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No. 4 Broncos make short work of Tulsa

Tulsa’s Curnelius Arnick pushes Boise State’s D.J. Harper out of bounds just short of the goal line. (Associated Press)
Tim Booth Associated Press
Tulsa’s Curnelius Arnick pushes Boise State’s D.J. Harper out of bounds just short of the goal line. (Associated Press)

BOISE – Kellen Moore tossed four touchdown passes, a pair to Tyler Shoemaker, in less than 21/2 quarters, Jerrell Givens intercepted Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinnie twice and No. 4 Boise State rolled to a 41-21 nonconference win in its home opener on Saturday night.

The Broncos (3-0) won their 33rd consecutive regular-season home game and this one was in hand by halftime, sending a large chunk of the student section off to celebrate thanks to a 27-0 lead at the break.

Moore added a TD pass on the Broncos’ first drive of the second half, a 10-yard strike to Mitch Burroughs with 9:25 left in the third quarter, then donned a blue baseball cap and headset the rest of the night. He finished 23 of 29 for 279 yards and has 12 TDs against two interceptions in three games.

Through three games, Moore is 83 of 105 for 995 yards. But his early checkout could be because of a sore right knee that was banged up against Toledo. Moore wore a brace on the knee and was noticeably limping at times.

Shoemaker continued to be Moore’s security in the red zone. A week after catching three TDs against Toledo, Shoemaker hauled in TD passes for 26 and 6 yards in the first quarter. His six TDs this season are already a career high.

Tulsa (1-3) concluded a brutal early-season stretch that featured a game at No. 1 Oklahoma and last week’s wacky 59-33 loss at home to No. 7 Oklahoma State that didn’t kick off until after midnight.

Tulsa was one of two teams in the country to play three AP Top 10 teams in the first four weeks of the season. The Golden Hurricanes had to serve as the Broncos’ home opener on one of two nights this season in which BSU was allowed to wear blue helmets, jerseys and pants on its famous blue rug.

Kinnie played despite a left knee injury suffered last week. His status was in doubt all week, but Kinnie played into the fourth quarter. He finished 14 of 24 for 123 yards and was intercepted four times.

He wasn’t helped by awful field position and a spotty running game. A week after rumbling for 365 yards against Oklahoma State, Tulsa managed 155 yards rushing.