BOISE, Idaho – Ashton Jeanty ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns, Matt Lauter had four catches for 96 yards and two scores and No. 25 Boise State outpaced Washington State 45-24 on Saturday night.

Boise State (3-1) played its first game as a ranked team since 2020, pulling away in the fourth quarter against its future Pac-12 Conference rival. Washington State (4-1) had no answer for Jeanty – and no ground game of its own.

Jeanty, who entered the game leading the nation in rushing yards per game with 195.3, wasted little time. On Boise State’s fifth play after the scrimmage, he broke four tackles around the line of scrimmage before outrunning the rest of the defense with a 64-yard TD run. He finished with 26 carries and had 7 yards receiving.

“He was relentless,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “Talk about a guy who puts his team on his back, loves this team and finds a way to score because that’s what the team needs – that’s Ashton. If your best players are your hardest workers, you always have a shot.”

Jeanty, who now has 845 yards on 82 carries with 13 touchdowns this season, had his fourth game of 200 yards, tying a school record.

“We just got beat in all three phases, and pretty decisively,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said. “Jeanty was incredible. Ten meters per ball. Obviously you have to keep it to less if you want to win the football match.’

The Cougars responded with a quick attack of their own as quarterback John Mateer needed just three plays to go 65 yards, firing a 14-yard TD pass to Cooper Mathers.

Jeanty added a 14-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to give the Broncos a 17-10 halftime lead.

Despite stifling Boise State’s offense early in the second half, Dickert gambled on a fourth-and-inch from his team’s 27 late in the third quarter. But Boise State’s defense stiffened, giving Mateer the half-yard he needed.

“When it’s just inches to go, when it’s fourth and one the last two and a half years, we’ve gone for it every time,” Dickert said. “That’s what we’re going to do. That’s how we play.”

Three plays later, Maddux hit Madsen Lauter on a 22-yard score, pushing Boise State’s lead to 24-10 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

Then, after another Washington State touchdown cut the deficit in half, Jeanty went on another electrifying run, this time racing 59 yards by breaking three tackles and dodging another on the goal line to dive in for a score.

Mateer threw for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wayshawn Parker led Washington State in rushing with 35 yards.

Madsen threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns for Boise State.

Boise State’s defense recorded seven sacks, resulting in 67 lost yards.