Ashton Jeanty runs for 259 yards and 4 TDs, No. 25 Boise State beats Washington State 45-24

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — 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 surged past Washington State 45-24 on Saturday night.

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

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

“He was relentless,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “Talk about a guy who puts his team on his back, loves this team, and will find a way to score because that’s what the team needs — that’s Ashton. When your best players are your hardest workers, you’ve always got a shot.”

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

“We just got beat in all three phases, and pretty decisively,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said. “Jeanty was incredible. Ten yards a carry. Obviously you’ve got to hold him to less than that if you want to win the football game.”

The Cougars responded with a quick strike of theirs own when quarterback John Mateer needed only three plays to go 65 yards, firing 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.

Despite stifling Boise State’s offense early in the second half, Dickert gambled on a fourth-and-inches from his own 27 late in the third quarter. But Boise State’s defense stiffened, denying Mateer the half-yard he needed.

“When it’s inches to go, when it’s fourth-and-1 for the past two and a half years, we’ve gone for it every time,” Dickert said. “That’s what we’re going to do. That’s how we play.”

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

Then, after another Washington State touchdown halved the deficit, Jeanty ripped off another electrifying run, this time racing 59 yards by breaking three tackles and eluding another on the goal line to dive in for the score.

Mateer threw for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wayshawn Parker led Washington State in rushing with 35 yards.

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

The Boise State defense recorded seven sacks resulting in 67 lost yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Boise State: The Broncos appear to be in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid among the Group of 5 conferences—and on a collision course with Mountain West conference foe UNLV. The two teams clash on Oct. 25 and could meet again for the conference title with a playoff bid on the line.

Washington State: The Cougars will use their off week to work on shoring up a porous defense that has given up 52 and 45 points, respectively, in their last two outings.

UP NEXT

Boise State: Hosts Utah State on Saturday.

Washington State: At Fresno State on Oct 12.

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Washington State quarterback John Mateer (10) looks downfield against Boise State in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel threw three touchdown passes and moved up in the NCAA record books as eighth-ranked Oregon rolled to a 34-13 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in its first Big Ten game.

Tez Johnson had 11 receptions for 121 yards and two TDs as the Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) picked up their 12th victory in their least 13 meetings against the Bruins. Jordan James added 103 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Oregon took control as it scored on its first five possessions. The Ducks are unbeaten after four games for the second straight year, and third since 2015.

UCLA (1-3, 0-2) has dropped three straight in DeShaun Foster's first season as coach.

Gabriel — who completed 31 of 41 passes for 280 yards — became the fourth Football Bowl Subdivision player to reach 16,000 yards passing for his career and moved into a three-way tie for third with 134 touchdown passes.

The sixth-year senior has 16,059 yards in 54 games at three different schools. He played parts of three seasons at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma, where he played in 2022 and '23. Gabriel decided to play his final year at Oregon because the Hawaii native wanted to play closer to home.

Gabriel's best pass came midway through the second quarter when he connected with Johnson for a 52-yard touchdown.

Johnson blew past UCLA’s coverage, caught the ball at the 10 and went untouched into the end zone to extend the Ducks' lead to three touchdowns. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq then lined up at quarterback and threw a pass to Terrance Ferguson for the 2-point conversion to extend Oregon's lead to 25-3.

Johnson then had a 12-yard grab near the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter to make it 34-13. It is the second time this season and sixth in his career that the senior has had double-digit catches.

Gabriel's other touchdown pass came on Oregon's opening possession of Big Ten play when Traeshon Johnson's reception for 11 yards capped an 11-play, 75-yard series.

Gabriel's only mistake came late in the second quarter when Bryan Addison had a 96-yard pick six to get the Bruins to 28-10 at halftime.

On third-and-goal at the UCLA 6, Gabriel scrambled out of the pocket and threw it as Johnson slipped while making a cut. That allowed Addison, who began his career at Oregon, to easily pick off the pass and run it back for UCLA's first interception return for a TD since Jaylin Davies in the 2022 Sun Bowl against Pittsburgh.

Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers was 12 of 20 for 118 yards and two interceptions. The senior was sacked four times and left the game during the fourth quarter with what appeared to be an ankle injury.

Oregon: While most of the attention goes to the offense, the defense continues to be stout. The Ducks have sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times and is allowing only 154.8 passing yards per game.

UCLA: The Bruins' offense under first-year coordinator Eric Bieniemy has gone six quarters since it last reached the end zone.

Oregon should move up at least one spot after sixth-ranked Mississippi's loss to Kentucky.

Oregon: Welcomes Michigan State on Friday night in the Ducks' first Big Ten home game.

UCLA: Travels to ninth-ranked Penn State in what will be a 9 a.m. PDT kickoff on Saturday.

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UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oregon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)