Social media reacts to Boise State’s blowout home loss to Fresno State

Fresno State kept possession of the Milk Can Trophy with a dominant 30-7 road thrashing of rival Boise State on Saturday.

The Broncos entered the game with 16 straight victories at Albertsons Stadium and 16 consecutive wins over Mountain West opponents.

But none of that mattered on Saturday as the Bulldogs (6-3, 3-2) took advantage of numerous Boise State (6-3, 4-1) mistakes and leaned on their physicality on both sides of the ball.

The Broncos, who came into the game as a massive 17.5-point favorite, lost starting quarterback Maddux Madsen to a leg injury in the first quarter. Backup quarterback Max Cutforth struggled in Madsen’s stead, completing 14 of 29 passes for 106 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and a lost fumble.

Fresno State led 10-7 after a disjointed opening half and outscored the Broncos 20-0 after the break to secure its third straight victory in the rivalry series.

The Boise State defense held its own, limiting the Bulldogs to 224 total yards of offense. Fresno State quarterback Carson Conklin finished 10 of 21 passing for 35 yards.

But three turnovers and an anemic 193 total yards of offense prevented Boise State from putting up a fight.

Multiple national media members took note of the surprising result:

Boise State was a 17.5-pt favorite vs. Fresno, their worst loss by point spread since losing to New Mexico in 2015 https://t.co/zOHsBAE8EB
— Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) November 1, 2025

Fresno State wins at Boise State 30-7, the Broncos' first home loss in Mountain West play since a 2022 loss ... to Fresno State
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 1, 2025

MWC teams are 12-4 when passing for fewer than 36 yards in a game the last four seasons after Fresno State beat Boise State today.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 1, 2025

Boise State's nation-tying 16-game home winning streak ends in a shocking 30-7 loss to Fresno State.

It's the first time the Broncos have lost by 20+ points at home against a conference opponent since 1996.

Credit the Bulldogs for rebounding from a 23-0 loss to SDSU last week.
— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) November 1, 2025

Final

Fresno State 30
Boise State 7 https://t.co/2W7ULlTtgq
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) November 1, 2025

Sharp 30-7 upset. Fresno State destroys Boise State despite being 17.5-point dogs. Complete market inefficiency exposed. Line movement missed massive structural advantage. #MountainWest #Upset #CFB https://t.co/zCdSaED8CG
— Parlay Pete (@ParlaysPete) November 1, 2025

Local media was just as perplexed by the outcome:

This will go down as historically one of the worst home losses on The Blue in program history.

Points, yards, passing yards, margin of loss all are among the worst ever. Will know exactly how bad when the final horn sounds.
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) November 1, 2025

This game wasn’t lost on November 1.

It was lost in the offseason. Boise State opted to roll without a transfer QB, and let Cutforth/Annett compete for the backup gig.

The offense was completely lethargic without Maddux, and that’s a product of the offseason. Frustrating loss…
— Nathan Carroll (@Nathan_26_) November 1, 2025

We just got dominated 30-7 on The Blue by a Fresno State team that lost 49-21 to a terrible CSU team & just got shutout 23-0 last week.

This should piss off every single Boise State fan.

This crap is unacceptable.
— Boise State Sports Report (@BSUsportsreport) November 1, 2025

Boise State getting significantly out-trenched on The Blue…

Never thought I’d see it
— Coach Mike Sanford (@Coach_Sanford2) November 1, 2025

Plenty of fans were frustrated with the performance:

It’s been bad? Thanks announcer WE KNOW!

Sincerely Frustrated Boise State Fan
— Just Josie (@JosieAve) November 1, 2025

Enjoy this Fresno fans. Take it for all it's worth. Rub it in. Crow in our faces. Live it up. After all Boise State has done, Fresno deserves to make this hurt.

This Boise State program is not good, and the leadership is clearly not producing at the level we're accustomed to.
— Kevin Hiatt (Formerly Rafter17) (@kevin_hiatt) November 1, 2025

Boise State knows they’re down 20 right? Walking to the line, no urgency.

Never seen a BSU team quit like this.
— Clay (@claypanzeri) November 1, 2025

So much for my theory that Boise State plays down to the level of the competition. They are pretty good at playing below the level of the competition too.
— Chad Larsen (@ChadLarsen) November 1, 2025

This staff should be ashamed of themselves. Absolutely pathetic outing. One of, if not the worst games I’ve watched Boise State play. The fall off from QB1 to QB2 should never be that bad. Bad coaching decisions this offseason not attacking the portal for a serviceable backup.
— TK (@208TeeKay) November 1, 2025

Also, all the talk about being this physical run attack! All I’ve seen this year is opposing teams running the ball down Boise State’s throats!
— Mr. T (@jamestybo) November 1, 2025

There was plenty of talk about fan expectations this past week, spoiled with positive results.

Not this week. Boise State football deserves to be put on blast for the next two weeks. Thoroughly unacceptable.
— Jeremy Kawika (@JeremyKawika) November 1, 2025

There were red flags last week with Boise State and all year. Fans didn't want to believe it.
— J.K. Thompson (@JTBirdface) November 1, 2025

Some posters noted a trend in Boise State losses:

Points scored by Boise State in their 3 losses this year:

USF: 7 points
Notre Dame: 7 points
Fresno State: 7 points

When the offense is on, it looks unstoppable at times. But there are a lot of issues & that was evident last week in a win & it was evident this week in a loss.
— Mike Wittmann (@Mike_SBN) November 1, 2025

Fresno State is going to win going away. Boise State has been in all three games it lost this season at halftime and has folded in all three second halves.
— Greg Frank (@g_frank6) November 1, 2025

And what happened to the Boise State offense?:

I think this is the worst offensive performance I've ever seen for Boise State.

Yikes man.

Get a portal QB in the off-season. Have to. No excuses.
— MD (@ReaLitY_Siege) November 1, 2025

Not sure what’s scarier. Our QB situation or that Boise State fans now have to put their faith in Leon Rice to not disappoint us this season
— Grillmastergreg (@GrilMasterGreg) November 1, 2025

It wasn’t a banner day for the Fresno State offense, either:

According to limited research and an AI search… Fresno State’s 35 passing yards is BY FAR the lowest passing total this year for a winning team in the FBS 😂 Michigan won with 86 passing yards last week against Michigan State

History made as the Bulldogs win in Boise during the…
— Phil Benotti (@PhilBenotti) November 1, 2025

Both QBs in this Fresno State vs Boise State game: pic.twitter.com/pP65987px9
— Matt (@lawstbrewer) November 1, 2025

What’s next

The Broncos had their four-game winning streak snapped by the Bulldogs and will enter the bye week with plenty to work on in all phases.

After the bye week, Boise State will face a stiff test at San Diego State. The Aztecs entered this week with the No. 2 scoring offense in FBS.

Madsen was carted to the locker room after the injury and reemerged on the sideline on crutches with a boot on his right leg. His status moving forward is unknown.

To have any shot at defeating the Aztecs, Boise State will need much better play from the quarterback position. The Broncos also need to take better care of the ball, limit mistakes and play with consistent effort for four quarters.

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