No. 25 Boise State kept its foot on the pedal in Saturday’s Pac-12 road game at Colorado State. 

With backup quarterback Max Cutforth behind center, the Broncos (8-1, 5-0) scored touchdowns on their first four drives en route to a dominant 64-38 victory over the Rams (3-6, 1-4) at Canvas Stadium.

Cutforth, who sparked Boise State’s dramatic come-from-behind win over Texas State last week, completed 16 of 19 passes for 317 yards with four touchdowns and no turnovers. The fourth-year junior also had a rushing TD against the Pac-12’s worst defense. 

Dylan Riley also had a big day with 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Riley caught two passes for 88 yards and another score. 

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The Broncos gashed a helpless Colorado State defense for 669 yards of offense to pick up their eighth straight win. 

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s rout in Fort Collins. 

1. Quarterback controversy?

Making his fourth career start, Cutforth was nearly perfect in a monster performance against Colorado State. 

Cutforth’s first attempt was a swing pass to Riley that went for a 73-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. Later in the opening quarter, Cutforth delivered a beautiful ball to Rasean Jones for a 33-yard gain and finished off the drive with a bullet to Matt Wagner for a 15-yard touchdown.

A 35-yard TD strike to Jones made it a 29-7 game midway through the second quarter. Jones ended the game with six receptions for 116 yards. 

Cutforth was filling in for Madsen, who suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of last week’s thrilling 46-45 victory over Texas State. Cutforth led the Broncos on three late touchdown drives to steal the win.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Friday that the Boise State coaching staff expects Madsen to play next week in a critical home matchup against Oregon State. 

With how Cutforth is playing, head coach Spencer Danielson will have an interesting decision to make before the Oregon State game. 

2. Riley adds to Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year resume

Riley strengthened his Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year case with another strong game on Saturday. 

Riley had the 73-yard swing pass touchdown on Boise State’s opening drive and later gave the Broncos a 15-7 lead on a 42-yard rushing touchdown up the gut on fourth-and-one. 

Before his second touchdown, Riley appeared to be dealing with some left leg discomfort. He remained in the game to go over 100 yards on the ground for the sixth time this season. Riley flashed the Heisman pose after a 31-yard TD run in the third quarter. 

Riley is the nation’s leading rusher with 184 carries for 1,241 yards and 13 total touchdowns through nine games. 

3. Defense continues to struggle

After surrendering 42 points in the second half to Texas State last week, Boise State’s defense had another tough day against Colorado State.

The Rams hit three explosive plays in the opening quarter and compiled 207 yards in the first half but were held to 10 points. Colorado State was more explosive in the second half and finished the game with 11 gains of 15 or more yards and 513 total yards. 

Many of the big plays were a result of poor tackling, which has been an issue all season for Boise State.

Next week’s matchup with high-powered Oregon State could be another shootout under the lights at Albertsons Stadium.