Fansided

Fiesta Bowl final score: Boise State busts Arizona, 38-30

By Phil Watson

Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Chaz Anderson (6) catches a 57 yard touchdown pass as Arizona Wildcats cornerback Jarvis McCall Jr. (29) defends during the first half in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Chaz Anderson (6) catches a 57 yard touchdown pass as Arizona Wildcats cornerback Jarvis McCall Jr. (29) defends during the first half in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Boise State just keeps smacking around the big guys, jumping out to a 21-0 lead and holding off Arizona for a 38-30 win in the Fiesta Bowl Wednesday night.

The BCS is dead, but that doesn’t mean Boise State is done busting things.

The Broncos jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead Wednesday in the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and held on for a 38-30 win over in-state favorite Arizona.

The Wildcats (10-4) came into the game ranked No. 10 by the College Football Playoff committee and earned a New Year’s Six bowl bid after winning the Pac-12 South Division.

Boise State (12-2) was selected after being the top-ranked member of the so-called “Group of Five” conferences.

Arizona had a chance to make it interesting at the end, but redshirt freshman Anu Solomon committed the cardinal sin of late-game clock management, running into a sack instead of throwing the ball away as time wound down.

Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Jay Ajayi (27) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Jay Ajayi (27) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

He was stopped for a two-yard loss by Kamalei Correa at the Boise State 10-yard line and time expired before the Wildcats could run another play.

More from College Football

That the game ended so close is a testimony to Arizona’s firepower.

The Broncos got on the board on their first possession when Jay Ajayi found a seam straight up the gut for a 56-yard touchdown.

After forcing a Wildcat punt, Boise State blitzed 88 yards in six plays, capped by a bomb down the left hashmarks from Grant Hedrick to Chaz Anderson for a 57-yard score.

Arizona punted the ball once again and the Broncos finished another rapid-strike drive. Hedrick completed a 36-yard pass to Thomas Sperbeck and hit Anderson for 20, setting up Ajayi’s second scoring run from 16 yards out.

The Wildcats finally answered, driving 65 yards on 11 plays, grinding out the final three yards of the drive one at a time, with Solomon finishing it with a burst over the left side out of the read-option.

Ajayi’s third touchdown from 1-yard out early in the second quarter put Boise State up 28-7, but Arizona answered with a 1-yard run by Nick Wilson and a 42-yard field goal by Casey Skowron with 30 seconds left in the half.

Boise State wasn’t out of big plays yet, though. Hedrick hit Sperbeck for 25 and 15 yards on consecutive plays and connected with Troy Ware for 17 yards to set up Dan Goodale’s 36-yard field goal with three second left in the half to give the Broncos a 31-17 edge.

Arizona got a 24-yard field goal from Skowron early in the third quarter, but the defenses started to assert themselves after being gutted for most of the first half.

Hedrick pulled off a pooch kick on fourth-and-10 from the Wildcats’ 38, pinning Arizona at its own 6-yard line. On third-and-4 from the 12, Solomon looked for Samajie Grant, his top receiver, but Donte Deayon picked off the ill-advised throw and returned it 16 yards for the pick-six.

Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Anu Solomon (12) runs for a 1 yard touchdown during the first half against the Boise State Broncos in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Anu Solomon (12) runs for a 1 yard touchdown during the first half against the Boise State Broncos in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

Grant did score a little more than a minute later, getting open downfield and hauling in a 51-yard touchdown pass that cut Boise State’s lead to 38-27.

Skowron’s third field goal of the game from 32 yards out with 6:11 left was the only score of the fourth quarter.

While the Boise State hate brigade will come up with some sort of excuses about how terrible Arizona was and how it further proves the Broncos should never, ever be in a major bowl game, the fact is they came out, punched Arizona in the mouth early and did what it had to do to get the win.

Ajayi finished with 134 rushing yards and his three touchdowns, vaulting him past Melvin Gordon with 28 touchdown runs, most in the nation.

Hedrick was 24-for-34 for 309 yards and a touchdown and he was also intercepted once.

Solomon threw for 335 yards on 28-of-49 passing and was picked off twice. He also ran 23 times for 32 yards. Wilson had 86 yards on 19 carries for Arizona, but left the game with a concussion.

Boise State is now 3-0 in the Fiesta Bowl, adding the win over Arizona to wins over No. 6 TCU after the 2010 season and the infamous upset of No. 11 Oklahoma following the 2007 campaign.

More from FanSided

Home/College Football