Head Coach: Spencer Danielson is entering his 2nd full season as the head coach of the Broncos with a 15-3 record. He still has more Mountain West titles (2) than full seasons coached (1) thanks to his interim run at the end of 2023. His start has been remarkable, the 3 losses were to UCLA in the LA Bowl where they led most of the game despite having nothing at QB, a last second loss to future #1 seed Oregon in Eugene and a loss to Penn State in the College Football Playoff.
Program Outlook: Boise State’s remarkable steadiness is under appreciated these days, mostly because it feels like they’re a power program playing in a smaller conference because TV execs force them to overthink and imagine the Broncos value much lower than it should be. This program is near the top in every win % category for over 2 decades running now, anything less than 10 wins is a disaster of a season and best of all they are the only show in town in a rapidly growing city. They’ll soon begin life in a rebuilt Pac-12 but for now it’s their last ride in the Mountain West.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Boise State ranks 12th in the country returning 68% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. This is 29 spots and 7.5% more than the next leading team in the conference! Key players for the Broncos starts with Maddux Madsen. People were shocked when he won the job instead of Malachi Nelson last year but he proved to be a very steady player. There’s no mistaking him for Kellen Moore or Jared Zabransky but he does what is asked to run the offense well. Ashton Jeanty of course stole the show last year as he captivated all of College Football with his performances, he’s irreplaceable so what do the Broncos do next? They have some options, Sire Gaines believes in the program, he could have started elsewhere but waited his turn behind Jeanty. He seems positioned to be their next star, Malik Sherrod from Fresno State is an experienced player at the position too. The Broncos offensive line was a true difference maker early in the year, they steamrolled run lanes for Jeanty but there were injuries as the year went on that slowed their production. This is good news for this year because Boise State now has one of the most experienced 2-deeps on the Oline in the country. OT Kage Casey is the leader, he has the looks of a future NFL player. TE Matt Lauter leads a loaded group, he’s the most reliable weapon and one of the best TEs in the country. The defense will be led by Jayden Virgin-Morgan, he’s one of the stars of the team and will create havoc on opposing offenses. Braxton Fely does a good job bringing pressure on the inside and they also have LB Marco Notarainni who was 1st team All-MWC last year. There were a few selective portal moves that will help with Malakai Williams (Idaho) on the edge and Dion Washington (Hawaii) inside. The Broncos have some replacements to make both for both units but you can expect them to remain really aggressive at getting after opposing QBs in particular. The question marks start with the secondary which struggled immensely last year, but there’s experience back at least. A’Marion McCoy is a good corner, and was all-conference in 2023, Ty Benefield needs to improve as a tackler but can make plays. There’s also portal help with safety Derek Ganter Jr (Eastern Washington) and Jaden Mickey (Notre Dame, after a cup of coffee at Cal). For the offense it will be at receiver where they really lacked impact players and now Cam Camper is gone. Latrell Caples is a reliable target at least and maybe it’s time for former 5-star recruit Chris Marshall to make an impact, there was excitement around his arrival last year only for him to get hurt and miss the entire season.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: The Broncos will take on a challenging slate this year. USF and Appalachian State are both fun games, plus Eastern Washington, a FCS team accustomed to playing on red turf will come play on the blue turf. The headliner though is the road game at Notre Dame, this is an exciting matchup against a traditional power. The Mountain West schedule isn’t bad, the Broncos get most of their toughest conference opponents on the blue. Don’t overlook the Air Force game, that one has “trap” written all over it.
Final Thoughts: 2024 represented a huge moment for Boise State, after decades of waiting they finally received their chance at a National Championship. It didn’t go how they hoped, they buried themselves with mistakes immediately against Penn State. Now what do they do for an encore? The expectation will be no more than a loss to Notre Dame, but trips to USF and Air Force won’t be easy. Take care of business, go 11-1 and unless a team elsewhere has an unreal season the Broncos would likely get another shot at the Playoff.
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