NCAA

LAS VEGAS (AP) — the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas might not have beenthe capper No. 8 Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore wanted forhis college career, but the NCAA’s winningest passer got to end hisrun the way he wanted — with one more win. “You got to finish things off,” Moore said after leading theBroncos (12-1) to an easy 56-24 win over Arizona State on Thursdaynight. he threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns, though he also had twointerceptions and lost a fumble. the turnovers won’t matter as fansin Idaho remember their greatest star, who’s set school records forpassing yards, touchdowns, completions and total offense, andfinished fifth all-time among NCAA quarterbacks for passing yardswhile racking up 50 total wins. “We always talk about finish seasons or finish games,” Moore said.“You’re talking about finishing careers, so there’s no reason tosettle or relax.” Boise State was able to rest easy from the game’s start. Doug Martin returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown,giving No. 8 Boise State a lead 14 seconds into the game. Martinrushed for 151 yards and another touchdown and was voted the game’sMVP. Arizona State (6-7) never seriously threatened the Broncos (12-1),even though Moore had three turnovers and allowed a 97-yard kickoffreturn for a touchdown by the Sun Devils to start the secondhalf. “It spread the word about Boise State,” Moore said. “We tookadvantage of opportunities to elevate this program.” Coach Chris Petersen said the program will miss Moore. “I have no idea what we’re going to do without Kellen Moore — sodon’t even ask,” Petersen said before reporters could ask aquestion during a news conference after the game. Boise State finished seventh in the BCS standings, but wasn’tinvited to one of its big-money bowl games. the Mountain West andPac 12 conferences each received $1.1 million for the MAACOBowl. Arizona State missed on several opportunities to make the gamecloser, wasting a bowl-record 241-yard receiving effort by GerellRobinson, who caught a touchdown in the fourth quarter after theBroncos had already scored 49 points. Moore — the NCAA’s winningest player at the position — played wellenough in his last college game to keep his team scoring, despitesome missteps. “When you’re at a good place with good people, good things happen,”Moore said. Petersen said it was important to put a stamp on the careers ofMoore and his fellow seniors. “These guys took it up a notch or two,” Petersen said. “It wasextremely important to the coaching staff and this team.” Martin finished with 301 all-purpose yards, breaking a bowl recordset in 1997 by Air Force’s Pat Johnson. His touchdown return alsoset a record for the longest kickoff return in MAACO Bowl history.It was the first time the opening kickoff had been returned for ascore in any bowl game since Ted Ginn Jr. did it in the 2007 BCStitle game. Boise State finished with a bowl record in points scored by asingle team, and the teams combined for the highest scoring game inthe bowl’s 20-year history. the most costly mistake for Arizona State came in the thirdquarter, as the Sun Devils tried to capitalize on a fumble by Moore— his third turnover of the game. the Sun Devils drove 49 yards toBoise State’s 1-yard line, but quarterback Brock Osweiler’sfourth-down pass was intercepted by Jamar Taylor, who returned itfor a touchdown to make the score 35-10. Moments before the play, Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson triedto call a timeout as his team was late to the line of scrimmage,but his attempts weren’t acknowledged by the referees. “I should have just called a timeout,” said Osweiler, who threw for395 yards with two touchdowns in defeat. Osweiler said his team had some confusion before the play, with thewrong players on the field and a delay in communicating what theywanted to do. the Broncos led 28-3 at halftime with Martin’s kick return, Moore’spassing touchdowns and another by wide receiver Matt Miller on atrick play in the second quarter. Arizona State didn’t score after its first interception and failedto pick off a lofty, poorly-aimed toss from Moore’s brother,receiver Kirby Moore, that hit a Sun Devils defender in the chestduring a trick play. Boise State scored its fourth touchdown laterin the drive. “In a game like this, momentum is everything, and we didn’tcapitalize and they did,” Robinson said. Erickson was coaching his last game for Arizona State, which lethim go in November after the Sun Devils finished the regular seasonon a four-game losing streak. Erickson said he doesn’t think his career is finished. “I’ll be involved in football some way — I’m not sure exactlywhat,” he said. Moore said he’s not sure where his future in professional footballmay go. “I focused on this thing first. (I’m) looking to the opportunitiesahead of (me),” Moore said. “We’ve been playing well for four yearsand you want to see where you can go from here.”

Boise State rolls to win in Las Vegas bowl