Dylan Riley recorded 214 scrimmage yards and accounted for two touchdowns to lead No. 23 Boise State to a 38-31 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night in Pac-12 play at Fresno, Calif.
Riley entered the day as the national leader in rushing yards and he gained 150 on the ground to raise his total to 835 and added 64 yards on four receptions. Riley scored on a 72-yard run and a 44-yard pass play as the Broncos (5-1, 2-0 Pac-12) won their fifth consecutive game.
Maddux Madsen completed 23 of 34 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns for Boise State, which had lost its previous three meetings with the Bulldogs. Sire Gaines rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown and Terrious Favors had a scoring catch.
Jayden Mandal was 19-of-33 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a score for the Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1), who had a four-game winning streak halted. Ezekiel Avit caught six passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns — one from Khristian Martin — and Gavin Correia also had a scoring reception.
Boise State outgained Fresno State 512-346 and controlled the ball for 38:58.
Still, the Bulldogs were within 35-28 with 9:14 remaining after Mandal threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Correia and a two-point conversion to Jahlil McClain.
But the Broncos got the ball back and ran it 10 consecutive times, churning out five first downs, before the clock finally stopped at the two-minute warning. Three more runs later, Fresno State finally got a stop when Madsen was dropped for an 8-yard loss on a bootleg but Canaan Moore’s 39-yard field goal gave Boise State a two-score lead with 1:34 to play.
With no timeouts remaining, Fresno State opted for Manaki Watanabe’s 47-yard field goal with 36 seconds left before the Broncos covered the ensuing onside kick to seal it.
The Broncos led by five at halftime, then opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 66-yard drive that consumed 7:52. Boise State settled for a 38-yard field goal by Moore to lead 28-20.
Fresno State ran just five plays for 22 yards in the third quarter. The Broncos piled on at the outset of the fourth quarter when Riley caught a pass from Madsen and turned it into a touchdown to boost the lead to 15.
Earlier, Boise State led 22-13 midway through the second quarter after driving 75 yards on 18 plays with Gaines scoring from the 2 with 7:42 left.
Mandal tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Avit with 56 seconds left to bring Fresno State within two. Moore drilled a 49-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give the Broncos a 25-20 lead at the break.
–Field Level Media
