Despite big-game losses, Boise State stands by its ‘warrior’ quarterback

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Packed into a small, makeshift press conference room just yards away from fans filtering along the brick concourse of Notre Dame Stadium, head coach Spencer Danielson fielded questions about the Boise State offense and, in particular, his quarterback. The Broncos had just lost 28-7 to Notre Dame, and starter Maddux Madsen had thrown four interceptions.

“There’s not a quarterback in the country that I would like to be the quarterback of our team (other) than Maddux Madsen,” Danielson said, with “Go Irish!” cheers ringing behind the closed metal doors. Notre Dame fans were celebrating a three-touchdown win after their team nearly covered as 21.5-point favorites in a choppy, penalty-filled game.

Boise State, which was penalized 13 times, briefly had a 7-6 lead in the second quarter but didn’t score again.

For the 5,000 to 6,000 Boise State fans who traveled to South Bend, Indiana, and the tens of thousands more watching back home, it was another disappointing result against a big-time opponent, and another subpar performance in a big game for Madsen.

The redshirt junior endured one of his worst outings at Notre Dame, completing 22-of-37 passes for 215 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per attempt, while under almost constant pressure.

There were only two big plays in the passing game, each covering 28 yards, and Madsen’s QB rating was 43.9. But it’s not as if there is any controversy at Boise State (3-2), which lost its season opener at South Florida, a game that saw Madsen go just 25-for-46 for 225 yards. He didn’t have any interceptions in that game, but fumbled twice, losing one of them.

“Maddux Madsen is our quarterback, and I wouldn’t want to have any other quarterback in the country than him. Period. End of story,” Danielson said, perhaps being a bit hyperbolic but also showing the utmost confidence in someone who has done a lot of winning — just not against Power Four schools.

Since becoming Boise State’s full-time starting QB at the start of 2024, Madsen has a 15-4 record, including a Mountain West championship game victory.

The setbacks last year were against Oregon and Penn State, the latter game being in the College Football Playoff.

In three games against Power Four opponents, Madsen has been unable to elevate his play, averaging 222.3 passing yards. In the Oregon loss he was just 17-of-40 for 148 yards and one TD.

He was far more accurate against Penn State, completing 23-of-35 for 304 yards and a score while superstar running back Ashton Jeanty was mostly bottled up, but he also had three interceptions.

It’s also fair and important to note that despite its reputation, Boise State has not been a giant killer recently, struggling against the best college football competition, something that predates Madsen’s tenure.

Since 2021, the Broncos are 0-8 against Notre Dame and teams from the Power Five leagues, including the old Pac-12. That record is 1-9 if you include games split with then-independent BYU — which now is in the Big 12 — in 2021 and ‘22. It’s 1-10 adding in the Central Florida loss in 2021; the Knights beat BSU in 2023 after they had moved to the Big 12. That record becomes 3-10 if you add in 2024 wins over Oregon State and Washington State after those two got left behind in the realignment madness that essentially dissolved the Pac-12.

That conference is being reborn next season, of course, with Boise State as a member in what will be an eight-team football league. The Broncos’ last victory against a team while it was a member of a power conference came at the start of 2019, when Boise State beat Florida State 36-31 in Tallahassee, Florida, to open the season. The Seminoles went 6-7 that year and fired their head coach.

Madsen has not lost a game against a Mountain West foe as a full-time starter. The one game he started in 2023, against New Mexico, also was a win — but Madsen was injured in the second quarter and missed the rest of the season.

Overall, Madsen’s 2025 stats still look good, a result of huge games in blowout wins where the Broncos were big favorites. He has eight TD passes and just one interception in those victories, throwing for 301 yards per game.

Danielson conceded Monday that Madsen needs to do a better job of not letting a negative play affect future plays, but also said his quarterback is “one of the best I’ve been around” at reading the field. “(Madsen) dang near will memorize the call sheet because of how much he preps,” Danielson said. “I don’t think anybody gives him enough credit regards to the work he puts in to play quarterback at Boise State.”

He also discussed Madsen’s decision-making. The QB scrambled out of the pocket on several occasions against Notre Dame. Some of that was by design to avoid a big pass rush, while some of it was Madsen either running for his life or escaping a clean pocket quickly in anticipation of the pressure.

“There are moments in the game where the protection was there, and he left the pocket too early,” Danielson said Monday. “There were some times, though, that the reason why that happened is because a play affected how he felt previously. That’s a big thing for me: Don’t let one play affect the next.”

It’s impossible to say whether there’d be some sort of QB controversy at Boise State if there happened to be a seasoned player behind him. Two years ago, the Broncos were playing both Madsen and Taylen Green in many games, and a tough situation developed.

Then Madsen got hurt and Green transferred to Arkansas, where he’s been very pedestrian. Last season, Madsen beat out former five-star recruit and USC transfer Malachi Nelson for the starting job, and Nelson eventually transferred to UTEP, where he’s the starter this season as a redshirt sophomore.

Nelson is completing only 55% of his passes for the Miners, with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Madsen’s top backup this season is redshirt sophomore Max Cutforth, a product of Skyview High in Nampa. He has completed 6-of-10 passes for 67 yards in 2025, including leading a touchdown drive at Air Force after Madsen left injured for a series.

Behind him is redshirt freshman Kaleb Annett.

“Maddux Madsen is a warrior. I will go to war with Maddux Madsen any day of the week,” Danielson said right after the Notre Dame loss. “… We’ll watch the film and find ways for him to continue to grow.”