Broncos Open MW Play on the Road at Air Force

OPENING KICKOFF

Boise State will open Mountain West play against Air Force on Saturday after having claimed conference titles in back-to-back seasons. Through 14 seasons as members of the league, Boise State is 12-2 in MW openers and boasts an 11-3 mark in conference road openers. The Broncos have been a dominant force in the league, boasting a 90-17 (.841) record, with only five of those 17 losses coming by more than seven points. Boise State enters the matchup having won 27 of its last 30 MW games.
Boise State enters Week 4 of the 2025 college football season as the only FBS team that hasn't played a Saturday game. This snaps a streak of five consecutive non-Saturday games for the Broncos, which is the longest in program history. Boise State opened the season at South Florida on Thursday, August 28 before hosting Eastern Washington in its home opener on Friday, Sept. 5. The Broncos were idle in Week 3.
The Broncos are coming off a dominant 51-14 victory over Eastern Washington on Sept. 5, totaling 637 yards of offense in the win. The Blue and Orange finished with 309 yards in the air and 328 yards on the ground, marking the first time the Broncos have recorded over 300 yards in both categories since passing for 418 yards and rushing for 400 against Connecticut on Sept. 8, 2018. Five different Broncos recorded a rushing touchdown against the Eagles (Malik Sherrod, Sire Gaines, Maddux Madsen, Cameron Bates, Dylan Riley), marking the first time that has occurred since a contest against Southern Miss on Sept. 28, 2013.
Several Broncos registered their best performances of their careers against the Eagles. Quarterback Maddux Madsen matched his career-high with 307 passing yards, while running back Dylan Riley's 123 yards on the ground were also a career-high. Wide receivers Chris Marshall (151) and Ben Ford (82) set career marks in receiving yards. Defensively, Ty Benefield matched his career-high in tackles (9) and tackle-for-loss (3), while Jaden Mickey recorded a career-high seven tackles in his first career start.
Boise State's 37-point victory over Eastern Washington marks the eighth consecutive season it has defeated an opponent by 30+ points. The Broncos have done so in 26 of the last 27 seasons. The lone blemish was the 2017 season, where Boise State's largest margin of victory was a pair of 41-14 wins in back-to-back weeks against Utah State and Nevada.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bye, Bye, Bye
Historically, Boise State knows how to take advantage of an idle week. Since moving up to the FBS ranks in 1996, the Broncos are 29-4 (.879) following a bye week. Since joining the Mountain West, Boise State is 16-1 (.941) and 28-1 (.966) since joining the Western Athletic Conference. The only losses following a bye week came in 1996 (at Fresno State), 1998 (in overtime against Idaho), 2000 (at Washington State) and 2015 (New Mexico). Air Force is 3-6 against opponents coming off a bye since 2020.

Success in the Mountain West
Through 14 seasons in the Mountain West, Boise State has lost just 17 games in conference play. Only five of those losses have come by more than seven points. The Broncos are 90-17 (.841) in Mountain West league play and have won 27 of its past 30 MW games. Boise State has posted a 44-10 (.815) record in road conference games in the Mountain West.

Career Days Everywhere
Several Broncos had memorable performances in the Broncos' 51-14 victory over Eastern Washington on Sept. 5. Quarterback Maddux Madsen matched his career-high with 307 passing yards in the win, while running back Dylan Riley's 123 yards on the ground were also a career-high. Wide receivers Ben Ford (82) and Chris Marshall (151) set career marks in receiving yards. Defensively, Ty Benefield matched his career-high in tackles (9) and tackles-for-loss (3), while Jaden Mickey recorded a career-high seven tackles in his first career start.

Used to Big Wins
Boise State's 37-point victory over Eastern Washington on Sept. 5 marks the eighth consecutive season it has defeated an opponent by 30+ points. The Broncos have done so in 26 of the last 27 seasons. The lone blemish was the 2017 season, where Boise State's largest margin of victory was a pair of 41-14 wins in back-to-back weeks against Utah State and Nevada.

Offensive Onslaught
Boise State finished with 637 total yards on Sept. 5 against Eastern Washington, the most yards the program has recorded in a game since notching 651 total yards against Georgia Southern in last year's season opener on Aug. 31, 2024. The Blue and Orange finished with 309 yards in the air and 328 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time the Broncos have recorded over 300 yards in both categories since joining the FBS ranks in 1996 and the first since passing for 418 yards and rushing for 400 against Connecticut on Sept. 8, 2018.

He's Back
Sire Gaines earned his second career Mountain West weekly accolade on Sept. 8, earning the Old Trapper MW Freshman of the Week honor. The redshirt-freshman running back totaled 98 yards on the ground (7.0 yards per carry) and a touchdown on 14 carries in the Broncos' victory over Eastern Washington. It is the second time the Perris, Calif., native has taken home the award, capturing the honors following his first career game against Georgia Southern last season. Gaines is the third Bronco to earn the award multiple times, joining quarterbacks Taylen Green (four-time honoree) and Maddux Madsen (two-time honoree).

