Brian Murphy hands out the grades for Boise State’s 21-19 loss to San Diego State:

OFFENSE

The Broncos’ three touchdown drives accounted for 235 of their 276 total yards. On their other six drives, the Broncos had an interception and five punts. Boise State’s first four drives of the second half totaled 12 plays and 26 yards. The Broncos rushed for 106 yards in the first half, but just 6 yards in the second half against a San Diego State defense that was daring them to run with soft coverage designed to take away the deep pass. QB Joe Southwick completed a huge 20-yard pass on a fourth-and-15 pass to WR Matt Miller on the Broncos’ final scoring drive, which ended with a touchdown pass to FB Dan Paul. But the two-point conversion failed miserably and the Broncos never got the ball back. The wasted possessions and lack of a running game in the second half cost the Broncos dearly. Southwick’s 20 completions netted just 164 yards. Grade: D

DEFENSE

It’s tough to blame the defense too much for the loss. The Broncos held San Diego State to 269 total yards and only gave up one true touchdown drive. But the defense couldn’t stop San Diego State on either of its final two drives — an 80-yard touchdown drive and a 34-yard drive to kill the clock at the end of the game. On the TD drive, San Diego State converted two third-down tries and scored on fourth-and-goal. On the final drive, the Aztecs converted a third-and-13 and a fourth-and-2, keeping the Boise State offense from getting a chance to win the game. Jeremy Ioane had 10 tackles, but a silly and costly personal foul penalty. DT Mike Atkinson was injured — a big loss for a defense that is already beset by injuries and suspensions. Grade: C-

SPECIAL TEAMS

A disaster. There’s no other way to explain it. San Diego State returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. With their backup long snapper, the Broncos messed up a two-point try after their first touchdown on a high snap that Miller was unable to handle. And San Diego State blocked a punt and recovered at the Boise State 8, leading to another touchdown. Senior J.C. Percy said he slipped, allowing the Aztecs defender to block the punt. The offense wasn’t good, but special teams really burned the Broncos. Grade: F

COACHING

San Diego State certainly deserves credit and has been playing better lately. But this is the same team that allowed 52 points to Fresno State, 41 points to North Dakota and 38 points to Nevada and San Jose State. The Aztecs had never won a road (or neutral site) game against a team ranked in the Associated Press poll — 0-31 all-time. Injuries and suspensions certainly hurt the Broncos, but it’s hard to explain away this home loss. Grade: D

IN THE POLLS

Boise State fell out of the BCS Standings for the first time since Oct. 21, 2007. The Broncos had held a spot 41 consecutive weeks in the rankings. Boise State dropped to No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and No. 23 in the Harris Poll, which account for two-thirds of the BCS Standings formula. The Broncos are not ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.