The Boise State football team will face North Texas in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 17.
The Frisco Bowl announced Sunday that the Broncos and Mean Green will meet at Toyota Stadium at 7:15 p.m. MT on ESPN on Dec. 17. Toyota Stadium is the home of FC Dallas in the MLS, and hosts the FCS Championship every year.
The Broncos are 3-3 against North Texas all-time, with the last matchup a 59-0 win for Boise State back in 2000.
“We are honored to be invited to the Frisco Bowl,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said in a statement. “For several of our players it provides an opportunity to play in front of family and friends in their home state of Texas. It will be special for our seniors who will take the field for the last time with their brothers. We look forward to the challenge and seeing Bronco Nation represented at the game.”
Boise State (9-4) would have gone to the Los Angeles Bowl to play Washington State had they won Saturday’s Mountain West title game against Fresno State. But the 28-16 loss led to a different bowl and opponent.
The Broncos preferred to play a pre-Christmas bowl game to allow players, coaches and staff to be with their families over the holiday. They also prefer playing in Texas whenever possible due to their strong recruiting ties. Both those boxes were checked with the Frisco Bowl, even if it’s not a marquee bowl or against a marquee opponent.
“I’m excited about Frisco,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said. “It’s an extremely important area of the state from a recruiting standpoint. Anytime you can expand your brand and we have a lot of alumni down there so it’s a great opportunity for us to tell our story in a very important market for the Broncos.”
This is the 25th consecutive season in which Boise State has been bowl eligible, but the Broncos didn’t play in bowl games the past two seasons for various reasons. Boise State had to pull out of the Arizona Bowl last year due to a COVID-19 breakout within the program, and the Broncos elected not to play in a bowl game in 2020 due to COVID.
The First Responder Bowl in 2018 was canceled after the first quarter due to severe weather. The only bowl game the Broncos have played the past four years was a 38-7 loss to Washington in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.
Boise State has 12 players including quarterback Taylen Green, running back Ashton Jeanty and wide receivers Eric McAlister and Stefan Cobbs from the state of Texas. It’s just the third game Boise State has played in Texas in the past 18 years, but the second this season.
“That would be amazing to go back home,” Jeanty said Saturday night about the possibility of playing a bowl game back in Texas. “Playing there would be great.”
The full list of players from Texas includes Jeanty (Long Star High School), Cobbs (Fossil Ridge High School), wide receiver Latrell Caples (Lancaster High School), cornerback Markel Reed (Temple High School), wide receiver Shea Whiting (Alief Taylor High School), Green (Lewisville High School), safety Zion Washington (Reedy High School), EDGE Gabe Hunter (Hendrickson High School), offensive lineman Joseph Amos (Lancaster High School), offensive lineman Will Farrer (Travis High School), McAlister (Azie High School) and Herbert Gums (Diboll High School).
North Texas (7-6) lost to UTSA in the Conference USA title game on Friday night. The Mean Green are led by quarterback Austin Aune, who has passed for 3,309 yards and 32 touchdowns to go along with 13 interceptions.
The Mean Green won 31-13 at UTEP earlier this season, while Boise State suffered a 27-10 loss at UTEP.
Boise State has plenty to play for against North Texas, notably the chance to get to 10 wins for the first time since 2019.
“Having an opportunity for us to get to 10 wins is huge for us,” Dickey said. “I’m big on storytelling and momentum and I think coming out of COVID and everything we had to navigate and to have the season we did and be able to represent Bronco Nation in the championship game, it was a great season for our team.
“Obviously we’re disappointed (to lose to Fresno State). We’re competitive and no one likes losing. But it’s part of the game and it’s something where we’re going to continue to control what we can and take advantage of this opportunity to play in a bowl game. I have confidence we’ll finish strong.”
Boise State is encouraging and asking fans to purchase tickets through Boise State’s allotment at BroncoSports.com.
