In 2024, the Boise State Broncos captured the attention of America as their dominant offense brought them to the College Football Playoff. The engine that drove Boise State was their dominant running back Ashton Jeanty who put the team on his back finishing second in the race for the Heisman Trophy. On Thursday Night, the Broncos quickly figured out that replacing Ashton Jeanty is a truly impossible task.
In a game where Boise State was expected to battle with one of their biggest threats in the Group of 5, it turned out to be an absolute rout with USF winning 34-7.
The high powered Boise State offense that carried the team to the College Football Playoff disappeared on Thursday Night. It turns out that the Broncos won't be able to replace Jeanty's production by committee as the group combined for just 122 yards or what we'd call one quarter by Jeanty.
The biggest benefactor of Ashton Jeanty's ability may have been quarterback Maddux Madsen who had an impressive season but, wasn't asked to do much in 2024. When Boise State had to turn to Madsen to lead the team in this game, he simply was ineffective going 25-46 passing for 225 yards and a touchdown. It's hard to place all of the blame on Maddux Madsen as his receivers gave him absolutely no help with some of their crucial drops.
It turned out that not having defenses focus all their attention on stopping Ashton Jeanty was the reason the passing attack had so much success. At times USF had every Boise State receiver blanketed and contested every catch which wore down this offense.
What Boise State's loss means for their hopes in 2025
This Boise State team was picked to win the Mountain West but, you now have to wonder where they will go from here. This team has clear flaws that many didn't see coming as the receivers couldn't catch the ball and Maddux Madsen had to try and play hero ball in this matchup.
The loss certainly will knock Boise State out of their 25th raking in the AP Poll but, at this point that's the least of their worries. If the offense can't find a big play threat, it's going to be hard for this team to beat some of their Mountain West opponents. If USF wins the American, even if they have a worse record it'll be hard to pick Boise for a Playoff bid.
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