Beavers dominate Broncos in Hawaii Bowl
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Honolulu, HI (SportsNetwork.com) - The post-Chris Petersen era did not start well for Boise State.
Rashaad Reynolds scored two defensive touchdowns Tuesday and Oregon State handed the Broncos a 38-23 defeat in the annual Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
The Beavers (7-6) limped into the postseason with five consecutive losses after a promising 6-1 start, but ended the campaign on a high note.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sean Mannion threw for 259 yards with an interception and a scoring strike to Biletnikoff Award-winner Brandin Cooks, while Storm Woods and Terron Ward each ran for touchdowns.
"We are excited to have won this game," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "It's been a while since we've won, but this team never quit and we've had plenty of disappointment, quite a bit of adversity through the year and I've always enjoyed coaching them because every week they came back and went to work. We played a good football team and feel really good about the win."
Petersen bolted Boise State earlier this month to become the head coach at Washington, and his replacement, Bryan Harsin, watched from afar as the Broncos (8-5) fell behind by 32 points en route to having their four-game bowl winning streak snapped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Interim head coach Bob Gregory sent starting quarterback Joe Southwick home prior to the game for a violation of team rules, and backup Grant Hedrick did not lead a touchdown drive until the game was already out of reach.
"I don't believe there was any loss of focus by the team given the distractions this week. We had good bowl practices, but we just didn't make enough plays to stay in the game," Gregory said.
Hedrick completed 32-of-44 passes for 382 yards with a long touchdown pass to Matt Miller, who finished with a whopping 206 yards on 11 receptions. Jay Ajayi ran for 97 yards and a score in defeat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After trading field goals to begin the game, the Beavers went ahead to stay with a pair of touchdowns in a 1:23 span late in the opening quarter.
Mannion threaded the needle to Cooks for a 2-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive, and a defensive TD shortly thereafter gave Oregon State a 17-3 lead. Hedrick was pressured by two defenders in the end zone and lost the ball, which shot out to the 3-yard line and was scooped up in stride by Reynolds on his way to a touchdown.
Boise State's Dan Goodale knocked through his second field goal, this time from 42 yards out, 1:22 into the second quarter, and the Broncos forced a turnover on downs in their own territory on the ensuing possession.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The momentum was short-lived, however, as Troy Ware caught a pass along the sideline and had the ball knocked out by Larry Scott. Reynolds was in the right spot again and went 70 yards untouched the other way.
Ward tacked on a helmet-crunching 9-yard touchdown run to send the Beavers into the locker room with a healthy 31-6 lead.
Because of the comfortable cushion, Oregon State was content on grinding down the clock, and a 5-yard Woods touchdown run midway through the third pushed the margin even more out of Boise State's reach.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ajayi went in from a yard out with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter, Miller had an 85-yard catch-and-run for another score early in the fourth, and Goodale added a late 33-yard field goal to make the final score somewhat more respectable.
Game Notes
This is Boise State's first five-loss season since 1998 ... The Broncos, who came in averaging 38.8 points per game, were playing in their 12th straight bowl game ... Oregon State had lost its previous two postseason tests ... Cooks broke the Pac-12 record for receiving yards in a season, surpassing Marqise Lee's 2012 total of 1,721 by nine yards ... Oregon State rushed for 195 yards -- 107 coming from Woods -- after averaging 86.0 yards on the ground during the regular season ... Miller's touchdown catch was the longest pass play in Hawaii Bowl history.