Ashton Jeanty leads the way again as No. 12 Boise St. holds off Nevada

Ashton Jeanty rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 12 Boise State to a 28-21 victory over visiting Nevada on Saturday night in the Mountain West Conference matchup.

The Heisman Trophy candidate eclipsed 200 yards rushing for the fourth time this season and increased his season totals to 1,734 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground. He entered the day as the national leader in both categories.

Maddux Madsen completed 9 of 20 passes for 119 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Broncos (8-1, 5-0 MW), who won their seventh straight game. Matt Lauter had a touchdown catch as Boise State beat Nevada for the 18th time in the last 20 meetings.

Jeanty became the fourth Boise State running back to surpass the 1,700-yard mark in a single season and finished the night ranked second on the list. Jay Ajayi set the school record of 1,823 yards in 2014, while Ian Johnson (1,713 in 2006) and Jeremy McNichols (1,709 in 2016) were also tops.

Brendon Lewis was 17 of 26 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown for Nevada (3-8, 0-5), which lost its fourth straight game.

Jaden Smith caught a 36-yard touchdown pass with 2:19 left that kept the Wolf Pack in the game.

But Jeanty’s 17-yard run on the ensuing possession gave Boise State a first down. A short time later, Jeanty ran 10 yards and picked up another first down to seal the ball.

The score was tied at 14 at halftime before the Broncos took the lead with a dominant eight-play, 95-yard drive early in the third quarter. Jeanty went the last yard for a touchdown.

Boise State capitalized on Jeanty’s 2-yard run to make it 28-14 with 10:05 left in the contest. However, Nevada rallied and threatened to make it a one-score game when faced with a fourth-and-goal from Boise State’s 1-yard line.

But Lewis and Sean Dollars fumbled the turnover and the Broncos’ Jeremiah Earby recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Boise State took a 14-0 lead before the game was 11 minutes old.

Jeanty’s rushes moved the ball down the field on the Broncos’ first possession, which ended with Madsen’s 11-yard scoring pass to Lauter.

With 4:12 left, Jeanty outplayed a Nevada defender on a 4-yard scoring run.

Lewis got the Wolfpack on the field with a stunning 17-yard shot with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.

Nevada tied the game on a trick play with 6:14 left in the half. The ball was handed to Marcos Bellon. The receiver threw a short pass to Caleb Ramseur, who made two tackles en route to completing a 44-yard scoring play.

–Field level media