Boise State survives overtime thriller to win at Colorado State

The Mountain West stayed alive in the New Year’s Six race as Boise State won in OT at Colorado State. Here’s what we learned from the Broncos win.

In the highest-scoring game of Week 11, Boise State came back twice from double-digit deficits to prevail 59-52 in overtime at Colorado State. The win kept the Broncos alive in race for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Regulation time wasn’t enough to settle the score between the two MWC Mountain rivals, and the Rams missed their chance to score a first-ever win over Boise State. In the end, the two teams combined for over 1200 total yards of offense as the Broncos survived the penultimate game of Saturday action to claim their eighth win of the season.

While the American Athletic Conference is still the favorite to claim the position of top Group of Five league in 2017, Boise State kept things interesting by remaining unbeaten in Mountain West play. Here’s what else we learned in the late-night shootout in Fort Collins.

How did Boise State manage to come back against the Rams?

After the first quarter, it looked like Colorado State was going to run away with the showdown against Boise State in the nightcap on Saturday in Week 11. The Rams rolled up a 21-3 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game, and by halftime the Broncos were still down by 18 points.

Bryan Harsin and his staff made some great adjustments at the intermission, though, as Boise State began chipping away at the lead in the third quarter. By the time the final frame rolled around, the Broncos had pulled back the deficit to within four points. It set up an exciting fourth quarter as the two Mountain West rivals battled in the late shootout.

In the final frame of regulation, Colorado State built a two-touchdown lead yet again. Boise State recovered an onside kick inside the final two minutes to tie up the game and force overtime.

Brett Rypien overcame a slow start and an ugly interception late in the game to get Boise State to overtime. The veteran quarterback threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-43 passing, outdueling Colorado State’s Nick Stevens to secure the comeback to force overtime.

In the extra frame, the Broncos took the ball first and punched it into the endzone thanks to Alexander Mattison’s third touchdown of the game. Mattison finished with 242 rushing yards on 23 carries, racking up over 10 yards per run.

Colorado State was driving to tie things up and force a second overtime period, but Leighton Vander Esch forced freshman Rams running back Rashaad Boddie to fumble inside the five-yard line. As Tyler Horton fell on the loose ball, it secured the surprise win for the Broncos.

What does the win mean for Boise State and the Mountain West?

With the survival in Fort Collins, Bryan Harsin’s squad remains in control of its own destiny atop the MWC Mountain. The win moved the Broncos one step closer to claiming the division title for the first time since 2014. Still a game ahead in the standings, Boise State also holds the tiebreaker over Wyoming. Colorado State fell completely out of contention in the contest, losing its third MWC game of the season to fall to 6-5 overall.

Next: Latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft entering Week 11

Three years ago, the Broncos reached the Fiesta Bowl after finishing as an 11-2 Mountain West champion. Should UCF stumble and fail to win the American Athletic Conference crown this year, Boise State could still have a shot at stealing the Group of Five bid into a major bowl game.