Washington State @ Boise State preview
Albertsons Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2017 ) Boise State 44, Washington State 47
The latest realignment juggling calls for Washington State and Boise State to become conference foes in the Pac-12, beginning in 2026.
The teams get a head start on their budding rivalry on Saturday night when the Cougars visit the No. 25 Broncos at Boise, Idaho.
Washington State and Oregon State are attempting to rebuild the Pac-12 and Boise State was one of four teams from the Mountain West that recently announced they had accepted an invitation.
The two schools are located roughly 300 miles apart via mountain roadways and have played just six times. The Cougars have won five of the meetings, including a 47-44 triple-overtime win at Pullman in 2017.
Though the Cougars (4-0) are unbeaten, the Broncos (2-1) are the team that is ranked. Boise State also will have the best player on the blue turf in star running back Ashton Jeanty.
The All-American and rising Heisman Trophy candidate is averaging a sparkling 10.5 yards per carry. Jeanty ranks second nationally with 586 rushing yards and is tied for second with nine rushing touchdowns in just 2 1/2 games -- he sat out the second half of last week's 56-14 victory over Portland State after gaining 127 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
"Ashton's a pretty special guy," said Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, a former NFL and college head coach. "I think he's a special character. We're calling downhill runs and we're not expecting 75-yard runs."
The 5-foot-9 Jeanty has scoring runs of 77, 75 and 70 and a non-scoring run of 68 yards. He set school single-game records for rushing yards (267) and rushing touchdowns (six) when the Broncos beat Georgia Southern 56-45 on Aug. 31.
Washington State coach Jake Dickert is impressed with Jeanty's running style and skill-set.
"He's strong. He's got one of the best stiff arms I've seen in a long time," Dickert said. "So if you think you're going to tackle him above the waist, it's not happening. You gotta get through his legs. You gotta kill his motors. You gotta gang tackle with this guy. It's not gonna be one person."
The Broncos are averaging 48.7 points per game while the Cougars are averaging 46.3, so the scoreboard figures to be busy.
Washington State is coming off last Friday's 54-52 double-overtime home win over San Jose State. The Cougars trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter before rallying for the victory.
Quarterback John Mateer passed for a career-best 390 yards and added 111 on the ground to become the first Washington State quarterback to pass for 300 and rush for 100 in the same game.
Overall, Mateer has passed for 1,102 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 425 yards and five scores.
Dickert indicated the Cougars have plenty of room for improvement after the close call against the Spartans.
"I just think there's so many things to clean up," Dickert said. "We haven't played our best football. We were on the short week. We got the win, and we're moving on to Boise State."
Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen has passed for 616 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
"I'm proud of how he's efficient with our offense," Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. "He knows the offense, he knows how to move the offense, he makes the right throws and he's very efficient with it. It's a testament to how he preps and he's a competitor."
--Field Level Media