SAN JOSE, Calif. – It wasn’t a good start for the Boise State football team Saturday night at San Jose State. No, it was awful.
Already trailing 14-0 the Broncos fumbled a kick return and San Jose State had the ball inside the 5 yard line and on the doorstep of taking what might have been an insurmountable 21-0 lead.
But Seyi Oladipo came up with maybe a season-saving tackle, the Broncos followed with a 93-yard touchdown drive and eventually took control in the second half in a 42-21 win at Spartan Stadium.
“Couldn’t have started off worse than that,” running back Ashton Jeanty said. “But we kept chipping away and the next thing you know we’re back in the game.”
Jeanty had 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns to break the Boise State single-season rushing record previously set by Jay Ajayi back in 2014. He’s rushed for at least 125 yards in every game this season.
More on Jeanty to come. But first, the comeback.
Boise State trailed 14-0 after giving up a long touchdown drive and not converting on a fake field goal. The Spartans, who entered with the No. 5 passing offense in the country, moved the ball at will on its first two drives and showed no signs of slowing.
After Cameron Bates fumbled the kickoff following the second touchdown, San Jose State got the ball inside the 5-yard line on fourth down. The Spartans elected to go for it, and Oladipo sniffed out a trick play and tackled an offensive lineman who had caught the ball on a throwback.
The Broncos followed with a 93-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 4-yard Maddux Madsen run, to pull within 14-7.
Ty Benefield then came up with an interception, the Broncos tied the game on the ensuing drive on a 2-yard run from Jeanty and the game was tied at 14-14 at the break.
Distaster avoided. New game.
“Probably couldn’t start the first quarter worse than we did tonight,” coach Spencer Danielson said. “Down 14-0 and they are going in to make it 21-0, but you see the end of it and our guys end the game on a 42-7 run.
“That’s a testament to this team and their leadership and who these guys are. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
San Jose State scored on a 98-yard drive on the opening possession of the third quarter to take a 21-14 lead, but the Broncos took over from there. Boise State scored the final four touchdowns of the game, including a 70-yard pick-six from Devon Banks in the closing minutes, to win by 21 and somehow cover the Vegas line of 14.
Boise State’s defense fueled the turnaround with four takeaways, including two huge fumble recoveries in the second half. After San Jose State fumbled the ball while trying a trick play on third-and-short, Jeanty went 36 yards for a touchdown to put the Broncos back up for good.
Jeanty added a third rushing touchdown with 2:23 to go in the game to put Boise State up 35-21 before Banks’ interception return for a touchdown closed it out.
“I think you saw a bunch of guys who never flinched,” Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen said. “In a time where you easily could have, going down two possessions is difficult, but the defense stepped up when we needed them to snd the offense started making plays.
“Our defense did an awesome job creating turnovers and we were able to score point off of those which was huge as well.”
Jeanty is the first player since 1996 to rush for at least 125 yards in 10 straight games in the season. He finished Saturday with 1,893 rushing yards for the season, moving him past the previous record of 1,823 set by Ajayi.
He leads the nation in rushing yards and touchdowns as he continues his push for the Heisman Trophy.
“It means a lot,” Jeanty said of breaking Boise State’s single-season rushing record. “To keep the legacy going and the tradition of running backs at Boise State, it’s a big deal.”
As for Boise State’s comeback win, Jeanty said, “We’re a championship team. No matter what adversity we’re faced with, we don’t back down. We just keep fighting.”
Madsen completed 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown in an impressive bounce-back outing after struggling last week against Nevada.
San Jose State finished with 446 passing yards but Boise State’s bend-but-don’t-break defense came up with four turnovers – and that big fourth-down stop in the second quarter – tp help Broncos avoid a disastrous road loss.
Boise State (9-1, 6-0 MW) can clinch hosting the Mountain West Championship Game at Albertsons Stadium with a win next week at Wyoming. Three more wins, against Oregon State on Senior Day and in the Mountain West title game, and the Broncos will be headed to the College Football Playoff.
“This is Boise State football – blue collar, we don’t want anything given to us, everything is earned, chip on your shoulder, keep swinging, stay in the fight. That’s this team and that’s what we did tonight.”
