It was one of those nights where I had a couple of movies to watch, but decided to roll the dice and watch one-half of the Fiesta Bowl. I decided to watch the entire game as the undefeated, 9th ranked Boise State Broncos put 14-points unanswered points on the board against the Big 12 champs, the 7th ranked, (11-3) Oklahoma Sooners. OK Coach Bob Stoops, the highest paid coach in college football, was losing to a Cinderella story from Idaho. I had to watch this one to the end and I must say, this was the most exciting Fiesta Bowl since Ohio State beat Miami in OT for a National Championship. (Photo of Chrissy Popadics from the Boise State Broncos team page-more on that story later in the post.)
Bronco QB Jared Zabransky completed 19 of 29 passes for 262 yards and 3 TDs, to keep the slippers on Cinderella until at least midnight, when an interception, that led to a Sooner touchdown seemed to end the magic of the evening, but Boise State's fairy god-mother had more in store for her Broncos. As 22-points were scored in the final 86 seconds of the game, Boise State pullled a "hook and ladder" to get into field position to tie the game at 35. (For you sports junkies out there, the last time the old "hook and ladder" was pulled in a major game was in the NFL, as the Miami Dolphins used this manuever to beat the Chargers-21 years ago to the date, since we are now past midnight. (To my surprise, the Post & Courier had already gone to print and missed this great story.)
OT: The Sooners drew first blood and scored with the extra point attempt to take a 7-point lead. The Broncos returned the favor, scoring and then sealing the deal with a two-point conversion run by Ian Johnson to win 43-42. After Johnson scored, he threw the ball into the crowd and then celebrated. During his interview, the sophomore clutched his girlfriend (Broncos cheerleader Chrissy Popadics) as he so professionally inhaled the experience and as pride for his team's accomplishment glistened from his face replacing the sweat from his brow just moments before. Johnson concluded the interview and then dropped to his knee to propose to his girlfriend. A fairy tale ending for a Cinderella story.
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