By BJ Querubin — Staff Writer
“What a game.”
The three words spoken from San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan that epitomized the exciting conference bout Saturday night.
The Boise State Broncos (7-1, 4-0 MW) edged the San Jose State Spartans, 52-42 in a shootout that pushed the Broncos to their limits.
Boise State’s offense was carried on the shoulders of freshman running back George Holani, who had a career-best and difference-making four touchdowns and 128 yards on the ground for the night.
SJSU (4-5, 1-4 MW) had not played a ranked opponent all season, and there were many questions about how the Spartans would fare against the nationally-ranked Broncos.
The Spartans tried to answer the call.
SJSU started the game guns blazing. Its first two drives ended with touchdowns, jumping ahead to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Some would say, Love is contagious.
Senior quarterback Josh Love threw for 438 yards, the most the Broncos have conceded all season and the fourth time this year Love has eclipsed the 400-yard passing mark.
The veteran QB had a special connection with one receiver in particular.
Junior wideout Tre Walker had a remarkable night with 193 receiving yards on 9 receptions — 130 of those yards came in the first half alone.
Senior wide receiver Bailey Gaither also had himself a special night with 110 yards receiving and a touchdown.
“We had an assignment [as receivers] throughout the week,” Gaither said. “We came out and just tried to execute our assignments to the highest level.”
Although Boise State had to play catch up in the first half, the Broncos would not be denied.
On the Spartans’ first punt of the game, redshirt junior and cornerback Avery Williams took the rock all the way back for 66 yards to cut the Broncos’ deficit in half.
With a desperate Broncos squad in need of a spark, SJSU’s senior cornerback Brandon Ezell would come to spoil the fun.
Ezell, the team’s leader in interceptions with four, picked off Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier, which lead to an 83-yard touchdown drive where the Spartans took a 24-17 in the first half.
This sequence added on to the Spartan’s impressive statline of 65 points off of turnovers this season.
If there was such a thing as a perfect first half for the Spartans, tonight would make a strong case for it.
The second half was a flurry of offensive firepower.
Both squads were perfect in the red zone tonight, where both teams went toe-to-toe with three lead changes.
Although the Spartans’ offense played lights-out, the Broncos would take control of the game from the second half forward.
Following an ejection from senior linebacker Jesse Osuna, the Broncos took their first lead of the game with a rushing touchdown from Holani, who had his number called all night with 28 rush attempts.
Osuna, who sat out the entire first half, played only the first 4:51 of the third quarter before receiving his third targeting penalty of the year. He will now be forced to miss the entire game next week in Hawaii.
Boise State took a commanding 45-34 lead late in the fourth quarter and never looked back.
However, the Spartans would respond, cutting the 11-point lead to three on a dime from Love to Gaither and a successful two-point conversion.
SJSU’s woeful run defense would show its true colors, surrendering 253 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Despite the team’s valiant effort, Brennan takes responsibility on the team’s inability to come out of the game victorious.
“We had a lot of things go right, the things that didn’t, that’s on me,” Brennan said.
The Spartans still haven’t figured out how to beat the Broncos, as they remain winless in all 14 of their matchups.
“Losing this one hurts,” Love said. “It would have been huge for us. One step closer to a bowl game. But we got three games left. Got to win two of them. We’re hoping to win all three of them.”
SJSU will need to regroup and get ready for a different challenge on the road against Hawaii next week.
Follow BJ on Twitter @beejaycue