Thursday, January 3, 2013

2012 MAACO BOWL

2012 MAACO BOWL
vs.


Recap:
The last 2 times that Boise State played in the Maaco Bowl, they were disappointed that they were there, feeling that they had earned a more prestigious opportunity.  In those cases, they took it out on what proved to be lesser opponents.

This season they were matched up against a rising Washington Husky squad and both of these teams were excited for the opponent, if not the venue.

This was a back and forth game where the Boise State pass rush forced Washington to pass, and the Husky rushing attack, led by Bishop Sankey, gashed the Bronco front repeatedly.  It showed the strengths and weaknesses of 2 young lines and really was the driving force in the game.  Neither offense dominated, but both made some plays, and it came down to a late field goal.

For once, the field goal went Boise State's way, and they won their 3rd Maaco Bowl championship.

Players of note:
Boise State:
QB Joe Southwick: Joe paled in comparison to predecessors, but seemed go get better as the season went on.  He is a good athlete at QB, but I expect to see him get pushed hard for the starting spot next year.  That said, he was efficient in this game, with a pair of TD's and no interceptions.  He did put the ball on the ground though, which is never ok.

RB DJ Harper: Harper has been snakebit with injuries through his career, but there was a time where he was so good that he had pushed the muscle hamster over to the defensive side of the ball.  He finished with nearly 1200 yards in his senior year, and if he runs well at the combine, he is going to get a shot.

Washington:
RB Bishop Sankey: Sankey is a smaller back who showed great vision, feet, and acceleration against a very good Boise State defense.  He exploded for the best game of his career with 179 yards from scrimmage and a pair of TD's.  He's only a sophomore, and he will be the linchpin for this offense going into next season.

QB Keith Price: Price did not have a great game, but you can't really judge him for having mediocre stats when he spends the entire day running for his life.  They need to shore up the O-Line in this off season if they want to give him a chance a better senior year.  Regardless of him performance, watching the game, I was impressed by his leadership.  He was moving around, patting guys on the back, congratulating the defense, and staying involved with the game.  This is his team, and he showed them love. 

LB/S Shaq Thompson:  Shaq is not a future star, he is a star now.  His switch to the Huskies was well noted last year, and this game showed us why.  The speed of the Husky defense from last year to this year, was well illustrated.  DJ Harper is going to get a long hard look by the NFL and Washington held him to 72, in no small part because of Thompson and the rest of the Huskey linebackers going sideline to sideline.

WR Kasen Williams: Williams has a future on Sundays, and is yet another underclassman who is getting big-time PT for the Huskies.  He is a big play threat, and was just shy of 100 yards in the Maaco Bowl.

Interesting Notes: Boise State became the first team to win the Maaco bowl 3 times.

2012 Bowl Season Scoreboard

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