Around the Pac Week 8: Boise Finishes Strong, Colorado State Breaks Through
Boise State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, Hauss Hejny returned with five total scores for Colorado State, and Jacob Bonilla's late field goal carried Texas State past Utah State.
By Ryan West · Published
The Pac-12's three Week 8 games required three very different finishes. Boise State broke a fourth-quarter tie with sustained offense and explosive running. Colorado State needed 56 points and a defensive touchdown to end its losing streak. Texas State needed one final scoring drive and a missed tying field goal to hold off Utah State.
Boise State's victory kept it unbeaten in conference play alongside idle Oregon State. Texas State stayed close behind, while Colorado State earned its first Pac-12 win in a game that showed both the effect of getting its quarterback back and how much work remained on defense.
Riley Turns a Tie Into a Comfortable Finish
Boise State 31, Washington State 10
Washington State had kept Boise State level through three quarters. The Broncos then scored 21 unanswered points, with Dylan Riley's two long touchdown runs transforming a 10–10 contest into a decisive victory.
The first fourth-quarter touchdown came through patience. Boise State completed a 15-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 7:14, with Maddux Madsen finding Cam Bates for a six-yard score with 13:33 remaining. That possession gave the Broncos the lead before Riley supplied the separation. His touchdown runs covered 33 and 72 yards, and 106 of his 128 rushing yards came in the final quarter.
Boise State's ground advantage had been developing before those final bursts. The Broncos finished with 258 rushing yards to Washington State's 53 and a 407–244 edge in total offense. Madsen threw for 149 yards without an interception. The offense could keep relying on its running game while the defense prevented the Cougars from producing a comparable rushing threat.
Washington State stayed competitive through Kirby Vorhees' one-yard touchdown and Jack Stevens' 47-yard field goal. Owen Eshelman completed 21 of 40 passes for 191 yards, with Branden Ganashamoorthy catching four for 58. Those contributions were enough to keep the game tied into the fourth quarter, but the Cougars could not sustain the exchange once Boise State began finishing its possessions with touchdowns.
The final margin reflected a strong closing quarter rather than four quarters of easy separation. Washington State's defense had given its offense time to find an answer; the answer never arrived before Riley's runs made the deficit substantially larger. Boise State's ability to score first on a long possession and then twice through explosive gains made the final period especially difficult to contain.
The Broncos reached 6–1 overall and 3–0 in conference play. Washington State dropped to 1–7 and 0–4, with another competitive stretch yielding no conference victory after its offensive production faded against a stronger finish.
Hejny Returns, and Moore Supplies the Extra Touchdown
Colorado State 56, San Diego State 49
Colorado State and San Diego State combined for 1,114 yards, but Tre'Shawn Moore's 38-yard interception return supplied the defensive touchdown that separated them. The Rams ended a four-game losing streak and secured their first Pac-12 victory by surviving an afternoon in which neither offense lacked scoring opportunities.
Hauss Hejny returned after a hamstring injury had kept him out of the previous three games and most of a fourth. He threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns, adding 85 rushing yards and two scores. Tommy Maher caught touchdown passes of nine and 54 yards, while Durell Robinson scored twice rushing and once receiving. Colorado State finished with 549 total yards.
Hejny's return was productive without being spotless. His interception gave San Diego State an opportunity to regain the lead, but Moore immediately reversed that opportunity with his pick-six before halftime. Hejny also lost a fumble near the goal line later in the game. The Rams' offensive success therefore required defensive contributions at critical moments, even on a night when the defense conceded substantial yardage.
Stone Saunders made his first career start for San Diego State with Jayden Denegal unavailable after the ankle injury he sustained the previous week. Saunders threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns, finding Jaylon Hawkins for a 43-yard score and Jordan Napier for another from 24. Lucky Sutton and Javion Kinnard each scored twice on the ground, and the Aztecs accumulated 565 yards.
Hejny's fourth-quarter touchdown runs helped Colorado State keep answering. San Diego State's late 99-yard drive, finished by Sutton, cut the lead to seven but did not complete the recovery. The Rams improved to 3–4 and 1–2 in conference play; the Aztecs fell to 3–5 and 2–2.
Colorado State also left with new availability concerns. Juice Vereen and Mel Brown exited and did not return. In an October 26 update, Jim Mora described Vereen's injury as significant and said he would be out for a while. That development accompanies a welcome quarterback return, rather than diminishing how much Hejny changed the offense's production.
Bonilla's Last Kick Holds Up
Texas State 20, Utah State 17
Texas State's final scoring possession lasted 6:04 and covered 51 yards in 13 plays. Jacob Bonilla finished it with a 37-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining, giving the Bobcats a lead that survived when Kian Afrookhteh missed a 48-yard tying attempt on the final play.
The special-teams exchange had shaped the game from the first quarter. After Utah State opened the scoring with a field goal, Jaylen Jenkins returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The Aggies continued moving into kicking range, and Afrookhteh's first-half makes from 43, 48 and 27 yards gave them a 9–7 halftime advantage. Their ability to reach scoring territory kept them ahead despite failing to finish those possessions in the end zone.
Brad Jackson's three-yard touchdown run moved Texas State in front in the third quarter. Bonilla then connected from 51 yards early in the fourth to extend the lead to 17–9. Utah State answered with receiver Anthony Garcia's six-yard touchdown pass to Kaina Watson and a two-point conversion caught by Javen Jacobs, tying the game with 8:07 remaining.
Texas State responded by keeping the ball. The Bobcats converted 10 of 18 third downs for the game, and the last sustained possession gave Bonilla a second opportunity to produce the winning margin. Utah State still reached a plausible tying distance, making Afrookhteh's final miss the last event in a game with several earlier scoring opportunities on both sides.
Jackson threw for 167 yards, and Texas State finished with only 250 total yards. Grady Brosterhous threw for 206 for Utah State, but the Aggies converted just four of 14 third downs. Those figures help explain why return yardage, long field goals and the timing of the final drive mattered so much.
Texas State improved to 4–3 overall and 2–1 in the Pac-12. Utah State fell to 2–5 and 1–2 after its late tying touchdown created an opportunity that its next defensive possession could not protect.
Where Week 8 Leaves the Race
Boise State and Oregon State remained 3–0 in conference play, with the Broncos now 6–1 overall and the Beavers 5–2 after their bye. Texas State's 2–1 conference mark kept it within reach, while San Diego State slipped to 2–2.
Colorado State and Utah State stood at 1–2, and Washington State remained winless in league play at 0–4. The week's winning teams showed useful differences: Boise State could close through both sustained drives and long runs, Texas State could survive a modest offensive total, and Colorado State could finally turn substantial scoring into a victory. The Rams' defensive concessions and new injuries still leave more to resolve than the final score alone suggests.
