Boise State @ Colorado State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2014 ) Colorado State 24, Boise State 37

Boise State has produced three consecutive outings of more than 50 points and the No. 24 Broncos look to keep the offense churning when they visit Colorado State in Saturday's Mountain West contest. Boise State's attack has flourished under freshman quarterback Brett Rypien, who became the starter when sophomore Ryan Finley broke his ankle on Sept. 18.

Rypien has completed 73.9 percent of his passes for 718 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions over two-plus games. Broncos coach Bryan Harsin has grown sensitive to questions about why Rypien wasn't the starter from the outset of the season, insisting that Finley was the better player during fall camp. Colorado State has dropped three of its last four games and fell to Utah State last Saturday in its Mountain West opener. The Rams are adjusting to first-year coach Mike Bobo, the former offensive coordinator at Georgia the past eight seasons.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: Boise State -16.5.

ABOUT BOISE STATE (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West): Sophomore running back Jeremy McNichols has scored 12 total touchdowns, including 10 on the ground while rushing for a team-best 381 yards. Senior receiver Shane Williams-Rhodes has a team-leading 28 receptions and is two catches away from becoming the fourth player in school history with 200 career receptions, joining Matt Miller (244 from 2011-14), Austin Pettis (229 from 2007-10) and Titus Young (204 from 2007-10). Senior cornerback Donte Deayon has a team-high four interceptions while senior safety Darian Thompson has three and both players have 17 career interceptions, tied for fourth in program history.

ABOUT COLORADO STATE (2-3, 0-1): Sophomore quarterback Nick Stevens struggles with his accuracy (55.6 percent) and has thrown for 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Top-flight junior receiver Rashard Higgins has 30 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns this season and has a school-record 27 receiving scores while ranking third in catches (194) and receiving yards (3,013). Senior cornerback DeAndre Elliott has the Rams' only two interceptions, junior linebacker Kevin Davis leads the Mountain West with 7.5 tackles for losses while senior linebacker Cory James is sackless this season despite ranking fifth in school history with 22.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Boise State has won all four previous meetings, including a 37-24 victory last season.

2. Colorado State has fumbled 12 times, losing eight.

3. The Broncos are one shutout away from matching the school record of three, accomplished three times previously.

PREDICTION: Boise State 40, Colorado State 13