Big Play Broncos
Dylan Riley ran for a career-long 77-yard touchdown against Eastern Washington, finishing with a career-high 123 yards on the ground. This was Boise State's fifth rushing score of 75+ yards in the last two seasons, the most in the FBS. Boise State also had 11 offensive plays of 20+ yards against Eastern Washington, tied with Nebraska, Ole Miss, USC and Wake Forest. for the most in a game this season. Of the five teams, Boise State had the most 20+ yard rushes (6).

Protect the Quarterback
Quarterback Maddux Madsen has been well-protected in Boise State's first two games. In 84 dropbacks, the Bronco offensive line allowed only one sack and two quarterback hits. In 2024, Boise State ranked 12th in the nation in sacks allowed (1.07 per game) and 14th in tackles for loss allowed (4.14 per game).

Efficiency From Maddux
Maddux Madsen's career record as a starting quarterback is 14-3. Last season, he led the Mountain West in passing yards (3,018) and passing touchdowns (23). He also ranked second in the MW in passing efficiency (143.6). In MW games, Madsen recorded 12 touchdowns and one interception, making him the only player in the country with 12+ touchdowns and one interception in conference play.

Limiting Turnovers
Maddux Madsen has zero interceptions this season, giving him the lowest interception ratio in program history (9 INTs in 604 attempts, .015). He is especially impressive on the road, entering the game with 220 consecutive road pass attempts without an interception. This is the longest active streak in the country by more than 50 attempts, with Ben Finley (Akron) sitting at 162. He is one attempt behind Brett Rypien for the longest Mountain West streak since 2012, with Rypien throwing 221 straight road passes without an interception from Oct. 16, 2015 to Oct. 29, 2016. Ryan Dinwiddie has the program's longest streak since 1996, throwing 236 consecutive road passes without an interception from Oct. 26, 2002 to Oct. 30, 2003.

Model of Consistency
Redshirt junior Maddux Madsen matched his career-high with 307 passing yards against Eastern Washington, marking the quarterback's 11th game with 200+ yards passing. He added 35 rushing yards to finish with a career-high 342 total yards. His 25 completions in the season opener at South Florida were a career-high. Madsen found 10 different receivers in that contest, the most different receivers he's found in a single game in his career. This season, Boise State is one of 22 programs across the country that has yet to throw an interception.

Built Ford Tough
Redshirt senior wide receiver Ben Ford entered the 2024 season with four catches and 34 yards in his career but has broken out as one of Boise State's top targets. He had his best game as a Bronco against Eastern Washington, catching three passes for 82 yards. He scored his first career touchdowns, scoring on receptions of 60 and 6 yards. The Eagle, Idaho native also had four catches for 44 yards against South Florida.

A Long Time Coming
Redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Marshall recorded his first career touchdown against USF. The Missouri City, Texas native notched the score in his 11th career game, and his fifth game as a member of the Blue and Orange. Marshall, who started his career in 2022 at Texas A&M, played in his first game since Oct. 25, 2025 at UNLV. He followed this with a career-best 132 yards on four catches against Eastern Washington, recording a first down on every reception and finishing with 81 yards after catch. Marshall ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation with 25.2 yards per reception this season.

What A Start
Jaden Mickey made quite a name for himself in his first career start. The redshirt junior cornerback forced and recovered a fumble on the first defensive drive against Eastern Washington on Sept. 5, becoming the first Bronco to force and recover the same fumble since Kekaula Kaniho did so against Hawai'i on Oct. 12, 2019. Mickey notched his first career tackle-for-loss in the contest and finished with a career-high seven tackles. He recorded a PFF overall defensive grade of 90.6 in the game, the third-best grade amongst all FBS defensive backs that played at least 30 snaps.

Benefield's A Beast
Ty Benefield earned an All-Mountain West honorable mention nod and played a team-high 899 defensive snaps and 1,070 total snaps last year. He led Boise State in solo tackles (59), total tackles (82) and interceptions (2). Benefield, a 2024 Cornish Trophy Finalist, is featured on the Thorpe Award Watch List. Benefield matched his career-high with a team-high nine tackles (six solo) against Eastern Washington, and matched his career-high with 3.0 tackles for loss. Against USF, he played 55 of 56 defensive snaps, recording six tackles (five solo). The Altadena, Calif., native has recorded five games with two or more TFLs.

OPENING KICKOFF

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Players Mentioned

Cameron Bates

Ty Benefield

Ben Ford

Sire Gaines

Maddux Madsen

Chris Marshall

Jaden Mickey

Dylan Riley

Malik Sherrod

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