Jake Zamora, Emilia Nowinski, Jack McElwee
The highly-anticipated Group of Six matchup between Boise State and Memphis ended with a 38-20 Bronco win Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium.
Memphis, coming off wins over UNLV and Arkansas State, traveled to Boise for the playoff-implicatory Week 2 bout looking to claim their stake as the top G6 squad.
A week removed from a one-possession loss to then-No. 2 Oregon, Boise State returned home looking to maintain its dominance at Albertsons Stadium and keep its sights set on a second College Football Playoff appearance in three years.
However, Boise State running back Dylan Riley, who rushed for over 200 yards in the victory, has a much simpler focus.
“I don’t know about everyone else, but I know me, I don’t really look too much about the AP Polls,” Riley said. “If we get it, we get it, but I just know we’re gonna go out there and win every game. That’s the main thing we focus on… We’re taking it game by game and that’s all we need to worry about.”
After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Broncos struck first with a field goal to cap off a 12-play, 53-yard game-opening drive.
With Memphis back in possession, a pass interference call on Boise State and a deep completion to tight end Hunter Tipton set the Tigers up within striking distance in the red zone.
Their scoring opportunity would soon be foiled, however, as Boen Phelps blocked a would-be field goal on fourth down.
Memphis struck back after a Boise State three-and-out and caught the Bronco secondary off guard with a quick floating pass over the middle that turned into an 87-yard touchdown to Tipton to put the Tigers in front 7-3.
To open the second quarter, Boise State marched 73 yards down the field before the drive ended in disappointing fashion on a fourth-down incompletion at Memphis’ 2-yard line.
The deep ball burned the Broncos again on the following drive when Stokes found Tipton for a 41-yard completion to set the Tigers up for a field goal that extended their lead to 10-3.
The big play continued to haunt the Bronco defense on the next Memphis possession when running back Jaylin Carter broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run to stretch the Tiger lead to 14.
Boise State answered on their next drive when quarterback Maddux Madsen connected with wide receiver Akeem “Nitro” Wright on a fourth-and-6 for a 37-yard touchdown pass to put the Broncos back in the game and shrink their deficit to 17-10.
After an interception by Boise State safety Travis Anderson regained possession for the Broncos, a 71-yard rush from Riley set the table for Rasean Jones to cash in with a jet sweep touchdown to the left side to tie the game at 17.
With one second left in the first half, Memphis kicker Philippe LaForge drilled a 38-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 20-17 advantage going into halftime.
Boise State’s late first-half momentum continued, with the Broncos forcing a punt and capitalizing with a 77-yard drive capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run by Sire Gaines to open the second half.
“[Being down 17-3 at home] is not how you want to start a football game, I don’t care who you play,” Danielson said when asked about the team’s early struggles and mid-game adjustments. “I’m proud in all three phases. Making adjustments, and then our players went out and executed. Momentum is created from execution. It’s not through speeches and great hype, it’s execution, and our guys went out and executed.”
Shortly after, Cam Bates gave Boise State its first punt return touchdown since 2022, bolting down the near sideline for a 72-yard house call to make it 31-20 Broncos.
After a highlight-reel over-the-shoulder catch by Jones put the Boise State offense at the 1-yard line, Madsen punched through the middle for a rushing touchdown, extending the Bronco lead to 18 points.
Shutting out Memphis for the entire second half, the Bronco defense stood tall in the final minutes to seal the 38-20 victory.
“We just had to wake up,” Boise State linebacker Logan Brantley said when asked what changed in the second half. “We didn’t come out in the first half with the right mentality, we had to clean up things in the locker room. We put our foot on the throat and we kept it there.”
The Broncos return to Albertsons Stadium next Saturday, Sept. 19 to face South Dakota.
Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
