Las Vegas Bowl Moment 15: Kellen Moore leads Boise State against Utah
To celebrate the local bowl’s 25th anniversary milestone, the Review-Journal will rank the top 25 moments in Las Vegas Bowl history. We’ll relive one moment per day until game day on Dec. 17 at Sam Boyd Stadium:
No. 15: Boise State cruises in top 25 battle
Date: Dec. 22, 2010
Score: Boise State 26, Utah 3
Back story: Utah, then a member of the Mountain West conference, entered the game with a nine-game bowl winning streak, never losing one under coach Kyle Wittingham, and a 10-2 record. Boise State, then of the Western Athletic Conference, was picked after not enough Pac-12 Conference teams were eligible, entered with a 11-1 mark, losing only to Nevada.
Game: Heisman Trophy finalist Kellen Moore led No. 10 Boise State to a dominant win over No. 19 Utah in front of the second biggest crowd in the event’s history (41,923). The nation tuned into the highly touted matchup and became the highest-rated ESPN regional TV bowl telecast in history. Moore was named the MVP after throwing two touchdown passes.
Since: One year later, Utah joined the Pac-12 and Boise State was added to the Mountain West during a massive shakeup among college conferences. Moore was drafted by and played three seasons for the Detroit Lions. Last year he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and played three games in place of injured Tony Romo. He was in line to be Romo’s backup this season, but fractured his right fibula during training camp and is out for the season.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
