The regular season finale will pit Utah State against its toughest rival of the 21st century. Wins have been more plentiful against BYU or Utah than against Boise State, but it remains a regional matchup that will continue into the Pac-12 era for both the Aggies and Broncos.
Boise State is hoping for a repeat of its fantastic 2024 season and will likely be aiming to cap off a great regular season run by the time it arrives in Logan on the final Friday of November.
This is the in-depth preseason preview of Utah State’s twelfth and final regular season opponent of the season, the Boise State Broncos.
Other Opponent Previews
Game Info
- Game Day: Nov. 28 (Friday)
- Location: Merlin Olsen Field (Logan, UT)
- Kickoff Time: 2 p.m.
- TV Broadcast: CBS
- Radio Broadcast: KVNU 102.1 FM / 610 AM
Quick-Hit Info on Boise State
- Head Coach: Spencer Danielson (3rd season at Boise State)
- 2024 Record: 12-2
- 2024 Offense Rank: 5th (37.3 points per game)
- 2024 Defense Rank: 38th (22.6 points allowed per game)
- Returning Starters — (7 offense, 7 defense)
- 2025 Preseason Average Ranking — 39.5
- Ranked 25th in both the AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll
Returning Production Rank — 13th
History of Utah State vs this opponent
- All-Time Series: Boise State leads 24-5
- Series During MW Era: Boise State leads 11-1
- First-Ever Meeting: Nov. 15, 1975 (Utah State won 42-19)
- Most Recent Meeting: Oct. 5, 2024 (Boise State won 62-30)
The numbers keep going up in the wrong way for Utah State in this series. The Aggies have lost nine consecutive games against the Broncos, which is creeping ever closer to tying the 12-game losing streak Utah State had in this matchup dating from 1998 to 2014. It’ll be quite the big deal when the losing streak ends and when Utah State manages to get a winning streak. When that happens is anyone’s guess, though.
Opposing Players to Watch
- Maddux Madsen (QB)
- Latrell Caples (WR)
- Matt Lauter (TE)
- Jayden Virgin-Morgan (DL)
- Marco Notarainni (LB)
- Ty Benefield (DB)
- A’Marion McCoy (DB)
The Broncos in 2024
Boise State has some truly memorable seasons that are incredibly hard to match. And yet, 2024 met that high standard. The Broncos had one blotch on their regular season, a 37-34 loss to the eventual Big Ten champion Oregon Ducks. Everything else was an inevitable march to the College Football Playoff. Ashton Jeanty dominated all competition en route to being the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy as Boise State posted dominant win over dominant win. Minus a close call or two against Wyoming (17-13), Nevada (28-21) and UNLV (29-24) it was just about wall-to-wall blowouts until the postseason.
Boise State did so well, that everyone had to be reminded that a G6 conference champion could, in fact, earn a first-round bye. Which the Broncos ultimately did.
But unlike some of those memorable 2000s BCS-busting teams, 2024 didn’t end with any victories against Power Four teams. In its first game of the playoff, the Broncos lost to Penn State 31-14, putting an end to the magical season.
2025 Season Prospects
The Broncos lost multiple studs on the team, including Jeanty, defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (9.5 sacks, 16 TFLs) and wide receiver Cam Camper (903 receiving yards), but still manage to rank 13th in the country in returning production. It’s really impressive, losing 2,601 rushing yards, 29 touchdowns and still managing to be 12th in returning offensive production.
Maddux Madsen, and really the entire pass attack, is a big reason for that. Madsen threw for 3,018 yards, 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions. That was honestly relatively light work as Madsen ranked only 58th in yards per game (215.6). However, that’s likely to change this year as Madsen will shoulder a bigger responsibility for production with Jeanty now wearing a Raiders jersey. That added responsibility and expectation is reflected in Madsen’s selection to the preseason All-MW team.
Madsen does lose his top pass-catcher in Camper, but returns two other great options, tight end Matt Lauter (619 yards) and wide receiver Latrell Caples (473 yards), both of whom were named preseason All-Mountain West. Caples especially should be getting a major boost in production as he takes over the role of being the number one receiver. Along with those two, one of the more promising pass-catchers is Chris Marshall, who redshirted last year after suffering an injury four games into the season. He caught only two passes for 13 yards in that time, but will be climbing the depth chart for this upcoming season.
Where Boise State’s best returning production actually comes from though, is its offensive line. Four of the five guys that blocked for Jeanty last year are back, including tackle Kage Casey who is receiving significant NFL Draft interest. This unit yielded just 1.07 sacks per game last year (12th in the country) and should be just as good this season. They’ll also pave the way for the next crop of elite running backs the Broncos keep pumping out. The two at the top of the depth chart this year are Sire Gaines and Malik Sherrod. Gaines only appeared in three games last year, but ran the ball 20 times for 156 yards (7.8 per rush) as a freshman. Sherrod played five years at Fresno State, but had his 2024 season cut short by injury. In 2023, he ran for 966 yards and nine touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
Defense is where there’s been at least some notable attrition, but there’s hardly any reason to expect a significant drop-off from last year’s defense that ranked top 40 in the nation in points allowed. Hassanein is a big loss and they also lost a pair of starting defensive backs, Alexander Teubner and Rodney Robinson, but there are just as capable guys to step up in those position groups. Boise State returns its best pass-rusher, Jayden Virgin-Morgan (10.0 sacks, 16 TFLs), and two preseason All-MW defensive backs, A’Marion McCoy and Ty Benefield, the latter having led the Broncos in tackles last year (82).
It’s pretty clear that Boise State has the talent to repeat as Mountain West champions as so many of its core players return. But the star of the show, Jeanty, the driving force that terrified opposing teams is now gone. Contention for the conference title is guaranteed, but how likely is it for the Broncos to be true contenders for the College Football Playoff? A lot of that will rely on the growth of Madsen as a quarterback, who will now get more attention as fewer teams are going to be stacking the box to slow down Jeanty by any means necessary.
Boise State’s offense is very likely not going to be near the level it was last year, ranking fifth in the nation in points per game. Whether the Broncos are national contenders are not depends on limiting the drop in offensive production (i.e. stay in the top 20-30) while also getting the defense to improve to make up for some of the expected drop-off on offense. Their defense last year wasn’t bad by pretty much any standard, but it had its issues. They ranked 91st in opposing quarterback pass efficiency, 77th in turnovers forced and 60th in yards allowed per game. The strength of the unit came from abundant sacks and TFLs (second and fifth in the country in those two stats). Boise State should still be able to create those negative plays, but will need to improve in a few of those weaker areas to ensure the Broncos can remain not just the cream of the Group of Six crop, but to remain one of the nation’s top teams.
Preseason Game Prediction — Blowout loss
This probably isn’t the year Utah State gets the monkey off its back in relation to Boise State. Even the best Aggie teams have come up short vs lesser Broncos squads and that isn’t the kind of matchup we’re likely to see. Boise State is gunning for the College Football Playoff once again and is quite likely to get it, being ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 and returning so much talent and experience. Utah State, meanwhile, is rebuilding and not likely to be putting up its best challenge to the G6 powerhouse. There’s always hope, but there’s also always next year.
