Ashton Jeanty ran for three touchdowns and No. 13 Boise State took advantage of multiple San Jose State mistakes to earn a 42-21 win on the road Saturday night.
The victory keeps the Broncos (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) in control of the one open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff reserved for the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, and in the lead in the Mountain West Conference.
Jeanty, who entered Saturday as the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 159 yards in the win. Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen completed 22 of 30 attempts for 28 yards and a touchdown.
The Spartans’ Walker Eget threw for a career-high 446 yards on 34-of-50 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss. Justin Lockhart had 10 catches for 172 and a TD and Nick Nash added nine catches for 126 yards and a score.
Boise State trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter and looked to be in more trouble when the Broncos fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving San Jose State the ball at the Boise State 34.
San Jose State (6-4, 3-3) drove to the Broncos’ 2 and faced fourth-and-1. The Spartans lined up to kick a field goal but then called timeout and brought the offense back on the field.
San Jose State tried a trick play with Eget rolling one way and throwing the ball back to offensive lineman Sione Nomani, but Boise State safety Seyi Oladipo stopped Nomani short of the first down.
Boise State responded on its next possession. Madsen capped an 11-play, 92-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run to trim the Broncos’ deficit to 14-7. On Boise State’s next drive, Jeanty sliced in from 2 yards to tie the score with 36 seconds left in the first half.
San Jose State opened the second half with a nine-play, 98-yard drive. Eget connected with Nash on a 6-yard touchdown pass to put the Spartans back on top 21-14.
Maddux led the Broncos to their third straight touchdown drive. Matt Lauter caught a pass in the flat from Maddux and ran 17 yards for a score to make it 21-21.
On the Spartans’ next possession, Eget ran it on fourth-and-2 at the Boise State 41. He had the first down but was hit hard by Broncos safety Ty Benefield, who knocked the ball loose and it was recovered by Boise State defensive end Jayden Virgin-Morgan.
Jeanty capitalized on the turnover, running it in from 36 yards on the ensuing drive to give the Broncos a 28-21 lead with 1:42 left in the third quarter.
Boise State scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away. Jeanty ran 5 yards with 2:23 left for his third TD to give the Broncos a 35-21 lead. Davon Banks ran an interception back 70 yards for the final score of the game.
