On Friday night, with the score tied, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore had the ball on his own 37 and nine seconds in which to work. Unbelievably, Moore found receiver Titus Young downfield, and with two seconds left, kicker Kyle Brotzman was sent on to win the game and deliver a heartbreaking loss to Nevada.
This is not what happened. Here is video, in case you missed it:
Brotzman missed the chip-shot field goal by the slimmest of margins. Worse yet, when Boise State was stymied on its first overtime possession, Brotzman was called on to attempt another field goal inside 30 yards. He missed that one, too.Brotzman, a senior, had been a rock for the Broncos this season, and throughout his career he has made four field goals of 50 yards or longer. His misses came at the worst possible times, though, and so Boise State has lost its first regular-season game since 2007, and the program's long-held dream of reaching the national championship, for the time being, is dead. Such is the life of the imperfect kicker. It's one of those vicarious moments in which all I am capable of doing is feeling sorry for him. Gah.