Boise State report card: Defense gets an A

BCS CHANCES

Better than ever, following Boise State's 44-33 victory against Nevada on Friday night and Oklahoma's 27-0 drubbing of Oklahoma State on Saturday. Boise State remained No. 6 in the BCS Standings and is now the favorite to claim the final at-large spot one of the five BCS games. Seven of the 10 BCS spots are spoken for with six BCS conference champs and TCU. The three remaining spots will go to the loser of the SEC Championship Game (Florida or Alabama), a second Big Ten team (Iowa or Penn State) and Boise State. The Broncos' only eligible competition for the final spot is No. 12 Virginia Tech (9-3) and No. 14 BYU (10-2) - a very positive development for the Broncos. The biggest (only?) remaining obstacle to the Broncos' BCS hopes is a Nebraska victory against Texas in the Big 12 title game. In that case, Nebraska would earn the automatic berth, Texas would take an at-large spot and the Broncos would be competing with 2-loss Iowa and 2-loss Penn State (and their sizeable fan bases) for a spot.

OFFENSE

Quarterback Kellen Moore matched a career-high with five touchdown passes, including three to fullback Dan Paul. Moore completed 17-of-33 passes for 262 yards and he did it without star wide receiver Austin Pettis. Pettis injured his left ankle in the first quarter on a botched two-point conversion. Pettis did not have a single catch and the offense looked bad at times without him. If his injury is a long-term one, then the Broncos' offense will need to use the bowl preparation period to find answers at receiver. The real star of the offense was running back Doug Martin, who jump-started a fading offense with 128 rushing yards (118 in the second half). Martin averaged 8.0 yards per carry. And kudos to the offensive line, which did not allow a sack against Nevada and its talented defensive ends. The line, playing without injured starting left tackle Nate Potter, also opened the way for Martin. Grade: B+

DEFENSE

Now he can sleep. That's what defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox told me after the game. The sleep is deserved as the Broncos' defensive coaches did a fantastic job scheming for Nevada and preparing the defense. Outside of Vai Taua's 71-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a few penalties that helped sustain Wolf Pack drives, Boise State did a great job of limiting Nevada's top-ranked rushing attack to 242 yards, well below its average. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick had 31 yards rushing on 16 carries as the Broncos had him running sideways. Winston Venable's fumble recovery on Taua in the fourth quarter was a backbreaker. Grade: A-

SPECIAL TEAMS

Titus Young provided the jolt Boise State needed with a 95-yard kickoff return on the first play of the game. It set the tone for the entire game. The two-point conversion, which worked so well early in the season, is taking a toll on the Broncos, who have now lost Richie Brockel (foot) and Pettis (ankle) on two-point tries. Definitely not worth the extra point. Grade: A

Brian Murphy: 377-6444