Final: Oklahoma State 44, Boise State 21; blocked punts prove costly

By Chadd Cripe , Dave Southorn and Rachel Roberts

Updated September 15, 2018 7:36 PM

STILLWATER, Okla.

This one is going to hurt for a while.

No. 24 Oklahoma State handed No. 17 Boise State a 44-21 loss on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Saturday’s game was one of just three this weekend that pitted two ranked teams, and it also was the first regular-season contest in which both the Broncos and their opponent have been ranked since BSU played at Michigan State on Aug. 31, 2012.

Cowboys quarterback Taylor Cornelius ran for two touchdowns and passed for another against the Broncos, while junior running back Justice Hill ran for 123 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore receiver Tylan Wallace added five catches for 105 yards for the Cowboys (3-0).

Boise State (2-1) dominated the first quarter and took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, but a couple big pass plays and a blocked punt allowed Oklahoma State to take control. The Cowboys added a second blocked punt in the second half.

Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien was sacked seven times in the game but managed to throw for 380 yards and three touchdowns despite constant pressure.

The Broncos have a bye next week and open Mountain West play at Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 29. That game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.

Find the scoring summary and news and notes below:

SCORING SUMMARY

FOURTH QUARTER

OSU — Taylor Cornelius 6 run (Matt Ammendola kick), 4:16. Key plays: On the drive’s first play, it appeared RB Justice Hill rattled off a 72-yard TD run, but was ruled to have stepped out at the 19. J.D. King had two carries for 9 yards, then Cornelius finished it off with two runs, the TD coming on a strong second effort, pushing the pile into the end zone. Drive: 5 plays, 72 yards, 2:37. Oklahoma State 44, Boise State 21

OSU — Matt Ammendola 23 field goal, 11:07. Key plays: The Cowboys methodically moved downfield, as Justice Hill had two runs for 26 yards early in the drive to get into Boise State territory, then converted a third-and-4 with a 12-yard pass from QB Taylor Cornelius to WR Tylan Wallace. The Broncos got tough with their backs to the end zone and forced the field goal. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards, 5:23. Oklahoma State 37, Boise State 21

THIRD QUARTER

BSU — Chase Blakley 5 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 1:30. Key plays: Before Rypien hit Blakley on fourth-and-goal, he hit Sean Modster on back-to-back 23-yard passes to reach the Cowboys’ 5. On the drive’s third play, Rypien found WR Akilian Butler for 9 yards on third-and-9. Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 3:41. Oklahoma State 34, Boise State 21

OSU — Za’Carrius Green 17 blocked punt return (Matt Ammendola kick), 5:11. Key plays: After forcing Boise State into a three-and-out, the Cowboys blocked their second punt of the game as Jarrick Bernard busted through the line and smothered Joel Velazquez’s punt. Green picked it up and cruised into the end zone. Oklahoma State 34, Boise State 14

OSU — Dillon Stoner 32 pass from Taylor Cornelius (Matt Ammendola kick), 6:40. Key plays: Cornelius was 5-for-5 on the drive, including an 11-yard pass to Stoner on a third-and-8 that he kept alive with some nice footwork. After being sacked for a 7-yard loss, Cornelius hit Stoner over the middle, and he took it across the field and outraced the defense to the front-left corner of the end zone. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 2:38. Oklahoma State 27, Boise State 14

BSU — A.J. Richardson 34 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 9:18. Key plays: Rypien hit freshman WR Khalil Shakir for 19 yards on the drive’s first play, then found CT Thomas for 6 yards on a third-and-5 to get into OSU territory. A Rypien sneak on third down preceded a deep pass to Richardson, who hauled it in with an amazing one-handed catch along the sideline. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:45. Oklahoma State 20, Boise State 14

This Boise State TD catch was pic.twitter.com/ui6fBD1XmR
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 15, 2018

OSU — Matt Ammendola 48 field goal, 13:03. Key plays: QB Taylor Cornelius hit WR Tylan Wallace for 21 yards on the drive’s first play, and RB Justice Hill followed it with a 36-yard run, but a holding call sent the Cowboys back. The Broncos forced two incompletions and allowed a 1-yard rush to force the field goal. It was the 16th in a row made by the OSU kicker. Drive: 8 plays, 44 yards, 1:57. Oklahoma State 20, Boise State 7

SECOND QUARTER

OSU — Matt Ammendola 22 field goal, 2:12. Key plays: QB Taylor Cornelius, who had 30 yards in the first two games, rushed for 29 yards on three attempts on the drive. His 35-yard strike to Tyron Johnson on third-and-12 to get inside Boise State territory provided momentum. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 4:07. Oklahoma State 17, Boise State 7

OSU — Taylor Cornelius 1 run (Matt Ammendola kick), 8:43. Key plays: Things spiraled downward for the Broncos offense, which had to punt on a fourth-and-16. Quinn Skillin’s attempt was blocked and recovered by the Cowboys’ Amen Ogbongbemiga. Three plays later, the QB Cornelius took it in. Drive: 3 plays, 7 yards, 1:16. Oklahoma State 14, Boise State 7

OSU — Justice Hill 8 run (Matt Ammendola kick), 12:08. Key plays: With just 15 yards previously, the Cowboys were methodical, converting a third-and-3 with an 8-yard run by QB Taylor Cornelius, who hit WR Tylan Wallace two plays later for 43 yards. Wallace outran Boise State CB Avery Williams, who slipped on the play, and Hill scored on the next play. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:12. Boise State 7, Oklahoma State 7

