Boise State Broncos at San José State Spartans

Ashton Jeanty runs for 159 yards and 3 TDs as No. 13 Boise State beats San Jose State 42-21

Boise State (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West Conference) had a chance to clinch a spot in the Mountain West Conference championship game if UNLV lost to San Diego State, but the Rebels beat the Aztecs 41-20 later Saturday.

The Broncos, whose only loss was to top-ranked Oregon, remain on track for a spot in the College Football Playoff if they win the conference title.

The Broncos fell behind 14-0 but closed on a 42-7 run.

“I don’t think we’ve been down 14-0 all year, and our guys never flinched,” coach Spencer Danielson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, what is this?' Execution. Be the hunter. Always the hunter. Our guys are doing this. There's no speech I’m giving. Our guys are leading it, because this is a player-led team, and I’m proud of them.”

Jeanty’s 36-yard touchdown run gave the Broncos their first lead early in the fourth quarter at 28-21. After forcing a punt, Boise State took over with under nine minutes left and drained more than six minutes off the clock before Jeanty capped a 12-play, 89-yard drive with his third score.

On the next possession, Davon Banks returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown that sealed it.

Boise State took advantage of four turnovers by San Jose State (6-4, 3-3), two of them on consecutive drives in the second half.

After a miserable start, Boise State’s defense helped the Broncos rally from an early 14-0 hole. It stopped San Jose State on 4th-and-1 from the 2-yard line, and then the offense went on an 11-play, 92-yard drive capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Maddux Madsen on a quarterback keeper.

“We’re a championship team, no matter what adversity we’re faced with,” Jeanty said. “We don’t back down. We just keep on fighting. We come together as a team. We don’t point the finger at anybody. We all look ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do better. And it shows on the field.”

Jeanty’s 2-yard touchdown tied the game before halftime after Ty Benefield intercepted a pass in Boise State territory.

“We talk about all the time, just his ability to do certain things that people can’t and never really will do," Madsen said of Jeanty. “Props to him and the person he is, and his ability to go make plays when they’re really needed.”

Madsen was 22-of-30 passing for 286 yards and a touchdown.

San Jose State jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of third-down TD passes by Walker Eget, who found Justin Lockhart on the team's first drive and Jacob Stewart on the second.

Eget was 34-of-50 passing for 446 yards and three touchdowns. Nick Nash had nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, and Lockhart had 10 catches for 172 yards — both career highs.

“If we take care of the ball we're going to win that game," Spartans coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "It's hard for me to swallow because that was my main message for our team was to win the turnover battle to have a shot, and we lost it going away.”

The game featured the nation’s top running back in Jeanty, a Heisman Trophy contender, and top receiver in Nash, on pace to win the receiving triple crown this season. Nash broke the single-season program record for receptions (89) and has had a touchdown in every game this season.

The takeaway Boise State: Jeanty started slow but then got rolling in the second half. He had just 57 yards rushing at halftime, but he's eclipsed 125 in every game this season. He has 1,893 yards and 26 TDs on the ground this season, and he surpassed 4,000 yards rushing in his three-year career.

Jeanty, who has had 171 touches in the last five games and carried the ball 32 times on Saturday, said it was “just another day in the job.”

“Whatever it takes to help the team win, whether it’s five carries, 10 or 30,” Jeanty said.

San Jose State: The Spartans, who dropped to 1-16 against Boise State and have lost 11 straight to ranked teams, hung tough with a potential playoff team but couldn’t deliver what could have been a big blow to go up 21-0 in the first half when they failed to convert on fourth down near the goal line.

“The whole country will see the score,” Niumatalolo said. “But obviously, the score wasn’t indicative of the game.”

Up next Boise State: Plays at Wyoming on Saturday.

San Jose State: Hosts UNLV on Friday.