Boise State coach ‘unwavering’ in belief in quarterbacks, despite setbacks
The 2026 offseason had the potential to be a busy one for Boise State at quarterback.
After another season-ending loss to a Power Four opponent — this time by the score of 38-10 to Washington in the LA Bowl — the Broncos could have asked some questions at the most important position on the field.
In Saturday’s loss under the bright lights at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, QBs Maddux Madsen and Max Cutforth combined for five interceptions. It capped off an up-and-down season for the offense, which scored 7 points in all four of its regular season losses, and then 10 in this game, thanks to a late TD pass from Cutforth.
Quarterback is a lightning-rod position, and everyone knows it. Madsen, who has mostly feasted on Mountain West teams but not been sharp against better opponents, even talked this season about how people would come after his family, something that upset him.
But if fans were hoping to see QB talent pursued through the transfer portal, they’ll probably be disappointed. Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson nipped that idea in the bud following Saturday night’s loss.
“Maddux Madsen is an elite competitor, and that’s our quarterback,” Danielson said. “And we believe in Max Cutforth that he came in and did some good things. ... I think the easy answer is always, ‘Well, you should go to the portal.’ No, I believe in our quarterbacks. I believe in Maddux. I believe in Max Cutforth.”
Danielson did acknowledge, though, that Saturday night’s play wasn’t good enough from either player.
Madsen completed just 7-of-16 pass attempts for 51 yards and two interceptions in the first half. He reappeared for the second half on the sideline with a boot on his previously injured right foot, giving Cutforth — who essentially went 2-2 while filling in for Madsen — an opportunity.
The sophomore from Nampa did a lot of throwing because of the score, and completed 15-for-27 passes for 202 yards, but he tossed three interceptions — all in the fourth quarter, and two of them on consecutive offensive plays.
His touchdown pass came in the final two minutes of the game on an 8-yard screen pass to redshirt senior tight end Matt Lauter.
There was a lot that went wrong for the Broncos on Saturday night, from blown coverages on defense to the running game’s inability to get going to a failure to pick up first downs in short-yardage situations.
But the errors were magnified because of the turnovers from the quarterback position.
Madsen’s first interception was thrown straight to Washington linebacker Xe’ree Alexander late in the first quarter, but the defense held and forced a punt. His second interception late in the first half came on a reckless play in which he was scrambling and then threw up a prayer high across the field.
That pick allowed the Huskies to take over in great field position and score to take a 24-3 lead into halftime.
Things didn’t get all that better with Cutforth. One of his interceptions was returned 57 yards by the Huskies, and another was a lob into the Washington end zone that was picked off by cornerback Leroy Bryant.
“We weren’t explosive offensively,” Danielson said. “A lot of that came down to some of the protection, and so we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to make better decisions at quarterback. There’s some interceptions there that are tough, and there’s some that just cannot happen.”
As things stand, Boise State is set to have six quarterbacks on its roster in 2026: With Madsen and Cutforth will be current freshman Zeke Martinez and redshirt freshman Kaleb Annett, as well as incoming freshmen Jackson Taylor and Cash Herrera.
Both Cutforth and Martinez are Treasure Valley products who arrived at Boise State as walk-ons; Cutforth earned a scholarship at the tail end of last season.
“Do we need to get better? Do we need to improve? Are we going to compete? All yes,” Danielson said. “But I’m unwavering in the fact that I believe in Maddux Madsen, I believe in our quarterbacks.”
