Success in all three phases of the game for the Broncos skyrocket them past App State as Maddux Madsen leads the way with stellar performance
The Broncos fired on all cylinders Saturday night as Boise State dominated the Appalachian State Mountaineers 41-14, earning the Broncos their third consecutive win after dropping the season opener to South Florida.
The Broncos were extremely effective in all three phases of the game, and quarterback Maddux Madsen was at the forefront of their scoring barrage. He threw for a career-high 321 yards and matched his career-high four touchdown passes. The redshirt junior completed 25 of his 37 attempts and completed passes to 10 different receivers, showcasing the team’s offensive depth and Madsen’s trust in his pass-catchers.
Boise State’s defense proved to be very impactful in the contest, forcing four turnovers, which included two pick-sixes, courtesy of A’Marion McCoy and Boen Phelps.
Safety Ty Benefield led the team in tackles for the third time this season, finishing with seven total. Braxton Fely headed the Broncos’ trench attack, finishing with a career-high two sacks.
Head Coach Spencer Danielson noted while the team still has room for improvement, especially before they take on the Fighting Irish in South Bend next week, the growth he has seen from his players has been a source of pride for him and his coaching staff.
“I’m proud of our guys just growing and embracing the challenge,” Danielson said. “That’s a good football team we played tonight, and we played really well.”
Boise State’s win over App State moves their all-time record against Sun Belt opponents to 10-0, and marks their 14th consecutive home victory.
The Broncos kicked off their high-scoring night with a Latrell Caples touchdown reception early in the first quarter to put them up 7-0. Later in the first, with App State facing a 3rd & 8 from their own 22, cornerback A’Marion McCoy returned an interception for a touchdown to extend the Boise State lead to 14-0. This was McCoy’s second pick-six of his Boise State career.
The Bronco defense kept App State at bay all night, holding them to a mere 184 yards of total offense. A big part of this defensive clinic can be attributed to defensive tackle Braxton Fely, who picked up two sacks in the second quarter.
“It was awesome. [The defense] took a huge step forward as a whole,” Fely said. “You could tell by how the front worked, it really helped the back-end, and how the back-end worked, it really helped the front. The focus from now on is to keep doing that and keep taking steps forward.”
The second quarter also saw a 14 yard touchdown reception from Ben Ford to put the Broncos up 21-0.
App State answered back when quarterback AJ Swann found Dalton Stroman for a 7 yard touchdown pass to cap off a 14 play, 75 yard drive to make the score 21-7. This score didn’t hold for long though, as Colton Boomer drilled a 25 yard field goal to make it 24-7 Broncos going into halftime.
In the third quarter, a 3 yard rushing touchdown from App State running back Jaquari Lewis made it 24-14. However, a second Colton Boomer field goal, this one from 40 yards out, made it a 27-14 ball game.
Boise State true freshman wide receiver Quinton Brown made a spectacular diving play for his first career touchdown in the final minutes of the third quarter. Brown, a native of Argyle, Texas, suffered a bloody nose after slamming hard into the turf. The image of Brown’s bloody, yet smiling face on the Fox Sports broadcast felt symbolic of the grit that the Broncos played with. A failed two point conversion attempt made it 33-14 Boise State after Brown’s score.
Maddux Madsen’s spectacular performance in the air continued in the fourth quarter when he connected with Latrell Caples for a 34 yard touchdown pass that made the score 40-14. This was Caples’ second house-call of the night, with the redshirt senior finishing the game with 5 catches for 84 yards.
Latrell Caples was just one of 10 receivers that caught a pass from Maddog. Six different receivers had at least three receptions, with Caples, Ben Ford, and Quinton Brown all recording touchdowns.
“It’s really cool to see that you’ve got a variety of guys that at any given moment can go off,” Madsen said. “That’s props to the work that they put in for sure.”
A 33 yard pick six from linebacker Boen Phelps put the game on ice and extended the Bronco lead to 33 points as the fourth quarter winded down. In the end, the multiple scoring plays from the Boise State defense and the successful air-raid attack from Maddux Madsen and his band of receivers proved to be too much for App State.
On the ground, Boise State’s rushing attack was reliable. Sire Gaines, Dylan Riley, and Malik Sherrod combined for 164 yards, with Gaines and Sherrod having the longest runs at 28 and 22 yards, respectively.
Saturday’s dominant team win from the Broncos is exactly what Bronco Nation wanted to see one week before Boise State faces their biggest challenge of the season.
On Oct. 4, the Broncos will face the #22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend. This will mark the first ever matchup between the two storied programs. As both teams continue their hunt for a playoff spot, there is no doubt that the Saturday afternoon kickoff will have the eyes of the college football world on it.
This Post Has One Comment
interesting stuff here i’m definitely reading the arbiter from here on out