Albertsons Stadium was rocking. Blue turf, sold-out crowd, a national TV window — and for about five minutes in the third quarter, it felt like Appalachian State might make this one weird. But Boise State didn’t blink. The Broncos turned a tense, one-score game into a 47–14 demolition, powered by a suffocating defense, two pick-sixes, and a quarterback who’s quietly becoming one of the most efficient passers in the Mountain West.
It was the kind of night that reminded everyone what Boise football looks like when it’s humming: explosive offense, opportunistic defense, and swagger you can feel through the broadcast.
Boise opened the night like a team allergic to three-and-outs. Maddux Madsen engineered a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive that sliced through App State’s front seven before finding pay dirt. Then, before the Mountaineers could settle in, cornerback A’Marion McCoy jumped a route and sprinted 26 yards the other way for a pick-six. Just like that, it was 14–0, and the noise in Albertsons Stadium was less crowd energy and more avalanche.
App State looked stunned early. The same offense that had averaged 357 passing yards per game through the season’s first three weeks suddenly couldn’t complete anything downfield. Pressure was constant. Receivers couldn’t separate. The blue turf was starting to feel like quicksand.
But give them credit — they didn’t fold. Down 21–0, the Mountaineers pieced together a gritty 14-play, 75-yard march capped by Dalton Stroman’s smooth 7-yard fade in the final minute of the first half. That drive had everything they’d been missing: creativity, physical runs from Rashod Dubinion, and a little luck (a third-and-23 roughing-the-passer call that kept them alive). It was App State football in microcosm — resourceful, resilient, occasionally chaotic.
They went into halftime trailing 21–7, and when true freshman Juan Berchal pulled off a perfectly disguised fake-punt return to open the third quarter — sprinting 45 yards to set up a touchdown run by Jaquari Lewis — suddenly it was 24–14 and feeling spicy.
Momentum lasted roughly as long as a TikTok trend. Boise State’s response was cold-blooded: a drive for a 40-yard field goal, then a fourth-down conversion from the App State 40 that turned into a viral highlight. Madsen dropped a dime to Quinton Brown, who made an acrobatic, helmet-losing catch for his first career touchdown. From that point on, the Broncos hit autopilot on destruction mode.
Madsen finished with a career-high 321 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-37 passing, finding 10 different receivers. He looked surgical — confident in the pocket, precise on timing routes, and ruthless when App State brought pressure. It wasn’t just the stat line; it was the composure. Every time the Mountaineers flashed life, Madsen and the Broncos immediately stomped it out.
By the time linebacker Boen Phelps jumped another Swann pass for Boise’s second pick-six of the night — this one from 33 yards out — the game had fully turned into a party. Boise State fans were waving goodnight before the fourth quarter even started.
For a team that entered as one of the country’s top passing units, App State’s offensive performance was a crash landing. The Mountaineers were held to just 65 yards through the air — their lowest total since before the pandemic — and managed only 184 total yards. Quarterback AJ Swann never found rhythm, constantly chased out of the pocket by a relentless Broncos pass rush that racked up five sacks.
The lone bright spot: Rashod Dubinion, who quietly put up 113 yards on 17 carries. He broke off chunk runs, hurdled defenders, and refused to go down on first contact. Even as Boise keyed on him, Dubinion ran like a man trying to singlehandedly will App State back into relevance.
But with zero passing game to balance the offense, he might as well have been running into a storm. Every second-half possession felt like déjà vu — pressure, sack, punt, repeat. Wideouts who had combined for 210 yards per game entering the week finished with one meaningful catch, Stroman’s first-half touchdown grab. That’s it.
If there was a unit that defined the game, it was the Boise State defense. The Broncos turned opportunism into art: four forced turnovers, two of them returned for touchdowns, and a secondary that erased every downfield look. The last time Boise returned multiple interceptions for scores? 2015, against Virginia — a stat that says everything about how rare this kind of domination is.
A’Marion McCoy’s first-quarter pick-six set the tone, and Boen Phelps’ fourth-quarter house call sealed it. Between those moments, the Broncos’ front seven went full demolition mode. Defensive lineman Braxton Fely notched two sacks — a career high — while the rest of the unit rotated bodies like it was an NFL-level D-line. Ty Benefield led the team in tackles (7), while Sterling Lane II, Jayden Virgin-Morgan, and Malaki Williams all got home at least once.
App State looked overwhelmed. Every dropback was survival mode.
Those numbers tell the story. Boise wasn’t just better — they were cleaner, faster, meaner. The Broncos have now scored 47+ points in three straight games, a mark they haven’t hit since 2015. Meanwhile, App State’s 65 passing yards were their lowest since a game against Wyoming four years ago.
That’s not just a bad night. That’s a complete shutdown.
For Boise State, this is the type of statement win that resets narratives. The Broncos are now 3–1, undefeated all-time (10–0) against Sun Belt opponents, and suddenly back in the conversation as a legitimate Group of Five powerhouse again. Madsen’s consistency — and the defense’s chaos energy — make this team look more 2014 Fiesta Bowl than rebuilding project.
Next up: a date with #22 Notre Dame in South Bend. That’ll tell us if this Boise team is for real or just a bully against mid-majors. But if they bring this kind of balance and confidence? They’re gonna make NBC producers sweat.
As for App State, it’s back to the drawing board. The Mountaineers (2–2) still have talent, but four turnovers and a disappearing passing attack won’t fly against Power Five-level opponents. They’ll try to regroup at home next week against Oregon State — and they’ll need to rediscover their offensive identity before conference play gets real.
Boise State didn’t just beat App State — they dissected them. It was surgical, then savage, then fun. The Broncos’ blue turf has seen plenty of statement games over the years, but few with this kind of all-sides dominance.
Two pick-sixes, a quarterback dealing like a veteran, and a defense that played like it was chasing ghosts from 2015. If you’re App State, you tip your cap. If you’re Boise, you’re circling next week in permanent marker.
Because if this version of Boise State shows up in South Bend?
We might be talking about chaos on the national stage.
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