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After a successful 2024 season in which his Boise State football program won the Mountain West and clinched their first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff, head coach Spencer Danielson was defiant. The 31-14 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Fiesta Bowl ended the Broncos' season, and Danielson thought that his team was close to a win Tuesday night.
“A lot of people counted us out and we were a couple plays away from winning,” Danielson stated to the press, including ESPN, postgame. “That's football, though. We could lose to anybody in the country. But I also believe we could beat anybody in the country.”
Until their loss on New Year's Eve, the Broncos did beat almost everybody. Their one loss before the CFP quarterfinal was to top ranked Oregon by three points in the second week of the season. On the road, as well. The rest of this campaign brought victory after victory. Star running back Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman runner-up, was the engine that drove the Boise State football team. His pursuit of Barry Sanders' all-time NCAA season rushing record came up short, as the Nittany Lions did everything they could to stop him. However, Jeanty will leave for the NFL soon. Where does that leave Danielson and Boise State?
Can Boise State football make it back to the College Football Playoff in 2025?
The loss of Jeanty will sting, as the stud tailback will almost certainly be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. His willingness to stay at Boise State and finish his collegiate career with the program is a choice that is less and less common in today's landscape. The Broncos will miss his leadership, poise and determination, not to mention the impact he brought to every game once he stepped on the field.
Yet, Danielson and Boise State football have a lot of pieces returning next season. The Broncos won 11 games in a row, including their first back-to-back MWC titles. The head coach talked about the doubters that said other teams, such as Alabama and Miami, deserved to be in the Playoff over programs like the Broncos.
“There's been a lot of teams that have said that they should be in it. I'm curious how they played their bowl games,” Danielson stated after the loss. “To me it's all about putting the ball down, play the game, whatever they set to make the playoff, that's on us as coaches and competitors to go get it done.”
As the Boise State football program looks to 2025 and beyond, one thing is certain: the chase for more glory and success won't stop. The Broncos will join a remade Pac-12 in the near future and look to make its mark there. Can they once again return to the CFP? If Danielson and his team have their way, then they will once again grace college football's biggest stage with their presence.
