There are very few times in the history of Bronco football when a team lacked an identity on either side of the ball.
Particularly, on offense.
But Saturday’s game, played in pockets of torrential rain,
featured lifeless play-calling that inspired little confidence that Boise State could find a way to win. Despite being gifted a bye after QB Maddux Madsen fell to injury in the previous game, allowing Max Cutforth to practice as QB1 for two weeks, the game plan executed by offensive coordinator Nate Potter was oozing with hesitancy and gutlessness.
It was crystal clear on the first drive of the game that the goal was to have Cutforth throw as little as humanly possible.
A perplexing course of action to assign to the one position player who is tasked with throwing the football.
You had two weeks to realize that you have zero confidence in your second-string quarterback’s throwing ability.
Why throw him to the wolves on the field via the hellacious Aztec defense and the world of social media?
This kid is a former walk-on who grew up on Boise State football and played high school football in Nampa.
None of Saturday’s ineptitude on offense falls on the shoulders of Max Cutforth.
His coaches failed him.
He should never have been put in that position if that was how they intended to use him.
Sure – the cascading walls of rain forced the Broncos’ hand for extended periods of the night.
But in the third and fourth quarters, no substantial precipitation fell.
Yet, the strategy remained the same.
This whole game was an indictment of a coaching staff that has taken the high road time and time again when pressing matters have shoved their way to the front of the line. You cannot always find the light at the end of the tunnel. Rose-colored glasses do not change the reality of the situation, no matter how much you want them to.
From the first three-and-out, it felt as though the Broncos were hoping for fate and the football gods to hand them this win.
There was zero creativity in the run game.
No “Wildcat” formations were used to get the ball directly in the hands of a playmaker, whether that’s Dylan Riley, Sire Gaines, Cameron Bates, or anyone else.
Freshman QB Zeke Martinez had his helmet tightened on the sideline in case his number was called, but it never came. One would have thought that a more athletically inclined quarterback would have given Boise State a better chance to at least fight for a win.
In the first half, Boise State threw for 13 yards.
Somehow, San Diego State made that look impressive as they topped them with -5 passing yards.
According to the CBS Sports research team, the combined total of 8 passing yards is the lowest in FBS since 2022.
And not to overlook the Boise State defense, they eventually wore down and let the Aztec offense establish control on the ground as they finished with 277 rushing yards.
But it is hard to blame the front seven for losing gas as your offense is unable to stay on the field for longer than three plays.
However, it was a bit confusing to see Boise State not load up the box with a vast majority of its defenders.
For context, Aztec QB Jayden Denegal went six of ten for 17 yards through the air.
The Broncos’ tackling was sub-par within the second level, allowing running backs Lucky Sutton and Christian Washington to break multiple runs for 15+ yards.
And in a game like this, that made all the difference.
There’s no two ways around it; this was a performance that gave me and others flashbacks to the Andy Avalos era.
The game was juiceless.
The disappearance of any outside-the-box thinking was disheartening.
The willingness to comply with blandness and failure is indefensible.
To think that after a 23-point loss in a rivalry game on The Blue, this was the best Boise State could come up with defies logic.
Boise State goes down swinging.
Boise State innovates to success.
Boise State finds a way.
None, and I mean N.O.N.E., of those qualities were on display Saturday night in what was supposed to be a highly anticipated battle between the top two teams in the Mountain West Conference.
In Monday’s press conference, the only notable announcements were that CB A’Marion McCoy will be out for the rest of the season with a scheduled knee surgery on the docket and that QB Maddux Madsen remains out for this weekend against Colorado State.
That means Max Cutforth will get the starting nod yet again.
Senior Day.
The last scheduled game in 2025 on The Blue for Boise State.
If there is ever a game to throw the kitchen sink at to get a win, this is it.
