Running back Ashton Jeanty and No. 12 Boise State try to maintain their grip on a bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff on Saturday night when they visit Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo.
Based on the most recent CFP rankings, the Broncos would be a No. 4 seed and receive a first-round bye.
Jeanty, the nation’s leading rusher, helped the Broncos (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) overcome a slow start and post their eighth straight win, 42-21 at San Jose State last week. Jeanty compiled a game-high 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns while Maddux Madsen completed 22 of 30 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown.
After falling behind 14-0 in the second quarter, the Broncos reeled off a 42-7 run.
“We are down 14-0 and we drop the kickoff and they are on the 2-yard line to make it 21-0,” Danielson said “You can’t find a way to start a game worse than we did. We missed a fake field goal. We had a bunch of different stuff either self-inflicted negatives — we call them S.I.N.S. — or things they did to attack us. We just didn’t start fast. But being able to go from that starting point to finish the game on a 42-7 run, that is a testament to these kids.”
With 1,893 rushing yards, Jeanty broke the previous Boise State rushing record held by Jay Ajayi (1,823) since 2014. It was also the 10th straight 100-yard rushing game for the junior running back, breaking the Mountain West record set in 2016 by former San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey.
“Ashton Jeanty continues to be the best football player in the country,” Danielson said. “Testament to our (offensive line coach Tim) Keane and (co-offensive coordinator Nate) Potter for finding ways to rotate guys, moving guys around and staying consistent in the run game and pass game even with injuries.”
The Cowboys (2-8, 2-4) lost a rivalry trophy road game at Colorado State 24-10 last week. The teams play The Border War annually for the Bronze Boot.
Kaden Anderson hit 13 of 30 passes for 120 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Jamari Ferrell rushed for 74 yards on just six carries, while Wyoming only had nine first downs and 237 yards of total offense.
First-year coach Jay Sawvel elevated Anderson to starting quarterback after the Cowboys’ 1-7 start. The move paid immediate dividends in a 49-45 win against New Mexico on Nov. 2.
“Look, there’s a lot of things that go into this,” Sawvel said. “We have not established momentum in our season because of losing close games at home.”
The Cowboys won’t qualify for a bowl game, so they are relegated to playing spoiler against a team for which Sawvel had high praise.
“This is probably the best Mountain West team that I’ve seen in the five years that I’ve been in this conference coming here this week,” Sawvel said. “So, it’s a big challenge when you’re playing a team that right now is on track to play in the playoff.”
