Boise State strives for offensive balance heading into offseason

It was a mixed bag for Boise State football during the 2025 season.

On the positive side, the Broncos captured a third straight Mountain West title and reached the nine-win mark for the third time in four seasons.

Boise State dropped five games along the way en route to a 9-5 overall record, including a blowout 38-10 loss to Washington in the LA Bowl.

With the winter transfer portal window set to open on Jan. 2, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a look at where Boise State stands on offense, defense and special teams heading into the offseason.

We’ll kick things off with a look at the Broncos’ offense.

Offense

Boise State’s raw offensive numbers for the 2025 season look solid on paper.

As of Friday, the Broncos rank No. 28 nationally in total offense (424 yards per game) and No. 47 in scoring offense (29.9 points per game).

Offensive consistency was a major problem for the Broncos, who scored 38 combined points in their five losses. Boise State was shut out in the second half in four of the five losses and scored a last-minute touchdown against Washington.

The passing attack never found its rhythm in 2025 while underclassmen running backs Dylan Riley (195 carries, 1,125 yards, 12 total touchdowns) and Sire Gaines (161 carries, 811 yards, nine total touchdowns) had strong campaigns.

In his second season as the full-time starter at quarterback, Maddux Madsen completed 176 of 302 passes (58.3 percent) for 2,334 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Madsen missed three games due to injury and tossed six interceptions with a lost fumble in losses to South Florida, Notre Dame and Washington.

Madsen, Riley and Gaines are all slated to return in 2026 as the Broncos aim to improve the passing attack.

“We absolutely need to grow in (the passing game),” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “There needs to be much more detail in regards to the concepts we run, the reads, how we’re doing it, how we’re attacking it. And this is on both sides, players and coaches. And that’s really what we’re going through right now to make sure that when we come back and we get into football in the spring, that we know who we are and we know what we can do better.”

Five Boise State offensive starters are out of eligibility: wide receivers Latrell Caples and Chase Penry, tight end Matt Lauter and offensive linemen Zach Holmes and Mason Randolph. Junior left tackle Kage Casey is off to the NFL Draft.

The Broncos should have a solid foundation for a rebuilt offensive line in 2026 with seniors-to-be Roger Carreon (right guard) and Daylon Metoyer (right tackle).

Matt Wagner is ready to take over for Lauter at tight end while the Broncos need the receiver room to progress. Returnees Cam Bates, Quinton Brown and Chris Marshall all showed flashes in 2025. Ben Ford could also return for a sixth season after missing the final seven games due to injury.

The receiver room will have a new coach next season as receivers coach Matt Miller left the Broncos to be Kirby Moore’s offensive coordinator at Washington State.

Boise State appears to be set at quarterback and running back heading into the offseason.

“Our pass game is going to be affected by our run game,” Danielson said. “I want everyone to understand that we are going to be a team that is balanced. We are going to run the football, and off of your runs there is play actions and there’s boots. … That’s really, really successful when it’s executed the right way.”