Jeanty adds to his Heisman resume as Boise State secures a spot in the MWC championship game

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – On Senior Day at Albertsons Stadium, it was once again the junior superstar who took center stage.

With his fifth 200-yard game of the season, running back Ashton Jeanty helped Boise State post a 34-18 win over Oregon State and finish the regular season undefeated at home.

The No. 11 Broncos (11-1, 7-0) now look ahead to next week’s Mountain West title game against UNLV or Colorado State with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.

In a rare occasion, Jeanty didn’t have the longest run of the day on the blue turf. That honor went to Oregon State’s Anthony Hankerson, who scored an 83-yard touchdown in the first half. But Jeanty was great as usual, rushing for 226 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 37 carries (6.1 yards per carry) as he looked to solidify his Heisman Trophy status.

Jeanty will certainly be one of five finalists for the award, and if he doesn’t win it, he will arguably have the best season ever for a non-Heisman running back on his resume.

Jeanty – who had seven runs of at least 10 yards in the game, including a 60-yarder – leads the nation with 2,288 rushing yards and 28 rushing TDs. His 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter was part of a hot start for the Broncos, who took a 14-0 lead on a 27-degree morning and were never really threatened, per se, but also struggled to secure the game finish.

They had those first two touchdowns before Oregon State had a single first down.

“It felt great, not just for me but for the team,” Jeanty said of the win in a television interview on Fox. “The personal success I have doesn’t just come from me. It’s based on team success, great offensive play and great defensive play.”

Boise State, which went 6-0 at home this season and won those games by an average of 25 points, had something on both offense and defense against the Beavers (5-7), who were trying to become bowl eligible but now they are finished for the season.

On offense, the Broncos managed 28 first downs, rolled for 465 yards and scored on six drives. They also got hurt by turning the ball over on downs inside the 5-yard line and by a rare Jeanty fumble that wiped out a drive.

Quarterback Maddux Madsen started well but struggled in the second half. He was 17 of 33 for 195 yards and two touchdown passes to Austin Bolt and Latrell Caples. But only four of those completions came after halftime, as Boise State settled for only field goals until Madsen’s 3-yard TD run with 58 seconds left in the game.

On the defensive side, the Broncos recorded two sacks and forced Oregon State to turn the ball over four times on downs, including on the Beavers’ last three possessions.

If you take away Hankerson’s 83-yard run, Boise State allowed just 259 yards of offense and 12 first downs. The Broncos now await their opponent in the championship game.

If No. 21 UNLV (9-2, 5-1) defeats Nevada on Saturday night, the Rebels will travel to Albertsons Stadium for kickoff next Friday at 6 p.m. If they’re upset, Colorado State (7-4, 5-1) could sneak into the game with a win against Utah State.

Friday’s game, which began at 10 a.m., marked the return of redshirt junior center Mason Randolph, who hadn’t played a snap since the first game of the season against Georgia Southern. Redshirt sophomore guard Roger Carreon started his second game since returning from injury. No new names have been added to the injury list since last week. The players out for Friday’s game against Oregon State were offensive linemen Jason Steele, Jake Steele and Tyler Keinath, running back Sire Gaines, wide receiver Chris Marshall and safety Alexander Teubner.