It’s nice to be home! This is the second overall meeting between the Broncos and the Mountaineers (last matchup was a Boise State 17-14 dub back in 1994). The Broncos come in with a two-game win streak with a 49-37 win over Air Force while App State is coming off a 38-22 loss to Southern Miss. Broncos can’t get caught looking ahead to next week’s game against a team from Notre Dame, Indiana.
Maddux Madsen had himself a game going 25-37 for 321 yards and four TDs before being yanked in the fourth to stop the continued beatdown.
Sire Gaines lead the rushers with 69 yards on 12 carries.
The receiving corps absolutely ATE this game with 321 total yards. Latrell Caples had 84 yards on five catches and two touchdowns. Quinton Brown and Ben Ford also contributed a touchdown each.
Broncos can’t seem to catch a break on the opening kickoffs seemingly always losing the toss, having to receive to start this game (I don’t really know the stat behind it and am not going to look it up).
The Broncos did make good use of opening with offense as they marched down the field to score on the opening drive. Boise State lead with a good mix up run and pass plays with Malik ripping off a 22-yard run. But it was Madsen to Latrell Caples pass to cap off the drive with the score.
App State shot themselves in the foot a couple of times with a couple of penalties that put them behind the chains and ended the drive with a punt. The ensuing Boise State series wasn’t much better as the Broncos also did have to punt it away.
But App State did do Boise State a favor: QB AJ Swann threw a pretty readable pass that Amarion McCoy was able to jump for the first Pick 6 of the season (second of his Boise State career).
All wasn’t negative for the Mountaineers though as a Boise State roughing the passer penalty (on third and 23 mind you) gave App State some life that they were able to capitalize and drive down the field. That penalty resulted in a AJ Swann TD pass to Dalton Stroman to put App State 21-7.
Broncos did a mad-dash (less than) two-minute drill with Maddux Madsen dropping some absolute dimes to Chris Marshall for a 26-yard reception and then Ben Ford a few plays later for 13. Unfortunately Madsen did fumble the ball for a loss of 15 yards that forced the Broncos to eventually settle for the field goal to bump up the lead to 24-7.
The second quarter did start off with an App State three-and-out punt, which is good, but the Broncos also had their own punt. HOWEVER the roll-out punt didn’t quite work as effectively as it should have as the Mountaineers did a “fake” reception that fooled most of the punt team. The ensuing return went for 45 yards and effectively wiped out the punt itself. App State was able to capitalize on said good starting position to score a touchdown and bring the Mountaineers up to 24-14.
The Broncos response was… fine. There were some drops that didn’t help Madsen BUT Lauter did haul in a beautiful 20-yard reception on a 3rd and 9. Broncos did stall a bit and had to settle for a three to add to the lead, 27-14.
Of course, this did lead to App State never scoring again and the Broncos scoring 23-unanswered points, six coming off a SECOND pick 6 for the Broncos this time by Boen Phelps, 47-23.
The Mountaineers couldn’t help themselves with four total turnovers, three INTs and one fumble lost.
In the last seven minutes, the Broncos did all they could to NOT score anymore with only rushing the ball and, even then, not trying too hard.
Next week the Broncos are away to play against Notre Dame. Should be fun.
GO BRONCOS.
