Boise State draws familiar opponent in LA Bowl

The Broncos will be back in the LA Bowl after losing to UCLA in 2023

Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen (4) hands off to running back Sire Gaines (26) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

The Boise State Broncos, fresh off a Mountain West conference championship victory over UNLV, will face a familiar foe in the LA Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Boise State (9-4) will square off against the 8-4 Washington Huskies on Saturday at SoFi Stadium in the LA Bowl, looking to hand the Huskies a loss as they did back in 2013 in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl.

The Broncos also took down UW in 2015 at home - but the most recent matchup was a dominant 56-19 win by Washington in Seattle in 2023, when the Huskies were No. 2 in the country.

Saturday's game, which is slated for 6:00 PM MT, will be Boise State's second all-time appearance in the LA Bowl. The Broncos participated in the LA Bowl in 2023, falling to UCLA when Spencer Danielson was still just the interim head coach.

Since then, Danielson led Boise State to a 12-2 record in 2024 and a loss in the Fiesta Bowl, but this year's team was unable to replicate the same level of success following the departure of superstar running back Ashton Jeanty.

A season-opening loss at South Florida quickly pushed Boise State out of the top 25, and after beating up on Eastern Washington, Air Force, and Appalachian State, the Broncos once again missed a major opportunity to climb back into national relevance, going to South Bend and falling to then No. 21 Notre Dame, 28-7.

Aug 28, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls running back Cartevious Norton (5) scores a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Still, the Broncos persevered, rattling off three conference wins in a row before back-to-back losses - to Fresno State and at San Diego State - had them at just 6-4 heading into the final few weeks of the season.

Max Cutforth - starting in place of injured quarterback Maddux Madsen - helped lead the Broncos to wins against Colorado State and Utah State to close out the regular season. The sophomore QB completed 22-of-34 passes for 239 yards in a 49-21 win over the Rams, and threw for 341 yards and a pair of touchdowns at Utah State post-Thanksgiving.

Madsen returned for the championship game and played excellently, completing 17 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another score on the ground.

He'll have to play well on Saturday against a strong UW team that did most of its damage against the bottom half of the Big Ten. The Huskies' lone win over a ranked team was Oct. 25 at home against then No. 23 Illinois. They also picked up wins at UCLA and at Maryland, but couldn't overcome the top teams in the league - losing to Ohio State, at Michigan, at Wisconsin, and most recently at home against the Oregon Ducks.

Saturday's LA Bowl matchup will kickoff at 6:00 PM MT and will be broadcast on ABC.