Boise, Idaho – Taylor Tharp completed 15-of-30 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns as Boise State defeated Wyoming 24-14 on Saturday.
The Broncos, the Western Athletic Conference defending champions, improved to 2-1 and have won 53 of their past 55 home games on their blue field, including their past eight.
Ian Johnson ran 24 times for 83 yards for the Broncos, and J.D. Harper nine times for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Wyoming, of the Mountain West Conference, had its two-game winning streak to start the season snapped and fell to 2-1. The Cowboys have failed to win their road opener for the fifth straight year during coach Joe Glenn’s tenure.
Karsten Sween completed 26-of-48 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown and one interception for the Cowboys.
The Broncos, who had their 14-game winning streak snapped last week at Washington, had a hard time moving the ball in the first half, accumulating 107 yards of offense, 67 rushing and 40 passing.
But the Cowboys managed only 51 yards of offense.
The Broncos put together a 12-play, 70-yard drive that ended when Harper ran in from 8 yards, the final few yards a mass of players that toppled into the end zone, to make it 7-0 with 6:38 left in the half.
The Broncos extended their lead when Tharp found Jeremy Childs behind the defense deep down the field for a 52-yard touchdown pass, making it 14-0 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
After a battle for field position with three punts, the Broncos got the ball at the Wyoming 37 and put together a seven-play drive that ended when Tharp found Chris O’Neill for 9-yard touchdown pass.
Wyoming got on the board with 9:18 left in the game when Karsten Sween found Devin Moore open over the middle and, after several nifty moves in the open field and a broken tackle, he completed the 21-yard touchdown play to make it 24-7 with 3:51 to play.
