Instant analysis: Boise State’s offense explodes vs. Lobos despite absence of playmakers
Wide receivers Prince Strachan and Austin Bolt combined for five catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns as Boise State cruised past New Mexico 42-14 on Saturday.
The Broncos went into the game without leading receiver Eric McAlister, who left the team earlier in the week and plans to transfer. They were also without leading rusher Ashton Jeanty, who missed his second straight game with a lower body injury.
Senior running back George Holani picked up the slack on the ground, finishing with 96 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos also got 91 rushing yards out of freshman Jambres Dubar.
The win marked the Broncos’ seventh straight in the series and guaranteed Boise State (5-5, 4-2 Mountain West) will finish the season with a winning record at home. The Broncos improved to 4-1 at Albertsons Stadium. They host Air Force in the regular-season finale on Nov. 24.
Boise State led by just one point after New Mexico running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored his second rushing touchdown of the day early in the second quarter. The Broncos pulled away with 27 unanswered points and kept the Lobos off the scoreboard in the second half.
Main takeaway: Boise State seemed like it figured out its quarterback controversy, with coach Andy Avalos naming redshirt freshman Maddux Madsen the starter on Friday, and he looked the part. Madsen completed 6-of-11 passes for 202 yards and had two long touchdown passes in the first half, but then disaster struck.
Madsen went down with a right leg injury in the closing seconds of the first half. He had to be helped into the locker room and did not return in the second half. He was shown on the sideline in the second half with a brace on his right knee.
In came 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore Taylen Green to pilot things in the second half after starting the previous 19 games. He had already led a first-half scoring drive, which he polished off with a 19-yard TD run. He finished the game 5-of-6 for 63 yards passing and also rushed five times for 27 yards.
Perhaps what was most important was that neither Madsen nor Green committed a turnover. That allowed the Broncos to sustain drives and roll to 484 total yards.
Player of the game: Freshman wide receiver Prince Strachan needed just two catches to register the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. He hauled in a career-long 74-yard touchdown pass from Madsen in the first half on a blown defensive coverage and finished the game with a team-high 128 yards on only three catches.
Stat of the game: Boise State scored at least 30 points for the eighth straight game. It’s the Broncos’ longest streak since 2011, when they scored 30 points or more in all 13 games. The Broncos also tied their season high of 42 points, which they had in the home win over North Dakota in September.
Play of the game: Boise State’s first touchdown meant more than the rest to local, die-hard fans of the Broncos. Former Borah High star Austin Bolt was a forgotten man after it took him 14 months to get back on the field following a broken leg in last season’s opener at Oregon State. He caught the first pass of his college career last week, and Madsen found him on a 42-yard score to end the Broncos’ first drive on Saturday.
What’s next: Boise State hits the road Saturday to face Utah State (5 p.m., CBS Sports Network). The Aggies (5-5, 3-3 MW) cruised to a 41-24 win over Nevada on Saturday. Boise State leads its all-time series with Utah State 22-5, and the Broncos have won their past seven meetings.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 11:26 PM.
