Boise State was missing 14 players for its home game against Colorado State on Thursday night because of protocols related to COVID-19, but the Broncos managed to defeat the Rams anyway.
With nine Broncos players testing positive for the virus and another five sidelined for contact tracing, the school still was able to rebound from last week's 51-17 drubbing by BYU, the worst home loss for Boise State since 1996, to rout Colorado State 52-21.
"Hopefully moving forward we're able to keep that more under control, because as a team you never want to lose guys,'' Boise State linebacker Riley Whimpey said.
Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier, last year's starter, was available for the first time this season and was 16-of-28 for 202 yards.
Backup quarterback Jack Sears, who exited last week's loss to BYU with an injury, was not available.
The Broncos (3-1, 3-0 Mountain West) have not lost consecutive games since 2016 and haven't lost two straight at home since 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
