Ashton Jeanty rushes for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns in Boise State's win

BOISE, Idaho – Ashton Jeanty ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns, Matt Lauter had four catches for 96 yards and two scores and No. 25 Boise State edged Washington State 45-24 on Saturday night.

Boise State played its first game as a ranked team since 2020, outscoring its future Pac-12 Conference rival in the fourth quarter (3-1). Washington State (4-1) had no answer for Jeanty — and no ground game of its own.

Jeanty, who entered the game leading the nation with 195.3 yards per game, wasted little time. On Boise State's fifth play from scrimmage, he broke four tackles around the line of scrimmage before outpacing the rest of the defense with a 64-yard TD run. He finished the game with 26 carries and a 7-yard reception.

“He was relentless,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “Talk about a man who gets involved with his team, loves that team and finds a way to score because that’s what the team needs – that’s Ashton. When your best players are your hardest workers, you always have a shot.”

Jeanty, who now has 845 yards on 82 carries and 13 touchdowns this season, had his fourth 200-yard game, setting a school record.

“We just got beat in all three phases, pretty decisively,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said. “Jeanty was incredible. Ten yards per run. Obviously you have to limit him to less than that if you want to win the football game.”

The Cougars responded with a quick strike of their own as quarterback John Mateer needed just three plays to go 65 yards and fired a 14-yard TD pass to Cooper Mathers.

Jeanty added a 14-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to give the Broncos a 17-10 halftime lead.

Although Dickert stifled Boise State's offense early in the second half, he built a quarter-and-inch lead to his team's 27 late in the third quarter. But Boise State's defense stiffened and denied Mateer the half-yard he needed.

“If there are only a few centimeters left to go, if it has only been a quarter-final in the last two and a half years, we have tried every time,” said Dickert. “We will do that. That’s how we play.”

Three plays later, Maddux hit Madsen Lauter on a 22-yard scoring strike, extending Boise State's lead to 24-10 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

Then, after another Washington State touchdown cut the deficit in half, Jeanty went on another electrifying run, this time running for 59 yards while deflecting three tackles and evading another at the goal line for a score.

Mateer threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Wayshawn Parker led Washington State with 35 yards rushing.

Madsen threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns for Boise State.

Boise State's defense recorded seven sacks, resulting in 67 lost yards.