BSU Shuts Down ASU Option

BOISE, Idaho – Tom Mason said it would happen, his defense proved it and the result is one more victory for the Broncos.

Sound familiar?

It should because the same storyline has been repeated several times in a wild season that has been anything but routine.

Mason's brash, even-sometimes-cocky defense rescued Boise State's football team again Saturday, this time turning Appalachian State's option attack into an offense with very few options.

That helped BSU to a 17-14 victory despite a season-high seven turnovers.

Mason, the Broncos' defensive coordinator, started the week by saying the Mountaineers wouldn't be able to run against his team.

He was right.

Appalachian State finished with only 153 rushing yards, 55 below their average. The Mountaineers came in averaging 29 points, and couldn't even score half that despite all the early Christmas presents.

"Those kids were confident the whole week. They said they could handle it, and they did," Mason said.

"We knew they couldn't run on us," linebacker Brian Smith said.

"We pretty much stuffed the option," said linebacker Stefan Reid, who finished with a game-high 17 tackles, giving him 32 in two playoff games.

The other big stick was defensive lineman Travis Thompson, who had plenty of support from a cast that has been dominating the last six games.

Since the Idaho State loss Oct. 15, the Broncos have given up only 95 points.

Thompson had 13 tackles, including two for losses. He and Reid had three of the Broncos' last five tackles spanning the Mountaineers' last two drives.

"I'm in a zone for some reason. I'm having so much fun, it's not even funny," said Thompson, who has 23 tackles in the last two weeks.

"No question, Travis is playing above and beyond himself," Joe O'Brien said. "He was amazing out there today. He's in a zone and I hope he doesn't come out of it for another two weeks."

The Broncos' defense had plenty of chances to fold. The Mountaineers started six drives in BSU territory, including once when Tony Hilde was intercepted on the first play of the game.

But ASU converted only two of those drives into scores, twice failing on fourth-down conversions. ASU had 17 drives, but only one covered more than 28 yards.

"Our mindset is that we're going to win the game by ourselves no matter what the offense does," O'Brien said. "We play best when our backs are against the wall."

Said Thompson: "We had to deal with bad field position every once in a while, but the defense just played a stud game. Even with the turnovers, the defense never lost control."

Hilde said he expected to win despite the seven turnovers, including his fumble and four interceptions.

"That's because we have such a great defense," he said. "We could have 20 turnovers and still have a chance to win."

Boise State Athletics

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