Again, we saw what is, sadly, a typical performance by Madsen. At least three passes to open receivers thrown behind them, overthrown passes to wide open receivers and, receivers making him look good overall. With all the talent we can attract, one would think we could find a good QB. He’s adequate, he isn’t good, unless being “tough” somehow factors in to the equation. Our OL was fairly ineffective in creating holes for the RB’s. Granted, prior to this game, App State was ranked #8 in rushing defense, so that certainly plays a part. Our DB’s really showed up! Swann… Read more »
I’m convinced Madsen could go 30 for 30 and someone would complain that his passes were too low, too high, out of reach, too late, etc. (Sarcasm alert) So let’s bring back TG 10, who had another miserable game. And let’s all hope Nelson would have stayed and tossed four interceptions like he did yesterday. The rushing game was just fine. Riley didn’t have a good day, but Gains and Sharrod averaged over 5 yards per carry. Back to Madsen. Recievers are supposed to catch tough balls, no matter if too high, low, late, or soon. Indeed, Madsen overthrew Marshall… Read more »
I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic about Madsen. I wish I was but, I’m too pragmatic. Over the course of his career, he hasn’t provided reason for such. I suspect this Saturday will highlight that, unfortunately. He’s adequate, he isn’t good. I really hope I’m wrong but, I doubt it. He threw three INT’s against PSU. I expect a similar outcome this week. I do agree receivers are supposed to catch “tough balls”, but they do have to be in the vicinity. Madsen is consistent in his passes-too leading or too late. On at least of the passes, his receivers make… Read more »
As much as I enjoy your posts, I agree almost all the time. However, the rest of the MWC disagrees with you. They named him the pre-season player of the year. His three INTs against Penn State, Koetter said, were inevitable considering there was little left to do than throw long. Those interceptions were not characteristic of his ability or his past performance. (He was a sophomore.) With regard to USF, Everyone agrees the real problem in that game was a general malaise and lackadaisical effort on the part of the defense – it was atrocious and uncharacteristic of Boise… Read more »
I really couldn’t care less what the rest of the MWC thinks. Pre-season picks don’t mean much, whereas performance is everything. If his injury contributed to bad passes, he’s been injured his entire career. As far as outperforming Aller, only in the number of passes completed, total yards. and INT’s-not a number I’d look to outperform. He didn’t in number of TD’s. If you look at the number of passes he threw, vs Aller, the reason is rather obvious. PSU had a more balanced offense. As well, the passes Madsen threw weren’t that long but, the receivers gained the yardage,… Read more »
Para. #1 Of course, you don’t care what the MWC thinks; it doesn’t fit your narrative. Para. #2 Allar barely made 50% of his passes. If memory serves, indeed, he had 3 TD passes, but that did not indicate a balanced attack. Penn State’s ground game dominated. Let’s see if I get this: all yards after a catch should not be counted as passing yards. I knew we’ve been doing it wrong. Let’s rewrite the record books. (Sorry for the sarcasm, but I do understand your point, and those things are starting to be measured and looked at.) Para #3.… Read more »
I don’t care what the MW thinks because it’s immaterial to the conversation. As I said, I’m pragmatic. At the end of the season, their pre-season choices will be evident. Those can be revisited at that time. Allar had a completion rate of 52%, 171 yards. 216 rushing. That’s a balanced attack. I should have been more clear as to which penalties I was referring: false starts and delays of game. As a brief comparison, Cutforth had none when he was in. As soon as Madsen came back in, they began again. You’d think someone who supposedly commands the offense… Read more »
This has been a wonderful back-and-forth. I choose to end this on a good note with a fellow Bronco fan. I certainly see all the pragmatism in all your offerings. I likewise feel as pragmatic as you. I’m certainly not willing to say at this point he is a great QB, but I think he’s pretty good. What he lacks in skill, he makes up for in spirit. Why don’t the Broncos get good QBs? I think they do okay. No matter what one thinks of Hurricane Hank, he was a top prospect out of high school. How many good… Read more »
It has been an engaging repartee. I agree, we will never get “the best”, especially now with the ‘pay for play’ rules in effect. I’ve not paid much attention to the rankings coming out of high school, because those are a crap shoot for the most part. We have a reputation of turning supposed 3-star players into NFL caliber players. That isn’t always the case. Unfortunately, I see more of a divide coming between the M4 (money 4) conferences and everyone else, and this is being done on purpose. That is a sad day for collegiate sports.
Team looked great overall.
The drops are unacceptable though. There are clearly players on the bench who want to play.
Notre Dame would be a truly monumental win. That running back of theirs is extremely good as is their QB. I’m not feeling like this years team is a world beater, but I’ll tell you what, they have restored my ability to believe that we can compete. Let’s go Broncos!