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Mountain West championship: No. 25 Fresno State outlasts No. 22 Boise State in snow

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Ronnie Rivers scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to give No. 25 Fresno State a 19-16 victory over No. 22 Boise State on Saturday night in the snowy Mountain West championship game.

Fresno State (11-2, No. 25 CFP) won its first conference title since 2013, beating the Broncos (10-3, No. 22 CFP) on their blue turf for the first time in 10 tries.

Rivers scored after Boise State’s Haden Hoggarth made a 23-yard field goal on the opening overtime possession.

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Boise State’s seven-game winning streak ended, and both teams’ dreams of crashing the New Year’s Six bowl games died when UCF beat Memphis to complete a perfect season.

With the temperature in the 30s and a constant mix of snow and rain falling, both teams struggled to sustain anything offensively.

An opportunistic Fresno State struck first, turning Brett Rypien’s fumble into a touchdown when Marcus McMaryion hit Michiah Quick on a 15-yard strike,

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Rypien atoned for his mistake by driving Boise State and hitting Sean Modster on a 10-yard scoring play to tie it.

The Bulldogs cobbled together a 13-7 lead on Asa Fuller’s field goals in the second and third quarters.

With 8:01 left, Boise State’s Alexander Mattison ripped off a 34-yard run, muscling his way into the end zone with a defender draped on his back. However, Hoggarth’s extra point attempt was blocked by Matt Boetang, leaving it tied.

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McMaryion was 20 of 32 for 170 yards and one touchdown, and Rivers led the Bulldogs on the ground with 63 yards. Mattison rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for the Boise State. Rypien threw for 125 yards, completing 15 of 31 passes with one touchdown.

Boise State’s last overtime game at home was a 69-67 victory over Nevada on Oct. 14, 2007.

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