Ashton Jeanty runs all over Washington State defense in 45-24 blowout

Too much Jeanty.

The Washington State Cougars could not find an answer for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, as he ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns to pace the Broncos to a 45-24 blowout, handing WSU their first loss of the season.

Jeanty entered Saturday night with some Heisman hype, and he should leave as one of the favorites after his performance. It was evident right away WSU would have a hard time stopping the 5’9 215 lb. junior as he immediately gashed the Cougar defense with a 64-yard run on the fifth play of the game. From there, Jeanty broke out other long runs in the second half, with the highlight reel frontend being this 59-yard run to put BSU up 14.

On the other side of the ball, WSU had nearly an even harder time keeping John Mateer upright. A mix of missed protection calls and a bit too much improvising from Mateer in the backfield led to six sacks by Boise State. This included a long 13-yard sack on 3rd down just outside the red-zone that pushed WSU out of field goal range.

While Jeanty delivered the first shot of the game with that 64-yard run, Mateer answered immediately with a long run of his own that setup a touchdown to Cooper Mathers to tie the game up at seven less than four minutes into the ballgame.

Despite the lightning quick start, the game didn’t end up keeping up with the pace that was set early and expected be a shootout. WSU contained Jeanty for most of the first half after his initial long run while the BSU front seven wreaked havoc.

With BSU leading 17-10 just before half, WSU put together a drive in the final three and a half minutes deep into BSU territory. On a 1st and 10 from the BSU 24 and the clock ticking down under 30 seconds, Mateer fired a pass over the middle into the arms of BSU’s Ty Benefield for a brutal interception just before the halftime horn.

Though WSU got the ball to open the second half, being down a touchdown instead of four points or even tied is a huge swing. WSU meticulously pushed the ball down the field to open the second half, going over double-digit plays and running over seven minutes before a 3rd and 9 from the BSU 26. As Mateer dropped back, Rodney Robinson came flying off the right side unblocked and chased Mateer all the way back to the 39 for another bad mistake deep in BSU territory resulting in zero points.

WSU’s defense came up with a big three-and-out to give the offense the ball back. Wayshawn Parker took three consecutive carries for nine yards, bringing up a 4th and 1 at their own 27-yard-line, forcing Jake Dickert and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to make a decision with their team down a touchdown. They elected to go for it and called a QB sneak that had worked earlier in the game, but did not work this time around. The BSU defense got a great push off the snap and stuffed Mateer right at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs. The Bronco offense made WSU pay immediately with a touchdown pass to Matt Lauter to put BSU up 14.

The Cougars tried to pull off the magic of last week against San Jose State and overcome a 14-point deficit heading into the final frame. Mateer got things started with a touchdown pass to Kyle Williams to bring the game back within a score.

But four plays later, Jeanty ripped the hearts right out of WSU with that highlight reel run.

Things went from bad to worse and the panic-o-meter went from panic to it’s over as Mateer took back-to-back sacks on second and third down, nearly resulting in a safety. Jeanty capped off the game-breaking drive aided by a pair of 15-yard unsportsmanlike conducts on WSU with a short touchdown that put the game pretty much out of reach.

Both BSU and WSU traded touchdowns that were just mere stat-sheet stuffers in the grand scheme of things in the final eight minutes.

WSU will get a bye week to recuperate before traveling to Fresno State.