Chapter 10 in the San Diego State football team’s climb to the top of the Mountain West standings will be titled “Redemption in the Rain.”

SDSU defensive coordinator Rob Aurich offered the hopeful suggestion during warmups before the Aztecs played Boise State in a first-place showdown on a crisp, wet Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

After a lopsided loss to Hawaii last week amid a steady rain in Honolulu, Aurich was eager to see his defense respond against the Broncos on a rare rain day in San Diego.

Boise State’s strong running game got its yards (164 of them), but the SDSU defense stood firm when it mattered most. The Aztecs delivered a 17-7 win before an announced crowd of 29,201 (15,804 turnstile), which weathered a night of intermittent rain that did nothing to dampen the spirits of those in attendance.

SDSU took a 14-10 halftime lead and all but decided the matter on Gabe Plascencia’s 47-yard field goal with 10:51 remaining in the game.

While the Broncos put up some rushing yards, they paled in comparison to the 277 yards piled up by SDSU. Running backs Lucky Sutton (25 carries, 150 yards), who went over 1,000 yards for the season, and Christian Washington (9 carries, 98 yards) did most of the damage.

“I’m really proud of the discipline in a game like that where there’s really a lot of emotion,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “Our guys played with passion. They played with emotion. But they did not get emotional.”

“The ability to limit their run game, our ability to lean on the run game on a night where, obviously, the good Lord thought it would be a good idea to rain the majority of the night. That was a lot of fun. I really appreciate the fans who came out and braved the elements and did a great job bringing some awesome energy and awesome environment for our guys to feed off.”

Those who made the effort watched the Aztecs take control of the Mountain West. SDSU (8-2, 5-1 MW) assumed a one-game lead in the conference with two games remaining in the regular season. Boise State (6-4, 4-2) fell into a five-way tie for second place with Fresno State, Hawaii, New Mexico and UNLV.

The Aztecs close out the season with a home game Saturday night against San Jose State and a road game the day after Thanksgiving against New Mexico.

Boise State has played for the Mountain West championship seven of the past eight years, winning four title during that time. The Broncos came into this game having beaten SDSU three straight times, including 56-24 last season.

“If you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man,” SDSU linebacker Owen Chambliss said. “It feels really good to get a big win like this.”

Boise State and SDSU have two of the better running teams around, and this contest set up as a ground-and-pound game even before weather put a premium on ball handling. For one thing, Boise State wanted to take the pressure off quarterback Max Cutforth (12-for-18, 108 yards), who was making his first start in place of the injured starter Maddux Madsen. Cutforth had fewer than 40 yards passing before a last-ditch drive that ended with Colton Boomer’s missed 41-yard field goal.

“It feels great,” said Sutton, who became the 20th running back in school with a 1,000-yard rushing season. “When they’re trying to stack the box or they’re trying to stop the run and we can still keep running through them, it’s a great feeling. …

“We knew it was going to come down to running the ball. We had to step up and do our job.”

SDSU opened the scoring with a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Washington rushed five times for 79 of the yards, most of them coming on 41- and 26-yard runs that advanced the ball to Boise’s 1-yard line. SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal (6-for-10, 17 yards) took it from there, pushing across the goal line for the final yard and a 7-0 lead with 13:15 remaining in the second quarter.

Boise State responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that included 13 rushes. interrupted only by a 6-yard pass by Cutforth. Broncos running backs Dylan Riley (21 carries, 79 yards) and Sire Gaines (13 carries, 78 yards) took turns moving the ball down the field before Riley evened the score on a 9-yard touchdown run with 5:29 remaining in the half.

Then it was SDSU’s turn again, and the Aztecs assembled an 11-play, 71-yard drive with running back Lucky Sutton handling the workload. Sutton rushed seven times, collecting 50 yards. Denegal attempted to pass twice, losing two yards on one attempt while the other was incomplete, before scoring on a 8-yard draw up the middle with 1:10 remaining in the half.

SDSU wide receiver Jordan Napier was the target on the sidline incompletion. He was injured on the play with 4:14 remaining in the half, heading to the treatment tent with a lower left leg injury. Napier did not return. No immediate update was available on his condition.

Chambliss and fellow linebacker Mister Williams led the Aztecs with eight tackles apiece. The defense was boosted by cornerback Chris Johnson, who returned to the lineup after missing last week’s game with a lower leg injury.