San Diego State called heads on the coin toss prior to Friday night’s Mountain West game at Boise State.

They were tails.

From then on things got worse for the Aztecs.

SDSU came into the game focused on stopping Boise State with Ashton Jeanty, the nation’s leading rusher, but it was quarterback Maddux Madsen who looked like the Heisman Trophy favorite.

Madsen threw four touchdown passes in the first half, including three to wide receiver Latrell Caples, while completing 24 of 32 passes for 307 yards. The 15th-ranked Broncos also intercepted SDSU quarterback Danny O’Neil twice on three passes in the first quarter – one of which was returned for a touchdown – en route to a 56-24 victory before a sellout crowd of 36,838 in Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium. .

Boise State (7-1, 4-0 MW) was a 23 1/2-point favorite against the Aztecs (3-5, 2-1). The Broncos had a 28-0 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter.

“Anytime you get points like this early on from a really good football team, you put yourself in a pretty big hole that’s going to be very difficult to overcome,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said in a postgame interview with San Diego Sports. 760. “They are a very complete team that has a lot of offensive weapons that stress you out in a lot of ways. Going into it, you obviously know who the main workhorse (Jeanty) is, which deserves all kinds of attention.

“Then obviously you have to do a great job in the throwing game…We have to do a better job of putting our kids in the best position to be successful.”

Madsen threw TD passes of 18 and 19 yards to Caples on the Broncos’ first two drives. The Broncos made it 21-0 with 1:31 left in the opening period when cornerback A’Marion McCoy stepped in front of an O’Neil pass intended for Louis Brown IV and didn’t stop until he reached the end zone 35 yards later . .

O’Neil (14-for-30, 155 yards, 2 TDs/2 INTs), who started his career this season throwing 127 passes without an interception, was picked off again two passes later.

Boise State turned the second turnover into a 14-yard touchdown pass from Madsen to wide receiver Prince Strachan, making it 28-0.

SDSU finally got something going in the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal by Gabriel Plascencia and a 6-yard touchdown run by Marquez Cooper to make it 28-10. Cooper (16 carries, 94 yards) set up the score with a 42-yard run that represented the game’s longest play from scrimmage.

SDSU’s hopes of a comeback were dashed with 22 seconds left in the second quarter, when Madsen and Caples connected for a 14-yard score that gave the Broncos a 35-10 halftime lead.

Jeanty, who averages 196.6 rushing yards per game, was limited to 37 yards on 15 carries in the first half. He looked pained several times while playing with a brace on his left elbow, which was injured last week against UNLV.

Jeanty persevered, perhaps to boost the stats of his Heisman campaign. He scored six times on the opening drive of the second half, reaching the end zone with a four-yard run that gave Boise State a 42-10 lead with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

Jeanty then carried another 10 times. He stayed in the game into the fourth quarter despite leading by 32 points, adding another four-yard touchdown run two minutes into the final period for a 49–10 lead. Jeanty finished with 31 carries for 149 yards, boosting his NCAA-leading rushing totals to 1,525 yards and 20 touchdowns.

SDSU went 6-for-6 on fourth down plays, including four on one drive in the fourth quarter. It included a fourth-and-five in which O’Neil threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Napier (eight catches, 79 yards), making it 49-17 midway through the fourth quarter.

After another Boise State touchdown, O’Neil hit wide receiver Mekhi Shaw on a 30-yard TD pass with 30 seconds left to complete the scoring.

Remarkable

• SDSU returns to Snapdragon Stadium for its next game, Friday night against New Mexico. The Lobos (3-5, 2-2) scored 50 points in three straight games before losing 17-6 at Colorado State last week. They host Wyoming on Saturday.

• Shortly before noon, Odds Shark tweeted a “big bet alert,” announcing that a bettor had wagered $38,056 on the Aztecs, taking the 23 1/2 points that come with betting on the underdog. Boise State won by 32 points.

• SDSU right guard Tyler McMahon and right tackle Nate Williams both started despite suffering left ankle injuries that kept them from practicing earlier this week. Seipale Fuimaono replaced McMahon later in the match.

The Aztecs’ depleted offensive line took another hit in the fourth quarter when it was at center Brayden Bryant went out after a Boise State defender stepped on his right ankle.

• The Aztecs Cody Moon started at linebacker instead of Owen Chamblisswho missed training during the week with an injury.

• SDSU linebacker Tano Letuli had a game-high 10 tackles for the second straight game. Edge slider Trey White didn’t get to the quarterback for the first time in six games, keeping his national sack total at 11 1/2.

• Aztecs punter Tyler Pastula had a 79-yard punt in the third quarter, surpassing the 75-yard punt he had at Wyoming. The 79-year-old tied for the sixth-longest punt in school history.

• Boise State outscored SDSU in total offense 541-256 and had 33 first downs to the Aztecs’ 12. The Broncos also had the ball in the game for virtually twice as long – 39:32 to 20:28 – as SDSU.

• SDSU, 113th in the nation in third-down conversions (33.6 percent), went 2-for-14 on third down against the Broncos.

• SDSU fell to 1-7 in the toss this season.

Originally published: November 1, 2024 at 8:34 PM PDT