Boise State didn’t just beat Western Michigan on Saturday night. It walked into Waldo Stadium, absorbed the noise, and answered with a 32-7 rout that made its case as the G6 team to watch in the College Football Playoff race.
The setting had a little edge before kickoff, with Western Michigan students directing obscenities and one-finger gestures toward Boise State players and coaches during warmups and again when the Broncos came out for the game. By halftime, plenty of that crowd had already headed for the exits. Boise State did what good teams do in that kind of environment: it let the scoreboard handle the conversation.
The Broncos improved to 3-1 and head back to Albertsons Stadium riding a three-game winning streak, ready to open Pac-12 play against Utah State on Saturday. Spencer Danielson didn’t hesitate to call it the cleanest outing his team has put together so far.
"That was the most complete game we've played all season," Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.
This one had all the hallmarks of a team in control from the jump. Dylan Riley carried the load on the ground, piling up 138 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 28 carries.
Maddux Madsen was sharp and efficient, going 16 of 23 for 204 yards and three scores without throwing an interception this season. And Matt Wagner was a problem all night, catching seven passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Boise State also owned the game where it mattered most: possession and pace. The Broncos held the ball for 36:46, compared with 23:14 for Western Michigan, and the gap showed up everywhere else too. Boise State kept stacking long drives, kept finishing them, and kept Western Michigan stuck in second-guess mode.
"We put together four really good quarters of good Bronco football there," Wagner said. "It was great to see."
The defense was just as convincing. Boise State limited Western Michigan to 223 total yards and seven points, and the Broncos’ pressure on the margins turned into a series of stops that slammed the door on any comeback hope. Western Michigan finished 2 of 14 on third and fourth down, and Boise State came away with three fourth-down stops plus an interception from Roman Tillman.
The shutout was in sight deep into the fourth quarter before the second-string defense gave up a touchdown with 1:03 left. Danielson wasn’t thrilled to lose the zero, but he liked the work his reserves got.
"As a competitor I'm pissed we didn't get the shutout - I was hot," Danielson said. "But we got really good reps and those guys needed those and we're going to count on them at some point in the season."
Madden Soliai led the way with six tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Tillman added six tackles to go with his interception. Jaden Mickey finished with four tackles, and Mikaio Edward produced a sack and two tackles-for-loss.
Boise State wasted no time setting the tone. Madsen hit Wagner for a 34-yard touchdown on the opening drive, then Zeke Martinez powered in the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 just 3:27 into the game. From there, the Broncos kept layering on the pressure, including a 15-play, 78-yard march that ended with Riley’s 5-yard scoring run and pushed the lead to 15-0.
The third quarter brought more of the same. Western Michigan opened the half with the ball and couldn’t convert on fourth down.
Boise State responded with a drive that ended in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Madsen to Ben Ford, stretching the margin to 22-0 with 7:22 left in the period. After another fourth-down stop, Canaan Moore added a 25-yard field goal late in the quarter to make it 25-0.
Wagner finished the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown grab from Madsen, a clean strike that pushed the Broncos to 32-0 with 7:40 remaining.
Three weeks after dominating Memphis in another key G6 matchup, Boise State did it again on the road. The season is still young, and Pac-12 play begins next week, but the Broncos look like a team that knows exactly what it wants to be.
"I'm just proud of our guys for going 1-0," Danielson said. "That's every week for us.
Oregon was the biggest game, Memphis was the biggest game, this week Western Michigan was the biggest game - and it's going to be no different next week and the week after. ... I'm proud of our guys having a chip on their shoulder.
We have to prove it every single week and I think our guys went out and did that tonight."
In Other News...
Boise State Just Lost A Quarterback Recruit Fans Were Watching
Zeke Thomas has made his next move, and its one Boise State fans had been tracking closely. The three-star quarterback and baseball prospect from Willamette High School in Oregon has committed to Oregon State, where he plans to play both football and baseball after previously backing off a pledge to the Broncos earlier this month.
For Boise State, the loss stings because Thomas was more than just another quarterback name on the board. He is regarded as the top baseball prospect in Oregon and a highly ranked quarterback prospect nationally in the class of 2028, which made him an especially intriguing fit for a program that had hoped to keep him in the fold. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Is Suddenly Pushing For Something Broncos Fans Have Wanted
Boise States latest leap in the national conversation came after a 32-7 win over Western Michigan, a game that gave the Broncos another convincing showcase for the kind of balance they have been building around quarterback Maddux Madsen and running back Dylan Riley. The reward showed up in the Week 4 Coaches Poll, where Boise State drew 112 votes and finished just outside the top 25 while still standing as the highest-ranked Group of Six team.
For a program that has long wanted a clearer path back into the poll's upper tier, that kind of recognition matters even if it stops short of the ranking itself. The Broncos are now in the familiar spot of trying to turn strong early results into something the coaches can no longer leave just outside the list, and the next few weeks will tell whether this surge is a one-week bump or the start of a real push. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State May Have Found A New Weapon In Its Passing Game
Matt Wagner spent Saturday giving Boise State another shape to its passing game. The senior tight end, now a starter this season, turned in a career performance in the Broncos' 32-7 win over Western Michigan, finishing with seven catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns while accounting for nearly half of quarterback Maddux Madsen's passing production.
Keawe Browne added a smaller but still notable footnote to the afternoon, hauling in the first two catches of his college career. For a Boise State offense looking for reliable answers beyond the usual perimeter options, the tight end room suddenly looks a lot more interesting, and Wagner's role appears to be growing into something the Broncos may be able to lean on. [Read more 🡒]