Broncos Exploit Suspect Beavs Offense, Keep Title Hopes Alive
Ricky McKinley // Dam Daily • Published: November 20th, 2027
We've been preaching doom and gloom for weeks now, and it finally arrived. In the biggest game of the year—taking the playoff and championship game implications into account—Kallen Gutridge and AJ Maddox were pissing down their legs and when the dust settled on The Blue, the Boise State Broncos bullied the Beavers into a 30-15 defeat to keep Boise State's Pac-12 Championship hopes alive.
George Tejeda put the Broncos on the board on their opening drive, finding Jordan Malau'ulu on an out route, stiff-arming Kodi DeCambra, then accelerating up the sideline for the 50-yard touchdown to instantly put the Beavers behind the eight-ball. Despite forcing consecutive three-and-outs on the next two Broncos drives, their own offense was able to muster a lone first down as the 1st quarter ended 7-0 and Coach Jonathan Smith had seen enough from Kallen Gutridge, who exited the game 2/9 for 18 yards.
AJ Maddox did not fare any better. Maddox went 2/7 in the 2nd quarter and while the offense was finally able to build a sustainable drive, it ended with a anti-climatic missed field goal from Logan McCreery. For most of the first half, it was all on the back of Salahadin Allah, who churned out 72 yards alone. To make matters worse, DE Kelze Howard snagged an interception on a brilliant zone blitz call from Coach Leon, only for Maddox & Co. to promptly go three-and-out to squander the turnover at midfield.
A 36-yard reception to reserve WR Ja'Bree Bickham, his only reception in the contest, moved the Boise State Broncos within field-goal range for Rico Dogg to push the lead to 10-0 going into the half. The numbers painted a telling story. Boise State outgained the Beavers offensively 178-106 with the Beaver's QBs going 4/16 for 34 yards combined, while Tejeda was 11/19 for 174 yards. Despite the lopsided offensive numbers, the Broncos had only scored 10 points as the Beavers' Dam stiffened when necessary, doing everything they could to keep the game close enough for a late explosion by their own offense.
It would never come in time. Tejeda opened the 2nd half with a crisp 10-play drive before finding Jordan Malau'ulu for the duo's second touchdown and with the lead at 17-0, it felt like the Beavers were dead in the water. A quick three-and-out by Oregon State later in the 3rd allowed the Broncos to take over at midfield and while they didn't generate a first down, it was close enough for Dogg to smash in a 58-yard field goal to stretch the lead.
Then the Beavers got desperate, making the final look worse than the stats showed. Consecutive failed 4th-down conversion attempts by the Beavers, both incomplete passes by AJ Maddox, allowed the Broncos to take over on the 33 and 43 respectively. A 10-yard touchdown to Jordan Malau'ulu—his third of the game mirroring the performance he had against Oregon State while with Fresno State last year—was followed by another long field-goal, this one 54 yards, after a Luke Levengood sack pushed the Broncos back.
Facing a 30-0 deficit, the Beavers finally showed signs of life, but it was simply too little, too late. AJ Maddox dove into the end zone from one yard out to ruin the shutout bid by the Broncos and an explosive 87-yard punt return by Zachary Card made the final look respectable.
At the end of the day, the Boise State Broncos only accumulated 298 total yards (274 passing, 24 rushing), but possessed the ball for 38 of the 60 total minutes of the contest, showing they were clearly in control for the majority of the contest. Despite the 30 points allowed, the Beavers' defense was able to collect one interception, a sack, and 20 tackles for loss, doing everything they could to keep the game within striking distance.
Let's take it to the post-game with Armando Leon as he discusses what's next for the Beavers, the impact Jordan Malau'ulu had, and more.
•••
Question One - Sean Muller (The Arbiter): "Coach Leon, your defense was on the field in perilous situations on multiple occasions in this contest due to your offense's ineptitude. How hard is it to play at a high level, especially with the speed-centric scheme you employ, when you're on the field for over 60% of the TOP and defending short fields?"
Armando Leon: "When the guys barely have time to catch their breath, or even grab a drink, before they're being ushered back out onto the field it can discourage you. We did a great job early on of keeping our focus and intensity, even after the 50-yard catch-and-run by Jordan Malau'ulu to open the game. We were rallying to the ball, hitting receivers to disrupt passing lanes, and even nabbed an interception when Kelze dropped into zone from his edge position. But you saw that as the game wore on, we wore down. Critics will ask if that's a conditioning issue; it's not. You don't prepare to spend nearly 40-minutes on the field fighting. I'm proud of the effort we put in, score aside, especially when you factor in the final 10 points were a direct result of being put in poor field position."
