Final: Boise State 56, Colorado State 28; Broncos easily handle Rams
The Boise State football team had no trouble taking care of business against Colorado State on Friday night at Albertsons Stadium.
The Broncos hammered the Rams 56-28 in front of 32,299 fans to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Mountain West play.
Senior quarterback Brett Rypien completed 22-of-26 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns without an interception as the Broncos led 21-0 after one quarter. It was Rypien’s 19th career 300-yard passing game, and that puts him one back of the Mountain West’s all-time leader (BYU’s Max Hall).
[Related: Boise State continues dominance of Colorado State; Analysis: We didn’t learn much from blowout win; Announcer takes strange interest in tee dog]
Boise State built a 35-7 halftime lead as Rypien tossed three of his touchdown passes (two to wide receiver A.J. Richardson), the defense grabbed two interceptions and defensive back Kekaula Kaniho returned teammate Avery Williams’ fumble on a punt return for a touchdown.
Sean Modster also caught a pair of TD receptions for the Broncos, and running back Alexander Mattison and tight end Garrett Collingham (Mountain View High) each scored on the ground.
Find a scoring summary and notes below:
SCORING SUMMARY
FOURTH QUARTER
CSU — Izzy Matthews 5 run (Wyatt Bryan kick), 4:48. Key plays: Boise State had an illegal substitution penalty on a third-and-1 to keep the drive going early and QB Collin Hill had three straight completions to get to the BSU 15. Matthews had a 7-yard run on a fourth-and-1 to get to the BSU 5 and scored the next play. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:06. Boise State 56, Colorado State 28
BSU — Avery Williams 44 kickoff return (Haden Hoggarth kick), 8:54. Key plays: Following the Rams’ touchdown, kicker Wyatt Bryan attempted an onside kick, but it bounced right to Williams — and no one was in front of him, so he raced untouched for the score. Boise State 56, Colorado State 21
CSU — Warren Jackson 10 pass from Collin Hill (Wyatt Bryan kick), 9:01. Key plays: Hill, the Rams’ backup, was 7-for-7 on the drive, never facing longer than a second-and-2. He had a 20-yard pass to RB Marcus McElroy the play before the touchdown to Jackson that saw McElroy force a big missed tackle by Boise State’s Tyreque Evans. Drive: 7 plays, 83 yards, 2:37. Boise State 49, Colorado State 21
THIRD QUARTER
BSU — Sean Modster 25 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 11:45. Key plays: The Broncos started the drive thanks to great field position once again as Avery Williams forced a fumble that Kekoa Nawahine dove on. Alexander Mattison had 15 yards on three carries to start the drive, and Rypien finished it with a dime to Modster in stride in the end zone with two Rams in coverage. Drive: 5 plays, 41 yards, 2:29. Boise State 49, Colorado State 14
BSU — Garrett Collingham 4 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 3:09. Key plays: QB Brett Rypien had two runs for 16 yards on the drive, including a 10-yarder the play before Collingham’s first career TD on an end-around. Rypien also had completions to WR Sean Modster for 19 yards and TE Chase Blakley for 12. The Broncos got the ball near midfield after a failed onside kick. Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 3:04. Boise State 42, Colorado State 14
CSU — Warren Jackson 8 pass from KJ Carta-Samuels (Wyatt Bryan kick), 6:13. Key plays: On the first play, RB Izzy Matthews broke off a 56-yard run, breaking DT Matt Locher’s tackle near the line of scrimmage and scurrying up the sideline. Carta-Samuels completed four straight passes, including the touchdown to Jackson, who showed excellent balance on the throw near the corner of the end zone. Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 2:13. Boise State 35, Colorado State 14
SECOND QUARTER
CSU — Preston Williams 47 pass from KJ Carta-Samuels (Wyatt Bryan kick), 0:02. Key plays: Williams took a screen pass and went across the field on the drive’s first play for 13 yards with some impressive vision. Boise State’s Avery Williams was called for an illegal block, giving the Rams the ball in BSU territory. Carta-Samuels hit a wide-open Williams for the deep-strike score. Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:22. Boise State 35, Colorado State 7
BSU — Sean Modster 17 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 0:24. Key plays: Boise State got the ball in CSU territory thanks to an Avery Williams interception, the Broncos’ second on as many drives. Rypien hit CT Thomas for 9 yards, and Alexander Mattison had a 6-yard run to set up Rypien’s strike to Modster in the corner of the end zone. Drive: 3 plays, 32 yards, 0:27. Boise State 35, Colorado State 0
BSU — Alexander Mattison 3 run (Haden Hoggarth kick), 10:11. Key plays: On the drive’s fourth play, QB Brett Rypien found WR CT Thomas for 19 yards to get into CSU territory, then two plays later, Thomas took an end-around 29 yards to the CSU 3. Mattison scored the next play. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 2:44. Boise State 28, Colorado State 0
FIRST QUARTER
BSU — Kekaula Kaniho 74 punt return (Haden Hoggarth kick), 0:00. Key plays: On one of the more wacky plays of the year, Boise State’s Avery Williams had a great punt return going, making a strong second effort and having a lane ahead of him, but was stripped by CSU’s Jordan Fogal. Boise State DB Kekaula Kaniho picked up the fumble at the BSU 26 and ran down the sideline for the touchdown. Boise State 21, Colorado State 0
BSU — A.J. Richardson 35 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 4:15. Key plays: The Broncos converted four third downs on the drive, including a third-and-19 on the touchdown pass, another impressive grab for Richardson. On a third-and-4 at the CSU 35, Rypien found CT Thomas for 9 yards to keep the drive alive. Thomas had two fourth-down catches last Saturday. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:31. Boise State 14, Colorado State 0
BSU — A.J. Richardson 13 pass from Brett Rypien (Haden Hoggarth kick), 12:39. Key plays: Rypien and Richardson went wild on the drive, connecting for three receptions for 67 yards, two of them 27-yard completions, the second seeing Richardson break multiple tackles to get to the CSU 9. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:21. Boise State 7, Colorado State 0
NEWS & NOTES
Quick hits
Boise State defensive tackle Sonatane Lui and offensive right guard Eric Quevedo were out with injuries. The absence of Quevedo, who got hurt in the Nevada game, forced the Broncos to start a different offensive line combo for the first time this season. Sophomore Donte Harrington started at right guard. The Broncos also inserted redshift freshman John Ojukwu into the lineup at right tackle, where he finished the Nevada game. ... Boise State wore all-orange uniforms, including orange facemasks. ... Cornerback Avery Williams was the Broncos’ single-game captain. ... Safety Kekoa Nawahine carried the Hammer. ... Punter Quinn Skillin handled kickoff duties. Kickoff specialist Joel Velazquez was injured last week against Nevada. ... Wide receiver Billy Bowens became the fourth true freshman to play this season. ... The attendance was 32,299.
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This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 6:23 PM.