Boxscore

RUSTON, La. ? Zac Champion passed for 255 yards and a touchdown and Patrick Jackson rushed for two more scores, but four Bulldog turnovers were the deciding factor in a 45-31 Boise State victory over Louisiana Tech at Joe Aillet Stadium on Saturday night.

?When you turn the ball over against a good team, they?re going to win,? Tech head coach Derek Dooley said. ?You can?t get into a shootout with these guys and that?s what happened.

After the Bulldogs tied the game at 24-24 with just over 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, the Broncos scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 45-24 lead. Louisiana Tech scored with less than two minutes to play and recovered an onside kick but could not mount a comeback.

?We had a great game until eight minutes left. We?re not getting the results we want, but we keep swinging, and if you keep swinging and believing, you?ll get the results you want. The good news is we?re out there competing and going late into the fourth quarter; the bad thing is we?ve got a lot to work on to get where they are.?

Daniel Porter led all rushers with 131 yards on 13 carries, including a 74-yard touchdown that tied for the 8th-longest rush in Louisiana Tech history and was the Bulldogs? longest play of the 2007 season.

With the score tied at 17-17 at the half, Boise State would regain the lead on a Jeremy Avery 20-yard touchdown run. But one play later, Tech would answer with Porter?s 74-yard scamper to knot the score once again.

Boise State would mount an 11-play, 64-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard pass from Taylor Tharp to Austin Pettis, giving the Broncos a 31-24 lead late in the third quarter. Two possessions later, the Bulldogs drive to the Bronco 17, but a fumble by Joe Anderson gave Boise State the ball with less than seven minutes to play.

On the Broncos? third play, Tharp found Jeremy Childs down the right sideline for 83 yards and a 38-24 lead. Boise would tack on one more score after a turnover on downs in Tech territory when Childs scored his second of the day on a 27-yard pass from Tharp.

?We made some big plays, but they made some really good plays,? Dooley said. ?I?m proud of our offense for making the great plays, but it wasn?t enough.?

Champion completed a 16-yard pass to Brian Jackson on fourth down with 1:29 to play and Weldon Brown recovered the onside kick. But a desperation heave by Champion was picked off deep in Boise territory, and the Broncos ran out the clock.

?We had chances, but we just didn?t take advantage of them,? Champion said. ?We?re clicking (on offense) but we?re obviously upset about the loss. We didn?t get it done at the end.?

Boise State?s Taylor Tharp completed 21 of 35 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. Champion was 24-of-42 for 255 yards and a score, but threw three picks.

The Broncos? Jeremy Childs led all receivers with seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremy Avery, Titus Young and Austin Pettis all had touchdown receptions for Boise State.

?They?re a great football team, and we couldn?t stop them,? Dooley said. ?They were beating us pretty good. They?re not a one-man show, there?s 11 guys executing and playing physical.?

Tech?s Mark Dillard led all defenders with 15 tackles and Quin Harris added 13. Antonio Baker and Deon Young both had interceptions for the Bulldogs. Kyle Gingg led the Broncos with 14 stops, two pass break-ups and a fumble recovery.

The Bulldogs will hit the road for the first of three straight away from Ruston next Saturday as they travel to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Central time.