Poinsettia Bowl 2015, Boise State vs. Northern Illinois, 55-7: Full highlights, final score and more

Boise State held no punches in routing Northern Illinois in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl

The Boise State Broncos clearly held an advantage over the Northern Illinois Huskies coming into their matchup in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl inside Qualcomm Stadium on Wednesday. Not only were the healthier team than the Huskies coming into the bowl-game matchup, but the Broncos were also simply the more impressive team throughout most of the regular season. That’s unquestionably the way it looked in this game as well.

Boise State star running back Jeremy McNichols came out of the gate firing against a lackluster Northern Illinois defense, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter (two rushing and one receiving). Behind McNichols and excellent play from quarterback Brett Rypien, Boise State’s offense was rolling from the opening kickoff and they weren’t letting up as they jumped out to that 21-0 lead in the first period and eventually took a 31-7 lead into halftime.

The offense kept rolling in the second half as they again couldn’t be stopped by the Huskies defense. However, the unsung hero of this game for Boise State was undoubtedly the defense who just shut the Huskies offense down entirely. In fact, the only Northern Illinois touchdown on the day came off of a 96-yard kick return for a touchdown. Otherwise, the Huskies managed under 50 total yards on offense and were just overmatched in every sense. Boise State started out hot and just kept rolling to pick up the win in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl.

Three stars

Jeremy McNichols was the star in the Poinsettia Bowl that he had been all season for Boise State. The running back finished the day with 19 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns to go along with five receptions for 96 yards and another touchdown.

Brett Rypien was a star for the Broncos all afternoon, throwing for 377 yards and three scores on the day, though he did have a blemish with one interception.

The Boise State defense may have been overshadowed by the offense, but they were impressive nonetheless. They made life miserable for the Northern Illinois offense all day, allowing them to run away with this one.

Highlights

Odds

Boise State came into this matchup as 6.5-point favorites, a spread that they easily covered in the dominant win. Boise State also almost hit the over by themselves in their offensive outburst, but the two teams easily combined to go over the 57-point O/U line.