GLENDALE, Ariz. – It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Despite being double-digit underdogs heading into Tuesday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup with Penn State at the Fiesta Bowl, many believed Boise State would shock the college football world once again.
It felt like destiny – with the Broncos back in the Fiesta Bowl and back in the same uniforms as their three previous wins there – that Boise State would again make history and extend its season at least another 10 days.
But that was before a season-high 12 penalties.
Before four turnovers, including three interceptions from quarterback Maddux Madsen.
Before missed tackles on defense and 200-plus rushing yards from Penn State.
Before Penn State’s defense held Ashton Jeanty to just 3.5 yards per carry.
Before two missed field goals from the usually reliable Jonah Dalmas, one of the top statistical kickers in NCAA history.
Before three trips inside the 30-yard line resulted in no points.
Boise State couldn’t have picked a worse time for one of its worst games of the season. And it all added up to a 17-point loss and a crushing end to a historic season.
“A lot of people counted us out, and we’re a couple of plays away from winning,” Danielson said. “That’s football, though. … This is a one-score game going into the fourth quarter., and we just didn’t make the plays enough at the end as we needed to.”
To make things worse, Jeanty finished 27 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record. Jeanty finished with 2,601 yards – the second most in a season in NCAA history – but finished painstakingly short of the record.
Jeanty, who has indicated he will skip his senior season to enter the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, leaves as arguably the best player in Boise State history. And he was the last player to leave the field Tuesday, slapping five with fans and soaking in the final moments of his college career.
“Obviously, we didn’t come away with the result that we wanted, but — not just me, a lot of guys on this team did special things all year,” Jeanty said.
“They have a great D-line, front seven. I mean, it wasn’t really that they did anything extraordinary. They executed. They tackled. We didn’t play our best. I didn’t take care of the ball. So that’s why we weren’t able to get the job done.”
Dalmas had missed two field goals in a game just once previously in his five-year college career. He entered with a nearly 90 percent success rate on kicks shorter than 50 yards. He needed just four field goals to become the all-time record holder.
Instead came one of the worst games of his career and a unceremonious and almost unfair ending. His first miss was a shank from 45 yards, an ugly kick that sailed left and had no chance of going in. It came on Boise State’s opening possession and would have given them an early 3-0 lead.
His second miss came early in the fourth quarter from 38 yards out, a distance he’s been pretty much automatic from in his career. It would have pulled Boise State to within seven points – but instead it sailed right and kept it a two-score deficit.
“As a competitor he’s hurting, but this game is not on Jonah,” Danielson said. “Jonah Dalmas is one of the best field goal kickers in the entire country. His record can never be taken from him. Didn’t play his best tonight. But we win and lose as a team, and this is not on him.”
Penn State soon added a long touchdown run to go up 17 points and eliminate any hope the Broncos had of making another magical comeback inside State Farm Stadium.
The final score doesn’t reflect how competitive the game was for most of the night. And that’s what stings most for the Broncos, who trailed the No. 4 ranked team in the country by just 3 points at 17-14 late in the third quarter.
Madsen, who declined to speak with the media postgame, finished 23 of 35 for 304 yards and a touchdown. The three interceptions alter the final stats, but two came in desperation mode late in the game.
Matt Lauter had four catches for 96 yards and a wide open 53-yard touchdown on a blown coverage to pull the Broncos within 3 points late in the third quarter.
Ty Benefield had nine tackles to lead the Broncos defensively.
Believe it or not Boise State out-gained Penn State 412-387, had more first downs and won the time of possession by eight minutes.
But according to OptaStats on Twitter, Boise State is the first FBS team this century to have at least 12 penalties, commit four turnovers, miss multiple field goals and allow at least 200 rushing yards in the same game.
“Football always comes down to execution, and we just didn’t execute as much as we needed to and establish the running game as much as we have to in a game like this,” Danielson said. “That’s something that we’ve got to look back and learn and grow from.
“Obviously hats off to Penn State. They had a great plan going into it.”
The players hadn’t even left the field yet when the questions already turned to next season. How do the Broncos replace Jeanty? Who will be the next offensive coordinator with Dirk Koetter retiring? Will Boise State lose any key players to the transfer portal?
There are plenty of questions about the future and Tuesday night there were no answers. Only sadness, tears and disappointment after an abrupt end to a season that just felt like it would end different.
But nearly any other fanbase in the country would have taken Boise State’s season. A conference championship. A 12-2 record. A bye into the quarterfinals in the College Football Playoff.
It stung Tuesday night. It will eventually be seen as a massive success – and a new bar for future Boise State teams to strive for.
“As hard as tonight is as a competitor and a coach, I do believe we learn and grow from everything,” Danielson said. “The best is still to come for our team, for these players, our seniors. The best is still to come.
“So proud of the team for re-establishing the standard in Boise and excited for us to learn and grow forward.”
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS