BOISE, Idaho — A second-half touchdown drew App State Football within striking range, but Boise State responded with a dominant stretch of play to pull away in a 47-14 victory at sold-out Albertsons Stadium on Saturday night.
Trailing by 17 early in the third quarter, App State (2-2) forced a Boise State punt and delivered two big plays to pull within 24-14, but the Broncos (3-1) put up 23 more points over the next 15-plus minutes, capping the run with their second pick-six interception return of the night.
App State is back in action next Saturday with a home game against Oregon State. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
One of the nation's top rushers with at least 95 yards in every game this season,
Rashod Dubinion totaled 113 yards on 17 carries to lead the App State offense, which committed four turnovers and was held to 65 yards passing after averaging 357.7 through the first three games. Wide receiver
Dalton Stroman (7-yard reception) and true freshman running back
Jaquari Lewis (3-yard run) accounted for App State's touchdowns.
Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen completed 25 of his 37 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns as the Broncos totaled 473 yards of offense.
Boise State opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, increased its lead on cornerback A'Marion McCoy's 26-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first quarter and moved ahead 21-0 on Madsen's 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ben Ford midway through the second quarter.
App State responded with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly six minutes. A roughing-the-passer penalty on a third-and-23 throw with the Mountaineers backed up close to their own end zone due to back-to-back sacks extended the series, and they approached midfield when Dubinion hurdled a defender at the end of a 16-yard run.
A 15-yard penalty for grabbing quarterback
AJ Swann's facemask pushed the ball inside the red zone, and Stroman smoothly outjumped a defender to come down with a 7-yard touchdown on a fade route in the final 80 seconds of the half.
Boise State did respond with a quick march into scoring range, but it settled for a 25-yard field goal instead of potentially producing a touchdown thanks to a
Kevin Abrams-Verwayne strip sack that created a 15-yard loss back to the 20 for the Broncos.
A big special teams play early in the third quarter produced some short-lived momentum for the Mountaineers.
The Broncos punted toward the front-right pylon, but returner
Jaden Barnes drew several defenders his way by acting like he was going to catch the ball on the other half of the field. True freshman
Juan Berchal, who had run down the field toward the pylon as the play was unfolding, caught the punt and sprinted 45 yards down the sideline to set up a first down at Boise State's 42.
Dubinion gained a season-long 39 yards on a second-down rush to the Broncos' 3, and Lewis scored on the next play.
Boise State answered with a drive that produced a 40-yard field goal for a 27-14 lead, and the Broncos then forced a three-and-out punt. Madsen's completion for 11 yards on a fourth-and-5 pass from the App State 40 was followed immediately by an acrobatic touchdown catch in the end zone from Quinton Brown, who lost his helmet as he crashed to the turf.
Madsen's fourth touchdown pass of the night occurred with 10:47 remaining. Two plays into the next drive, linebacker Boen Phelps stepped in front of a Swann pass and raced untouched to the end zone on a 33-yard interception return.
The Mountaineers committed two more turnovers in the fourth quarter, when
Noah Gillon and
Billy Wiles also took snaps at quarterback, and the Broncos finished with five sacks. Barnes and Stroman entered the game averaging a combined 13 catches for 210.7 yards per game, but the only successful connection was Stroman's second-quarter touchdown catch.
Jaelin Willis led App State with a season-high 10 tackles, and
Joseph Bakhole had his first sack in an App State uniform.
