October 5, 2024

No. 21 Broncos Cruise Past Aggies in Mountain West Opener

Courtesy of Boise State

BOISE, Idaho – Utilizing a dominant first half performance, No. 21 Boise State raced past Utah State, 62-30, to earn its third-straight victory and first conference win of the season.

In front of the fifth-largest crowd in Albertsons Stadium history, the Broncos (4-1, 1-0 MW) scored 49 points – including 35 in the second quarter – to generate a 32-point halftime lead. Boise State generated over nearly 600 yards of total offense in the contest, throwing for 303 yards in the air and 296 yards on the ground in the victory.

Ashton Jeanty put together another Heisman-worthy performance before halftime, scampering for three rushing touchdowns and finishing with 186 rushing yards. He had two touchdowns over 60+ yards, and his 75-yard score in the second quarter marked his fourth 70+ rushing touchdown on the season. His 14.3 yards per carry are the second-most in a single game in program history.

Maddux Madsen had an extremely efficient passing game, completing 21 of his 25 pass attempts for 256 yards. His first of three touchdown passes came to Cameron Camper on a 6-yard pass in the opening frame. He found Austin Bolt for a pair of scores in the second quarter, marking the Boise native’s first career game with multiple touchdown receptions.

Jonah Dalmas became the MW’s sole leader in career field goals made (85) after drilling a pair of field goals in the second half. The fifth year also became Boise State’s total points leader, finishing the contest with 451 career points.

Defensively, Seyi Oladipo led the Broncos with nine tackles, while Andrew Simpson led the team with 2.5 tackles for loss. Ty Benefield recovered his second career fumble in the second quarter.

Top Broncos
– Ashton Jeanty rushed for 186 yards on 13 carries, finding the end zone three times.
– Maddux Madsen finished 21-of-25 for 256 passing yards and three touchdown passes.
– Austin Bolt caught two touchdown receptions for the first time in his career. He finished with three catches for 13 yards.
– Seyi Oladipo led the team with nine tackles and matched his career-high with seven solo tackles.
– Andrew Simpson finished with six tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
– Jonah Dalmas drilled two field goals and made all eight PATs.

Notables
– With the victory, Boise State has won 24 of its past 25 conference debuts.
– The Broncos scored twice on single-play drives, bringing their season total to six.
– The last time Boise State scored 62 points in a game was in a 62-7 win over Connecticut on Sept. 8, 2018.
– Ashton Jeanty’s 14.3 yards per carry are the second-most in a single game in program history.
With 186 yards in the game, Jeanty surpassed 1,000 rushing yards this season and did so in five games. That matches seven other players in FBS (since 1996) to reach 1,000 in the fewest games (5) alongside Troy Davis, Iowa State (1996), Byron Hanspart, Texas Tech (1996), Ricky Williams, Texas (1998), Garrett Wofle, Northern Illinois (2006), Leonard Forunette, LSU (2015), Bryce Love, Stanford (2017) and Jaret Paatterson, Buffalo (2020).
– Jeanty’s 75-yard touchdown rush in the second quarter marked his fourth 70+ rushing touchdown on the year, breaking the Mountain West record for most 70+ rushing touchdowns in a season. He is one shy of the FBS record set by LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU) in 1999.
– Jeanty also scored on a 63-yard touchdown run on the first offensive possession for the Broncos. He has seven rushes of 60-plus yards this season. No FBS team has more than four.
Ahmed Hassanein recorded his fifth sack and now has six tackles for loss of the season. He now has 25.5 TFLs and 19.5 sacks in his career.
– Jonah Dalmas became the program’s total points leader, finishing the game with 451 career points. He passed Kyle Brotzman (2007-10), who notched 439 points in his career.
– Dalmas broke the Mountain West record for most career field goals made (85). The fifth year passed Brandon Talton (Nevada, 2019-23), who drilled 83 field goals in his career.
– Dylan Riley is the first player in Boise State’s FBS era (since 1996) to score a touchdown on his first career kick return. The last Bronco to score on his first career return was Stefan Cobbs, who had an 81-yard punt return touchdown against UTEP on Sept. 10, 2021.