Somehow, the Huskies are playing in a bowl game TOMORROW. They have played Boise State six times since 2008 and have a 4-2 record, including a resounding 38-7 win in their last postseason matchup. Let’s see what offense Boise State will be rolling with on Saturday.
By the Numbers
(National rank in parenthesis)
Points per game: 29.8 (#37)
Rushing yards per game: 176.8 (#40)
Rushing play percentage: 53% (#57)
Average time of possession: 33:19 (#9)
Plays per game: 75.8 (#9)
Passing yards per game: 238.8 (#56)
QB sacked percentage: 5.44 (#53)
Key Players
QB Maddux Madsen is in his second year starting for Boise State after throwing for more than 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns, and completing 62% of his passes in 2024. He missed most of November with an injury but returned for the Mountain West Championship Game and three for 289 yards and three scores. The 5-10 QB has completed 59% of his passes for 2,283 yards, 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions so far this year. As a player, he’s a tough a gritty competitor who takes care of the football (aside from his nightmare game against Notre Dame earlier this season in which he threw four picks). He also had a three interception game last season against Penn State. When he’s not playing an elite defense, he’s pretty good. He isn’t afraid to pick up yards with his legs either, and is top five in the Mountain West in terms of number of scrambles. Per PFF, has more turnover worthy plays this season (14) than big time throws (11).
A big surprise for the Broncos is sophomore running back Dylan Riley, with his 1,091 (5.9 YPC) yards and 10 touchdowns. He doesn’t have the same top end speed of last year’s star running back, Ashton Jeanty, but he’s got great vision and quickness to find the lane and explode through it. True freshman Sire Gaines has added another 795 yards and eight touchdowns, and Malik Sherrod is averaging five yards per carry on 81 rushes this season. They form a potent three headed monster of a rushing attack.
The main target catching passes is the 6 foot and 191 pound senior slot receiver, Latrell Caples who has 46 receptions for 547 yards and three touchdowns. He is one of four receivers with at least 20 catches on this Boise State team. Second leading Chris Marshall as 25 catches, 477 yards and two touchdowns. However, Caples has nine drops and Marshall has eight, placing them both in the top five of all Mountain West receivers. Dropped passes have been an issue for this team, particularly late in the season. The tight end duo of Matt Lauter and Matt Wagner are potent short and intermediate area threats.
The strongest position group has likely been the experienced offensive line. They have not allowed many sacks and paved the way for the third best rushing attack in the conference.
The Scheme
Former Boise State offensive tackle Nate Potter is currently the OC and calls a run-first scheme. The quarterback isn’t asked to make a ton of risky and difficult throws, but manage the game and avoid turnovers. In true Boise State style, they use a lot formations and motions to put defenses into a bind pre-snap. This has been a longstanding part of Boise’s offensive DNA, dating back to the Chris Petersen era.
Final Thoughts
RB Ashton Jeanty might be playing for the Raiders currently, but Boise State still managed to put together a strong run game this season. Sophomore tailback Dylan Riley stepped up, along with the surprise emergence of freshman Sire Gaines and his 800 yards. On the other hand, the offense only scored seven points in each of the four Bronco losses (to USF, Notre Dame, UNLV and SDSU). Maddsen is very much a gamer and does well executing the pro style and run first approach. He’s got good accuracy in the short and intermediate areas, and his most risky throws are usually when he goes deep. While most offenses struggle in long down and distance situations, this offense isn’t really built to convert those into first downs.
Boise State will try to establish the run as they’ve done all season. They are 37th in rushing EPA, so decently efficient running the ball. They are 53rd in passing EPA so they are no slouches there either. If Washington plays run defense like they did against Oregon, I don’t think Maddux Maddsen and the receivers can win this game on their own. Defensively, the 26 points or fewer streak should continue, even if a Bronco running back gets loose a few times.