Southwick escapes legend’s shadow, grows into key role with Boise State

The talk always is the same from head coach to player: Discover your own strengths. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Play within yourself.

Think twice about growing a mustache.

Well, not the last part.

Joe Southwick played a specific role when this college football season began, one of the next quarterback at a top-25 program, of the new face to lead Boise State’s offense, of the guy with the unenviable task of replacing Kellen Moore, of following a legend.

Boise State coach Chris Petersen talked, and Southwick listened.

Say this for Clark Gable: The kid who is in desperate need of a razor sure saved his best for the final game of his junior season.

Southwick has something in common with Moore other than a position, having led the Broncos to a MAACO Bowl Las Vegas title. Boise State beat Washington 28-26 on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium, in large part because of the efficient, clean, clutch afternoon of a young man who might have just experienced the most up-and-down season of an 11-2 quarterback in history.

That’s how large a shadow Moore’s resume cast.

That’s how tall an order it was for Southwick to fill.

That’s how unreasonable some outside the program were in evaluating the new face under center.

Southwick and the other Boise State quarterbacks grew mustaches before the team’s game against Colorado State on Nov. 17, because that’s what college kids do when their team is 8-2 and playing an opponent that couldn’t get out of the way of itself.

The Broncos won 42-14, Southwick kept the facial hair, and his performance Saturday should leave no doubt that, while he never will come close to matching Moore’s success, Boise State will enter next season far more stable at quarterback than it did this one.

“All year, I have known I can play at this level,” Southwick said. “It’s just a lot of work, a lot of moving parts, working together to fit the puzzle together. I dealt with the (comparisons to Moore) by just showing up to work each week looking to get better.

“I couldn’t listen to the outside noise. I just had to get better through each week and see how much better we were each Saturday we played.”

The noise came from online posts and calls to local radio stations and chatter up one supermarket aisle and down the next. They were, many say, the most negative verbal attacks Boise State fans ever have aimed at one the team’s players.

I’m guessing there won’t be many now, or at least until spring practice begins. Fans. Loons.

Southwick completed 26 of 38 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns Saturday against a Washington defense that ranked 16th nationally in pass defense efficiency. The Broncos also were 7 of 19 on third down and 2 of 2 on fourth down, the latter conversions coming on sneaks from Southwick, who ran for 39 yards.

“He finally figured out that he has legs and can run,” Petersen said. “We said a long time ago that he came here as a good athlete, and somehow getting through our program, he has turned into a bad athlete, at least in his mind. Everybody knows a scrambling quarterback can crush you, and he made some big plays.”

This is that large shadow: The Division I record for wins by a starting quarterback (50), three losses in four seasons, fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting as a junior, career numbers of 14,667 yards, 142 touchdowns and a 169.0 passer rating.

This just in: Moore was pretty good.

Southwick, a junior from Danville, Calif., began this season by delivering no touchdowns at Michigan State but improved over 12 games to pre-MAACO numbers of 2,466 yards passing, 17 TDs, seven interceptions and a 141.5 rating.

He completed 66.7 percent of his passes, and the Broncos lost to just the Spartans by four points and to San Diego State by two.

And yet when it came time to game plan for Saturday’s matchup, Washington coaches implored their defense to force Boise State into third-and-long situations, to challenge its passing game, to dare the Broncos to win a third straight MAACO Bowl Las Vegas through the air.

To make Clark Gable beat them.

“(Southwick) did a really nice job,” Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He managed their offense, threw the ball efficiently and accurately, and when he pulled the ball down to scramble, he was effective and hurt us with his legs.”

Gable once gave away his Academy Award to a kid who thought it looked pretty, figuring it was more important to win than keep it.

Southwick didn’t receive any gold statues Saturday, but you can bet he will cherish the victory. The only noise he heard came from thousands of those wearing blue and orange.

They were cheering his every move.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.