HONOLULU — Ashton Jeanty accounted for 237 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to lead No. 17 Boise State to a 28-7 win over Hawaii on Saturday night.
The Broncos (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) ran their winning streak to four games since their narrow loss at then-No. 3 Oregon on Sept. 7.
The Rainbow Warriors (2-4, 0-2) have lost four of their last five games.
Jeanty, the leading rusher in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision, had a season-high 31 carries for 217 yards. It was the third game this season that he has eclipsed the 200-yard mark and the fifth of his career. He also caught three passes for 20 yards.
“So proud of Ashton Jeanty, he’s an absolute war daddy,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.
“He’s the best player in the country. Those were tough yards. They’re the number one ranked defense in our conference for a reason. Those guys flew around, they had a great plan of attack and he just kept battling, kept battling.”
Boise State capped its first three possessions with scores. Jonah Dalmas sandwiched field goals of 24 and 23 yards around Jeanty’s 54-yard touchdown run to put the Broncos up 13-0 with 7:06 left in the first half.
Jeanty found a crease behind the right side of his offensive line before he bounced it to the perimeter and went untouched to the end zone. It was his seventh touchdown run of at least 50 yards this season. Jeanty entered the game averaging 10.9 yards per carry and 206.3 rushing yards per game.
Jeanty had 93 yards on eight carries after one quarter and was up to 15 rushes for 115 yards by halftime.
Hawaii’s score came with 3:24 left in the second quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Schager to Tylan Hines.
“It was a really hard fought game. I thought our guys went toe to toe with a really good team and when the calls get overturned and don’t go your way, you lose a little bit of momentum, but I’m proud of my guys in fighting and we’ll continue to try to get better,” Hawaii coach Timmy Chang said.
After a scoreless third quarter, Boise State found some breathing room with a 5-yard TD pass from Maddux Madsen to Jeanty a few minutes into the final period. Madsen hit Austin Bolt for a 44-yard scoring strike in the closing minutes.
Madsen finished 17-of-25 passing for 217 yards.
“It was a great team win, (but) it was not perfect. There’s a lot that I’m excited to go in and look at and clean up, but on the road, with the travel and all the stuff, you’ve got to find ways to win games in our conference and I’m proud of our team,” Danielson said.
Photos: No. 17 Boise State at Hawaii
THE TAKEAWAY
Boise State: While the Broncos have been prolific on offense all year, their defense has struggled at times, particularly against the pass. Entering Saturday, opponents averaged nearly 280 passing yards per game, which ranked 123rd nationally. Hawaii finished with 264 yards through the air.
Hawaii: Under first-year defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, the Rainbow Warriors lead the Mountain West Conference in scoring defense (19.0 points per game) and total defense (309.4 yards per game). They held the Broncos to their lowest scoring output of the season.
LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD
Boise State, the nation’s leader in sacks, added to its total on Saturday with eight sacks — four in each half — and had a dozen total tackles for loss. Jayden Virgil-Morgan had 2 1/2 sacks and Seyi Oladipo added a pair.
GAME STOPPAGE
The game was delayed for about 15 minutes at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter when a member of the on-field officiating crew, back judge Gregory Rattler Jr., went down to the turf and had to be tended to by medical personnel. He got up under his own power and walked over to an ambulance to be assessed and eventually was taken to a hospital.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
With No. 16 Utah’s loss to unranked Arizona State Friday, Boise State can expect to jump a spot or two when the AP Top 25 is released Sunday.
Boise State will have 13 days off between games until it visits UNLV on Oct. 25.
Hawaii plays at Washington State on Saturday in its first trip to Pullman, Washington.
