The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT December 1, 2010

It amazes me what you can read on the Internet, especially when it comes to college football.

Unless you were still finishing some holiday shopping, the third-ranked Boise State Broncos lost in dramatic fashion on Friday night - ruining whatever BCS dreams they had.

What has resulted since Friday's loss has been an avalanche of hate and anger directed toward BSU kicker Kyle Brotzman for two missed field goals.

REGARDLESS OF if you were rooting for Boise State or Nevada, the game had hype surrounding it from the moment it was scheduled.

For Boise State, it wasn't just an ordinary game in the Western Athletic Conference, as a win could have brought the Broncos one step closer to another kind of championship.

Nevada entered the game with nothing to lose. With a loss, Nevada may have fell from the football polls, but a win could mess up the bowl picture.

At first, it didn't seem likely as the Broncos jumped out to a 24-7 lead at halftime.

Then the tide changed toward the Wolf Pack, as they outscored the Broncos 27-7 in the second half and overtime, handing the Broncos their first loss in the regular season since 2007 at Hawaii.

A ton of blame was put on Brotzman, who missed two kicks late in regulation and overtime.

Nevada didn't miss the chance to steal a win over the Broncos.

LATER THAT evening I returned home and started looking at my Facebook page and read some comments that friends had to say about the Broncos' missed chances.

Some were funny, others were just plain disturbing.

A few suggesting that Brotzman was going to be found dead were just absurd.

Despite the hatred that some have for other schools, sports are supposed to be a distraction, a form of relaxation and not meant to be life or death.

Joking or not, these are college students first and foremost, and like most of those making the comments, will likely never see another football field after their playing days come to an end.

HOPEFULLY BROTZMAN gets another chance to redeem himself before the season ends, but it’s not going to be the bowl game that the team coveted.

Although the BCS title hopes are gone, it doesn’t replace the fact that the team had some huge wins against ranked opponents.

Even if the Broncos had found a way to win, it was very unlikely after wins by Auburn and Oregon on Friday they’d be crashing the BCS title game anyway.

Much like sports are meant to be, it was fun while it lasted.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at [email protected].