This First Round match-up should have been renamed the "Dick Enberg Bowl," because shouts of "Oh My!" would have reverberated around Heinz Field if he had broadcast this one. In what may be one of the greatest games in tournament history, West Virginia and Boise State played a game for the ages.
Certainly if Boise State started quickly out of the gate, it would be "Turn out the lights, the party's over," for West Virginia, right? So what do the Broncos do? Their kick returner, Doug Martin, who missed their sole loss to TCU, took the kickoff and returned it 100 yards for the touchdown. Certainly the Mountaineers were done, right.
Well, after the teams exchanged punts, West Virginia started to show a glimmer of the offense to come. Their 72 yard drive culminated with a Shawne Alston 4 yard rush for touchdown, and the game was tied.
But Boise still looked like it was their day. They answered with their own drive, capped by a Tyler Shoemaker 14 yard pass from super QB Kellen Moore, and took the 14-7 lead. Broncos had the ball soon after, and seemed like they were on their way, but a Kellen Moore interception early in the second quarter seemed to turn a tide. The Mountaineers scored on what would be three consecutive touchdown drives before halftime. The Broncos were not shy either, scoring on two touchdown passes sandwiched between the WVU drives, and it was 28-28 at halftime. WVU fans were happy to still be in the game, and wondering if they could actually pull off a win in this thing.
West Virginia took the second half kickoff and stormed to the lead, with a scoring drive capped by Stedman Bailey 6 yard RD reception on a pass from Geno Smith. Boise State seemed out of sorts during the quarter, and Kellen Moore threw another intercpetion. WVU came back and scored on Smith's 37 yard TD pass to Tavon Austin. The Broncos ended the frame with a TD, and entering the fourth quarter, BSU trailed 42-35.
Boise State ended their funk with a fourth quarter rally, but WVU's 7 yard pass from Smith to Willie Milhouse seemed to lock it up for the Mountaineers, giving them a 56-49 lead. But the Broncos did their thing, scoring their third TD of the quarter with a minute to go. Doug Martin who had started the game with a kickoff return scored on a 4 yard run tie the game on a stellar day for the Bronco running back. The final gun sounded, 56-56 and going to OT.
The first two overtime periods resulted in field goals for both teams, and the score was 62-62. During the third OT, both teams failed to score. But in the fourth OT, WVU's Smith passed for another TD, and also passed for the two-point conversion. The Broncos stalled on the 12 yard line, and West Virginia rejoiced for an improbable, and oh so memorable victory. They are on their way to New Orleans, where the Sugar Bowl and Alabama wait.
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