BCS Bowl Games: Boise State vs East Carolina
East Carolina Pirates subdue Boise State Broncos 41-38 in a thriller in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Sunday night.
East Carolina Pirates Ben Hartman delivered a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give East Carolina the win over No. 24 Boise State Broncos.
East Carolina Pirates running back Chris Johnson set an NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards for the Pirates (8-5), who won their first postseason game since the 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.
Pirates’ running back Chris Johnson rushed for 223 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards and returned six kickoffs for 153 yards. But he committed a costly fumble late that almost sent it to overtime.
With East Carolina trying to run out the clock near midfield, Marty Tadman scooped up Johnson’s fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 38 with 1:25 left.
East Carolina Pirates took possession at their 39 with 1:16 left and drove to the Boise State Broncos 17 to set up Ben Hartman’ kick.
Boise State Broncos (10-3), making their sixth straight bowl appearance, almost repeated their last-minute magic from a year ago when they stunned Oklahoma in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 13-0.
But this time, it was the Boise State Broncos who fell a little short without any trick plays and an ailing Boise State Broncos running back Ian Johnson. Boise State Broncos running back Jeremy Avery, who rushed for 68 yards and caught four passes for 43 yards, was named Boise State’s MVP. Boise State Broncos quarterback Taylor Tharp was 30-of-44 for 266 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for Boise State.
East Carolina Pirates quarterback Patrick Pinkney threw for 117 yards and also rushed for 53 more for East Carolina. Boise State Broncos, a 10 1/2-point favorite, managed just 3 yards of offense in the first quarter while East Carolina racked up 181 behind Johnson’s 106 rushing yards.
The Broncos’ lone highlight in the first quarter was Austin Smith’s 89-yard kickoff return for a TD. In the second quarter, Boise State Broncos Ryan Putnam caught a 3-yard pass from Taylor Tharp to cut East Carolina’s lead to 10.
Boise State was without its top receiver, Boise State Broncos Jeremy Childs, who did not make the trip for violating team rules.
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