Boise State gave the rebuilt Pac-12 exactly the kind of win it needed in Week 2, and it did so in convincing fashion. The Broncos rolled past Memphis 38-20 at home on Saturday, then slammed the door with a 35-3 finish that turned the afternoon into a showcase for their ground game.
Dylan Riley was the engine. The junior running back turned 19 carries into a career-best 206 yards and made sure the Broncos kept hammering away until the Tigers had no answer. Sire Gaines added 93 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as Boise State piled up 357 rushing yards.
“I would say we made a statement, but … we’ve still got a lot of games left,” Riley said. “It’s only the second week. I would say there’s a lot more games to be played and we’ve still got more to show.”
For a Pac-12 looking to battle the American Conference for a spot in the College Football Playoff, that kind of win matters.
Elsewhere, Oregon State came painfully close to knocking off another ranked opponent before Texas Tech slipped away with a 35-24 win at Reser Stadium. The Beavers had a fourth-quarter lead over No.
13 Texas Tech, only to see a late fourth-down conversion erased by an offensive pass interference call that drew plenty of attention. The Red Raiders then added a last-second touchdown to pad the final margin.
Freshman wideout Jesse Legree was electric for Oregon State, hauling in eight catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Braden Atkinson filled up the stat sheet too, throwing for 413 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a receiving TD.
“That was a great football game,” first-year Oregon State head coach JaMarcus Shephard said. “I tell you what, I expected this out of our team, and I expect more.
And I know that there are some that don’t, but I’m excited about the direction that we’re going as a football team. We know what we’re capable of, we know what’s possible here, and I think we showed a lot of that today.”
The Pac-12 also watched Utah State nearly pull off an upset of No. 19 Washington.
The Aggies fell 16-14 after they couldn’t complete a Hail Mary at the buzzer, and three interceptions from Grady Brosterhous helped sink them. Utah State had already thrown four picks in Week 1.
The conference picked up a pair of comfortable wins over Big Sky teams, too. Fresno State beat Sacramento State 49-3 to move to 1-1, while Colorado State stayed unbeaten with a 58-24 win over Southern Utah.
Not every result was as encouraging. San Diego State managed only 189 total yards in a 28-10 road loss to UCLA, trailing 7-3 midway through the fourth quarter before giving up back-to-back touchdowns.
Texas State let a fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 31-26 home loss to UTSA, and Washington State dropped to 0-2 after a 34-7 loss at Kansas State. The Cougars’ only touchdown came on a pick-six right before halftime.
After two weeks, Boise State’s surge stands out as the signature result for the Pac-12’s new look. The Broncos delivered the league’s clearest proof yet that it can still land a punch against a quality opponent, even as several other teams kept working to find their footing.
Kirby Moore defended offensive coordinator Matt Miller after the game.
“We’ve just got to work together to improve, that’s the most important thing,” Moore said. “We’ve got to have a better product on offense.”
In Other News...
Oregon State Lost Again But This Time Fans Saw Something Real
For a program searching for signs that the rebuild is taking hold, Oregon State found some in a hard-fought 35-24 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech. The Beavers brought real energy, played with better edge on defense and got meaningful production from a freshman wide receiver, enough to make the performance feel like more than just a moral victory. Coach and players came away talking about a team that is starting to look more connected, more competitive and more aligned with the culture they want to build.
Even in defeat, the tone around the Beavers was noticeably different because the game never felt out of reach. Oregon State stayed in the fight into the fourth quarter and showed the kind of effort that can travel, especially against a ranked opponent that was expected to handle it comfortably. The loss still counts the same in the standings, but for a team trying to prove its identity, this was the sort of afternoon that can matter later, even if the bigger breakthrough is still waiting to happen. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State May Have Finally Found An Offense Fans Can Believe In
Oregon State did not leave Lubbock with an upset, but it did leave with something the program has been looking for: an offense that looked dangerous against a ranked opponent. In a 35-24 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech, the Beavers were far more competitive than they were a year ago, with Braden Atkinson giving the passing game a real pulse and freshman receiver Jesse Legree emerging as a legitimate downfield threat.
The bigger question now is whether that can hold up once opponents force Oregon State to prove it can do more than throw. The Beavers have only 95 rushing yards over two games, which means the passing game may have to carry a heavy load if this offense is going to keep giving fans reasons to believe. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State May Have Found A Game Changer In The Passing Attack
Oregon States passing game got a major jolt in the recent matchup with Texas Tech, and Jesse Legree was the reason why. The freshman from Baltimore turned in a performance that instantly put him on the radar, giving the Beavers a vertical threat and a playmaker who changed the tone of the offense with every catch.
Legrees early season has been even more encouraging because it does not look like a one-game spike. Through his first two games, he has already given Oregon State a new dimension, pairing big-play ability with production that suggests the Beavers may have uncovered a receiver who can alter how defenses have to defend them moving forward. [Read more 🡒]