an at-large vote to make it to the BCS. TCU is currently ahead of it in the BCS rankings and only one non-BCS school gets an automatic bid.

For more of Boise State vs. Utah State and other games this weekend, please visit our College Football Game Previews.

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