Boise State starts fast, coasts to easy win over ASU

On a chilly night in Las Vegas, Dennis Erickson’s final roll came up snake eyes as Boise State (12-1) rolled to 56-24 win over Arizona State (6-7) in the MAACO Bowl Thursday night.

Despite nearly 400 yards through the air from quarterback Brock Osweiler and a MAACO Las Vegas Bowl record 241 receiving yards from outgoing senior Gerell Robinson, the Broncos set the tone with Doug Martin’s 100-yard kickoff return to touchdown to open the game and never looked back.

Martin, who also rushed for 151 yards on 31 carries, was named the bowl MVP and broke a bowl record himself with 301 all-purpose yards.

Senior quarterback Kellen Moore wasn’t his near perfect self (two interceptions), but kept the Sun Devils off-balance with a mix of underneath and downfield throws as Boise jumped to 28-3 halftime lead and never looked back. 

The Devils showed life coming out of the locker room when Rashad Ross took the second half kickoff and sprinted down the ASU sideline 98 yards to make the score 28-10 following Alex Garoutte’s extra point.

However, any momentum was short-lived when the officials didn’t notice Erickson and several coaches motioning for a timeout moments before cornerback Jamar Taylor stepped in front of an Osweiler throw near the goal line and returned it 100 yards to make it 34-10 and essentially put the game away.

The loss marked the final chapter in the Erickson Era at ASU with Todd Graham set to take the reins next season.

After the game, Erickson talked about his future.

“I’ll be involved in football in some way, I’m not sure exactly what,” Erickson explained. “I won’t become a math teacher.”

Osweiler finished 30-47 for 395 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice and sacked four times as Boise nullified 1000-yard rusher Cameron Marshall and the ASU running game, while applying consistent pressure when the Devils were forced to throw.