No. 20 Boise State raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead and cruised by Texas State … oh, wait. 

That’s not what happened on a wild, rainy Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium.

After scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions, the Broncos surrendered 36 straight points to Texas State and then lost starting quarterback Maddux Madsen to an apparent knee injury. 

Backup quarterback Max Cutforth came to the rescue with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, leading Boise State (7-1, 4-0 Pac-12) to a dramatic 46-45 victory over the Bobcats (4-4, 2-2).  

With Fresno State (5-3, 2-2) earning a 38-22 victory over Oregon State (5-3, 3-1), the Broncos sit alone atop the Pac-12 standings with three conference games remaining. 

But the Broncos were nearly stuck in a three-way tie for first place after coughing up a 25-point halftime lead. Instead, Cutforth helped keep the team in position to secure a College Football Playoff bid.

“Backs against the wall, everything’s gone sideways, and I am so proud of our team finding a way to that game,” head coach Spencer Danielson said in his postgame press conference. “I’m proud of this team, this group of leaders, that found a way to win.

“Hats off to the leadership in that locker room. Because when everything was going sideways—and we had some hard conversations on the sideline—they never flinched. But we’ve got to find ways to execute and create momentum, and we didn’t do that tonight throughout the game.”

Coming out of halftime, the Broncos were out-gained 177-21 in the third quarter. Texas State had 22 points in the period to Boise State’s 21 yards of offense. 

“You look at the product on the field, and that’s one of the worst quarters of football that I’ve ever been a part of,” Danielson said. “That’s no one’s fault but my own, and I’ve got to look in the mirror and see why that happened because in all three phases, we were absolutely terrible.”

The fourth quarter also started poorly with a long Texas State touchdown and a Madsen pick-six, his first turnover of the year. Madsen left the game with a knee injury on Boise State’s next drive. 

Danielson did not have an update on Madsen’s health after the game. 

“We’re going through it,” Danielson said. “I know initially, didn’t look great, and our doctors are going through it. We’ll see what it is. He’s a warrior, he’s a competitor. I’m proud of Max stepping up and finding a way to win, but obviously Maddux is our guy, and we’ll figure out where that’s at.”

Taking over for Madsen, Cutforth orchestrated three touchdown drives to spark the comeback. 

“I don’t know if Max going in was the jolt, but Max going in and executing absolutely did,” Danielson said. “I’m super proud of Max.”

Danielson noted that the Broncos lost Madsen to injury on nearly the same day last season. Madsen hurt his ankle on Nov. 1, 2025 against Fresno State. The Bulldogs went on to earn a 30-7 victory at Albertsons Stadium. 

“A year ago today … we played on The Blue against Fresno State, our starting quarterback goes down and we get absolutely boatraced at home,” Danielson. “I’m proud of our guys finding a way to win tonight.”

Madsen missed three games last season before returning for the Mountain West Championship game. 

The fifth-year senior will likely be sidelined for next week’s road trip to Colorado State (3-5, 1-3).