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Just when it looked like another Boise State blowout against Fresno State, the game turned into a wild WAC shootout.
Jeremy Avery scored on a 67-yard screen pass and added a 74-yard run, providing just two of the many highlight-reel plays in No. 10 Boise State's 51-34 victory over Fresno State on Friday night.
Titus Young scored two touchdowns, including a diving fumble recovery in the end zone after Avery ran it 74 yards to the 1 as Boise State (3-0, 1-0) won for the 57th time in its past 59 Western Athletic Conference games.
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Yet few were as entertaining as this one. The Broncos broke out to a 24-3 lead then had to scramble to win this one and keep alive its hopes for making it back to a Bowl Championship Series game.
Fresno State (1-2, 0-1) got three touchdown runs of at least 60 yards from Ryan Mathews but again fell short against a ranked team, losing for the 10th straight time against teams ranked in the Top 25. The skid started with a 50-42 loss to No. 1 Southern California in 2005. This game provided the appropriate bookend.
With the Friday night stage to themselves, Boise State and Fresno State provided enough big plays to last the weekend. The Broncos had two 77-yard kickoff returns, an interception return for a touchdown, a 60-yard touchdown run by D.J. Harper, and three plays of more than 60 yards by Avery.
The first came on a long run that appeared to be bound for the end zone. But A.J. Jefferson poked the ball loose just before Avery scored. With the ball rolling toward the back of the end zone for an apparent touchback and Boise State turnover, Young made a diving recovery before sliding out of bounds for the score that made it 34-24.
