Joel Gunderson - Boise state of mind: the emergence of college footballs grittiest underdog

Copyright 2018 by Joel Gunderson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: AP Images

Print ISBN: 978-1-68358-252-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-253-3

Printed in the United States of America

To my wife, Katie.

My children Isla, Nash, and Stella

And to my parents Jackie, Ron, and Keith

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: CIRCUS

N ICK SCHLEKEWAY couldnt take the stress anymore; vomit, from deep inside, now covered his jersey.

Just hours before, as his schools marching band had pranced across the playing field; as a nation was plopping onto their couches preparing to tune in with curiosity; and as those in attendance stood with hands over their hearts, singing along to the national anthem, his jersey had been a pristine shade of white.

Now here he was, with streaks of visible fatigue laced across his chest. It took all of the energy from Schlekeway, a defensive end for the Boise State Broncos, to not topple.

Standing frozen 59 minutes into the football game, he could barely feel his legs, let alone summon the ability to walk.

Breaths came in fits and spurts. Up to this point, the bout between his Boise State squad and the Oklahoma Soonersin what would be derived as perhaps the greatest college football game ever playedhad taken its toll: not just on him or his teammates, but on the entire legion of fans that poured their heart and souls into the school.

We were just exhausted , he says now, reflecting back on the moment. He doesnt specify, but the We may as well have been the 13.7 million viewers who had tuned in to watch.

The date was January 1, 2007. The location was University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The event was the Fiesta Bowl.

Put in a blender, the Broncos and the Sooners were the quintessential ingredients for this match-up; Boise State, the plucky group of misunderstood underdogs from Idaho. Oklahoma, blue bloods of the sport.

Regardless of what would happen over the final minute of the game, Schlekeway and his teammates had proven their mettle. They hit Oklahoma with all available left and right jabs, and they had taken the counter punches. The Broncos had nothing left to prove. They had done more than anyone outside the state of Idaho had believed was possible.

Pacing the sidelines, Chris Petersenwho was in his first year as the Broncos head coachcould see clearly the physical condition of his players. Despite their inspiring play up to that point, Boise State was not cut out for much more of this fight. The talk from media and fans alike heading in was that Boise State was built to compete, yet ultimately succumb to the physical superiority of the Sooners. Thats what the Broncos had been told, time and again, generation after generation. Now, after taking Oklahoma further than almost anyone had expected, logic said it was time to give in to the enervation, roll over, and go home with nothing more than a moral victory.

However, that type of thinking never crossed Petersens mind. It didnt cross Schlekeways, or anyone elses on the roster, either.

What had gotten the Broncos to this pointthe 120 regular season, the contempt and dismissal from their opponentwas irrelevant in this moment.

On the prior series, Jared Zabransky, the Broncos oft-maligned quarterback, had thrown an interception which Oklahomas Marcus Walker returned for a touchdown, giving the Sooners a 3528 lead with just over one minute to go.

* * *

After the touchdownand the back-breaking effects it could havesomething snapped inside the head of Andrew Woodward, an offensive lineman for Boise State.

I personally got crazy, he recalls with a half-chuckle, half-snarl. I wanted to take and shake Zabransky because I felt, as a team, that we were together. The defense had been struggling, but as a team we were playing good. It was the offenses job to solidify that, and we didnt. I, personally, rely on our quarterback to get it done. And he didnt. I was pissed. I was extremely pissed.

Although many felt Woodruffs frustration, no one took the interception harder than Zabransky himself. The senior quarterback had fought through canyon-sized low points in his career before that moment; one more porous decision, in his final game, now left everything feeling like it was slipping away.

When Boise States offense trotted back onto the field after Walkers score, they found themselves 78 yards from the end zone, with 54 seconds left on the clock and two time outs left. The shock of the interception, and the touchdown scored off it, was visible, running cold down their faces. If the Broncos were trying to stave off the effects of the score, it was a spiritless effort.

A 36-yard completion from Zabransky to Derek Schouman on the first play of the drive put a crack in Oklahomas mometum, but it was nothing more than a mirage. What followed left Bronco fans, who had descended upon Glendale in a fleet, feeling as though their moment in the sun had slipped away for good:

Sack, time out: 2nd and 18, 30 seconds left.

Incomplete pass: 3rd and 18, 23 seconds left.

Incomplete pass: 4th and 18, 18 seconds left.

When Oklahoma scored, I think it really reset everybody, says Woodruff. Guys just werent there. We were out of sync.

To be honest, I sort of blacked out those first few plays of the drive.

That Boise State found themselves in a comeback situation was no surprise. During the regular season, the Sooners had been a dominant team. If they had been the beneficiaries of a good break or two, they may not have been playing in this game at all; the truth of the matter was that the Sooners should have been playing a week later for the National Championship. They were that big. They were that fast, and strong, and talented.

They were also that battle-tested.

On September 16, 2006, four months prior to the Fiesta Bowl, the Sooners were in Eugene, Oregon, to face the Oregon Ducks in a non-conference clash. It was as pristine a day as you could ask for. Not too hot. Not too bright. And if you were a Sooners fan, everything had broken correct for nearly 60 minutes of action. Oklahoma had lived up to their reputation as national title contender, waltzing into Autzenperson-for-person, one of the loudest stadiums in the countryand kept the Ducks at bay.

Running back Adrian Peterson (who would miss the final seven games of the regular season after breaking his collarbone in a win against Iowa State before returning for the Fiesta Bowl) was an almost unfair participant in the game, racking up 211 yards on 34 punishing rushing attempts. Paul Thompson, the Sooners quarterbackwho had taken over for the immensly talented, yet troubled Rhett Bomardid his part to keep the Ducks defense honest, posing just enough of a passing threat to give Peterson the room necessary.