BOISE -- Four Boise State quarterbacks took the field Friday night, as starter Ryan Finley came down with a first-quarter injury in the Broncos' 52-0 in-state thrashing of the Idaho State Bengals.
Finley was helped off the field after a five-yard run in the first quarter, and was replaced by Tommy Stuart. Freshman Brett Rypien and redshirt freshman Alex Ogle made later appearances.
Running back Jeremy McNichols trounced the Idaho State defense for three TDs on the game, gaining 69 yards on 15 carries. That brought the star's season total to eight touchdowns, leading all of NCAA Football.
Fifth-year transfer from Stanford Kelsey Young recorded 47 total yards and ran in two scores as well. Devan Demas added 65 yards on just three carries including with a 47-yard TD, Boise State's sixth score on the ground Friday.
Stuart and Rypien played a commendable role in filling in Finley's spot at the helm of the Broncos' offense. Directly after Boise's starter was helped off the field, Stuart orchestrated three scoring drives through the first two minutes of the third quarter, going 9-13 passing for 69 yards and a TD, along with 46 rushing yards on 11 carries from under center.
Rypien stepped in with 9:35 remaining in the third after a blocked Idaho State kick by Tanner Vallejo. The first-year QB was the only true freshman to play since 1993 for the school, and he didn't disappoint.
The 19 year-old Rypien hit 4 of his first five targets on the drive, coupled with solid running from McNichols to cap off an 80-yard TD drive. On the next series, he hit Thomas Sperbeck for 46 yards, and again McNichols finished off the two-play drive with a 16-yard TD burst. Sperbeck finished with 99 receiving yards on the night.
Boise State converted their next two drives into ten points, making it 52-0. From there, garbage time really took meaning, as the teams went nowhere on offense, Idaho State turning the ball over on downs from the Broncos' 41 with just about seven minutes to go. Alex Ogle briefly appeared as QB number four for Boise at the contest's end.
Idaho State's two main chances were reasonable field goal attempts squandered; first, a 12-men-on-the-field call negated three points in the closing seconds of the first half, and then the second being a Tanner Vallejo block for Boise.
In the win, Boise State looked very polished and versatile, the defense earning that shutout and the offense cruising to a humble 52 points. All faces, whether the old of McNichols or the new of Rypien, impressed and led this team to a resounding victory coming off their stunning loss to BYU last Saturday night.
The Broncos are now 2-1 and will face Virginia next Friday. Idaho State falls to 1-2 and heads to UNLV next Saturday.
Note: if the blowout and league-leading marks from Boise State weren't enough, kicker Tyler Rausa's 45-yarder was the longest field goal make for a Boise State kicker since 2013.