‘Battle-tested’ Broncos survive scare at Wyoming, clinch spot in conference title game
Boise State was on the verge of having its reputation, rankings, pride and perhaps College Football Playoff hopes take a major hit Saturday night.
But on the trip home from Laramie, all that matters is the No. 12 Broncos (10-1, 7-0) eked out a 17-13 win behind superstar running back Ashton Jeanty and a timely defensive stop to ensure that they will host the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 6 and that all of their goals remain attainable.
“Hats off to Wyoming, they played their tails off tonight, too,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said on CBS Sports Network after the win. “It was tough, back and forth all game long. Our guys battled, they’re battle-tested, we’ve been here before, and I’m proud of them for finishing.”
Jeanty left the game late in the third quarter with what appeared to be a left ankle injury, went into the medical tent on the sideline and missed nearly two entire series. Then he trotted back onto the field midway through the fourth quarter to spearhead the game-winning possession.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful had rushes of 15, 20 and 15 yards as part of an eight-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Breezy Dubar 2-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 17-13, and on Wyoming’s ensuing possession, the defense came up with a sack on fourth down to ice the win.
Jeanty, the nation’s leading rusher, went over 2,000 yards on the season, gaining 169 yards on 19 carries, including a 61-yard TD run in the first half. He leads the nation with 2,062 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.
His heroics helped the Broncos earn another home game: They will host the conference title contest on Friday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. Mountain time and try to win consecutive MW championships for the first time. The opponent will be either Colorado State (7-3, 5-0) or UNLV (9-2, 5-1). The Rebels already won this week; the Rams played at Fresno State late Saturday night.
“Fired up for our guys to earn the right,” Danielson said. “We gotta go finish now. We’ve never won back to back championships here, so we need to.”
Danielson was the interim coach last season when Boise State defeated UNLV in the championship game.
Wyoming (2-9, 2-5), a 23-point underdog, did its damnedest to produce a highlight to its season and put a dent in Boise State’s on Saturday evening. Sustaining long drives and controlling time of possession helped the Cowboys force a very surprising score at halftime: 10-10.
That tie came courtesy of a 50-yard scoring drive for BSU just before the break, resulting in a 24-yard Jonah Dalmas field goal on the final play of the second quarter. Still, it was Boise State’s lowest-scoring first half of the year.
The Cowboys ran eight more plays and had over an 8-minute advantage on time of possession. The yardage totals were 353 to 319 for Boise State, which had five punts and turned the ball over twice on downs. The Broncos also were only 1-for-10 on third down.
Wyoming had only one drive that was a three-and-out in the first half, allowing the home team to burn a lot of time off the clock and keep Jeanty on the sidelines. The Cowboys’ first drive resulted in a 54-yard field goal; they had a 68-yard drive that saw them turn it over on downs inside the BSU 10; and their fourth drive went 67 yards and ended in the end zone, with QB Kaden Anderson hitting Justin Stevenson from 5 yards out.
Anderson completed 9-of-14 passes for 116 yards before leaving the game with a concussion, and also rushed for 22 yards. Evan Svoboda replaced him and went 6-for-13 for 87 yards.
Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen completed 14-of-26 passes for 168 yards. Cam Camper had five catches for 74 yards to lead the receivers.
The Broncos will close their regular season next Friday morning at Albertsons Stadium with a game against Oregon State (5-6), which beat Washington State 41-38 on a 55-yard field goal late in the game Saturday night. Kickoff is 10 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 5:04 PM.
