Hendricks Leads Boise State to Bowl Win
B O I S E, Idaho, Dec. 28, 2000 -- Bart Hendricks never had the chance to playagainst the nation’s more glamorous quarterbacks. Today,however, he proved he could be just as effective.
Hendricks ran for two touchdowns, threw for another and caught alate scoring pass as Boise State beat Texas-El Paso 38-23 in theHumanitarian Bowl.
Asked about his place in college football’s statisticalhierarchy, Hendricks credited his teammates and said he neverthinks of where he ranks against the likes of Josh Heupel, DrewBrees or Chris Weinke.
“That would be nice to be compared to those guys,” he said.“But it’s all the other players who make it happen.”
Hendricks was 17-of-29 for 247 yards and ran for another 57yards. The two-time player of the year in the Big West was selectedthe game’s most valuable player for the Broncos (10-2).
It was a rousing send-off for Boise State coach Dirk Koetter,working in his last game before taking over at Arizona State. Hisvoice broke when he was asked if he realized he had coached hislast game in Boise.
“It’s hit me right between the eyes,” Koetter said.
It also extended the Broncos’ homefield winning streak to 14games and marked the second straight year they won their hometownbowl game. Last year, Boise State beat Louisville 34-31.
‘Running Scared’
Hendricks gave the Broncos a 24-10 lead with a 77-yard TD run onBoise State’s first play from scrimmage in the second half. Itstarted as a keeper to the left, but Hendricks cut into open fieldand outraced two defenders.
“It’s called running scared,” Hendricks said. “You just keeprunning until you don’t have to run anymore.”
He also worked the clock in the closing minute of the first halfbefore scoring on a 12-yard run with 18 seconds left, giving theBroncos a 17-10 lead.
UTEP (8-4) was making its first bowl trip since 1988 and onlythe second since 1967. After winning a share of the WesternAthletic Conference title, the Miners looked out of place on thefrosty blue turf in Idaho.
A few times, they ran into each other in the backfield. Theiroffense, which averaged 32 points a game to rank 22nd nationally,didn’t get moving until late in the third quarter.
“A lot of our miscommunication was a direct correlation of thecrowd noise,” UTEP coach Gary Nord said. “It’s a great atmospherehere.”
Hendricks capped Boise State’s first possession with a 28-yardTD strike to Jay Swillie. And he capped his career by grabbing an11-yard pass from receiver Andre Banks with 3:35 on the clock.
“It hung up there in the air for about half an hour,” Nordsaid.
Unknown Talent Led Nation in TDs
Coming out of high school in Reno, Nev., Hendricks had only twoDivision I scholarship offers: Boise State and Nevada.
But he ended his senior season by leading the nation with 35touchdowns and a 170.6 efficiency rating, better than Heupel, Breesof Purdue or Weinke. And he was tough against the Miners, whopounded him relentlessly all day.
“Bart wasn’t as sharp today as I’ve seen him but he had a gutty performance, especially with that long run,” Koetter said.
Boise State broke it open with a daring fake punt on the firstplay of the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-4, punter Jeff Edwardsstepped into a channel on the right side of the line and ran 22yards for a first down.
On the next play, Brock Forsey went for a 42-yard TD run and a31-13 lead.
Broncos Defense Tallies Five Sacks
The Broncos won with defense, too.
They didn’t touch UTEP quarterback Rocky Perez in the firsthalf. But after increasing the pressure in the second half, BoiseState sacked Perez five times in the first 10 minutes of the thirdquarter.
“We changed our protection scheme in the second half to try torelease more receivers and open it up a little bit,” Perez said.“We thought they were going to be in coverage more, but they endedup blitzing us.”
The Miners pulled to 31-23 with 7:45 to play when Chris Porterscored on a 3-yard run. A face-mask penalty helped UTEP start thedrive at Boise State’s 35, and a pass interference call moved theball to the 2.
Porter led the Miners with 134 rushing yards. UTEP’sAll-American tight end, Brian Natkin, had four catches for 69yards.