Utah Utes football: Streak over, Utes lose to Boise St., 26-3

After forcing a loss on downs when Brotzman dropped a fourth-down pass on the ensuing possession, Utah's offense sputtered and the Utes were forced to punt the ball back.

Another chance, however, soon followed.

Linebacker Chaz Walker put an end to the Broncos' next drive with an interception. He returned Moore's sixth pick of the season 24 yards to the Boise State 32.

Utah, however, wound up settling for a 44-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 56 seconds to go in the first quarter.

The momentum carried over into Boise State's next possession when Walker forced a fumble by receiver Kyle Efaw and linebacker Chad Manis recovered it on the Ute 27.

This time, though, Utah's offense failed to take advantage of the situation. The first of three straight drives ending in punts ushered in a sequence of three consecutive scores by Boise State.

An exchange of turnovers opened the third quarter — Utah lost the ball on a fumble by Shaky Smithson and Boise State on a strip by safety Brian Blechen on a 46-yard pass from Moore to Austin Pettis that left the end zone — continuing the wild night of miscues.

The duo made amends the next time the Broncos got the ball, teaming on an 18-yard scoring strike. Brotzman followed with the extra point to make it 23-3 with 8:18 to go in the third quarter.

Boise State had a chance to extend the lead a few minutes later, but a 27-yard field-goal attempt by Brotzman was blocked by Walker and returned to midfield.

A holding call later nullified a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cain to Jereme Brooks and Utah wound up empty handed when Phillips was wide right on a 36-yard kick early in the fourth quarter.

Before the game was complete, Boise State added a 21-yard field goal by Brotzman.

Utah's bowl roll comes to an end

The Utes' run of nine consecutive bowl wins came to an end with Wednesday's 26-3 loss to Boise State in MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. Utah's streak matched USC (1923-45) for the second longest in history, trailing only Florida State's run of 11 from 1985-96.

Year. . .Bowl. . .Opponent. . .Outcome

1999 Las Vegas Fresno State Won, 17-16

2001 Las Vegas USC Won, 10-6

2003 Liberty Southern Miss Won, 17-0

2005* Fiesta Pittsburgh Won, 35-7

2005 Emerald Georgia Tech Won, 38-10

2006 Armed Forces Tulsa Won, 25-13

2007 Poinsettia Navy Won, 35-32

2009* Sugar Alabama Won, 31-17

2009 Poinsettia California Won, 37-27

*Games played in January

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com