Ashton Jeanty rushed for 226 yards and one touchdown on 37 carries and No. 11 Boise State moved closer to earning a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff with a 34-18 victory over Oregon State on Friday at Boise, Idaho.
Jeanty topped 200 yards rushing for the fifth time this season and raised his season numbers to 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground as the Broncos (11-1) won their 10th consecutive game. Jeanty’s rushing yardage this season ranks fifth all-time in FBS history.
Maddux Madsen completed 17 of 33 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for one score for Boise State, which will host No. 24 UNLV or Colorado State on Dec. 6 in the Mountain West title game. Austin Bolt and Latrell Caples had touchdown catches.
Ben Gulbranson completed 21 of 37 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown for Oregon State (5-7), which lost six of its final seven games. Darrius Clemons caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Beavers running back Anthony Hankerson ran for 110 yards and a long touchdown on 11 carries to end the season with 1,082 rushing yards.
Jeanty began the day in 19th place on the single-season rushing list and passed several big names Friday, including Derrick Henry, LaDainian Tomlinson, Mike Rozier and Ricky Williams.
Among those he passed was former San Diego State star Rashaad Penny (2,248 yards in 2017) to set the Mountain West mark.
Oregon State pulled within 27-18 with 11:51 left in the game when Gulbranson threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Clemons and the duo also teamed up on the ensuing two-point conversion throw.
But the Beavers couldn’t get any closer and Madsen sealed it with a 3-yard run for the Broncos with 58 seconds left.
Boise State scored two first-quarter touchdowns on Madsen’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Bolt and Jeanty’s 7-yard run.
The Broncos appeared on their way to making it a 21-point margin before Oregon State’s Skyler Thomas punched the ball out of Jeanty’s arm and teammate Nikko Taylor recovered at the Beavers’ 8-yard line with 2:15 left in the second quarter.
Two plays later, Hankerson exploded for an 83-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining in the half. Boise State answered quickly when Madsen hit Caples on a 6-yard scoring pass to make it 21-7 with 20 seconds left.
Jonah Dalmas booted field goals of 43 and 29 yards in the third quarter for the Broncos and Everett Hayes connected from 37 yards out for Oregon State as Boise State took a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
