David v. Goliath is a great story, but sometimes, Goliath wins. That was the case Saturday as Ashton Jeanty, Boise State’s Heisman hopeful running back ran all over the WSU (4-1) defense in a 45-24 loss to the Broncos (3-1).
Jeanty started the evening with four carries for 75 yards and a 64-yard touchdown run, and it only got worse. He finished the night with 259 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns, averaging 10 yards per carry. Jeanty was a load to bring down all night, and as tackling struggles continue for WSU, head coach Jake Dickert recognizes the issue.
“Anytime you’re in the middle of a season and you have a tackling issue, it’s hard to just remedy that in the middle of a deal,” Dickert said.
Boise State did not do much offensively outside of Jeanty, but tight end Matt Lauter caught four passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns to supplement the ground attack. The play-action game proved tough for WSU, eventually re-opening running lanes for Jeanty.
WSU was outgained 276 to 89 on the ground, with quarterback John Mateer being shut down after a 52-yard first play run, and running back Wayshawn Parker gaining 39 yards on 11 carries. Mateer was able to muster 327 passing yards going 26-for-37, but threw a critical endzone interception to end the first half with the Cougars down 17-10.
Despite multiple chances, including a fourth and inches from inside their 30-yard line, the Cougs could not get enough momentum offensively and enough stops defensively to keep the Broncos within reach.
For a second straight week, WSU lost the penalty battle, committing nine for 63 yards to BSU’s four for 30. Another area where BSU controlled the game was rushing the passer.
WSU could not register a single sack against a Broncos line that allowed just 1.13 per game last year, 13th in the nation in 2023, that has returned four of five starters. On the other side, the Broncos got to Mateer seven times. The seven sacks resulted in a loss of 67 yards total, with 1.5 coming from Ahmad Hassanein, who had 12.5 in 2023.
WSU would crack into the endzone late with a TD run by RB Leo Pulalasi to shave the final score down to 45-24, but the loss is a wake-up call to be certain.
Jeanty may be the best player the Cougs face all season, but the issues with tackling, penalties and unforced errors reared their ugly head again Saturday night on the Smurf Turf.
The Cougs now have a bye week before hitting the road again to face another future Pac-12 opponent in Fresno State. Although BSU looks like one of the top Group of Five contenders this season, Saturday got ugly. WSU, a year after finishing the 2023 season 5-7 after a 4-0 start, has work to do over the bye week to ensure something similar is not in the cards in 2024.
