Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

Brotzman executes fake, hits four field goals, booms punt

By BY CHADD CRIPE

HONOLULU — Boise State junior kicker/punter Kyle Brotzman gets to spend some quality time with the quarterbacks the rest of the season.

Brotzman threw a 28-yard pass to safety Jason Robinson on a fake punt Saturday night at Aloha Stadium — part of a wild night for Brotzman.

The quarterbacks had been threatening to exclude Brotzman from a drill where they throw balls into garbage cans in the back of the end zone due to his recent dismal performances.

But Brotzman earned a “season pass,” quarterback Kellen Moore said, by completing his throw in the Broncos’ 54-9 defeat of Hawaii.

The punt team faked a rollout to the right on fourth-and-4 late in the first quarter. Brotzman stopped and threw down the middle to a wide-open Robinson.

“It was nice since we’ve had it in our toolbox for the last three years,” said Brotzman, who completed a 30-yard shovel pass on a fake punt in 2007. “It’s finally nice to get to use it. I wish we would have come up with some points after, though.”

That also was part of Brotzman’s night. He missed a 42-yard field goal at the end of the drive from his troublesome side, the left hash.

However, Brotzman also tied a career-high with four field goals — covering 25, 28, 32 and 27 yards. He is 11-for-13 since missing his first two tries of the season.

Brotzman also boomed a 72-yard punt in the first quarter that was downed at the Hawaii 4-yard line. It was just short of his career high of 75.

The boot helped the Broncos improve to third in the nation in net punting. Brotzman would rank second in the nation in punting (47.1-yard average) if he had enough attempts to qualify.

“They’ve got two (returners) back and they were pretty shallow,” Brotzman said, describing his only punt of the night. “We’ve been emphasizing hitting it long, getting our guys to cover and getting our net average back up. … I decided to put it over their heads.”

Coughlin, Martin injured

Backup quarterback Mike Coughlin (head) didn’t play after entering for one play in the first half, an 8-yard keeper. That meant starting quarterback Kellen Moore had to finish the game because the only other quarterback is freshman Joe Southwick, who is redshirting.

Coach Chris Petersen doesn’t expect Coughlin’s injury to be a long-term problem.

Tailback Doug Martin (pulled a muscle in practice) was used for one rush attempt. He could have played more if necessary, Petersen said.

Young scores three TDs

Junior wide receiver Titus Young caught a career-high three touchdown passes. It was the second three-TD game of his career, joining a 2007 game in which he had two rushing TDs and one receiving.

Young had eight catches for 115 yards. He now has a team-leading 10 touchdowns this season and 20 touchdowns in 23 career games.

He also drew his second celebration penalty of the season after scoring in the third quarter. He got an earful from Petersen and wide receivers coach Brent Pease and was benched for the rest of the game.

Not a snap

The Broncos didn’t have a turnover, but they fumbled six times — all on botched snaps to Moore.

Coaches benched starter Thomas Byrd and replaced him with right tackle Garrett Pendergast. Backup center Bronson Durrant (illness) didn’t make the trip. Pendergast might have been worse, snapping a ball over Moore’s head for a safety in the third quarter. That gave Hawaii its first points and drew a big cheer from the crowd.

“Couple me, couple centers,” Moore said. “… That’s certainly something we’ve got to clean up.”

Fumbled snaps have been a problem for the Broncos all season.

“We’ll get it fixed,” Petersen said. “That’s all I can tell you. We will fix it for sure.”

Broncos end turnover drought

The Boise State defense forced a turnover on Hawaii’s opening drive Saturday — ending a two-game drought. The Broncos didn’t force a turnover against UC Davis and Tulsa, the first time they had gone back-to-back games without a turnover in eight years.

Linebacker Daron Mackey forced the fumble by Hawaii running back Leon Wright-Jackson. Safety Jeron Johnson recovered.

The Broncos added five more turnovers in the game. They finished with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

Red-zone troubles continue

The Broncos scored on all seven of their trips to the Hawaii red zone, including three drives that started there. But they only got three touchdowns on those drives.

For the season, the Broncos have scored 22 touchdowns in 39 red-zone possessions (56.4 percent).

Two Broncos miss trip

Two Boise State backups didn’t make the trip to Hawaii — Durrant (illness) and reserve tailback Jarvis Hodge (death in family).

Hawaii quarterback injured

Hawaii turned to its fourth-string quarterback in the second quarter, former walk-on Shane Austin. Walk-on Bryant Moniz, who started, left the game with a concussion.

Moniz was starting because of injuries to Greg Alexander (season-ending knee injury) and Brent Rausch (injured throwing hand).

Austin was 22-of-36 for 174 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Quick hits

Junior tailback Jeremy Avery and sophomore defensive end Shea McClellin were the Broncos’ single-game captains. … Hawaii won the coin toss and deferred. … The Broncos used two punt returners to help counter the shield punt that opponents have used effectively to limit returns. Chris Potter joined Kyle Wilson as the deep men. … Both teams challenged a call in the first half. Both were upheld on replay review. Coaches get one challenge per game. … Hawaii had a 1-yard punt in the first half. … Boise State was 3-for-13 on third down but 3-for-3 on fourth down. … The attendance was 33,961.