‘Elite’: Maddux Madsen’s best game at Boise State leads to rout of Mountain West foe

Ashton Jeanty may have been the player who struck fear into the hearts of San Diego State on Friday night, but one day after Halloween, it was Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen who made the Aztecs have a frightening night.

For the second straight game, an opponent made it a point to try to limit Jeanty, the Broncos’ star junior running back. And once again, Madsen showed he has no issues stepping up to be “the guy.”

Madsen had career highs in completions (24), passing yards (307) and passing touchdowns (four) at Albertsons Stadium as Boise State (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West) posted a 56-24 victory over San Diego State (3-5, 2-1). The redshirt sophomore also rushed for 25 yards.

Madsen’s previous career highs for completions (22) and passing yards (280) both came against against Georgia Southern in this year’s season opener. He threw three touchdown passes against Utah State in October.

“Maddux Madsen played elite today,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “... He knows what decisions we need him to make to win football games and to play really efficient offensively.”

Jeanty didn’t exactly have a bad game. He was stymied in the first half, rushing for only 37 yards, but the Heisman Trophy hopeful put up 180 total yards and two rushing touchdowns against a San Diego State defense that stacked the box in any attempt to stop him.

With Jeanty a bit tied up, Madsen took the game into his own hands, especially in the first half, which saw him throw for 261 yards and all four touchdowns. He threw to 10 different receivers and continued to build his connection with redshirt senior Latrell Caples, who had a team-high six catches and three of the TDs.

Caples finished the night with 90 receiving yards.

“We work on it every day,” Caples said about his connection with Madsen. “There’s different ways we can get better at things. We communicate every time, whether it’s a route I’m open or not. Just finding ways to get open and be able to keep that connection between us is a huge part of our game.”

The three touchdown catches were Caples’ first of the season after battling back from an Achilles injury that kept him out of the 2023 campaign. As he pulled in that third TD — a wide-open 14-yard reception on a slant — Caples counted to three on one hand before pointing to the No. 3 on his jersey.

“I felt good. It was a blessing, because it’s been over a year since I got a chance to get into the end zone,” Caples said. “So being able to get three of them and help the team win is just a huge plus.”

It wasn’t just Caples who Madsen was jiving with, either. He found fifth-year receiver Cam Camper for 50 yards and sophomore wide receiver Prince Strachan for 49 yards and his first touchdown catch of the season.

After the game, which ended with 541 total yards on 80 plays for the Broncos, Madsen did not speak with the media.

Madsen played eight drives, six of which ended in touchdowns, before he made way for redshirt freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson.

Nelson closed out the game with a touchdown drive of his own, completing both of his passes for 15 yards. Sixth-year fullback Tyler Crowe, a fan favorite, capped off the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the season and third of his career.