Max Cutforth, Dylan Riley Power No. 20 Boise State Past Colorado State 64-38 for Eighth Straight Win

Max Cutforth threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns in place of injured starter Maddux Madsen, Dylan Riley piled up 300 all-purpose yards and three scores, and No. 20 Boise State beat Colorado State 64-38 on Saturday at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. The Broncos scored touchdowns on nine possessions, punted once and finished with 669 yards of offense.

Boise State (8-1, 5-0 Pac-12) has won eight straight games since a season-opening loss at Oregon. Colorado State (3-6, 1-4 Pac-12) moved the ball well enough to score 38 points and gain 513 yards, but the Rams could not get enough stops to stay close. Neither team turned the ball over.

Four possessions, four touchdowns

Boise State needed two plays to score. After a 3-yard Riley run, Cutforth threw a short pass to the running back out of the backfield, and Riley turned it into a 73-yard touchdown at 14:08 of the first quarter. Cutforth then found Matt Wagner for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Colorado State answered. Damian Moore Jr. ran 27 yards on third and 1 with the first carry of Moore's college career, quarterback Hauss Hejny followed with a 30-yard run to the Boise State 9, and Oliver Lundberg scored from 9 yards out at 11:47 to make it 8-7.

On the next drive, an unnecessary roughness penalty pushed the Broncos back to second and 16, but Cutforth hit Riley for 15 yards on third down to set up fourth and 1 at the Colorado State 42. Boise State went for it, and Riley ran right for a 42-yard touchdown at 7:16.

On the next possession, Cutforth found Rasean Jones for 33 yards and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Wagner at 5:12. Boise State led 22-7 with 5:12 left in the first quarter.

Colorado State's long answer

The Rams then put together their longest drive of the night, a 15-play march that took 7:32 off the clock. Lundberg converted a fourth and 1 at the Colorado State 34, and on third and 9 Hejny, retreating backward, threw deep to Tommy Maher for 31 yards.

"It was just backyard football," Maher said, according to Colorado State Athletics.

Colorado State reached the Boise State 1, but Lundberg lost 3 yards on third and goal. Kali Nguma kicked a 22-yard field goal at 12:40 of the second quarter, and the Broncos led 22-10.

Boise State went 75 yards in eight plays. On third and 2 from the Colorado State 35, Cutforth hit Jones for a 35-yard touchdown at 8:41. That made it 29-10, and four Boise State possessions had produced four touchdowns.

A stand before the half

The Colorado State defense finally got a stop late in the second quarter. Robby Harrison dropped Riley for a loss on consecutive plays, and Oumar Diomande sacked Cutforth on third and 12. Oscar Doyle's 34-yard punt, the only Boise State punt of the game, pinned the Rams at their own 8.

Colorado State drove from there to its own 41, but Hejny's fourth-and-3 pass to Terrence Smith Jr. fell incomplete with three seconds left. Boise State took a 29-10 lead into halftime.

Trading touchdowns in the third quarter

Boise State opened the third quarter with a 75-yard drive. Riley ran for 21 yards on three carries, Cutforth found Jones for 24, and two plays later Cutforth threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Terrious Favors at 9:37.

The Rams answered in three plays. Hejny threw 65 yards to Cedric Ross to the Boise State 15, then hit Maher for a 13-yard touchdown at 8:22 to make it 36-17.

Boise State answered in five plays. Cutforth converted a third and 10 with a 28-yard throw to Akeem Wright, and Riley broke a 31-yard touchdown run at 6:11.

Jayden Fox opened the next drive with a 21-yard run, and on fourth and 5 from the Boise State 38 Hejny found Maher for 30 yards to the 8. Hejny scored on a 9-yard run at 2:34, and the Rams trailed 43-24 entering the fourth quarter.

Boise State's ground game takes over

The Broncos leaned on the run the rest of the way. Riley carried for 10 and 20 yards to start the next drive, Juelz Goff added runs of 9, 5 and 10 yards, and a pass interference penalty moved Boise State to the Colorado State 16. After Goff was stopped at the 1 on second down, Cutforth ran in for a 1-yard touchdown at 12:55 of the fourth quarter.

Colorado State scored again in four plays, with Hejny throwing 25 yards to RJ Vick, Moore running 23 yards and Hejny finding Smith for an 18-yard touchdown at 11:24. Boise State led 50-31.

The Broncos then ran the ball on all seven plays of a 75-yard drive. Harry Stewart III carried four straight times and finished it on third and 1 with a 43-yard touchdown run at 7:11. After a Colorado State three-and-out, Mariyon Sloan broke a 36-yard run, and Stewart scored from 6 yards out at 2:56 for a 64-31 lead.

K'saan Farrar, in at quarterback, converted a fourth and 13 with a 15-yard pass to Troy Foster and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Lavon Brown with 1:01 left.

Cutforth and Riley lead the way

Cutforth completed 16 of 19 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and added a rushing touchdown. It was the backup quarterback's first start since Madsen was injured in last week's win over Texas State, a game Cutforth finished with three late touchdown passes.

Riley ran 19 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for 88 yards and a score and added a 20-yard kickoff return. The 300 all-purpose yards left the running back one yard short of a school record held by Doug Martin, and Riley now has 1,241 rushing yards this season. Jones caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, and Stewart ran nine times for 89 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Roman Tillmon led Boise State with seven tackles and Logan Brantley added six.

Colorado State's young offense

The Rams' offense still produced. Hejny completed 14 of 25 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns and ran nine times for 69 yards and another score. Maher caught six passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Moore ran five times for 50 yards.

The Rams ran for 207 yards and produced 12 explosive plays, half of them by freshmen, according to the school's postgame story. Coach Jim Mora said the young players have stayed ready and kept earning chances. "Sometimes freshmen hit a wall around this time, but they have not," Mora said.

The defense remained the problem. Tre'Shawn Moore made 11 tackles and Diomande had nine with a sack, but the Rams entered the game allowing an FBS-worst 42.4 points per game and gave up 64. Boise State became the second team this season to score at least 60 against Colorado State. Mora said the Rams are "building something," adding, "It's not been easy because we've struggled so much on defense."

By the numbers

Boise State outgained Colorado State 669 to 513. The Broncos ran for 352 yards on 44 carries, an average of 8.0 per rush, and Cutforth averaged 16.7 yards per pass attempt. The 669 yards were the eighth most in Boise State history, according to the Associated Press.

Boise State converted 5 of 7 third downs and its only fourth-down try, while Colorado State went 4 of 13 on third down and 3 of 4 on fourth down. Boise State held the ball for 33 minutes.

Colorado State was penalized eight times for 70 yards, Boise State four times for 50. Neither team committed a turnover, and each defense recorded one sack. The game drew 30,587 fans.

What it means

Boise State remains unbeaten in Pac-12 play. The Broncos survived a wild 46-45 finish against Texas State last week and beat Washington State 31-10 behind a big fourth quarter from Riley on Oct. 24. With or without Madsen, the offense has scored 110 points in two weeks. Boise State hosts Oregon State on Nov. 14, then plays San Diego State on Nov. 21.

Colorado State has lost six of its last seven games after a 2-0 start. The Rams' only win in that stretch was a 56-49 shootout with San Diego State on Oct. 24, and they followed it with a 31-14 loss at Utah State last week. The Rams play at Washington State on Nov. 14 and at Fresno State on Nov. 21.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Colorado State Athletics.