Six games into the 2026 season, Boise State’s offense has put up the kind of numbers that usually force people to notice the guys in the trenches.
The Broncos rank ninth nationally in rushing at 234.5 yards per game, and Dylan Riley sits fourth in the country in rushing yards with 835. Boise State has given up only five sacks, a figure that ranks 10th fewest nationally, while also checking in 16th in third-down conversion rate at 50.6% and 35th in fourth-down conversion rate at 64.3%. Maddux Madsen hasn’t turned the ball over once.
There are plenty of ways to explain that production. But the loudest reason is also the least glamorous one: the offensive line.
Even with a bye week last week, Boise State’s front five got a notable nod when it landed on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, which recognizes the nation’s best offensive lines. The Broncos were one of 25 teams on the watch list, alongside programs such as Alabama, BYU and Ohio State, and one of only five from a Group of Six conference team.
Sophomore center Stewart Taufa also earned a spot on the Rimington Trophy Watchlist, which honors the nation’s top center.
“Those guys have owned what it’s like to be an offensive lineman,” Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday. “What that lifestyle is, what it means, all the little details, all the extra work, not a lot of attention.”
That lack of attention has not stopped Boise State from building one of the season’s most unexpected strengths up front. The Broncos returned just two starters from last year’s line. Two of the five starters on this year’s group began their college careers at the Division II level or lower, and three had not started a Division I game before 2026.
The outlier is fifth-year right guard Roger Carreon, the veteran of the group. He has started 33 of his 41 games for Boise State since 2022 and has drawn repeated praise from the staff for the way he leads that room.
“I’ve got to point directly to Roger Carreon. … He holds those standards in that room,” head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday. “He holds the standard for our entire team, where there’s a mentality about what we do, and that’s led by him.”
Carreon has been part of strong Boise State lines before, including the 2024 unit that helped Ashton Jeanty get close to the national single-season rushing record. But this group may be the best of the recent run.
He said Tuesday that the self-policing inside the room has fueled the results. On the field, the proof is easy to see. Madsen has had time to throw, and the run game has stayed out of trouble.
“Sacks kill drives,” Danielson said. “There’s a lot of really clean pockets for (Madsen) to throw.
That’s our offensive line. … If you can’t protect your quarterback, you’re going to have a really hard shot.
They’ve been able to do a lot of that consistently.”
Boise State has also kept negative plays to a minimum on the ground. Through six games, the running game has lost only 59 yards, and 31 of those came on Madsen keepers.
“It just goes back to the level of execution that we pride ourselves on,” Carreon said. “That mentality that we’ve incorporated as an offensive line, the ‘not my man mentality,’ I’m starting to see the entire team do it, and when you have an entire team doing that, we’re not going to have a lot of negative plays.”
Boise State plays at Washington State on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mountain at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.
The game will air on KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 84, with Bob Behler and Michael Callahan on the call. Boise State is a 12.5-point favorite.
The forecast calls for a high of 53, a low of 33, 54% humidity, partly sunny skies and a 10% chance of rain.
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