Too close for comfort, but Boise State edges Nevada to stay unbeaten in Mountain West

BOISE — Boise State has been overwhelming visitors to Albertsons Stadium this season.

The Broncos entered Saturday night’s game averaging 54.7 points per game at home, with a winning margin of 31.7. Onto the blue turf strolled Nevada, losers of three straight, winless in the Mountain West and coached by former Boise State assistant Jeff Choate, who is in his first season.

The Wolf Pack promptly fell behind 14-0 and it looked as if another rout was in the offing. And then things got interesting for the Broncos, 24-point favorites. A bit too interesting. Or maybe way too interesting.

But in the end, they fought, stumbled, clawed and ran their way to a 28-21 win in front of another sellout crowd (37,143), the fifth in five home games.

So those home stats will take a hit, but No. 12 Boise State (8-1, 5-0) kept its spot atop the conference standings and stayed in position to host the league championship game on Dec. 6.

A victory in that game would clinch a berth in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, whose selection committee had the Broncos in the 12 spot last week in initial rankings.

Boise State didn’t score any style points Saturday night, but coach Spencer Danielson’s team showed plenty of grit, breaking away from a 14-14 tie at halftime to keep a promising season from being dented. The Broncos overcame one Maddux Madsen interception and then an apparent second pick at the goal line that was overturned by replay officials; an Ashton Jeanty fumble in the second quarter that led to a tying TD drive; a Latrell Caples dropped punt that was recovered by teammate Cole Miller; and a muffed kickoff return to start the second half.

“This was probably the worst game I’ve played personally,” said Madsen, who finished 9-of-20 passing for just 119 yards.

Despite the first-half fumble and a concerted Nevada effort to contain him, Jeanty had a strong game to add to his Heisman Trophy campaign resume, including a 17-yard run to pick up a first down with 1:53 left in the game after the Broncos recovered an onside kick. He finished with 209 yards rushing and three touchdowns on a whopping 34 carries.

It was the fourth 200-yard game of the season for the nation’s leading rusher (1,734 yards), who also leads FBS in rushing TDs, with 23.

Jeanty’s scores from 1 and 2 yards out in the second half provided the winning margin.

“It was big-time to have Ash. He’s had good games all year, so this was just regular for him,” Madsen said.

Nevada (3-6, 0-5) did some bumbling of its own, losing two fumbles, including a critical one with 5:24 left in the game. The Wolf Pack got a big kickoff return to set up in BSU territory and drove to first-and-goal at the 1, when Sean Dollars fumbled on a handoff going into the end zone. It was recovered by Jeremiah Earby and the Broncos took over.

Nevada did cut Boise State’s lead to 28-21 with 2:19 left on a 36-yard TD pass from Brendon Lewis to Jaden Smith with 2:19 remaining. That led to the onside kick, and the fact the Broncos were in such a position was pretty remarkable considering the way the game started.

With 4:12 left in the first quarter, they had 132 yards of offense and two touchdowns. Nevada had minus-6 total yards and two punts.

With 6:14 left in the second quarter, though, the score was 14-14, and total offense was 170 yards for BSU and 169 for the Wolf Pack.

After storming to the 14-0 lead, the Broncos gained only 69 yards, with the Madsen interception, the Jeanty fumble and two punts. The Wolf Pack put together scoring drives of 75 and 66 yards in the second quarter, and had a nifty 44-yard touchdown pass from running back Marcus Bellon to fellow RB Caleb Ramseur on fourth-and-1.

With its back against the wall in more ways than one to start the third quarter, Boise State drove 95 yards in eight plays to go ahead for good, 21-14, after the muffed kickoff return.

Madsen stepped up on the drive, with runs of 18 and 9 yards, and a 34-yard strike to Cam Camper. Tight end Matt Lauter led the team with five catches for 61 yards, all in the first half, when he had an 11-yard TD reception.

Camper and Jeanty each had a pair of catches, and that was it for the passing game.

Boise State ranks fourth in the nation in total offense, at 509 yards per game, but finished with just 393 vs. Nevada. Defensively the Broncos limited the Wolf Pack to 319 yards of offense, and they recorded two sacks and eight tackles for loss. They now have 40 sacks on the season, second in the nation to Ole Miss’ 41.