Murphy: Boise State ground game grinds up Utah State

LOGAN, Utah

Once they finally decided to run the ball Friday night against Utah State, the Boise State Broncos proved their rushing attack could do just as much damage as their passing game.

It just took a little while for the Broncos to actually turn to the run game and backs Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin. On Boise State's first three possessions, the Broncos attempted 10 passes and had four rushing attempts. The results: one touchdown and two punts.

Utah State gambled it could stymie the Broncos' prolific passing attack - and quarterback Kellen Moore in particular - with an unorthodox defensive alignment. Boise State coach Chris Petersen dubbed it the "Sinbad look."

Utah State defenders were late to position themselves and nearly all of them stood up, so the Broncos' offense had a tough time knowing which defenders would rush the passer and which ones would drop into coverage. Boise State tried a couple quick snaps to take advantage of the defense.

Then the Broncos turned to a more effective strategy.

"If they're not coming off the ball, why don't we come off the ball and attack them?" Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin said after the Broncos' 52-21 rout. "We'll just pound them. É If they were going to overload one side, we'll run to the other."

That's exactly what the Broncos did. On their next four possessions before the half, Boise State ran 13 times and passed it 12 - and scored touchdowns on all four drives.

Martin capped the first drive with a 17-yard touchdown off a bad snap then had a 2-yard scoring plunge to finish the next possession. Avery scored the next touchdown from nine yards out and Martin ended the half with a 1-yard score to give the Broncos an insurmountable 35-14 edge.

Boise State continued its ground assault after halftime, too. Avery had a 32-yard scoring run and Martin capped off the game's scoring with a tough, tackle-shedding 6-yard score early in the fourth quarter.

It helped offset an off night for Moore and the passing game.

"We love it when we don't have to rely on any one phase," Petersen said.

The Broncos rushed for a season-high 323 yards and six touchdowns behind Avery (16 carries, 116 yards and two touchdowns) and Martin (13 carries, 121 yards and four touchdowns).

"You see when those backs got a chance to get going they were running hard," Harsin said.

For Avery, it was his third consecutive game of 100 yards or more, following performances of 145 yards against Louisiana Tech and 110 yards against Idaho. In quiet fashion, the junior now has 1,008 rushing yards on the season.

Martin, who had been limited to 15 carries in the last four games, was back to his former self, running through and around Utah State defenders en route to his third 100-yard game of the season. His 121 yards set a career high.

"Coach calls us the 1-2 punch. I'm bigger. He's faster," Martin said of he and Avery, who are the last backs standing after season-ending injuries to D.J. Harper and Matt Kaiserman.

The Broncos showed Friday night their entire offense has a nice 1-2 punch now, too.