Utah State football: Broncos make Aggies pay for miscues

LOGAN — Utah State can put those upset dreams on the shelf for at least another season and Boise State can hold onto its Bowl Championship Series aspirations for yet another week.

The No. 6 Broncos (11-0, 6-0 WAC) used an offensive explosion at the end of the second quarter to blow open a close game and keep BSU unbeaten and on track to possibly sneak into the lucrative BCS with an at-large berth thanks to a 52-21 win in front of 18,777 fans at Romney Stadium.

The Aggies (3-8, 2-5) showed they were up for the task through the first 25 minutes of football and were tied at 14-14 with the Broncos.

Utah State's Michael Smith scored on a 22-yard run and Robert Turbin followed suit with a thrilling 24-yard scamper over a would-be tackler.

But in a game with a pair of almost-unstoppable offenses, it was a couple of mistakes that turned it all around.

First, a pass from Diondre Borel bounced off the shoulder pads of Eric Moats and was intercepted.

Later, Borel and Robert Turbin mishandled a handoff exchange and Boise State recovered.

The Broncos turned those two turnovers into two touchdowns and used the momentum changes to take control of what was an otherwise close game to that point.

As halftime approached, the Broncos unleashed their quick-strike offense.

A long pass from Moore to Titus Young gave BSU a first down at the Aggie 2-yard line and the Broncos scored on the next snap.

Utah State fumbled an exchange on a handoff a couple of plays later and Boise State scored again on a 9-yard run by Jeremy Avery to turn that 14-14 tie into a 28-14 lead in less than a minute.

The Aggies were forced to punt and Boise State marched 83 yards in 10 plays --using just 1:28 -- and punched the ball into the endzone with a 1-yard plunge by Doug Martin with five seconds left on the clock to take a 35-14 lead and seize firm control of the game.

When Boise State's Avery zigged and zagged 32 yards past the Aggie sideline to score on the second half's first drive, the Broncos had a 42-14 lead and never looked back.

Utah State, despite being down by 28 points, didn't fold things up and wait for the game to end, though. Smith scored his second touchdown of the day on a misdirection run to the right for 12 yards through the heart of the Boise defense to close the gap to 42-21 with 5:48 to play in the third quarter.

The Aggies close the season out next week with a trip to Idaho.

Boise State, still hoping to impress the voters and computers that determine the BCS standings, have a huge matchup against Nevada (7-3, 6-0) in Boise next week with the WAC title on the line.

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