Max Cutforth replaced injured Maddux Madsen in the fourth quarter and threw three touchdown passes as No. 20 Boise State escaped with a 46-45 shootout victory over visiting Texas State in Pac-12 play on Saturday night.
Akeem Wright caught the decisive 18-yard touchdown pass from Cutforth with 2:40 left to cap a wild fourth quarter in which the teams combined for 38 points. Cutforth completed 8 of 13 passes for 131 yards after Madsen exited with a left knee injury with 8:19 remaining.
Boise State’s Rasean Jones caught two scoring passes from Cutforth and three overall while amassing nine catches for 117 yards. Wright had eight grabs for 116 yards and Dylan Riley rushed for 86 yards and one score as the Broncos (7-1, 4-0 Pac-12) won their seventh straight game.
Brad Jackson completed 23 of 38 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for 54 yards and one score for the Bobcats (4-4, 2-2). Texas State scored 36 consecutive points in the second half to turn a 28-3 deficit into a 39-28 lead before the Broncos recovered in the fourth quarter.
Chris Dawn Jr., Ty Stamey, Beau Sparks and Zechariah Sample caught touchdown passes for the Bobcats and Jayden Bradley returned an interception for a touchdown.
After the injury, Cutforth replaced Madsen and tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jones to bring the Broncos within 39-34 with 6:15 to play.
Texas State then tried a trick play where Jackson threw a backward pass to Tucker Cusano. However, the ball slipped out of Cusano’s hands as he threw and went directly to Mana Tuioti, who returned it to the Bobcats’ 11-yard line.
That set up Cutforth’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones to give Boise State a 40-39 lead with 4:14 left.
Texas State answered when Jackson hit Sample for a catch-and-run 72-yard scoring play to give Texas State a 45-40 lead with 3:46 remaining.
Six plays later, Cutforth tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Wright for the decisive points.
Just before the injury, Madsen threw his first interception of the season and it was returned 20 yards for a touchdown by Bradley to give the Bobcats a 39-28 lead.
Texas State trailed 28-3 at halftime before scoring 22 unanswered points in the third quarter and 14 more in the final stanza. Dawn and Stamey caught touchdown passes in the third quarter and Jackson ran for one.
Texas State moved ahead 72 seconds into the final quarter when Jackson threw a 44-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Sparks. That gave the Bobcats a 32-28 edge.
Madsen rushed for two touchdowns and threw for one in Boise State’s dominant first half.