Boise State's Ashton Jeanty rushes for 226 yards in win vs. Oregon State
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ashton Jeanty rushed for 226 yards and a touchdown, Maddux Madsen threw for two scores and rushed for one, and No. 11 Boise State defeated Oregon State on Friday, 34-18.
Jeanty's performance moved him into fifth place among FBS all-time single-season rushing leaders, leaving him 54 yards behind fourth-place Marcus Allen. Jeanty trails record-holder Barry Sanders, who rushed for 2,628 yards in 1988, by 340 yards with at least two more games guaranteed.
Boise State (11-1, No. 11 CFP) remains the top-ranked conference leader among the Group of 5 teams vying for the automatic bid in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The Broncos suffered their lone defeat in September at No. 1 Oregon, 37-34.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Broncos will host either Colorado State or UNLV in the Mountain West title game on Friday with a bid to the playoffs on the line.
Oregon State (5-7) ends its first season — after the mass exodus from the Pac-12 — ineligible for a bowl game.
Boise State built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on an 11-yard pass to Austin Bolt from Madsen and a 7-yard TD run by Jeanty.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Broncos were poised to add to their lead late in the second quarter when Jeanty broke through the Oregon State line and was headed for the end zone when Skyler Thomas punched the ball loose and the Beavers recovered on the 8. It was only the second lost fumble of Jeanty's career.
Two plays later, Anthony Hankerson ripped off an 83-yard TD run to cut the deficit in half with 1:48 remaining in the half.
But Boise State responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive, scoring on a 6-yard pass from Madsen to Latrell Caples with 20 seconds left to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oregon State chipped away at Boise State's lead and pulled within 27-18 early in the fourth quarter but couldn't stop a determined Broncos offense late when the Beavers needed a stop.
Madsen was 17-of-33 passing for 195 yards for Boise State, while Ben Gulbranson threw for 226 yards and a touchdown for Oregon State. Hankerson led the Beavers' rushing attack with 110 yards.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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