Boise State was not in danger within the Fiesta Bowl loss, but its place within the College Football Playoff was

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Two Boise States were on the sector on New Year's Eve.

One was a conference champion having a dream season. A team that got to the College Football Playoff on the back of star running back Ashton Jeanty, and once more a storied program at the highest of the Group of 5 conferences.

The other Boise State was an inferior G5 squad that made a valiant but futile attempt against a greater and more talented Penn State squad.

Both versions coexisted in No. 3 Boise State's 31-14 loss to No. 6 Penn State within the playoff quarterfinals on the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday night. The first deserves to be celebrated. The latter gave Big Ten runner-up Penn State a seemingly easier path to the semifinals than Big Ten champion and No. 1 seed Oregon or SEC champion and No. 2 seed Georgia, and can further fuel the narrative that an imperfectly expanded playoff is required Adjust the seeding format as quickly as possible.

For Broncos fans and people who wish to root for Cinderella, a disappointing and frustrating performance won't take away from the magical run. No, Jeanty didn't break Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record, coming in at 27 yards shy of his lowest rushing performance of the season. No, the game's biggest underdog couldn't pull off one other upset within the Fiesta Bowl, on the identical field that hosted this system's decisive victories. But 2024 will go down as one of the memorable seasons in Boise State football history.

“I am so proud of this team. “It didn’t go our way tonight, but they restored the standard in Boise and are a light on the mound for the country that had been lost for a while,” said head coach Spencer Danielson. “This is a legacy that can never be taken away from them.”

For the opposite CFP teams not on the sector Tuesday, or for faculty football fans basically — an admittedly difficult group to please — the matchup highlighted a vital flaw in a system that was speculated to reward conference champions, but before The realignment turned the Power 5 right into a top-heavy Power 4.

The flaw on this playoff formula, during which byes went to the 4 top-seeded conference champions, was apparent long before the teams were distributed on Selection Sunday via ESPN, including ninth-seeded Boise State, which advanced to No. 3 courtesy of 1 Mountain West Championship. A bracket emerged during which No. 1 Oregon faces sixth-seeded Ohio State, seeded eighth, and No. 2 Georgia faces fifth-seeded Notre Dame, seeded seventh, on New Year's Day.

Those who understand the format have been warning about these unintended consequences for months. But seeing is believing, and Penn State illustrated that reality within the Fiesta Bowl as a fourth-seeded but No. 6 seed against the ninth-seeded but No. 3 seed Broncos. In a multibillion-dollar tournament years within the making, it was easy negligence (or perhaps stubbornness?) that allowed a higher-ranked but lower-seeded team to complete as an 11.5-point player in a neutral site, the quarterfinals of the national championship , draft favorite – a game the Nittany Lions ultimately won by 17.

“Obviously tonight we didn't perform the way we needed to to win a heavyweight fight that we knew was going to happen,” Danielson said.

Boise State was not a charity case. It outgained Penn State by 412 yards to 387, and plenty of of its problems — including 13 penalties for 90 yards — were self-inflicted. But a Broncos team that suffered just eight turnovers all season committed 4 turnovers Tuesday and benefited from an opponent that played with its food for nearly three quarters. Penn State led wire-to-wire, and although the lead was briefly cut to 17-14 early within the second half, the Nittany Lions were on top of things all the time.

“I think the Big Ten prepared our guys,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Boise is a really good football team. …We didn’t take them lightly. We talk about the maturity of our football team – I think it shows.”

The loss isn’t an indictment of Boise State or its previous 12-win season. And this isn’t the identical debate as those arguing about Indiana and SMU getting major contracts. There's no good argument that the Broncos don't deserve a playoff spot and a probability to compete for a national title.

This team was an example of the larger approach that this sport has desperately needed for many years. The same praise and criticism that brought Boise also applies to No. 4 seed Arizona State of the Big 12, which finished twelfth in the ultimate CFP rankings and can play third-seeded and No. 1 on the Peach Bow on Wednesday fifth seed Texas Texas will compete. But the Broncos had their first shot at proving the doubters flawed by confirming their “Please Count Us Out” T-shirts. Instead, they made it even harder to justify a system that made Nos. 5 and 6 — and losing a conference championship — seem more advantageous than the highest two spots.

Boise State has nothing to apologize for. Offensive coordinator Dirk Kötter admitted last week that the playoff seeding system will likely be modified, perhaps as early as next season. But it's not just like the Broncos orchestrated or exploited the system.

“We didn’t make those (bye) rules,” Koetter said. “I’m smart enough to realize that we may not be the third best team, but we definitely deserve to be there.”

Danielson echoed that sentiment after Tuesday's game, just because the clock struck midnight on the East Coast and ushered within the New Year. College football in 2025 can be higher suited if it has expanded playoffs that widen the trail to competing for a national title. Boise State earned its way on this season, similar to SMU and Penn State and Georgia and each other team in the sector. That shouldn't change in the long run either.

Even though Boise State – at the identical time and on the identical field – was also the rationale why, the subsequent time the Broncos get there, the trail will definitely look a bit of different.