Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Blog: Boise State notches fourth Las Vegas Bowl victory by beating Oregon

Broncos’ defense held Ducks’ offense scoreless until the fourth quarter

Broncos Wolpin Over Ducks

L.E. Baskow

Boise State Broncos running back Ryan Wolpin (21) flips over Oregon Ducks cornerback Ugochukwu Amadi (7) and into the endzone for a score during the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Updated Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 | 4:13 p.m.

Boise State became the winningest program in Las Vegas Bowl history Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The Broncos used a solid defensive effort to upset Oregon 38-28 in the 18th edition of the annual local bowl game. Boise State is now 4-0 when appearing in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Ducks only scored 14 of their points on offense, as they were otherwise limited to 280 yards and didn’t find the end zone until the fourth quarter.

Boise State, on the other hand, struck fast. The Broncos went 67 yards on 13 plays in just more than five minutes on their opening drive, taking a 7-0 lead when Ryan Wolpin took a backwards pass in for a 1-yard touchdown.

Boise State had no trouble throwing down field either, as junior quarterback Brett Rypien racked up 362 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-38 passing. Rypien’s first touchdown pass went to Cedrick Wilson, who had 221 yards on 10 receptions for the day, shortly after Wolpin’s touchdown.

Boise State went up 24-0 before encountering any adversity — though the adversity did seem substantial when it surfaced.

Oregon first scored on an 86-yard fumble recovery return from Troy Dye with 30 seconds to go before halftime. After immediately getting back to the goal line with a long pass to Wilson, Rypien then threw an interception that Tyree Robinson took back 100 yards for a touchdown.

Boise State was up only 24-14 at halftime, but had a stabilizing opening second-half drive that concluded with Rypien finding Alec Dhanens for a 13-yard touchdown.

Oregon’s offense finally scored when Brendan Schooler caught a 24-yard pass from Justin Herbert five minutes into the fourth quarter. But Herbert was largely ineffective on the afternoon, with the Broncos holding him to 233 yards with two interceptions on 26-for-36 passing with much of the production coming at the end of the fourth quarter.

Boise State is now tied with Utah at the top of the Las Vegas Bowl record book with four wins, but it stands alone as being undefeated. Utah has one loss in the game.

Check back to the Sun later for more coverage of the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl.

If Heisman campaigns truly start in December before the next season, then Justin Herbert has a chance to put himself in contention today at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Oregon’s sophomore quarterback is at the center of the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl as he leads his team into a season-ending affair with Mountain West Conference champions Boise State. The Ducks went only 7-5 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12 Conference this season, but their record is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference under Herbert, who missed part of the season to injury.

Boise State went 10-3 overall and 7-1 in conference en route to its first conference championship in three years. A stingy defense that could challenge Herbert is a big reason why.

Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and safety Kekoa Nawahine were among the best at their positions in the conference, and snagged six combined interceptions. Herbert threw only six interceptions all season, next to 13 touchdowns and 1,750 yards.

Part of that success must be attributed to a heralded offensive line, where Green Valley High product Tyrell Crosby is the most valuable member. Crosby has started since he was a freshman with the Ducks, and improved to the point where he won the conference’s lineman of the year award this season.

Crosby didn’t give up a sack all season, but could be in for a tough matchup with Boise State’s edge rushers. Curtis Weaver and Jabril Frazier have combined 15 sacks on the season.

Oregon is going off betting boards as a 7-point favorite, with most backing the Ducks.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for live coverage throughout the game.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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