Final: Boise State 59, Colorado State 52; Broncos rally for overtime win

The Boise State football team pulled off a stunning, improbable win Saturday night at Colorado State.

[More game coverage: A historic, 'unforgettable' comeback; Analysis: Gutsy victory wins over fans; Mattison breaks school record, Harsin gets contract extension; how the onside kick worked]

The Broncos won 59-52 in overtime, overcoming a first-half deficit of 28-3 and a late fourth-quarter deficit of 52-38. They scored two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes of regulation and recovered an onside kick in between. Tailback Alexander Mattison scored a touchdown in overtime and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch forced a fumble to end Colorado State’s overtime possession. Cornerback Tyler Horton recovered the fumble.

Mattison rushed for 242 yards and three touchdowns. His rushing total is the third-highest in school history.

“I’m just proud of our guys for just fighting and finishing,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said.

SCORING SUMMARY

Overtime

BSU — Alexander Mattison 4 run (Haden Hoggarth kick). Key plays: The big play came on third-and-4, when QB Brett Rypien hit TE Jake Roh for 15 yards. On the next play, Mattison scored his third TD of the game. Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards. Boise State 59, Colorado State 52

Fourth quarter

BSU — Jake Roh 6 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 0:57. Key plays: Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson recovered Joel Velazquez’s onside kick. Rypien found WR Sean Modster for 6 yards, then two plays later, RB Alexander Mattison rushed for 25. On second down, Rypien hit Roh for the tying score. Drive: 5 plays, 45 yards, 0:43. Colorado State 52, Boise State 52

BSU — Sean Modster 14 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 1:41. Key plays: Boise State was not going to go quietly, converting a third-and-6 with a 15-yard pass from Rypien to Modster to get into CSU territory. The Rams helped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that prevented a third-and-13. But on the next play, Modster was found for the TD. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 1:14. Colorado State 52, Boise State 45

CSU — Rashaad Boddie 4 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 3:02. Key plays: The Rams salted the game away after Jordan Fogal intercepted Boise State QB Brett Rypien. Boddie had all 43 yards on the drive, doing it on five carries, including a 26-yarder on the third play of the drive. Drive: 6 plays, 43 yards, 2:58. Colorado State 52, Boise State 38

CSU — Wyatt Bryan 19 field goal, 10:50. Key plays: RB Dalyn Dawkins got the Rams into Boise State territory with a 23-yard run on the drive’s third play and had a 17-yard catch to get inside the red zone. A pass interference on Boise State on a second-and-9 gave the Rams the ball at the BSU 9, but they were stopped at the 1 on third down. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 4:54. Colorado State 45, Boise State 38

Third quarter

BSU — Robert Mahone 4 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 0:44. Key plays: Mahone scored on his first carry of the game. The Broncos got into scoring territory thanks to a 13-yard run on third-and-9 by QB Montell Cozart to the Colorado State 23. On the drive, the Broncos had a 22-yard pass to TE Jake Roh, and the other 64 yards came via the run. Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 4:04. Colorado State 42, Boise State 38

CSU — Nick Stevens 10 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 4:57. Key plays: The Rams converted two third downs on the drive, the biggest a third-and-4 in which Stevens hit WR Warren Jackson for 32 yards down the sideline to the Boise State 14-yard line. Two plays later, he kept it on a zone read to get the TD. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:50. Colorado State 42, Boise State 31

BSU — Alec Dhaenens 25 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 12:01. Key plays: The Broncos, after having a dropped interception and another called back, finally got one to count when CB Avery Williams intercepted Nick Stevens. Rypien hit WR Cedrick Wilson for 15 yards on the first play, then capped it off with a beautiful play design in which he ran play action to the right side, then found Dhaenens for a screen. The tight end had two O-linemen escorting him for the easy score. Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:38. Colorado State 35, Boise State 31

BSU — Alexander Mattison 70 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 14:18. Key plays: Mattison had a 5-yard run on the drive’s first play, then broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage before breaking off the longest run of his career. Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:42. Colorado State 35, Boise State 24

Second quarter

BSU — Alexander Mattison 26 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 1:34. Key plays: QB Brett Rypien had a 12-yard run, Mattison had a 19-yard run and Rypien found WR Octavius Evans for 18 to set up Mattison’s impressive run in which he zigzagged across the field to score. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 0:52. Colorado State 35, Boise State 17

