Boise State O-line struggles in wake of captain’s ‘frustrating’ LA Bowl opt-out

BOSIE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football fans aren’t accustomed to seeing their players opt out of end-of-season bowl games. So there was understandably some shock and mixed opinions when head coach Spencer Danielson announced earlier this week that redshirt junior left tackle Kage Casey would not play in the Broncos’ LA Bowl game against Washington.

Danielson said Friday that he and Casey had “worked through” the decision, which ultimately led Casey to skip the game, not risk injury and focus on the 2026 NFL Draft, where he’s projected as a second-day selection.

The Broncos went on to lose 38-10 to Washington, and after the game, redshirt senior tight end Matt Lauter said it was “frustrating” that Casey wasn’t available.

Casey, who the team voted as a captain at the start of the season, did not travel to Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.

“Obviously, we don’t have Kage, and you know, that’s frustrating,” Lauter said. “But we’ve got to move on from it, and we did, and we went out there, and we played our hearts out, and it just didn’t go our way.”

When asked in a follow-up question how difficult it was for the team to miss Casey’s leadership and ability, Lauter said,

“I’m not going to answer that question.” Danielson also didn’t give much away when asked after the game about Casey’s absence, saying he was “focused on the team playing the game.”

Casey’s inclusion likely wouldn’t have made that big a difference for Boise State, which suffered its second-largest margin of defeat (28) in a bowl game. Washington also handed the Broncos their worst bowl defeat, 38-7, in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.

But his absence certainly didn’t help the Broncos, who played most of the game without three of their starting five offensive linemen.

Right tackle Daylon Metoyer missed the game after picking up an injury in the Mountain West championship game last weekend, and right guard Roger Carreon exited the game in the first quarter after a Washington player rolled into his legs.

The Boise State run game failed to get going, picking up only 58 yards on 28 carries. Sophomore running back Dylan Riley, who leads the team in rushing yards, had just 34 yards on 10 attempts.

The increased pressure on Bronco quarterbacks Maddux Madsen and Max Cutforth also led to three sacks and five interceptions, several of which resulted from Washington pass rushers forcing ill-advised throws.

“It doesn’t really change anything, we’re gonna stick to our process,” Lauter said about the O-line’s absentees. “But, yeah, we’ve gotta have tight ends be in there to help chip and help slow those (defensive) ends down.”