Broncos Trump Aggies in Thriller

Friday, November 28

Logan, Utah

2 p.m. MT

Boise State

8-4 , 6-2

Utah State

6-6 , 4-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Boise St.

Utah St.

Photo by: Kenna Harbison

11/28/2025 7:41:00 PM | Football

Box Score Gamebook Postgame Notes Highlights

LOGAN, Utah – Boise State pulled off an exhilarating 25-24 victory over Utah State in the regular season finale on Friday.

Trailing since the four-minute mark in the opening quarter, the Broncos (8-4, 6-2 Mountain West) retook the lead when Dylan Riley found the end zone on a 7-yard score with 2:56 remaining. Utah State had opportunities, with two drives down the stretch with a chance to reclaim the lead, but Boise State's defense held firm to earn the victory.

Prior to Riley's score, the Boise State defense had stops on two separate fourth-and-short opportunities in the fourth quarter, creating plays in the backfield on both occasions. The Broncos finished with a season-high 9.0 tackles-for-loss in the win.

The victory, combined with New Mexico's win over San Diego State earlier in the afternoon, put the Broncos in the middle of a three-way tie atop the conference standings. MW tiebreakers call for computer rankings to determine the two opponents for the championship game, which won't be completed until after all games are completed on Saturday. UNLV, which also has two conference losses and competes at Nevada at 7 p.m. MT on Saturday, would also be in contention with a win over the Wolf Pack.

The Aggies (6-6, 4-4 MW) scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Boise State put itself on the board with a 27-yard field goal from Colton Boomer midway through the first, set up by a fumble recovery from Jayden Virgin-Morgan a possession prior.

Matt Wagner gave the Broncos a lead, putting together back-to-back big plays for the squad. The redshirt-sophomore first recorded a 26-yard catch to put the Blue and Orange in the red zone, then scored a touchdown reception on the ensuing play to give Boise State a 10-7 advantage.

The Aggies answered the call, scoring a touchdown late in the opening frame to claim a 14-10 advantage after the first period.

Utah State extended the lead to 11 with a touchdown just under the two-minute timeout in the first half. The Broncos answered with a 14-play, 60-yard drive, leading to another field goal to make it a one-possession game, 21-13, at the break.

After the Aggies tacked on a field goal of their own, Max Cutforth found Quinton Brown for a 66-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to make it a one-score game. The Broncos failed the two-point conversion and trailed 24-19 entering the final frame.

Utah State drove the length of the field, eventually finding itself facing a fourth and two from the Boise State 14-yard line to start the fourth quarter. Roman Caywood and Derek Ganter Jr. combined for a huge tackle-for-loss, giving the Broncos the ball.

After failing to convert offensively, the Broncos found themselves in a similar situation nearly 10 minutes later. The Aggies faced a fourth and one from their own 41-yard line. The Bronco defense didn't back down as Braxton Fely and Jayden Virgin-Morgan came up with another play in the backfield to give the squad possession.

This time Boise State converted, with Riley finding the end zone with a 6-yard dash with 2:26 remaining. The Broncos failed to complete the two-point conversion and held on a 25-24 advantage.

Boise State forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, with Utah State electing to punt with all three timeouts in its back pocket. The Broncos whittled the clock down, but were stopped on fourth down on the Utah State 26-yard line, giving the Aggies the ball back with 24 seconds on the clock. Utah State wasn't able to score, allowing Boise State to leave the stadium with the victory in hand.

Top Broncos
- Max Cutforth threw for a career-high 341 yards, completing 26 of his 49 pass attempts. The redshirt sophomore also threw for a pair of touchdown passes.
- Dylan Riley finished with 122 rushing yards on 25 carries while scoring a touchdown.
- Chase Penry caught a career-high six receptions, totaling 54 yards,
- Ty Benefield, Boen Phelps and Sherrod Smith all finished with a team-high seven tackles. Smith's seven tackles were a career high.
- Roman Caywood and Max Stege each tallied 2.0 tackles-for-loss.

Notables
- The victory marks the 28th consecutive winning season for Boise State. The mark is the longest active streak in the nation and ties Oklahoma (1966-93) for the third-longest in FBS history.
- Spencer Danielson recorded his second career win after trailing going into the fourth quarter. The other win was a 29-24 victory at UNLV on Oct. 25, 2024.
- The Broncos handed Utah State its first home loss of the season.
- Max Cutforth threw for 341 yards, the first 300-yard passing game of his career. With Maddux Madsen throwing for over 300 yards twice this season, this is the first time since 2013 the Broncos have had multiple quarterbacks record a 300-yard game in the same season. Grant Hedrick and Joe Southwick each had a pair of 300-yard games that year.
- Boise State recorded a season-high 9.0 TFLs in the victory.

What's Next
With New Mexico's victory over San Diego State, Boise State is currently in a three-way tie atop the Mountain West standings. The three teams, and potentially UNLV with a victory over Nevada on Saturday, will await computer rankings to determine the two teams of the Mountain West Championship game. The championship game is slated to kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.