Boise State Broncos ON SI

Boise State in contention for College Football Playoff bye

Broncos need some help, but could edge out Big 12 champion for a top-four seed 

Bob Lundeberg

Boise State Broncos defensive end Ahmed Hassanein.
Boise State Broncos defensive end Ahmed Hassanein. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

The initial College Football Playoff rankings, which were unveiled Tuesday, brought good news to Boise State on multiple fronts.

The Broncos (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) received a ranking of No. 12, matching their spot in the AP Top 25. Boise State was also within striking distance of Big 12-leading BYU, which checked in at No. 9.

The four highest-rated conference champions receive first-round byes in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. If Boise State can win the Mountain West and pass the eventual Big 12 or ACC champion in the CFP rankings, the Broncos would advance directly to the final eight. 

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis believes the Broncos have a decent shot at securing one of the four byes. 

“I think that Boise is in the situation — people hate this, but they probably need to make sure they stay strong on the eye test and the style points,” Davis said on the College GameDay Podcast. “And then probably what you need is BYU to lose.”

BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) has a rivalry game this week at struggling Utah (4-4). The Cougars then host Kansas (2-6), travel to Arizona State (6-2) and close the regular season at home against Houston (4-5). 

Boise State hosts Nevada (3-7) this Saturday at 6 p.m. Mountain time, hits the road for back-to-back games against San Jose State (5-3) and Wyoming (2-7) and returns home to play Oregon State (4-4) on Black Friday. 

BYU has victories over No. 13 SMU and No. 19 Kansas State while Boise State has defeated just one ranked team: a 45-24 trouncing of No. 21 Washington State. The Broncos did prove they can compete with the nation’s best during a 37-34 loss at top-ranked Oregon. 

Davis thinks Boise State would be ranked above any two-loss Big 12 champion. 

“If a two-loss team were to win the championship game, and Boise State sits there with only one loss to Oregon, I think the path is pretty clear,” Davis said on the podcast. 

Boise State is ranked above every Big 12 team except BYU. If the Broncos can keep stacking wins, they have a chance to climb into the top eight and host a first-round playoff game at Albertsons Stadium. 

“That’s not wild,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said during the podcast. “Imagine the blue turf hosting a college football playoff game. That is mind-bending.”

Davis believes it’s more likely for Boise State to earn a first-round bye than crack the top eight of the final rankings. 

“I mean, with this kind of season that we’ve had, people knocking each other rear end over tea kettle has become the norm each week,” Davis said. “So it wouldn’t stun me, but I do think it would be easier for them to get seeded as one of the four-highest ranked conference champions than it might be to get all the way to eight in the midst of all of those SEC and Big Ten teams who are going to get the benefit of the doubt.”

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

Published |Modified
Bob Lundeberg
BOB LUNDEBERG

Bob Lundeberg is a reporter for Boise State Broncos On SI. An Oregon State graduate, Bob has lived in Idaho since 2019 and is an avid hiker and golfer.

Home/Football