Welcome to Boise, Idaho, home of A.J. Richardson.
The first quarter of the Colorado State Rams – Boise State Broncos game was all about Richardson, the senior receiver who proved he’s a superb athlete, catching two touchdowns for the 14-0 lead the Rams could never come back from.
Just to further assert their dominance, the Broncos returned a punt to the house — having one player fumble it and another recover it — for the 21-0 lead as the first quarter expired.
Boise ended up winning 56-28, the eighth straight time the Broncos have beaten the Rams. In fact, CSU has never beaten Boise State, and that streak continues after this Friday night blowout.
Brett Rypien, the best quarterback in Mountain West history, helped shred the Rams defense by throwing to Richardson, even if Colorado State started out staunch against the run game.
Early in the second quarter, it was Alexander Mattison, pushing his Boise State team up 28-0, basically cementing the victory for the hometown Broncos, with nearly three quarters to play.
Colorado State finally pushed their way deep into Boise State territory mid-way through the second quarter, but K.J. Carta-Samuels forced a pass into the end zone which turned into an interception — ending a fourth straight drive without points.
Boise State answered with yet another touchdown drive, this one capped off by Mattison to push the lead to 35-0 with little time to go before half.
So, Mike Bobo dialed up a skinny post for Preston Williams which Carta-Samuels hit him on, for the touchdown with only two seconds to go until halftime. That massive play finally put the Rams on the board, down 35-7 at the break.
In the second half, Colorado State made it interesting when Izzy Matthews broke off a 56-yard run and Carta-Samuels found Warren Jackson on one side of the end zone for a touchdown. That brought it to 35-14.
But Boise widened the lead again after CSU kicked an onside kickoff unsuccessfully, giving Rypien and the Broncos a short field to score on. And while Collin Hill came in to lead two touchdown drives, the Rams also gave up a kickoff return touchdown.
Richardson finished with a career-high of six catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, burning the Rams with speed and strength.
Colorado State has never beaten Boise State, falling to 8-0 all-time against the Broncos. Early on in the rivalry, back in 2011, CSU lost 63-13. This was tied for the third-worst loss in the series.
One shining star for the Rams; they enjoyed three sacks, pushing their total the last three weeks to 12 sacks with 23 tackles for a loss. But on the gloomy side, three turnovers for Colorado State helped sink them against the Broncos.
The Rams were completely and utterly outmatched from the first whistle until the end, and now fall to 3-5 on the season. Next Friday, Colorado State hosts 2-5 Wyoming in the annual Border War at 8 p.m. MT.
