Boise State’s offense vanished against quality defenses during 2025 college football season

Boise State was good enough in 2025 to win nine games and capture a third straight Mountain West title, but a limited offense prevented the Broncos from challenging for a College Football Playoff berth.

Boise State scored 38 combined points in its five losses, including a 38-10 shellacking at the hands of Washington in last weekend’s LA Bowl. The Broncos were shut out in the second half in four of the five losses and scored a last-minute touchdown against Washington.

“You’re not going to win football games if that happens,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said earlier this year of the second-half offensive struggles. “So what are we adjusting at halftime? How are we going to put our players and our playmakers in better spots in the second half? What are some things we’re seeing that we can exploit in the second half?”

The Broncos’ offense faced five of the worst defenses in FBS: Appalachian State (No. 111 nationally in total defense), Air Force (No. 116), Utah State (No. 119), Colorado State (No. 123) and UNLV (No. 120) twice. Eastern Washington, Boise State’s Week 2 opponent, ranked No. 114 of 126 FCS teams in total defense.

In their seven matchups against poor defenses, the Broncos averaged 45 points per game.

Boise State faced four top 25 defenses: No. 7 San Diego State, No. 14 Fresno State, No. 20 Washington and No. 23 Notre Dame. The Broncos lost all four games by double figures and scored just seven points in their opener at South Florida, the No. 81 defense.

When the offense sputtered, turnovers and a lack of explosive plays were often an issue.

The Broncos turned the ball over 15 times in their five losses and forced just one. Big plays were few and far between with a limited passing attack.

“If you lose the turnover margin and you lose the explosive play battle … you lose 99 percent of the time. That is football,” Danielson said after the South Florida loss. “You can look at all the stats. Red zone touchdowns, yes they matter. Third downs matter, fourth downs matter. But if you just look at those two stats, you lose those football games.”

Junior quarterback Maddux Madsen was particularly turnover-prone, throwing six interceptions with a lost fumble in losses to South Florida, Notre Dame and Washington. Madsen missed most of the Fresno State loss and the entire San Diego State game with a lower leg injury.

Danielson backed his quarterback after a tough outing in the LA Bowl.

“(Madsen) is our quarterback,” Danielson said after the LA Bowl. “I think the easy answer is always ‘Well, you should go to the portal.’ No. I believe in our quarterbacks. I believe in Maddux, I believe in (backup) Max Cutforth.”