Boise State, Johnson Run Circles Around Oregon State, 42-14

Showing speed in the open field, the power to break tackles and patience in waiting for holes, sophomore running back Ian Johnson rushed for a career-high 240 yards and five touchdowns in Boise State’s 42-14 rout of Oregon State on Thursday night at Boise, Idaho.

Down, 14-0, the Broncos (2-0) scored 42 unanswered points. Johnson tied a school record with the five touchdowns and had the third-best ground game in school history.

Johnson’s previous career high was 103 yards in last year’s season finale against Louisiana Tech. He ran for 136 yards in the first half Thursday, highlighted by a 59-yard touchdown run.

Johnson capped his night with a 50-yard touchdown run with 11:41 left.

With the Boise foothills shrouded by smoke from wildfires in the region, the Broncos blitzed Oregon State for four touchdowns in a span of 16:12 in the first half.

It was only the second time Boise State has defeated a team from the Pacific 10 Conference, both wins coming against Oregon State (1-1), which lost its fifth straight nonconference road game.

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Old Dominion has hired two veteran coaches, including one who built a successful program in Virginia, to serve as consultants as it builds toward a return to playing football in the 2009 season.

Former Navy and Virginia coach George Welsh, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and former North Carolina State coach Dick Sheridan guided their teams to a combined 19 bowls in 35 years at the Division I-A level. Old Dominion has not fielded a team since 1940, but announced in late May that it was going to restore football.