Relive Boise State’s iconic ‘Circus’ through the eyes of those who made it happen

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BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Running unopposed into the crimson-hued end zone before launching the football deep into the raucous lower bowl of University of Phoenix Stadium, the image of Ian Johnson jumping for joy and rushing into a sea of orange and blue limbs is vividly painted in the minds of every Boise State fan.

This weekend we are celebrating 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 of the greatest college football game ever played.
#BleedBlue | #BuiltDifferent https://t.co/rYhTcyh7CF

— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) September 29, 2026

Anyone familiar with college football will recognize the scene as Boise State’s game-winning two-point conversion against the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The victory not only capped an undefeated season for Boise State, but is often considered one of the greatest college football games of all time.

The Broncos pulled off three miraculous trick plays in the final seconds of regulation and overtime to stun legendary running back Adrian Peterson and the powerhouse Sooners.

Everybody remembers that iconic Statue of Liberty play, in which Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky handed the ball off behind his back to Johnson for the game-winning score.

But none of these scenes or memories would have been possible without what may be one of the most audacious play calls in modern football history. Down by seven points with just 18 seconds left on the clock, Boise State was stranded at the 50-yard line and staring down a fourth-and-18.

A third straight bowl heartbreak for the Broncos was imminent, until coaches selected a play that would become the foundation of the entire Fiesta Bowl legend:

The lead-up

The Broncos led the Sooners for about 54 of the first 60 minutes. Boise State had led by as many as 18 points, 28-10, in the third quarter and looked well on the way to a famous, if not routine, victory.

Then Oklahoma scored a touchdown. Then a field goal. Then another touchdown to tie the game at 28. Then, with just a minute left on the clock, fifth-year quarterback Zabransky threw a pick-six to give the Sooners a 35-28 lead.

“Oh my gosh, this guy’s career cannot end like this,” then-head coach Chris Petersen thought to himself as he watched his dejected quarterback walk off the field.

But there was no time for self-pity. The Boise State offense was right back on the field, and Zabransky immediately connected with tight end Derek Schouman for a 36-yard pass into Oklahoma territory.

But the very next play was an 8-yard sack, followed by back-to-back incompletions. That set up a do-or-die fourth-and-18. The call Circus had been in Boise State’s playbook longer than some of the players on the field had been in the program.

The hook-and-ladder play called for the ball to be pitched at least a couple times in what was essentially a juggling act among several players, which gave the play its name. Petersen had his team practice the play every Friday, and while it sometimes resulted in a first down, it had never ended with the ball in the end zone. And they’d certainly never used it in a game.

But with 50 yards to go, and just 18 seconds left on the clock, Petersen felt like there was no other choice. He sent in the call to the offense and heard the worried groans and moans from the defensive players on the sideline around him.

“I think I’m the only one who was thinking this is really the right play,” Petersen told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.

As much uncertainty hung on the field as on the sidelines. Wide receiver Drisan James heard the call in the huddle and looked at Zabransky in confusion, he said. “Why are we calling this play?” he thought. James originally thought it was still third down, and it wasn’t until he was lined up alone on the left boundary that he realized what was at stake.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the formation, wide receiver Jerard Rabb was preparing for one of the biggest moments of his career — and was also one of the few who agreed with the play call.

“This is it. This is the play we should run,” Rabb said to his teammates. “To be honest, I was excited,” he told the Statesman.

The hook

Every Friday, when Boise State lined up for a run-through of Circus, Zabransky would throw the hook to Rabb on the three-receiver right side of the offense. Rabb’s job was to pitch the ball to James, who’d use downfield blockers to get as close to the end zone as possible.

But just a few weeks before the Fiesta Bowl, Petersen switched it up. James would still line up out left, but he would now receive the pass instead, and Rabb would cut inside from the right and take the pitch to run into the space down the left side of the field.

“It’s a little bit more deception,” Petersen said. “And then it creates more space to have a single guy over (left), and then here comes another guy from the opposite side, kind of out of nowhere.”

Zabransky dropped back 4 yards with plenty of time and protection. James took off downfield, quickly scanning the soft cover-two coverage the defense showed — the same look that had led to the pick-six just minutes earlier. Fifteen yards into his route, James dug inside, turned to catch the pass from Zabransky, and took a little jab step upfield as four Oklahoma defenders closed in.

On the other side of the field, Rabb bumped into an Oklahoma defensive back and slowed down, giving the impression he’d given up on his route.

“I no longer see the quarterback. … He’s already taken off as that ball’s in midair,” James said, knowing Zabransky was already rushing downfield to help block or receive a pitch. “You kind of almost forget that this is a circus play and that you need to pitch the ball.”

The game slowed to an easy pace in James’ mind, and as the Oklahoma corner collapsed in and Rabb suddenly sped up to cut across the field toward him, James had only one thought: “I’ve just got to figure out how to put this ball in his stomach.”

The ladder

James caught the ball 3 yards short of the first-down marker and faced a wall of crimson jerseys. Catching the ball there was key, because it pulled the Oklahoma secondary toward the ball as they sensed a chance to end the game.

What the Sooners’ defense didn’t sense was Rabb picking up speed to receive the pitch.

“The fact that (James) is moving to the right, and everybody’s going there, and Jerard’s coming to the left. That flow of the defense is really what we needed, as well as the proper depth on things,” Petersen said.

James’ pitch didn’t quite reach Rabb’s stomach — it was more toward his right shoulder. But it was good enough, and Rabb was already rounding the corner and hitting the burners, the ball clutched tightly to his chest, by the time the Oklahoma defense knew what was happening.

From the catch to the end zone, Rabb still had 38 yards to go. He even had Johnson trailing behind him to receive another pitch if needed — but it wasn’t.

“I saw the safety bite on Drisan, and he was really the only one that could have caught me,” Rabb said. “I knew I could pitch it right behind me. But I had such a lead on him, I don’t see myself needing to pitch it.”

The touchdown

It took just 10 seconds from the snap until Rabb dove into the end zone. He crashed into the pylon as Oklahoma defensive back Lendy Holmes lunged fruitlessly from behind.

“You could tell he had no thought of pitching anything,” Petersen said. “He was just gonna have to outrun him.”

Everything went completely silent inside Rabb’s head when he first hit the ground. Then he popped up, and everything hit him at once.

“It’s almost like somebody put the sound on, and the place went crazy,” Rabb said. “You could feel the field, the ground beneath us, rumbling.”

Farther up the field, James could only watch in awe.

“I kind of looked around and was like, ‘Holy cow, we’re still in this. Let’s go!’ ” James said. “The crowd erupts, everybody goes bonkers, and next thing you know, we’re holding our breath just for an extra point.”

Zabransky was the first person to reach Rabb in the end zone, yanking him into the air for a bear hug. Shortly after, in his final snaps under center as a Bronco, Zabransky made two completions and then perfectly executed the Statue of Liberty handoff to cement his place in Boise State’s history.

“Some of the biggest setbacks are just a great setup for the best comebacks, and that’s all it was,” Petersen said. “It was just more dramatic. It made it more special.”