Broncos notebook: Pettis delivers in the clutch for the Broncos

RENO - Almost every time the Broncos needed a big play in the pass game Saturday afternoon at Mackay Stadium, sophomore wide receiver Austin Pettis delivered.

He made nine catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns, including a diving 10-yard TD catch on a fade route in the fourth quarter.

Pettis' efforts helped the No. 9 Broncos hold off Nevada 41-34 and clinch the outright WAC championship.

"Austin played awesome," Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore said. "He's a big-body guy who can go up and get the ball."

Pettis now has nine touchdown catches, tops on the team and is within sight of the school record of 13 set by Mike Holton in 1974. Pettis has 15 touchdown catches in his career, on pace to challenge Don Hutt's school record of 30 set from 1970 to 1973.

"Pettis is a baller and he's going to be forever, as long as he plays football," said senior wide receiver Vinny Perretta, who added five catches for 126 yards. "He's so clutch. He made some great plays tonight. He's something special."

Pettis keyed a touchdown drive with an 18-yard catch in the first quarter. He converted third-and-18 with a 24-yard catch and cashed in the drive with an 18-yard TD on third-and-11 in the second quarter. He made his diving catch in the fourth quarter on a play he was lobbying coaches to run.

"The play before that, I went up to (wide receivers coach Brent Pease) and said, 'Coach, we need to throw the fade,' " Pettis said. "They'd been pressing me the whole game. We threw the fade,and luckily I dove for that one and got it."

IAN PROVIDES SPARK

The Broncos weren't able to crack the Wolf Pack's No. 2-ranked run defense except for one play - a 66-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Ian Johnson.

Johnson broke three tackles up the middle to get into the open field, then ran away from the Wolf Pack defense for the TD. It was the Broncos' longest run of the season.

The touchdown came moments after Nevada scored on an interception return in the third quarter and gave the Broncos a 31-10 lead.

"Big-time players make plays when you need them," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "I thought that was very apropos for Ian to come through at that time. We needed it, obviously, but not only for the final score but also to get something going - and for it to come in the run game was huge."

Johnson became the third Bronco and fourth WAC running back to top 4,000 career rushing yards. Johnson, who had 71 yards against Nevada, has 4,027 yards in his career. He scored his 55th rushing TD, moving into solo second in WAC history behind Marshall Faulk (57).

The rest of the run game was a mess. If you take out Johnson's run, two sacks and a fumbled snap, the Broncos produced 38 rushing yards on 22 attempts. They finished with 70 yards against a Nevada defense that had been allowing 63.9 rushing yards per game.

The Broncos passed 48 times for 414 yards.

"You go in planning to go 50-50," Moore said, "and obviously when they keep all their 'backers inside and their safeties up close, it's time to throw. Don't beat your head against the wall."

ONSIDE-KICK ROULETTE

The Wolf Pack recovered an onside kick with about 4:30 left in the game and trailing 41-31. The Broncos were expecting the kick and used their hands team, but the Pack were able to get the dribbled kick anyway. That set up a field goal that made it 41-34.

The Pack tried again on the ensuing kickoff, but Pettis outjumped Nevada wide receiver Andy McIntosh for the ball.

"That was probably one of the better plays we had tonight because that helped us out a lot," Pettis said.

BROTZMAN GOES 2-FOR-3

Boise State sophomore kicker Kyle Brotzman appeared to shake off his recent slump by nailing 34- and 50-yard field goals, but he missed a critical 48-yarder with 1:37 left in the game.

Brotzman had missed five of his previous nine kicks coming into the game.

His miss came with the Broncos leading 41-34 and facing fourth-and-1 at the Nevada 31-yard line. The Broncos opted for the chance at points over trying to get the first down and running out the clock.

"We knew (Brotzman's) leg was going to be plenty long enough," Petersen said. "It was just whether he was accurate, and he was doing a good job all day long, so we thought we'd put the game away right then and there."

BRONCOS FANS SWARM RENO

It was a sea of blue and orange in downtown Reno on Friday night and inside Mackay Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Estimates put the Broncos crowd at about 7,500.

"That was pretty impressive," Moore said. "It was like playing an extra home game down here. That was pretty cool."

Johnson was impressed with the fans' stamina. He figured, correctly, that the Broncos supporters enjoyed the nightlife Friday (and the airport establishments on the way down).

"We brought the Nation with us," Johnson said. "The Nation travels. They showed up in great numbers. They weren't too hung over from last night in the casinos and they came out here and were good fans."