CSU — Dalyn Dawkins 2 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 2:26. Key plays: On the third play of the drive, QB Nick Stevens hit WR Michael Gallup for 11 yards on third-and-9. Gallup had four catches for 47 yards on the drive, including 10 on a screen the play before Dawkins’ score. Drive: 14 plays, 73 yards, 5:45. Colorado State 35, Boise State 10

BSU — Jake Roh 9 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 8:20. Key plays: The score was set up by an excellent deep ball from Rypien to WR Cedrick Wilson, but the Broncos’ best receiver left the game with an injury. QB Montell Cozart had a 5-yard run, then Rypien came in to hit Roh for the tight end’s eighth receiving TD of the season on the next play. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:59. Colorado State 28, Boise State 10

CSU — Rashaad Boddie 1 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 11:19. Key plays: The game may have turned on a roughing-the-passer call against the Broncos’ Jabril Frazier that negated a 59-yard Kekoa Nawahine INT return for a touchdown on a third-and-5. The Rams then had 11- and 13-yard plays right after. On fourth down, they went for it, and Boddie scored on the plunge. Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 3:17. Colorado State 28, Boise State 3

First quarter

CSU — Michael Gallup 4 pass from Nick Stevens (Wyatt Bryan kick), 0:40. Key plays: Stevens broke the Colorado State school record with his 65th career TD pass on the play. The short drive was set up by a fumble by Boise State freshman WR Octavius Evans, the Broncos’ first turnover in 309 minutes, 48 seconds. Drive: 8 plays, 36 yards, 2:28. Colorado State 21, Boise State 3

CSU — Dalton Fackrell 7 pass from Nick Stevens (Wyatt Bryan kick), 4:18. Key plays: Stevens found RB Dalyn Dawkins for 33 yards on the drive’s first play, then Stevens found WR Michael Gallup for 10. Two plays before the score, Stevens and Gallup connected for 16 yards. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:33. Colorado State 14, Boise State 3

BSU — Haden Hoggarth 36 field goal, 6:51. Key plays: It was a methodical drive, one in which the Broncos converted three third downs. They should have had a touchdown pass, but WR Cedrick Wilson dropped QB Brett Rypien’s throw at the goal line. Two plays later, the Broncos settled for the kick. Wilson missed the first few plays of the series after being tended to by trainers following a kick return. Drive: 14 plays, 53 yards, 5:16. Colorado State 7, Boise State 3

CSU — Dalyn Dawkins 10 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 12:14. Key plays: The Rams struck quickly, with an 11-yard pass and a 39-yard run to start the game. QB Nick Stevens hit WR Michael Gallup for 10 yards to the Boise State 11 on a third-and-6. Dawkins scored two plays later. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:46. Colorado State 7, Boise State 0

NEWS & NOTES

Different directions

Teams with differing momentum meet at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night at CSU Stadium.

Boise State (7-2, 5-0) has won five in a row and is two wins from clinching the Mountain Division in the Mountain West Conference. Colorado State (6-4, 4-2), which has lost consecutive games, is 0-6 all-time against Boise State.

The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Stay tuned here for live updates throughout the game.

Quick hits

Senior quarterback Montell Cozart was the Broncos’ honorary captain, joining the three season-long captains. … Boise State wore blue helmets, jerseys and pants. The helmet numbers had a stars-and-stripes coloration. Colorado State debuted its “State Pride” all-white look, with the helmet and shoulders having the logo that appears on the state flag. … Starting guard Eric Quevedo and starting nose tackle Sonatane Lui, along with backup defensive end Chase Hatada and linebacker Will Heffner, did not play because of injuries. … Senior wide receiver/snapper Brock Barr carried the Hammer. Senior running back Ryan Wolpin carried the “Bleed Blue” flag.

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Links to our coverage this week:

Boise State at Colorado State: game breakdown

Another young coordinator leads BSU’s defense

Former walk-on RB comes full circle in Colorado

It’s been 30 years since Boise State was so good at what?

Ex-Broncos thrive, continue friendship with Cowboys

Bowl projections: Broncos in a familiar spot with new foe

The Broncos have had some difficulty at this position

Should Boise State be in the New Year’s Six conversation?

Boise State preps for one of the nation’s best QB-WR combos

Video: Highlights from Boise State’s win over Nevada

Another wide receiver leaves Boise State football team

Boise State can take major leap toward MW title vs. CSU

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Final: Boise State 59, Colorado State 52; Broncos rally for overtime win."