Boise State proved to be the real Broncos after a dominant 32-7 near-shutout victory against Western Michigan.
The blue and orange closed out their non-conference season in Kalamazoo, putting Boise State as the front runners of the Group of Six following the consistently explosive performance.
“It’s the most complete game we’ve had all season,” Head Coach Spencer Danielson said. “We’ve learned a lot about our teams in four games… I’m proud of our guys having a chip on our shoulder. We know we’ve got to prove it every single week and I think our guys went out and did that tonight.”
Boise State wasted no time before quarterback Maddux Madsen threw a 34-yard completion to tight end Matt Wagner, who stood in the center of the endzone for a speedy seven yard drive.
The blue and orange opened their bag of tricks early, transforming a suspected kick into a successful two point conversion as the holder, Zeke Martinez ran the ball, giving Boise State the upper hand at 8-0.
“We planned coming into this game that we’re going to score in that opening drive,” Wagner said. “We needed to start fast. Memphis and South Dakota wasn’t good enough. We needed to score in that drive, which we did, and then being able, we knew we’re gonna go for two.”
Boise State senior defensive tackle, Makaio Edward, kept the momentum going, sacking the Western Michigan’s quarterback Broc Lowry, holding the brown and gold to a mere four-yard, three-and-out.
In the next two possessions, both Bronco team kickers, Caanan Moore and Dieter Kelly, failed to successfully find free space between the goalposts.
After a 15 play, 78-yard drive by the blue and orange, Dylan Riley rushed for five yards through Western Michigan’s defense to bring the game to 15-0 as Boise State kicker Moore took the opportunity for redemption with an additional point.
Known as a second half team, Boise State turned up the heat, heightening the effectiveness of the offense.
Halfway through the third quarter, Madsen found Ben Ford in the back center of the Broncos’ endzone for a 6-yard touchdown, following a 25-yard pass to true freshman Rasean Jones.
Following a three-and-out from Western Michigan, Boise State sat comfortably at 22-0 before a 25-yard field goal by Moore extended the lead by three to close out the third quarter.
With nothing seeming to go right for the brown and gold, Boise State defensive back Roman Tillmon intercepted a pass, making it the first one of the season for Western Michigan. Tillmon ran the ball 22-yards to put Boise State on the 38-yard line, setting up Madsen and the offense for a trick play to meet Wagner in the endzone and extend the lead to 32 points.
Wagner finished the game with three career-highs including seven receptions, 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Kalamazoo home team made a final 46-yard drive down the field, setting up running back Cole Cabana who pushed two more yards to provide Western Michigan with their first touchdown of the game.
“We came out with great energy and great execution,” Edward said. “The whole week of practice everyone was amped up. Everybody was executing at a high level and that really translated into today…it sucks that they scored at the end, but I know we still had a dominant, dominant day.”
Boise State closed out the game with a minute to go, retaining the ball for a dominant 32-7 victory over Western Michigan.
The Broncos’ win marked the 28th consecutive season the team notched a three-game win streak, which is considered second-best in the nation.
The Boise State Broncos return to The Blue for their first conference match-up next Saturday, Oct. 3 at their homecoming game against the Utah State Aggies.
Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
