Final: WSU 47, Boise State 44 (three overtimes); Broncos blow 21-point lead

The Boise State football team led 31-10 in the fourth quarter but lost in three overtimes to No. 20 Washington State on Saturday night at Martin Stadium.

The Cougars scored a touchdown on their possession in the third overtime to win 47-44. The Broncos had settled for a field goal on their drive.

Boise State squandered its lead on a long touchdown drive by the Cougars, an interception return for a touchdown and a short touchdown drive after a punt hit a Broncos blocker in the back.

Check out the scoring summary, game notes, some highlights and all of our tweets below. We’ll have complete coverage of the game in a couple hours.

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

BSU — Alexander Mattison 4 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 12:07. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:53. Key plays: On the third play of the drive, quarterback Brett Rypien hit tight end Alec Dhaenens wide open on a rollout for 44 yards. Two plays later, Rypien pulled down the ball on a pass play and scrambled for a 16-yard run to set up Mattison’s score. Boise State 7, Washington State 0

WSU — Robert Taylor 7 fumble return (Erik Powell kick), 4:47. Key plays: Boise State started deep in its own territory after Tyler Horton intercepted Washington State quarterback Luke Falk at the Boise State 3. With the ball at the 17, Rypien was sacked by Frankie Luvu and Hercules Mata’afa, and Taylor picked up the fumble, going untouched for the score. Boise State 7, Washington State 7

Second quarter

BSU — Hoggarth 34 field goal, 9:14. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 5:26. Key plays: With Rypien sidelined after taking a big hit on the previous drive, senior Montell Cozart came in and was 2-for-2 passing on the drive, adding a 13-yard run. Running back Alexander Mattison had a 19-yard run to get to the WSU 20. Boise State 10, Washington State 7

WSU — Powell 20 field goal, 0:41. Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 2:44. Key plays: On third-and-7 from their own 37, Falk and receiver Renard Bell connected on a deep pass in which Bell was a solid 20 yards behind the Boise State defense. The play covered 59 yards. Boise State got a tackle for loss by Sam Whitney on second-and-goal at the 1, then forced an incompletion to bring on the field-goal unit. Boise State 10, Washington State 10

Third quarter

BSU — Cozart 14 run (Hoggarth kick), 4:10. Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 2:36. Key plays: The solid field position to start was set up after forcing a three-and-out following a turnover at the Cougars’ 3. Cozart completed his only pass of the drive and had another 14-yard run. Boise State 17, Washington State 10

Fourth quarter

BSU — Cedrick Wilson 47 pass from Cozart (Hoggarth kick), 14:53. Drive: 2 plays, 50 yards, 0:33. Key plays: Boise State got the ball at midfield after linebacker Tyson Maeva batted quarterback Tyler Hilinski’s shovel pass attempt, and defensive end Durrant Miles intercepted it. It was the Broncos’ fifth forced turnover of the season after having nine in 2016. Boise State 24, Washington State 10

BSU — Curtis Weaver 55 fumble return (Hoggarth kick), 10:53. Key plays: Washington State had begun to craft a drive, but an illegal block pushed the Cougars from the BSU 30 to the 40. On third-and-18 from the 40, Falk was sacked by Jabril Frazier, and the ball popped up into Weaver’s hands, who ran the rest of the way for the score. Boise State 31, Washington State 10

WSU — Jamire Calvin 17 pass from Tyler Hilinski (Powell kick), 8:00. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:53. Key plays: Hilinski, coming in for Falk, was 7-of-8 passing for 75 yards on the drive. Boise State 31, Washington State 17

WSU — Peyton Pelluer 36 interception return (Powell kick), 5:51. Key plays: Cozart converted a third-and-8 with a 13-yard strike to Wilson on the drive’s third play. Two snaps later, as he was about to hit the turf on a sack, Cozart flipped an ill-advised shovel pass right to Pelluer, who went in for the score. Boise State 31, Washington State 24

WSU — Jamal Morrow 6 pass from Hilinski (Powell kick), 1:44. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:07. Key plays: After Boise State forced a punt, the ball hit cornerback Reid Harrison-Ducros in the back and was recovered by the Cougars, giving them the short field. Hilinski completed three of his four passes on the drive. Boise State 31, Washington State 31

First overtime

BSU — Hoggarth 29 field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 13 yards. Key plays: The Broncos, who got the ball first in overtime, got a first down on the drive on a 3-yard run from Alexander Mattison to the 13, but the Broncos could not advance any farther. Boise State 34, Washington State 31

WSU — Powell 22 field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 19 yards. Key plays: The Cougars got to the 5 on a 13-yard pass from Hilinski to Isaiah Johnson-Mack, and Morrow had a 4-yard run to the 1. The Cougars were stuffed on a run attempt and a pass for Johnson-Mack slipped through his arms in the end zone. Boise State 34, Washington State 34

