Kicking woes-Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore reacts to a missed field goal at end of regulation of 36-35 loss to TCU Nov. 12. (Photo by Joe Jaszewski)
Nov. 14, 2011
Last year it was Kyle Brotzman. In 2011, freshman kicker Dan Goodale was left to the test of keeping the BCS national championship dream alive for the Boise State Broncos.
But for the second straight year, the Broncos put the game in the kicker’s hands…er foot, and the kicker was unable to deliver. Goodale missed a 39-yard field goal attempt as time expired, ending any hope of a national title appearance in a 36-35 loss to TCU.
Against Nevada on Nov. 26, 2010, the Broncos witnessed the NCAA Division I leader in career points shank a 26-yard field goal at the end of regulation. The drama continued in Reno, and in overtime, Brotzman was unable to redeem himself with a 29-yard field goal.
Fast-forward to Boise State’s game against TCU Nov. 12, and it was “de ja lose,” as Los Angeles Times writer Sam Farmer cleverly put it in one of his columns. Except this time, the Horned Frogs were actually the better team. For the first time in senior Kellen Moore’s career, his team trailed at halftime.
The Horned Frogs were in a position to tie the game with an extra point after scoring a touchdown to make it 35-34 with 1:05 remaining.
Then came Gary Patterson’s gutsy call. This wasn’t an FCS team going for the win with nothing to lose with a loss. TCU was in the thick of the Mountain West conference race, as the Broncos and Horned Frogs were undefeated heading into Saturday’s match-up.
Patterson elected to go for the win, and the Horned Frogs converted a two-point conversion that put the Broncos in quite the predicament.
Moral of the story: don’t leave the game to the kicker, let alone a freshman kicker. In the case of Boise State, history repeated itself, albeit too soon, too fast and at the most inopportune time.
Last season’s misery ended in Reno, Nev. This year’s misery ended in Boise, snapping the Broncos’ 35-game home winning streak.
Chasing perfection for two straight seasons. Remaining imperfect for two straight seasons. The BCS system prevails once again.
Other streaks snapped:
-Longest conference home win streak (47). The Broncos last conference loss at home was the season finale against Idaho…in 1998.
-Regular season home win streak (65), a span of 11 years.