Boise State might need a wakeup call for the Friday morning game against visiting Oregon State.
But as long as the No. 11 Broncos (10-1) are alert enough to bag a 10th straight victory when they meet the Beavers in a game that kicks off at 10 a.m. local time, Boise State would be on the doorstep of a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Broncos would also need to win the Mountain West title game on Dec. 6 — the opponent will probably be No. 22 UNLV — to make sure it holds off No. 17 Tulane of the American Athletic Conference for the automatic spot that goes to a conference champion outside the power four leagues.
A loss to Oregon State (5-6) would mean a devastating hit to a Boise State resume where the lone loss is to No. 1 Oregon on a last-second field goal in Eugene.
The Broncos certainly rely on all-everything running back Ashton Jeanty against the Beavers.
Jeanty, a top Heisman Trophy candidate, leads the nation with 2,062 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns and is the fourth FBS player since 1956 to have 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns through 11 games. The others are Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders (2,628 yards, 37 touchdowns in 1988), Texas’ Ricky Williams (2,124, 27 in 1998) and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (2,109, 25 in 2014).
He also ranks second in Boise State history with 4,230 career rushing yards. The leader is Cedric Minter (4,550 from 1977-80).
Jeanty has racked up four 200-yard outings — a school-record 267 against Georgia Southern, 259 against Washington State, 217 versus Hawaii and 209 against Nevada.
Beavers coach Trent Bray marvels at the player who is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award (top running back), Maxwell Award (player of the year) and Walter Camp Award (most outstanding player).
“The kid is just, he’s unbelievable,” Bray said during a press conference. “You watch the Washington State game, Washington State has him hit in the backfield a bunch, and he just breaks a tackle and creates an explosive run. He’s just a really good player. Tough, physical. He’s tough to stop and he’s really what makes them go, there’s no doubt about it.”
Still, the Broncos could use a statement game after struggling with host San Jose State two weeks ago and rallying to beat host Wyoming 17-13 last weekend.
“Championship teams find ways to win, and they also learn from the wins,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said during a press conference. “Our guys battled, and I’m proud of them.
“We know Oregon State is coming off a huge win against Washington State. … They are playing their best football right now, no questions asked. They’ve had some guys hurt, some guys banged up, they’re back healthy. You saw what they did against a really good opponent.”
Oregon State snapped a five-game losing streak last weekend with a 41-38 home victory over Washington State. Everett Hayes kicked a 55-yarder with 20 seconds left to give the Beavers the victory.
“It kind of gets to a point in the game where you kind of look at the score and you realize, ‘Wow, it’s going to come down to me,'” Hayes said.
Ben Gulbranson returned from a one-game absence due to a concussion to pass for a career-best 294 yards. Trent Walker also stood out with 136 yards on a season-best 12 catches to raise his season totals to 77 and 849, respectively.
Oregon State owns a 6-4 series lead over the Broncos. The Beavers won the most recent meeting 34-17 in 2022 at Corvallis.
–Field Level Media
