Maddux Madsen passed for two touchdowns and Dylan Riley rushed for two scores as No. 22 Boise State registered a 37-18 victory over Utah State on Saturday night in the inaugural Pac-12 contest for both teams at Boise, Idaho.
Madsen completed 17 of 21 passes for 244 yards as the Broncos (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) defeated Utah State for the 11th consecutive time and 23rd time in the past 24 meetings. Matt Wagner and Ben Ford caught touchdown passes for the Broncos.
Jake Ripp returned an interception for a touchdown for Boise State, which recorded six sacks. Riley gained 93 yards on 18 rushes.
Javen Jacobs caught a scoring pass and rushed for 139 yards on 10 carries, including gains of 64 and 46 yards for Utah State (1-4, 0-1). Eli Wood had seven receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Grady Brosterhous completed 12 of 18 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns and McCae Hillstead was 2-of-7 passing for 47 yards and an interception for the Aggies, who dropped to 3-60 on the road all-time against AP Top 25 teams.
The Broncos were cruising and led 31-10 after a 43-yard field goal by Canaan Moore with 8:24 left in the third quarter.
But Utah State moved within 13 in the fourth quarter as Brosterhous hit Wood on a 31-yard scoring pass with 9:32 to play and the same duo combined for a two-point conversion.
Boise State responded by moving 75 yards on three plays over 65 seconds. Madsen hit Akeem Wright for 33 yards, Ford for 31 to the 11-yard line and Ford again in the end zone to make it 37-18. A two-point conversion pass failed.
The Broncos struck first when Riley scored on a 5-yard run with 8:17 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by Madsen’s 63-yard pass to Jones.
Boise State increased its lead to 14 when Madsen threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Wagner with 19 seconds left in the period.
Riley scored another touchdown when he broke free on a 33-yard scamper to make it 21-0 with 8:45 left in the first half.
On Utah State’s next possession, Jacobs got loose for a 64-yard run to the Boise State 13-yard line. That set up Brosterhous’ 1-yard scoring pass to Jacobs with 5:52 remaining in the half.
Nearly four minutes later, Ripp intercepted Hillstead and returned it 21 yards for a score to give the Broncos a 28-7 advantage.
The Aggies received a 28-yard field goal by Kian Afrookhteh as time expired in the half to trail by 18.
