The Boise State Broncos survived a shaky start and narrowly edged out South Dakota in a back-and-forth battle 38-24 Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium.
Entering the matchup fresh off a victory over Memphis the week before, the Broncos looked to make easy work of FCS-level South Dakota, but the Coyotes gave the Broncos fits all nights, particularly when it came to exposing weaknesses in Boise State’s secondary, which gave up multiple big plays to Coyote receivers throughout the game.
“I’m proud of our team finding a way to win and we’re gonna be able to learn a lot of lessons from this win,” head coach Spencer Danielson said. “But we obviously got a lot of things we have to learn from and grow from.”
After both teams traded three-and-outs to open the game, South Dakota linebacker Gabriel Hardman forced a fumble from Boise State running back Dylan Riley to set up the Coyotes in the red zone.
The very next play, South Dakota quarterback Austyn Modrzewski found wide receiver Bryce Cohoon in the nearside corner of the endzone for the touchdown.
After a seven-play drive for the Broncos that ended in a turnover on downs and another three-and-out for the Coyotes, the Boise State offense marched 65 yards downfield with quarterback Maddux Madsen finding wide receiver Rasean Jones for a 9-yard touchdown pass to cap off the drive and get the Broncos on the board.
Jones, a true freshman whose impact has already been evident through three games, finished the night with an impressive eight catches for 95 yards, along with the touchdown.
South Dakota answered shortly after, with Modrzewski hooking up with wide receiver Tysen Boze for a 5-yard touchdown pass, giving the Coyotes a 14-7 lead.
The Broncos bounced back with a 12-play drive that ended with running back Sire Gaines punching through the trenches for a 3-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 after the extra point.
Boise State safety Travis Anderson’s second interception of the season regained possession for the Broncos before Madsen found wide receiver Cam Bates for a short touchdown pass to put the team in front, 21-14.
Canaan Moore’s field goal extended the Broncos’ lead to 10, but the Coyotes trimmed the deficit when Modrzewski and Boze connected for a 59-yard touchdown strike, the pair’s second score of the contest, making it a 24-21 ball game.
A South Dakota field goal deadlocked the game at 24, but the next Boise State possession ended with a 2-yard touchdown rush by Dylan Riley to give the Broncos a 31-24 lead with just under six-and-a-half minutes to play.
A muffed punt and a pass interference penalty was near-costly for the Broncos, but the defense bore down deep in their own territory with under two minutes to go, forcing a turnover-on-downs and regaining possession for the offense to milk the clock.
“In those situations, you kind of never rise to the occasion but always fall back to your training,” edge rusher Max Stege said of the defense’s final stop. “When the stakes are at the highest, you just gotta trust your training and that’s what we told each other.”
The crowd had little time to settle down before Riley took the first snap of the Broncos’ next possession 83 yards to the house, providing the nail-in-the-coffin for Boise State and sealing the 38-24 victory.
Boise State will travel to play Western Michigan next Saturday, Sept. 26.
Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
