GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Boise State has taken that long-awaited next step, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time, 17 years after a program-shifting win.
Awaiting the No. 8 Broncos in the desert is another team that made a breakthrough.
No. 5 Penn State also is in its first CFP playoff, shaking its can’t-win-the-big-game reputation with a victory over SMU while climbing from the shadows of a scandal that rocked one of college football’s bluebloods.
The prize awaiting both program’s Tuesday night: a trip to the CFP semifinals with a win in the Fiesta Bowl.
“Boise State has been built on the backs of years and years of success way before I got here,” said Spencer Danielson, in his first full season as Boise State’s coach. “So even this season is not because of me. It’s because the group of young men wanted to leave a legacy, be different.”