Jeanty adds to his Heisman resume as Boise State earns berth in MWC championship game

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — On Senior Day at Albertsons Stadium, it was the junior superstar who was once again the main man.

With his fifth 200-yard game of the season, running back Ashton Jeanty helped carry Boise State to a 34-18 win over Oregon State to close out the regular season undefeated at home.

The No. 11 Broncos (11-1, 7-0) now look ahead to next week’s Mountain West title game against either UNLV or Colorado State, with a berth in the College Football Playoff on the line.

In a rare occurrence, Jeanty did not have the longest run of the day on the blue turf. That honor went to Oregon State’s Anthony Hankerson, who had an 83-yard touchdown in the first half. But Jeanty was his usual stellar self, rushing for 226 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 37 carries (6.1 yards per carry) as he looked to solidify his Heisman Trophy status.

Jeanty certainly will be one of five finalists for the award, and if he doesn’t win it, he’ll have arguably the greatest season of all time for a non-Heisman running back on his resume.

Jeanty — who had seven runs of at least 10 yards in the game, including a 60-yarder — leads the nation with 2,288 yards rushing and 28 rushing TDs. His 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter was part of a hot start for the Broncos, who jumped ahead 14-0 on a 27-degree morning and were never really threatened, per se, but also struggled to put the game safely away.

They had those first two touchdowns before Oregon State had a single first down.

“It felt amazing, not only just for me, but for the team,” Jeanty said of the win on Fox in a TV interview. “The personal success I have doesn’t just come from me. It comes from team success, great offensive play, great defensive play.”

Boise State, which went 6-0 at home this season and won those games by an average of 25 points, had a little bit of both offense and defense against the Beavers (5-7), who were trying to become bowl-eligible but now are done for the season.

On offense, the Broncos hammered out 28 first downs, rolled up 465 yards and scored on six drives. They also hurt themselves by turning the ball over on downs inside the 5-yard line, and with a rare Jeanty fumble that killed a drive.

Quarterback Maddux Madsen started well but struggled in the second half. He was 17-for-33 for 195 yards and two touchdown passes, to Austin Bolt and Latrell Caples. But only four of those completions came after halftime, when Boise State settled for nothing but field goals until Madsen had a 3-yard TD run with 58 seconds remaining in the game.

On the defensive side, the Broncos recorded a pair of sacks and forced Oregon State to turn the ball over on downs four times, including the Beavers’ final three possessions.

Take away Hankerson’s 83-yard run, and Boise State allowed just 259 yards of offense and 12 first downs. The Broncos now will await their championship game opponent.

If No. 21 UNLV (9-2, 5-1) beats Nevada on Saturday night, the Rebels will travel to Albertsons Stadium for next Friday’s 6 p.m. kickoff. If they get upset, that could allow Colorado State (7-4, 5-1) to sneak into the game with a win against Utah State.

Friday’s game, which kicked off at 10 a.m., marked the return of redshirt junior center Mason Randolph, who had not played a single snap since the first game of the season against Georgia Southern. Redshirt sophomore guard Roger Carreon was starting his second game since returning from injury. No new names were added to the injury list from last week. The players out for Friday’s game against Oregon State were offensive linemen Jason Steele, Jake Steele and Tyler Keinath, running back Sire Gaines, wide receiver Chris Marshall and safety Alexander Teubner.