WAC FOOTBALL
Boise State rolls
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho » Jared Zabransky said it took weeks for Boise State overcome its season-opening loss a year ago.
That won't be a problem this year, not when the opener comes against Division I-AA Sacramento State.
Zabransky threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and Chris Petersen won his debut as Boise State's coach in a 45-0 win over the Hornets last night.
The Broncos scored on four of their first five possessions and dominated both sides of the ball in building a 28-0 halftime lead. They had 427 yards of total offense and limited the Hornets to just 82 yards and three first downs.
"When your offensive and defensive line is establishing the tone, you have a good chance to win," Petersen said.
It was far different opener from a year ago when then No. 13 Georgia routed the Broncos 48-13. Sacramento State, from the Big Sky Conference, couldn't match the Broncos' speed on offense or defense.
The speed stood out to Sacramento State coach Steve Mooshagian.
"Their speed put a lot of pressure on us," Mooshagian said. "Our backs aren't slow, but whenever they hit the holes they filled them quickly."
After getting intercepted four times in the opener last year, Zabransky was far more careful with the ball. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 181 yards with no interceptions yesterday, and ran eight times for 31 yards before being pulled early in the fourth quarter.
Ian Johnson ran for 90 yards on 13 carries and scored twice on runs of 19 yards and 4 yards in the first quarter for Boise State.
Petersen became the Broncos' head coach in December after five years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, taking over after Dan Hawkins left to become head coach at Colorado.
"It's an important win, especially after how we started last year," Petersen said.
New Mexico St. 30, SE Louisiana 15
LAS CRUCES, N.M. » Chase Holbrook threw for two touchdowns and 381 yards and New Mexico State University snapped the longest losing streak in Division I.
The win over the Division I-AA Lions was the first for the Aggies under second-year coach Hal Mumme. The Aggies had lost 13 straight, including going 0-12 last season.