The Boise State football team got themselves into a hole early on in the 2023 season with hopes for another Mountain West championship appearance on the line.
They show signs of life all over the field, but have yet to put together a consistent and complete performance against formidable opponents.
Here’s the story of the 2023 season so far:
Offense
The Broncos’ offense is perhaps the biggest disappointment at this point in the season (besides their record).
First year offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and sophomore quarterback, Taylen Green had a whole offseason to get acquainted and implement a “taylored to Taylen”, offensive scheme. Despite this, the offense just isn’t clicking.
Five weeks into the season, the offense has scored 28.6 points and 420.4 yards per game which is middle of the road compared to the rest of the nation. On top of this, the team seems to have a mid-season quarterback battle heading into conference play for the second consecutive season.
This quarterback controversy comes after both Green and redshirt freshman Maddux Madsen both had opportunities to lead the offense against the University of Memphis..
Whether it be bringing Hamdan down to the field to call plays, or putting Madsen in the game when the Broncos need to throw the ball, it seems that Boise State is desperate for a solution to right the ship on the offensive side of the ball.
The Broncos also haven’t had a receiver with 1,000+ yards since Khalil Shakir in 2021. Although sophomore wide receiver Eric McAlister recently emerged as a primary target in the passing game, the only player on track to record 1,000+ receiving yards is listed as a running back (Ashton Jeanty).
When all is said and done however, Jeanty has been the only reliable playmaker on offense since week one.
Defense
It’s difficult to fairly judge Boise State’s defense. Nationally, they’re a bottom performing unit in yards per game (433.6) and points per game (31.6), but they’re middle of the pack in the Mountain West.
The stats don’t tell the full story, however. They’ve given up a season total of 10 points through the first quarter of each game.
The Bronco defense plays well throughout the first three quarters of the game, but struggles to close out in the final minutes.
The Broncos have been outscored in the fourth quarter in three games, two of which resulted in a loss.
They have also allowed two game-deciding drives within the last five minutes of regulation. Additionally, San Diego State almost pulled off a two-score comeback but Ashton Jeanty sealed the win for Boise State after covering up an onside kick.
Overall the defense seems to have improved week by week. They need to come up with more turnovers and get off the field in the second half consistently if they want to finish the season with 10 wins.
Week 1
The University of Washington hit Boise State with cold water in the season opener.
It was predicted that the Huskies would give the Broncos’ secondary a tough time, and they did.
Boise State bit off more than the defensive back squad was ready to chew. Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. gashed the Bronco defense with 450 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
On the flipside, Boise State’s offense showed signs of life throughout the game, but couldn’t match the explosiveness of the Huskies, which has been a theme of the season for that side of the ball.
One silver lining was the forced emergence of Jeanty as the primary running back for the team as senior Geroge Holani went down with a knee injury in the first quarter.
Since then, Jeanty has been the bell cow back and Holani has been absent from every game so far this season.
Week 2
The University of Central Florida Knights came to Albertsons Stadium for the Broncos’ home opener, and subsequently handed them their most heartbreaking loss of the season so far.
Aside from the handful of miraculous turnovers from both teams early in the match, this game was boring to watch until the final few minutes.
Up 10-9 in a scoreless third quarter, Green came out of the game with leg cramps and in went freshman quarterback Madux, “Maddogg”, Madsen.
He gave a shaky but determined first performance as he led the offense to what was nearly a game winning drive, until the Knights came right back and kicked their fourth and final field goal as time expired to clutch a 18-16 victory.
Week 3
In Boise State’s first victory of the season, they bullied a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school off the blue turf in the ugliest way imaginable.
The University of North Dakota (UND) never really hung around, but they did test the Broncos, especially with turnovers.
Jeanty had his worst game of the season with 73 all-purpose yards while coughing the ball up twice. With Green’s interception on the night, the Broncos tallied three turnovers to UND’s two.
One key player that emerged from the game was McAlister.
His performance marked the first designated receiver to notch over 100 yards with two touchdowns, one from Green and one from Madsen.
Week 4
San Diego State University (SDSU) hosted the Broncos in the first MWC game of the season for either team.
As per the standard this year, Boise State allowed the Aztecs to get off to a hot start, featuring two 40+ yard returns on special teams and a 7 point lead.
Following that, the Broncos settled in and put up 17 in the second quarter and held on to the end, in a 34-31 victory in San Diego.
The game is the first and only true benchmark we have to analyze the Broncos strength in the MWC this year.
SDSU is 2-4 this season, most recently losing to Air Force 49-10.
The score may not show it, but the Broncos really had their way with the Aztecs for most of the game until SDSU’s offense tried to put together a miraculous scoring drive to onside kick to field goal combination. The attempt was stopped short at the onside kick phase of the plan thanks to Jeanty.
Week 5
Boise State’s loss to the University of Memphis marks the end of non-conference play and the beginning of the MWC campaign.
The match also marks the beginning of yet another season of uncertainty at the quarterback position.
Green didn’t have a bad game, but he definitely didn’t have a good one. When it came down to a pair of must-score drives in the fourth quarter, the Broncos called on, “Maddogg” Madsen to get them into the endzone both times.
When your backup quarterback outscores the starter two touchdowns to none, people are going to start asking questions.
“We’ll look at what’s best for our team and we’ll move forward,” head coach Andy Avalos said when asked if Taylen Green is still the starting quarterback. “I’m not going to make that decision right now. We’re going to go back and watch film and we’re going to evaluate…”
Whether or not Green really is in the hot seat, the Broncos are 0-3 in non-conference play, and cannot remain stagnant while expecting to win the Mountain West.
Going Forward
As it stands, the Broncos are no longer the favorites to win or even appear in the MWC championship game. That wishful thinking belongs to the Air Force Academy and No. 24 Fresno State University.
With that said, the power isn’t completely out of Boise State’s hands. The team must win out for the rest of the season, and that includes beating the two aforementioned schools.
The Fresno State does not play the Air Force this year. This means that the Broncos can lose to the Bulldogs, but must beat the Falcons in order to have a chance at the championship game.
It’s no secret that the Broncos are struggling this season, and their current situation is similar to what they found themselves in last last season.
Last year, just as conference play was upon them, they fired their offensive coordinator, had a freshman quarterback take the reins of the offense and won out in the MWC, earning an appearance in the championship game.
The Blueprint
In order to turn this season around, the Broncos have to figure out how to push the ball down field on offense.
This week against San Jose State, that responsibility will be split between Green and Madsen.
“You look at what Taylen’s done in conference and his athleticism and the plays he’s been able to make, that’s not something we’re just ready to say ‘hey we’re letting that part of the game drop’…,’” Hamdan said to the media. “You’re in second and long situations or you’re in third and longer situations. Right now Maddux has the better feel in drop back pass type situations.”
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said that they are improving, but they haven’t played as consistently as he knows they can.
“[Memphis] was in the red zone three times, they got three touchdowns…,” Danielson said to the media. “Holding teams to three points or less is a huge part of playing elite defense.”
With JL Skinner and Scott Matlock gone to the NFL, key players like nickelback Seyi Oladipo and sack leader Ahmed Hassanein have to step up for the Broncos big for the chance to even continue playing after the regular season.
Overall I think the team this year has a ceiling of an 8-4 record, (likely dropping a game to Fresno State) with a possibility of a Mountain West Championship and mid tier bowl game appearance.
