By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

RUSTON, La.(AP) -- Early in the fourth quarter, there was nervous
pacing along Boise State's sideline.

With an opportunity to show a national television audience why
they should once again become a BCS buster, a close game on the
road was not what the fifth-ranked Broncos had in mind.

They looked anxious, but they weren't rattled.

"We know we are going to have people's best shots," Boise State
quarterback Kellen Moore said. "It's kind of fun playing in
tight games I think. Throw in a little pressure and it just
shows the resiliency of this team."

Moore threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and Boise State
remained unbeaten and in contention for a BCS bid with a 45-35
victory over Louisiana Tech on Friday night.

Tech had pulled within 30-28 early in the fourth quarter on
Dennis Morris' leaping catch in the corner of the end zone. The
Broncos defense buckled down long enough after that for Boise
State to pull away with touchdowns on consecutive drives, first
on Moore's 12-yard pass to Austin Pettis and then on Jeremy
Avery's 44-yard touchdown run.

"We made more plays then they did tonight when it mattered and
we were able to finish it out," Moore said.

Avery finished with 146 yards rushing, while Titus Young caught
eight passes for 110 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown for
Boise State (9-0, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference).

Boise State has scored no fewer than 45 points in each of its
four WAC games this season.

Still, the Broncos could have used a more dominant victory in
their quest to prove they are more deserving than unbeaten and
sixth-ranked TCU for a Bowl Championship Series bid.

"That's how it always is when we play," Boise State coach Chris
Peterson said. "It's never good enough, but it's good enough for
us. We are going to try to do better next week and just go from
there."

Trailing 27-7 at halftime, Tech (3-6, 2-4) made a game of it in
the third quarter, starting with Josh Victorian's first career
touchdown on Moore's third interception of the season. It was an
ill-advised throw under pressure that hung in the air for
Victorian, who raced down the sideline and cut inside Moore to
cap a 75-yard return.

"Throwing that stupid pick, I think that really gave them some
momentum that they were able to build on and take advantage of,"
Moore said. "I think that certainly kept them in the game and it
is definitely something that I shouldn't have done."

Moore responded by leading a 15-play drive to set up Kyle
Brotzman's third field goal, then Tech's offense suddenly came
to life. The Bulldogs got their first first down in two quarters
on the way to a 73-yard scoring drive capped by Ross Jenkins'
9-yard keeper around the right end to make it 30-21.

Tech's Matt Nelson then caught the Broncos by surprise with an
onside kick that he recovered himself. Shortly after, Jenkins
found Morris over the middle for 36 yards to the Boise State 12,
setting up Jenkins' third-down pass to Morris, who leaped to
catch the ball over defensive back Kyle Wilson's head to pull
Tech within 30-28.

"It looked like the game was going to get away from us, but I
was really proud at how well we did in the second half,"
Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley said. "We didn't make the
plays at the end of the game we needed to win, but if we keep
fighting the way we've been fighting, we'll play out of it
eventually."

When Brotzman missed his second field goal of the game on the
Broncos' next drive, the crowd was going wild, and it appeared
the Bulldogs just might upset the highest-ranked team ever to
play at Joe Aillet Stadium.

Instead, Boise State put its figurative foot down, forcing a
quick punt. Then Moore floated a pass down the sideline to Kyle
Efaw for his second 40-yard completion of the game, setting up
his scoring pass to Pettis to make it 38-28.

Soon after, Tech failed to convert a fourth-and-6 on its own 44,
setting up Avery's game-clinching run that made it 45-28 with
4:52 to go. Tech managed one more touchdown after that.

Jenkins finished 10 of 19 for 114 yards and one interception.
Daniel Porter rushed for 92 yards and a score for Tech.

Moore's three TD passes gave him 27 on the season, eclipsing the
25 he had last year as a freshman.

Pettis finished with nine catches for 105 yards. Richie Brockel
had a 2-yard TD catch in the first half and Doug Martin scored
on 2-yard run for the Broncos.