SAN DIEGO — There wasn’t any hangover effect for Boise State, save for some sloppiness long after they’d turned their first matchup against San Diego State into a laugher.
Kellen Moore completed 28 of 40 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns, three to Tyler Shoemaker, and the No. 10 Broncos benefited from three San Diego State turnovers to race to a 52-35 victory Saturday night.
The Broncos (9-1, 4-1 Mountain West) bounced back from a deflating 36-35 loss to TCU a week earlier in Boise.
As if the powerful Broncos needed any help, the Aztecs gave it to them and the game quickly turned into a rout. San Diego State had three turnovers in the first 9:42 that helped Boise State take a 21-0 lead. It was 42-14 at halftime.
“It was good to start fast. I really thought we would start fast,” coach Chris Petersen said. “I knew we would play hard early on. I think there were people who were concerned about the hangover effect from the last game, and I wasn’t. We’re going to give it all. Those turnovers really helped us.
“I was much more concerned about the second half,” the coach added. “We talked about it all week long. Maybe it was because our lead was so big that sometimes you have a tendency to play too conservative and on our heels.”
San Diego State (6-4, 3-3) remained winless in 19 games against Associated Press top 10 teams since 1969. Overall, the Aztecs are 6-59 against Top 25 teams.
Shoemaker had 10 catches for 130 yards. Doug Martin carried 36 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
It was Moore’s 23rd straight game with multiple touchdown passes, the longest current streak in Division I. He was intercepted once, just his sixth of the season.
With 13,782 yards, Moore moved past Philip Rivers, formerly of North Carolina State and currently of the San Diego Chargers, for sixth place in Division I career passing yards. His four TD passes gave him 134 for his career, moving him into a second-place tie in Division I with Graham Harrell of Texas Tech (2005-08).
“Momentum, a short field, really benefited us and helped us get a good lead going at the start of the game,” Moore said.
The Broncos said they had a good week of practice following their loss to TCU.
“It was good,” Moore said. “Obviously those things can linger for a little while; you don’t sleep very well. It was kind of nice to just get to practice, really. You feel good when you get back to work and you’re on to the next opponent.”
On the third play from scrimmage, Broncos defensive end Shea McClellin intercepted Ryan Lindley at the SDSU 24. Moore responded with a 5-yard scoring pass to Shoemaker.
The Aztecs forced a punt but Leon McFadden fumbled it and Josh Borgman recovered at the SDSU 10. Mitch Burroughs scored on an 11-yard run.
SDSU’s Brandon Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 17 yards before he fumbled when hit by Blake Renaud, with Corey Bell recovering at the 23. Moore’s 14-yard scoring pass to Shoemaker was BSU’s second touchdown in a span of six plays.
“Obviously that cost us the game,” SDSU coach Rocky Long said. “Boise State’s a great football team and you don’t know how it’s going to come out. But when your first three drives are inside the 25-yard line, sure that cost you the game. You didn’t even give yourself a chance to compete and make it a game.”
Said Lindley: “It’s a horrible way to start off. We lost control from there.”
SDSU redshirt freshman Adam Muema scored on an 81-yard run on the next possession to keep it from getting too out of hand.
The Broncos, whose only other appearance in San Diego was a loss to TCU in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, continued to pile it on in the second quarter and led by 28 points at halftime.
Moore threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Efaw and a 24-yarder to Shoemaker, and Martin scored on a 10-yard run. San Diego State got a 30-yard TD pass from Lindley to Gavin Escobar.
Martin added a 22-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Escobar had another 30-yard TD catch, in the fourth quarter. Muema scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter to finish with 119 yards on 13 carries. He also caught a 1-yard scoring pass from Lindley with 5 seconds to play.
SDSU’s Ronnie Hillman, who sprained an ankle a week earlier, had just three carries for eight yards.
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