BSU — John Hightower 31 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 14:20. Key plays: After a punt and a missed field goal the first two drives, the Broncos got in the end zone to a diving Hightower. The Broncos converted a third down, a third-and-3 from their own 42, on a 5-yard pass from Rypien to TE John Bates. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:43. Boise State 7, Oklahoma State 0

Boise St.	0	7	14	0	—	21
Oklahoma St.	0	17	17	10	—	44

Second Quarter

BOISE—Hightower 31 pass from Rypien (Hoggarth kick), 14:20

OKS—J.Hill 8 run (Ammendola kick), 12:08

OKS—Cornelius 1 run (Ammendola kick), 8:43

OKS—FG Ammendola 22, 2:12

Third Quarter

OKS—FG Ammendola 48, 13:03

BOISE—Richardson 34 pass from Rypien (Hoggarth kick), 9:18

OKS—Stoner 32 pass from Cornelius (Ammendola kick), 6:40

OKS— (Ammendola kick)

BOISE—Blakley 5 pass from Rypien (Hoggarth kick), 1:30

Fourth Quarter

OKS—FG Ammendola 23, 11:07

OKS—Cornelius 6 run (Ammendola kick), 4:16

	BOISE	OKS
First downs	23	19
Rushes-yards	30-34	38-173
Passing	380	246
Comp-Att-Int	39-56-0	16-27-0
Return Yards	74	69
Punts-Avg.	3-23.6	3-31.66
Fumbles-Lost	3-1	0-0
Penalties-Yards	5-40	4-25
Time of Possession	34:34	25:26

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Boise St., Mattison 14-50, Hightower 3-10, Shakir 1-3, Molchon 0-0, Mahone 1-0, Van Buren 1-(minus 2), Rypien 10-(minus 27). Oklahoma St., J.Hill 15-123, Cornelius 16-41, King 5-16, Hubbard 1-(minus 2), (Team) 1-(minus 5).

PASSING—Boise St., Rypien 39-56-0-380. Oklahoma St., Stoner 1-1-0-3, Cornelius 15-26-0-243.

RECEIVING—Boise St., Thomas 8-52, Richardson 6-70, Butler 6-55, Blakley 6-30, Modster 4-56, Bates 4-49, Hightower 3-44, Shakir 1-19, Mattison 1-5. Oklahoma St., Ty.Wallace 5-105, Stoner 5-68, McCleskey 3-26, T.Johnson 1-35, King 1-9, Cornelius 1-3.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Boise St., Hoggarth 26.

NEWS & NOTES

Star cornerback Tyler Horton out

Boise State senior cornerback and captain Tyler Horton won’t play Saturday at Oklahoma State. Horton scored two touchdowns in the season opener at Troy but injured a leg late in last week’s game against UConn. He was a first-team All-Mountain West pick last year.

Horton also missed the Las Vegas Bowl win against Oregon. Jalen Walker played well in his absence. Walker, a sophomore, is expected to start against Oklahoma State.

Horton didn’t make the trip to Stillwater. He appeared to get injured on the first defensive play of the second half against UConn, with Boise State leading 48-0. Horton stayed in for two more plays but was limping. He went to the medical tent on the sideline when the drive ended.

A scoreless first quarter

The popular prediction was a shootout between Boise State and Oklahoma State, two of the nation’s highest-scoring programs. But the first quarter was an offensive dud. The Broncos outgained the Cowboys 98-15 but a missed field goal kept them off the scoreboard. Quarterback Brett Rypien was 11-for-15 for 73 yards, with a long of 15. Oklahoma State’s Taylor Cornelius was 1-for-5 for 9 yards.

Blocked punts ding Broncos

Oklahoma State smothered Boise State’s punt attempt early in the second quarter. The blocked kick gave the Cowboys the ball at the Boise State 7-yard line, setting up a touchdown.

It was the first blocked punt allowed by the Broncos since the loss at Air Force on Nov. 25, 2016. It was Oklahoma State’s 22nd blocked kick since the start of 2013. The Cowboys entered the game ranked third nationally in that stat.

The Cowboys added another blocked punt in the third quarter and returned that one for a touchdown.

Betting line flips

Boise State became a solid favorite to beat Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Boise State was favored by 2 points (and as much as 2.5 at one point). The opening line was Oklahoma State by 3.5 and the line had dropped to 1 on Friday. But the Broncos weren’t favored until Saturday.

Boise State hasn’t won a true game featuring two ranked teams since the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl, when No. 18 Boise State beat No. 19 TCU 34-31. Since then, the Broncos have played in four such games — losses to Georgia in 2005, Hawaii in 2007, Nevada in 2010 and Michigan State in 2012. Overall, Boise State is 4-11 on the road against ranked teams with the most recent win coming last season at then-No. 18 San Diego State.

However, the Broncos have won five Top 25 matchups on neutral fields since the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

Quick hits

Wide receiver Akilian Butler and defensive end Durrant Miles were the Broncos’ single-game captains. Miles filled in for Horton. ... Boise State wore blue pants, white jerseys and blue helmets. ... The starting offensive linemen and running back Alexander Mattison carried Hammers. ... Oklahoma State won the coin toss and deferred.