Locked in a 10-all tie through three quarters at Martin Stadium, No. 21 Boise State played like a ranked team in the final quarter of Saturday’s Pac-12 matchup with Washington State.

The Broncos (6-1, 3-0) closed the game with three unanswered touchdowns to secure a 31-10 victory over the Cougars (1-7, 0-4). It was Boise State’s first win at Martin Stadium in program history. 

“It was a battle,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said in his postgame radio interview. “We know we’re always going to get everyone’s best; it’s our job to bring our fastball. …. Proud of our guys for finding a way to get a big-time conference win on the road.”

The Cougars trailed 10-7 at halftime and evened the score on a 47-yard Jack Stevens field goal with 5:53 remaining in the third quarter. 

Boise State answered with a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive and tacked on two explosive Dylan Riley TD runs of 33 and 72 yards to seal the game. 

“You go through these where you’re in the fourth quarter, it’s a one-score game, you’re on the road, and you’re just battling,” Danielson said. “There’s things that aren’t going your way … calls that don’t go your way, plays that you don’t execute. And you just have to stay together. 

“It has nothing to do with your record, it has nothing to do with anything but execution. And our guys went to work, and our players made big-time plays down the stretch, and I’m proud of them.”

The Broncos limited Washington State quarterback Owen Eshelman to 33 rushing yards on 23 carries while the redshirt freshman completed 21 of 40 passes for 190 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. 

Eshelman had a monster game in his starting debut last week against Oregon State with 289 passing yards, 136 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. 

“I’m really proud of our defense for learning and growing a lot,” Danielson said. “Two weeks ago when we played Fresno State, that was not our best outing on defense. We had a lot to learn and grow from, and I felt like our (defensive) staff and our players … did some really good things. 

“We tackled way better, found a way to finish in the red zone, and just really proud of what we were able to do. We had to deal with a lot of formations, a lot of movers, and I think our defense made a big step this week.”