No. 20 Boise State spent the first half looking every bit like the team in charge at Albertsons Stadium, then had to survive a second-half avalanche, an injury to its starting quarterback and a late Texas State surge before pulling out a 46-45 win in a Pac-12 After Dark thriller.
The Broncos were sharp from the opening whistle, scoring touchdowns on all four of their first-half possessions and building a 28-3 cushion by halftime. But the game turned hard after the break. Texas State came out swinging, ripped off 36 straight points and grabbed a 39-28 lead when Jayden Bradley returned an interception for a touchdown with 8:58 left.
Boise State’s response came with another gut punch. On the next possession, quarterback Maddux Madsen went down with an apparent knee injury and left the field with help. He later came out of the medical tent on crutches with an ice pack on his knee and did not return.
That’s when Max Cutforth took over and changed everything.
The backup quarterback delivered three touchdown drives in the final minutes, giving Boise State just enough firepower to finish off the comeback. Cutforth opened with four straight completions and capped the first burst with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Rasean Jones. Then the true freshman caught an 11-yard score himself to put the Broncos back on top, 40-39.
Texas State answered again, this time with a 72-yard touchdown catch by Zechariah Sample, but Cutforth wasn’t done. He led a six-play, 75-yard drive and found Akeem Wright for the winning 18-yard touchdown with 2:40 remaining. Boise State then got the stops it needed, including a final four-and-out that ended with Jaden Mickey breaking up a pass on fourth down.
Cutforth finished 8 of 13 for 131 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. The fourth-year junior from Nampa, Idaho’s Skyview High School gave Boise State the spark it needed to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Madsen, meanwhile, was nearly flawless before the game flipped. He completed 18 of 21 passes for 202 yards, threw one touchdown and ran for two scores in the first half.
But the offense stalled badly after halftime, opening the third quarter with four punts, a lost fumble and Madsen’s first turnover of the season. He ended the day 24 of 33 for 236 yards, one touchdown and the pick-six.
Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson had his own huge night, carving up Boise State’s secondary for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Still, the Broncos made two key defensive stands late, including an interception after a failed trick play when Tucker Cusano’s pass fluttered right to Mana Tuioti. Four plays later, Boise State was back in front.
The Broncos’ defense gave up 42 second-half points and plenty of explosive plays, but those final stops loomed large in a game that could have gone the other way in a hurry.
Saturday also brought a special moment for one of Boise State’s legends. Kellen Moore was back in town for the unveiling of a bronze statue in his honor, and the Broncos revealed the 11-foot statue at halftime. It will stand near the northeast entrance of Albertsons Stadium.
Moore, the winningest quarterback in college football history, led Boise State to a 50-3 record from 2008-11 and finished his college career with 14,667 passing yards and 142 touchdowns against 28 interceptions. Now in his second season as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, he had the bye week to make the trip back to The Blue and watch his old program pull off an unforgettable win.
In Other News...
Boise State Survived A Fourth Quarter Broncos Fans Wont Believe
Boise State spent most of the night looking like it had the game under control against Texas State, carrying a 28-3 halftime lead and appearing headed for a comfortable finish. Instead, the fourth quarter turned into a wild, back-and-forth shootout, with the Broncos suddenly trailing 32-28 early in the period before the game kept swinging from one side to the other.
The finish only added to the drama for Boise State, which had to navigate the closing stretch without quarterback Maddux Madsen after he was hurt late. Max Cutforth stepped in and helped steady the offense as the Broncos kept answering in a final quarter that felt anything but routine, before Boise State finally escaped with a 46-45 win. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Escaped One Disaster But A Bigger Concern Just Emerged
Boise State spent Saturday night surviving one crisis after another, and somehow still walked away with a 46-45 win over Texas State after staring at a 36-point deficit. The Broncos also had to navigate the loss of starting quarterback Maddux Madsen to a knee injury, a setback that could have easily buried a team already reeling on the scoreboard.
Backup Max Cutforth steadied the offense in the fourth quarter and helped fuel the rally, giving Boise State a much-needed escape hatch when the game seemed lost. But the bigger concern now is Madsens status, and head coach Spencer Danielson said the injury is still being evaluated while indicating the starter is expected to miss the next game, leaving the Broncos to sort out the fallout from a wild finish. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Suddenly Has A QB Concern It Cant Ignore
Boise States win over Texas State came with an uneasy subplot late in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Maddux Madsen went down with a left knee injury and the severity of it was not immediately known. The Broncos still finished the job behind backup Max Cutforth, who stepped in and helped spark the comeback, giving the offense a much-needed lift in a game that could have gone the other way.
Spencer Danielson said afterward he has confidence in both quarterbacks as Boise State turns its attention to the next stretch of the schedule, but the uncertainty around Madsen is hard to ignore. Any time a starting quarterback leaves with a knee issue, the ripple effects reach beyond one game, and now the Broncos have to balance the relief of a win with the reality that their depth may be tested sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]