The LA Bowl, played on Saturday between Washington and Boise State, will be the final rendition of the Southern California bowl game. It’s set to be discontinued after this Bowl Season, which means the Huskies have an opportunity to take home the LA Bowl Championship Belt for the final time. Their opponent is Mountain West Champion Boise State, who won the conference for the third-straight season last Saturday. The Broncos’ 9-4 record includes two wins over UNLV, who they beat in the conference title game. Boise State reached the College Football Playoff a season ago behind a strong running game. This year, the Broncos’ strength is their pass defense, which ranks inside the top 12 nationally.
Washington-Boise State LA Bowl
Bronco Pass Defense
“They have a really, really good safety,” Washington head coach Jedd Fisch said on Monday of this week, speaking about Boise State’s Ty Benefield. The defensive back has tallied a team-high 100 tackles this season and 8.5 tackles for loss. He presents a versatility in the secondary similar to that of Washington’s Alex McLaughlin in that he lines up in the box, plays the run, and assists in coverage underneath, in addition to lining up at safety. On 710 defensive snaps, 43% of the time, Benefield has lined up in the box. For comparison, 42% of McLaughlin’s 782 snaps this season have seen him line up in the box. Benefield earned the Mountain West Conference Championship defensive MVP for his eight-tackle performance.
Benefield has pulled down two of Boise State’s 14 interceptions on the year. Cornerback Jeremiah Earby leads the defense with four interceptions. Playing the football in the air has been a strength for this group all season. Boise State’s pass defense overall ranks 10th nationally in success rate allowed. It gives up just 35.8% success through the air, allows just six yards per attempt, and an average of only 171 pass yards per game. Washington has thrown for at least that many yards in all but two games this season (Wisconsin and Oregon).
Consistent Pass Rush
Washington is expected to have a healthy Denzel Boston on Saturday, Fisch said he was ready to go on Monday of this week. Boston has taken just 54 snaps with six targets since getting hurt on the road at Wisconsin on November 8th. His health means the receiver room will be at full strength outside of Rashid Williams, who has been out for the season.
But the Broncos’ front seven has been able to generate a quality pass rush this season, and it’s contributed to their success in the back end against the pass. “They’re very aggressive, they’re blitzing probably 56-58% of the time,” Fisch noted this week. “They run to the ball really well. They like to bring their outside backers, they like to jump into different fronts.”
Jayden Virgin-Morgan is a player to watch on Saturday night. The EDGE rusher leads the team with 10 tackles for loss on the season. Virgin-Morgan and Max Stege are the two EDGE rushers and have totaled 48 quarterback pressures in 2025. Said Fisch, “They’re a defense [that has] improved each week, they go after the ball, they’ve done a really good job, they’ll be a tough challenge.”
Run Game Distribution
In each of the last three games, the Washington offense has had a 100-yard rusher. Twice it was Adam Mohammed (against UCLA and Oregon), and Jordan Washington hit the century mark against Purdue. Jonah Coleman is expected to be fully healthy on Saturday in what will be the final collegiate game of his career. Boise State is less efficient against the run, giving up about 170 rush yards per contest.
When the Broncos have needed to defend a rushing quarterback, their run defense has struggled the most. Boise State played UNLV twice this season and gave up 261 rushing yards the first time. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea accounted for 115 of those and nearly 12 yards per carry (sack-adjusted). In their second meeting, the defense gave up 184 rushing yards, with 78 on the feet of the quarterback.
Bryson Barnes of Utah State is the Mountain West Conference’s second-leading rushing quarterback. He notched 100 sack-adjusted rushing yards against the Broncos in their game this year. As a team, Boise State gave up 221 rushing yards in that game. The Boise State defense has given up more than 250 rushing yards in three games this year, and it seems to struggle the most against a dynamic quarterback.
Demond Williams provides that threat on Saturday. With a healthy running back room, Boise State is going to be forced to defend both the quarterback and the trio of tailbacks. All four of whom have each shown their ability to put up game-leading numbers in the backfield.
Washington – 34
Boise State – 20
How to Watch
Time and Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 8 pm Eastern
Location: SoFi Stadium; Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast: ABC