Second overtime

WSU — Gerard Wicks 1 run (Powell kick). Drive: 6 plays, 25 yards. Key plays: Morrow appeared stopped on third-and-2 on the drive’s third play, but a second effort gave him the first down. Hilinski hit Tavares Martin Jr. for 9 yards on a second-and-6 to get to the 1. Washington State 41, Boise State 34

BSU — Wilson 15 pass from Cozart (Hoggarth kick). Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards. Key plays: Mattison had a 12-yard rush on the first play of the Broncos’ possession. On third-and-12, Cozart hit Wilson on an inside slant, and he cut up toward the end zone for the score. Washington State 41, Boise State 41

Third overtime

BSU — Hoggarth 37 field goal. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards. Key plays: Cozart found Wilson open over the middle, but he was stopped for 5 yards on third-and-10, forcing the field goal. Boise State 44, Washington State 41

WSU — Morrow 22 pass from Hilinski. Drive: 2 plays, 25 yards. Key plays: Hilinski hit Morrow on a swing pass, and Morrow made Desmond Williams miss a tackle, then broke up the sideline, diving for the score. After a short review, the play was upheld and the game was over. Washington State 47, Boise State 44

• • • 

Rypien exits after big hit

On Boise State’s second possession of the game, starting quarterback Brett Rypien was sacked by Washington State’s Frankie Luvu and Hercules Mata’afa. The ball came loose, and safety Robert Taylor scooped up the fumble for a WSU touchdown.

Near the end of the first quarter, Rypien was again sacked by Luvu, this time for a 6-yard loss.

Rypien appeared unsteady after the play and went to the Boise State sideline, where he sat on the bench with his helmet off.

Montell Cozart took over at QB for the Broncos, but the drive ended in a punt. Cozart came over to Rypien on the sideline and gave him a high-five.

Rypien has not returned to the game.

• • • 

Boise State junior quarterback Brett Rypien faced Washington State on Saturday night on the same field his uncle, Mark, became a Cougar legend.

“I know I won’t have to get a ticket for him because I think he gets season tickets for life,” Rypien said during game week.

Mark played for the Cougars from 1982 to 1985 and played 11 NFL seasons. He told the Idaho Statesman last year when the Broncos and Cougars faced off: “My heart and soul is in both directions, but I’m a Cougar through and through. I hope Brett throws for 490 yards and seven touchdowns, but loses to my Cougars 63-49.”

Boise State won 31-28 in the 2016 meeting. Brett Rypien grew up in Spokane, but had never played at Martin Stadium in Pullman. He did take part in a few summer camps here, though. A fan at plenty of Washington State games, he’s looking at the matchup being similar to when hated rival Washington visits.

“Hopefully an Apple Cup atmosphere, that’s what I would prep for,” Rypien said. “Loud, exciting, I’m looking forward to it.”

▪  Air quality, which had been a concern in both Boise and Pullman over the last week, forcing both teams to practice indoors, has cleared up at Martin Stadium. At 6 p.m. local time, the Air Quality Index was 67, which is considered moderate. It had been as high as 185 in the middle of the week.

▪  Senior tight end Jake Roh was Boise State’s game captain in addition to season-long captains Rypien, Cedrick Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch. … The Broncos wore white helmets, white jerseys and white pants. The Cougars wore all-red uniforms. … Redshirt freshman Avery Williams, who had an 81-yard punt return touchdown in Sept. 2’s opener against Troy, carried the Hammer for Boise State before the game. … Washington State won the coin toss and kicked off. Running back Jamal Morrow, who once appeared on the “Price Is Right,” was the lone Cougar on the field, and the show’s theme song was played afterward. ... Late in the second quarter, Washington State quarterback Luke Falk became the program’s all-time leader in passing yards with 11,320. Connor Halliday held the previous record with 11,304. In WSU’s season opener, Falk broke the school record for career touchdown passes with 92. Halliday also held that record with 91.

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Links to our coverage this week:

How Boise State landed returner extraordinaire Avery Williams

Boise State vs. Washington State game breakdown

As 10-point underdogs, Boise State hasn’t been in this situation since 2008

Beat notes: Harsin says of offensive line ‘we need to be a lot better’

Washington State throws more than anyone, but running backs may be key

Former Boise State great Kellen Moore listed as Dallas’ backup

Video: LB Desmond Williams and coach Bryan Harsin talk game-saving play vs. Troy

Air quality, quarterbacks and underdogs: live chat replay

Smoke was thicker in Pullman than Boise: could have had effect on the game

Boise State QB Brett Rypien not feeling the pressure with Cozart in the fold

Boise State maintains quarterback approach: ‘one game’s not going to influence that’

This story was originally published September 9, 2017 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Final: WSU 47, Boise State 44 (three overtimes); Broncos blow 21-point lead."