Boise State leaves Milk Can Trophy in Fresno after another Jekyll and Hyde performance

The Boise State football team has embodied Jekyll and Hyde all season.

In a must-win game Saturday at Fresno State, the Broncos more closely resembled a ghoulish, unpredictable monster than a respected English doctor a lot of the time.

Boise State saw two drives end in interceptions in the first half and gave up a back-breaking 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter Saturday in a 37-30 loss to the Bulldogs.

For the first time since 1997, when they finished 5-6, the Broncos (4-5, 3-2 Mountain West) have a sub-.500 record in November. The loss also means the Milk Can Trophy will stay in Fresno for the first time since 2017.

“I really feel for our players,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “We were fighting and working to get ourselves back into a one-possession game, but we were unable to pull it out tonight.”

Boise State now has a mountain to climb if it’s going to make it back to the Mountain West championship game for the third time in four years. The Broncos are going to have to win their three remaining games, including the regular season finale against Air Force, which is 5-0 in Mountain West play. Even if they do that, they need additional losses by Air Force, Fresno State and UNLV to play the first weekend in December.

“These next few games, we’re going to attack them head-on,” said linebacker Andrew Simpson, who led the Broncos with 12 tackles. “We’re proud to play for our city and proud to play for our school, so the biggest game is the next one.”

The Boise State defense was gashed by Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene early Saturday. He went 4-for-5 on the Bulldogs’ first drive, including a 22-yard completion to Jalen Moss and a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tre Watson. Keene finished the game 24-of-38 for 290 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

After trailing by 10 points, Boise State clawed its way back with a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Maddux Madsen to wide receiver Billy Bowens that cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 13-10 with just seven seconds left in the first half.

Fresno State got the last laugh, though.

Running back Malik Sherrod fielded a bouncing kickoff and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown to send Fresno State into the locker room with a 20-10 lead. Sherrod finished the game with 132 rushing yards and put an exclamation point on the win with a 52-yard touchdown run in the game’s final minutes. The kickoff return was tough to stomach heading into the locker room, Avalos said.

“When we squib (kick) like that, we don’t want the ball getting back to the returner,” Avalos said. “That’s on us to make sure we get that executed better next time.”

Instant analysis: Boise State’s conference title hopes diminished after loss at Fresno State

Despite the gut punch and falling behind 27-10 in the third quarter, the Broncos kept fighting their way back into the game. But they also kept giving up scoring drives anytime they got close.

George Holani scored a 1-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 27-17 late in the third quarter. Playing without backfield mate Ashton Jeanty, who suffered a lower-body injury last week against Wyoming, Holani finished Saturday’s game with 79 yards on the ground and caught six passes for 61 yards.

The Broncos also reached into their bag of tricks to put points on the board early in the fourth quarter.

On fourth down from Boise State’s 39-yard line, Aussie punter James Ferguson-Reynolds kept the drive alive with a 22-yard pass to edge rusher Jayden Virgin on a fake. A few plays later, kicker Jonah Dalmas hit a 38-yard field goal to cut Fresno State’s lead to 27-20. It was the 68th field goal of his career, which broke former Bronco Kyle Brotzman’s career record.

Dalmas finished the night with three field goals. His first covered 45 yards, and his final one was a 52-yard kick that cut Fresno State’s lead to 37-30 with 31 seconds left in regulation.

The Broncos tried to keep their comeback attempt alive with an onside kick, but a Fresno State player pounced on it quickly.

Boise State had its two-quarterback system in play again, and Madsen took more snaps than Taylen Green for the fourth game in a row. The redshirt freshman from American Fork, Utah, finished the game 22-of-42 for 258 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Green threw only two passes — a 32-yard completion and an interception. He carried the ball just three times for six yards.

Madsen posted 61 rushing yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run that cut Fresno State’s lead to 30-27 with 4:40 to play.

“Down the stretch, he gives us the best option to be able to lead an offense that’s playing from behind,” Avalos said. “He’s been able to execute the passing game more efficiently, and ultimately, he gave us a shot to win tonight by how he performed.”

Their lead cut to 3 after that Madsen run, the Bulldogs picked up two first downs and forced the Broncos to use their final timeouts. Sherrod then burst up the middle and raced 52 yards for the score that ultimately made the difference.

Boise State returns home next week for a game against New Mexico (8 p.m., FS1) at Albertsons Stadium.

Broncos without top rusher, several others

The team announced just a little before kickoff that sophomore runner Jeanty, one of the top offensive players in the nation so far in 2023, would miss his first game of the season.

Edge rushers Demitri Washington and Cortez Hogans, linebackers Dishawn Misa and Marco Notarainni, tight end Matt Lauter, cornerback Kaonohi Kaniho and wide receiver Jackson Grier also were out. Washington hasn’t played since Boise State’s win over San Jose State on Oct. 7. Hogans hasn’t played since the Broncos’ loss at Colorado State on Oct. 14.

Jeanty suffered what Avalos described as a lower-body injury in the first quarter of the Broncos’ win over Wyoming last Saturday. He did not return to the game and was limited this week in practice.

Jeanty leads Boise State with 921 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He entered the weekend tied for No. 1 in the nation with 15 total touchdowns and led the country with 604 yards after contact.

Holani had returned to the field last week against Wyoming after sitting out since the season opener at Washington because of an injury. He led the Broncos with 75 rushing yards in that game.