San Jose State makes them earn it, but on ‘payday,’ Broncos cash in with comeback win
Plenty of idioms could apply to Saturday night’s Boise State-San Jose State game.
The Spartans poked the bear.
They threw caution to the wind.
They played with fire.
And in the end, they got burned.
The No. 13 Broncos (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) fell behind 14-0 early, trailed 21-14 in the third quarter and gave up nearly 500 yards of offense, but still rumbled to a 42-21 victory that kept them in charge of the Mountain West race and the Group of Five chase for a College Football Playoff berth.
The final score was rather misleading, but it was a night of wild momentum swings, most of them the result of turnovers. Boise State recovered two fumbles and had a pair of interceptions, the second of which Davon Banks took 70 yards for a touchdown to set the final score with 1:42 left in the game.
Prior to that, the Broncos — who amassed 456 yards of offense and 27 first downs — scored TDs on five of six drives. The only empty possession covered 40 yards and resulted in a missed field goal.
“We’re one of the best teams in the nation,” star running back Ashton Jeanty said on CBS Sports Network after the game. “We’re gonna continue to prove that week after week.”
Jeanty, as has been the case the past month of the season, was the opposing defense’s main focus — the proverbial bear being poked. He got thrown for losses four times, was slower than usual to get up after some big hits and was held to 3.4 yards per carry in the first half.
But as is always the case, he kept getting up. By the end of the night, the nation’s leading rusher had 159 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. His 36-yard burst off the left side through a massive hole ended with him breaking a tackle inside the 10 and jogging into the end zone, giving Boise State a 28-21 lead.
After a fumble by San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget gave the Broncos the ball back, Jeanty capped a 66-yard drive with a 5-yard TD run to make it 35-21.
“No matter what it is, what the defense does, I’m gonna do what I do,” Jeanty said in the TV interview. “Work hard, earn every single yard that I can.”
The Spartans (6-4, 3-3) likely knew they couldn’t hold down Jeanty all night, but they’ll be kicking themselves for plenty of other reasons.
Leading 14-0 and facing a fourth-and-1 from the Boise State 2-yard line early in the second quarter, they skipped a chip-shot field goal that would have padded the lead and ran a trick play on a pass to a lineman. It went nowhere, and there was a penalty to boot.
The Broncos took over, drove 92 yards for a touchdown and flipped the entire script of the first half, eventually forging a 14-14 tie at the break.
In the second half, the Spartans tried a trick play just past midfield, with a receiver flipping the ball on a reverse to Eget, who had been lined up out wide. It resulted in a fumble that Boise State recovered. Another drive ended in BSU territory when Eget actually had enough yardage on a fourth-down run, but was popped hard by Ty Benefield and fumbled.
All the while, the Broncos kept putting themselves in position to take advantage of the miscues, three of which they followed with touchdowns.
“It starts in how we practice, in how we prep,” head coach Spencer Danielson said in a TV interview. “Game day is when you go have fun. This is payday.”
With Jeanty mostly held in check, quarterback Maddux Madsen led the charge on offense in the first half, completing 11-of-16 passes for 154 yards. He also did his best Jeanty impersonation and bulled into the end zone on a 4-yard TD run.
He finished the game 22-of-30 for 286 yards passing, including a 17-yard TD throw to Matt Lauter.
Cam Camper and Latrell Caples were Madsen’s favorite targets, each hauling in six passes — Camper for 92 yards and Caples for 75.
Eget had the serious turnover problems for San Jose State, but he also gave the Broncos’ secondary serious trouble. He completed 34-of-50 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns. Receivers Justin Lockhart (10 for 172) and Nick Nash (9 for 126) combined for 19 catches and 298 yards receiving.
Boise State keeps up its chase for the Mountain West championship next Saturday when it visits Wyoming (2-8, 2-4) for a 5 p.m. Mountain time kickoff.
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 4:41 PM.
