Halloween nightmare: Boise State loses QB Madsen, gets hammered by Fresno State
Pick any Halloween adjective you’d like — ghastly, frightful, horrid — and it still probably can’t do justice to Boise State’s game Saturday afternoon against Fresno State.
Looking to continue their Mountain West Conference dominance, reclaim the Milk Can Trophy and extend a home winning streak that was tied for the nation’s longest, the Broncos looked as if they had a trick-or-treat hangover. They lost their starting quarterback and watched their season come unglued, losing 30-7 to the Bulldogs at Albertsons Stadium.
There will be no return to the College Football Playoff, a goal that was on life support already, and now Boise State (6-3, 4-1) will have to rally even to make the conference championship game for the fourth season in a row and keep its three-peat hopes alive.
It all unraveled against 17.5-point underdog Fresno State (6-3, 3-2), which won its third straight in the series and ended the Broncos’ 16-game home winning streak — not with some masterful game plan or cracker-jack performance, really, but by taking advantage of a backup quarterback and a lot of BSU mistakes.
“I want to talk to Bronco Nation: I truly apologize for the product that they watched today,” said coach Spencer Danielson, who lost at home for the first time in his tenure. “They saved their money, they find a way to come out and support our team, and what they watched today was not the standard.”
Boise State lost starting QB Maddux Madsen midway through the first quarter with what appeared to be a right ankle injury. He was sacked by defensive lineman Korey Foreman, who had a tight grip on Madsen’s lower right leg and landed on it as the QB went down.
Madsen was helped off the field by trainers and was putting no pressure on his right foot. After some time in the medical tent, he was helped to a cart and driven off the field, a towel draped over his lowered head.
He didn’t return to the game, but was on the sideline on crutches. Danielson said after the game that from what he saw, it’s “going to be awhile” before Madsen can return.
Redshirt sophomore Max Cutforth, who played at Skyview High School in Nampa, stepped in and eventually led a 12-play, 50-yard touchdown drive to tie the score 7-7 with 2:07 left in the first half. Cutforth hit a wide-open Chase Penry on a 10-yard TD pass.
The rest of the game, however, was an absolute disaster for Cutforth and the offense, which mustered a mere 193 total yards and had 46 yards the entire second half — 36 of which came on the final of seven drives.
Their last first-half possession resulted in an interception when Cutforth’s pass hit off tight end Matt Lauter and was snagged by Simeon Harris, setting up Fresno State at the BSU 46-yard line. A pass interference penalty put the Bulldogs into field-goal range, and Dylan Lynch converted from 36 yards out with 5 seconds left for a 10-7 halftime lead.
In the second half, the very first play for the Broncos was a fumble by Cutforth when he was sacked. On the next drive he threw an interception directly to linebacker Tytus Khajavi. The next two possessions were three-and-outs, resulting in quick punts.
That ineptitude gave Fresno State plenty of short fields, and its offense, which was stymied by Boise State on the whole, took advantage with scoring drives of 27, 43, 4 and 50 yards in the second half.
That was a theme for the day. The Bulldogs had a 55-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter; they had 5 total yards on six other possessions over the first two quarters. They ended the game with only 224 yards of offense, 189 of which came on the ground.
Cutforth finished 14-of-29 for 106 yards, with the TD pass, two interceptions, two fumbles and a slew of misfires. The rushing attack did nothing to relieve the pressure, managing just 91 yards on 29 carries, an average of 3.1 per run.
“Obviously, he didn’t play extremely well tonight, but this isn’t on Max,” Danielson said. “Did he play perfect? No, there’s some things that Max needs to do better, but this is on our entire team.”
The Bulldogs won behind sophomore quarterback Carson Conklin, who was starting just his second collegiate game and was highly unimpressive. He finished 10-of-21 for 35 yards, with a long completion of 8 yards— but he didn’t turn the ball over, and his team won handily.
Madsen was just 1-for-4 passing for minus-4 yards before his injury, and the team had an unusually slow start on The Blue, punting on its first three drives and getting a field-goal attempt blocked on the fourth.
Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod led the Broncos’ offense with 67 yards rushing on 10 carries, but his old teammates got the last laugh and took home the Milk Can Trophy.
Boise State has possessed that coveted, dinged-up trophy can for much of its history, but the Bulldogs have been the owners since winning the 2022 Mountain West championship game at Albertsons Stadium. They beat the Broncos in Fresno in 2023 to retain the trophy, and the teams did not play last season.
Even before Madsen’s injury, Boise State was without some key players. Wide receivers Chris Marshall and Ben Ford were both out — Marshall because of a one-week suspension and Ford through a season-ending injury — and so was redshirt senior safety Zion Washington.
Boise State also was without wide receiver Demetric Whitlock, linebacker Chase Martin, running back Seth Knothe and starting offensive lineman Hall Schmidt.
The Broncos now enter their second bye week of the season before traveling to the team atop the conference standings, San Diego State (7-1, 4-0).
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM.
