It was called "statue," and it may go down as one of the most memorable plays in college football history — certainly in the history of Idaho.

Boise State's quarterbacks spent the season tinkering with it. It's the type of play called in parks and pickup games, and these guys were trying to figure out how to use it in an NCAA game. Somewhere along the way they came up with the variation that helped win a Fiesta Bowl.

While one of those quarterbacks, backup Taylor Tharp, watched his team try to topple a giant in that bowl, he noticed a tendency of the Oklahoma Sooners. They were biting hard on a wide receiver screen. That could perfectly set up statue.

So when BSU head coach Chris Petersen would walk by Tharp, he'd tell the coach, "I think statue will work," or simply just "statue." Finally, after a crazy finish to regulation and a trick play to score a tying touchdown in overtime, Petersen made the call for statue.

Then Petersen said something else, this time on national television. After all the heroic performances in the Broncos' win, he gave credit for the winning play to guys who didn't play — his backup quarterbacks, Bush Hamdan and Taylor Tharp.

Tharp's name was sent from Petersen's mouth into living rooms across America, culminating a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the former Fairview star. The Broncos had just pulled off the BCS upset, did it with three mind-blowing plays and the head coach mentioned him on the championship podium. But he may have to get used to it. Broncos' starting quarterback Jared Zabransky finished his career on Jan. 1, and Tharp is in a contest to lead the defending Fiesta Bowl champions next fall.

"It's cool to know I was part of it. I thought we had a good chance to win and it would be a close game, but I never thought it would be that type of finish," said Tharp, who returned to Boulder this week to finish out the semester break. "In the last couple days I've been contacted by everyone I know, and it has been a great experience for myself."

The final play in the game was the last in a stunning progression. The unique ending began with a hook-and-lateral on fourth-and-18 that turned into a game-tying touchdown. Then, after a potentially deflating OT touchdown run from OU's Adrian Peterson, the Broncos' pulled another big play out of a cavernous bag of tricks. Wide receiver Vinny Perretta threw a touchdown to tight end Derek Schouman, and Petersen decided whether to go for one or two.

Actually, he told Tharp before the touchdown that if the Broncos scored, they were going to run statue for a two-point conversion. They would fake a wide receiver screen to the right while running back Ian Johnson stood behind Zabranksy. Johnson was supposed to look like he was just watching the play while Zabranksy faked a throw with his right hand and tucked the ball behind his back with his left. Johnson just ran by and took the ball into the end zone.

"They had seven guys over there, and they had one guy backside, and we had him sealed on the edge," said Tharp, who sounds like a coach but hasn't decided if he wants to be one. "Before we ran the play, I knew we had already scored. Then we ran onto the field and I hugged 'Z.'"

"Z" is Zabransky, who finished his career at Boise State. Tharp — who threw for 3,973 yards in his senior season at Fairview — is one of four quarterbacks who hope to win the job. He has the most experience of the candidates, and thus the best grasp of the offense. The son of former Colorado athletic director Dick Tharp has 359 yards passing in his career and is 32-for-50. The 6-2, 210-pounder just finished his junior season.

"We need to find one really good player. We don't need to have four pretty good quarterbacks," BSU coach Chris Petersen told the Idaho Statesman. "You can't be pretty good in our offense. We need an excellent player there. So that's our mission."

And, thanks in part to statue, the Broncos will be a high-profile team next season, with a high-profile question the entire state of Idaho wants to know. Who will be the quarterback for their team?

"There will probably be a lot more people following us. I just want to to finish out my senior year. Our offense is complicated and I think I have a good grasp of it," Tharp said. "I just want to have fun and be the best I can to be in the right spot to be the starter."