It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Boise State football fans. The Broncos have a good amount of hype coming into the 2024 season as one of the top group of five schools in the country, and they have College Football Playoff aspirations.
We're almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, and the first games will begin on the 24th. College football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
First off, there are going to be some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you're getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans in favor of, but some still don't like them. College football is going to look completely different next year because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West, but they aren't actually in the conference.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams, and some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Boise State football has College Football Playoff hopes
With the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, we are guaranteed to see a group of five team make the playoff this season. One team did it in the four-team era as Cincinnati qualified back in 2021, but now it will happen every single season.
Boise State football is hoping to be the group of five team that qualifies this year, and as we near the beginning of the regular season, they seem like the favorite. The highest ranked group of five team at the end of the season gets the nod, and the Broncos are the highest ranked team in the preseason AP Poll in terms of votes received. They are not ranked, but that is the case with every group of five team right now. Boise State received 47 votes, and SMU received 33. The voters are expecting the Broncos to be the best group of five team.
One interesting aspect of this offseason for Boise State football is the quarterback competition. Maddux Madsen and USC transfer Malachi Nelson are battling it out. Madsen has more college experience as he got a decent amount of playing time last year, but Nelson was the top overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class. He is expected to be a star, but can he beat out Madsen? Let's take a deeper look into the two candidates.
Malachi Nelson
Malachi Nelson came to USC last year with a ton of hype, but everyone knew that he wouldn't be the starter as Caleb Williams was there. Most people assumed that Williams would go pro after the 2023 season, and then the door would be open for Nelson to become the starter. It wasn't that simple, however.
Williams did go pro, but Miller Moss was above Malachi Nelson on the depth chart last year, and he is going to be the starting QB for USC this year. As the top prospect in his class, Nelson was likely expecting to be a starter for his second year. Now, he is with Boise State, but Maddux Madsen was the favorite to win the job when spring ball ended.
Maddux Madsen
Maddux Madsen is certainly the more experienced player of the two as he completed 81 passes for 1,191 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions last year. Malachi Nelson has one completion for zero yards in his whole college career.
Madsen also knows this offense as this is going to be his third year with Boise State football. His experience is good, but is he more talented?
Prediction: Malachi Nelson
This one is expected to go Maddux Madsen, but the pick here is Malachi Nelson. Yes, experience is important, but there's a reason why Nelson was the highest rated recruit in his class. His talent is off the charts, and the Broncos won't be able to keep him off the field because of it.
It might take Nelson a little while to get acclimated, but once he gets a few games under his belt, he should be one of the best QBs in the Mountain West.
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