San Diego State @ Boise State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 14, 2017 ) Boise State 31, San Diego State 14

The two teams that have combined to win the last four Mountain West football titles square off on Saturday afternoon when San Diego State visits No. 24 Boise State. And the contest has a chance to be a special one for Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien who is only 101 passing yards shy of moving into second place in Mountain West history for career passing yards.

Rypien, the nephew of former NFL star Mark Rypien, ranks fourth in the nation in passing yards per game (347.3) and has completed 108-of-154 passes for 1,389 yards and 12 touchdowns without an interception. He trails former BYU star Max Hall (11,365) for second place in Mountain West history, and barring injury, he has a chance to catch former Aztec Ryan Lindley (12,690) for the No. 1 spot in conference history. "He's playing at a very high level," San Diego State coach Rocky Long said. "He reads coverages well, he's very accurate with the football and he's got the receivers that'll go get the ball. But if you put too many guys in coverage, they can pound you with their running backs." San Diego State won the Mountain West championship in both 2015 and 2016 while Boise State, which defeated a 6-0 Aztecs squad, 31-14, last year in San Diego, claimed the crown in 2014 and 2017.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU LINE: Boise State -14

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (3-1, 0-0 Mountain West): The Aztecs, who opened the season with a 31-10 loss at Stanford, have rolled off three straight wins since including back-to-back home wins over then-No. 25 ranked Arizona State (28-21) and a 23-20 overtime victory over an Eastern Michigan team that won at Purdue earlier in the season. However, despite having a bye week, SDSU limps into this one with its entire starting backfield of quarterback Christian Chapman (sprained knee), running back Juwan Washington (broken clavicle) and starting fullback Isaac Lessard (neck) out with injuries. Long's specialty are tough attacking defenses, and the Aztecs once again are among the Mountain West's best allowing 21.5 points and 337 yards per game and also ranking second in the nation in rush defense allowing an average of 64.5 yards per contest.

ABOUT BOISE STATE (3-1, 1-0): Rypien has thrown for at least 300 yards in each of his team's games this season and has a deep group of receivers throw to, led by senior Sean Modster (24 catches, 385 yards, 2 TDs) and A.J. Richardson (18-313-3) and juniors John Hightower (14-257-3) and Akilian Butler (12-101-2). Junior Alexander Mattison (59 carries, 281 yards, 4 TDs) leads a physical run game that is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and benefits from playing behind the league's best offensive line. The defense, led by junior safety DeAndre Pierce (23 tackles), cornerback Tyler Horton (two fumble returns for TDs) and defensive end Jabril Fraizer (three sacks), ranks 18th nationally, allowing an average of 21.3 points and 125.8 rushing yards per game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Rypien is the FBS active leading passer with 11,265 career passing yards, the only active FBS player with more than 11,000 career passing yards.

2. Boise State is 109-7 on its blue home turf since 2000, the best home winning percentage (94.0) in the FBS. Oklahoma (101-10, 91.2) is second.

3. San Diego State is 14-3 in its last 17 true road games and is 1-1 in two games against the Broncos in Boise, winning 21-19 in 2012 and losing 38-29 there in 2014.

PREDICTION: Boise State 34, San Diego State 16