Question Two - Denise Miller (Idaho Statesman) "Two matchups with Jordan Malau'ulu now, Coach, one here and one in Fresno State, and he has 11 receptions for 185 yards and six touchdowns. What is it about your defense that struggles to cover a guy like Malau'ulu, who has size and speed, with the ability to line up at a variety of positions out wide?"
Armando Leon: "No slight to Jordan, he's a great receiver and presents a lot of challenges to a defense as I noted earlier this week with Ricky, but the bigger issue was we weren't getting home. Boise State's offensive line played a great game and kept a clean pocket for Tejeda for most of the game, even when we broke through and got some hits on Tejeda he still made some big-time throws. We play man coverage almost exclusively, which works when you're getting home on the QB. When you aren't though, this is what happens. Good receivers look great when they've got time to freelance."
Question Three - Olivia LeRusso (Oregonlive): "With the loss, the Beavers are likely to tumble in the standings. How disappointing is it for you and the defense to have a season where you've dominated statistically, be undone when you still put forth a solid effort amidst a feeble attempt by your own offense?"
Armando Leon: "Playoffs in year 2 would have been nice, but depending on how far we fall, could still be a possibility. We've got to take care of business next week against Washington State on Senior Night to clinch a spot in Vegas, and from there we'll see where we stand. The season isn't over, we just hit a speed bump."
•••
We've been saying this could happen all season, since AJ Maddox struggled against Portland State. We persevered for an entire season behind inept—a harsh, but true assessment—offense until we simply needed more than they could give.
The reality is, we're likely going to tumble. How far remains to be seen. But despite that, the playoffs could still be attainable, and it starts with a win against Washington State next week. If we beat the Cougars, we're still in the conference championship. We win that, and we've got an outside shot at still making the College Football Playoff.
But one thing is for sure, the margin of error is gone now.
And right now, all eyes are on Coach Smith and Coach Dahlen. The offense needs to do more, period.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Oregon State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Boise State | 7 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Oregon State | Boise State |
| 1st | Boise State | 4:11 | Jordan Malau'ulu, 50 Yd Pass From George Tejeda | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | Boise State | 0:16 | Rico Dogg, 42 Yd FG | 0 | 10 |
| 3rd | Boise State | 7:06 | Jordan Malau'ulu, 13 Yd Pass From George Tejeda | 0 | 17 |
| 3rd | Boise State | 2:04 | Rico Dogg, 58 Yd FG | 0 | 20 |
| 4th | Boise State | 6:48 | Jordan Malau'ulu, 10 Yd Pass From George Tejeda | 0 | 27 |
| 4th | Boise State | 5:01 | Rico Dogg, 54 Yd FG | 0 | 30 |
| 4th | Oregon State | 2:40 | AJ Maddox, 1 Yd Run | 7 | 30 |
| 4th | Oregon State | 0:59 | Zachary Card, 87 Yd Punt Return (2PT) | 15 | 30 |
Oregon State Boise State Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ AJ Maddox | 11/29, 115 Yds George Tejeda | 20/34, 274 Yds, 3 TD, INT Kallen Gutridge | 2/9, 18 Yds Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Salahadin Allah | 19 Att, 98 Yds Jordan Washington | 12 Att, 3 Yds AJ Maddox | 7 Att, 3 Yds, TD George Tejeda | 5 Att, -12 Yds Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Jackson Bowers | 4 Rec, 45 Yds Gavin Packer | 5 Rec, 98 Yds David Wells Jr | 3 Rec, 33 Yds Jordan Malau'ulu | 5 Rec, 106 Yds, 3 TD Zachary Card | 2 Rec, 14 Yds Ja'Bree Bickham | 1 Rec, 36 Yds Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ DT Luke Levengood | 4 Tkl, 4 TFL, 2 Sacks DE Ezekiel Thornhill| 3 Tkl, TFL, Sack MLB Manu Hasty | 7 Tkl, 3 TFL DT Byron Conklin | 2 Tkl, TFL, 0.5 Sack LB Jalen Smith | 9 Tkl, 6 TFL CB Jordan Shaw | 7 Tkl
Pac-12 Week Twelve Results
33 Washington State (7-4) @ Colorado State (5-6) 29
25 Fresno State (4-7) @ Utah State (4-7) 17
42 San Diego State (3-8) @ Texas State (1-10) 38
Notable Week Twelve Results
45 #9 Washington (9-2) @ Penn State (7-4) 24
38 #1 Alabama (11-0) @ #10 Texas (9-2) 32
