SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Boise State players posed for pictures with the Fiesta Bowl trophy during a media day event Sunday morning at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale.
And it just felt right.
It just had to be the Fiesta Bowl, right?
Boise State’s debut appearance in the College Football Playoff Tuesday in the quarterfinals against Penn State comes in a familiar and fitting spot.
It was here in 2007 when the Broncos first crashed the national party, upsetting a heavily favored Oklahoma team in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Broncos then added two more Fiesta Bowl wins, beating TCU in 2010 and Arizona in 2014.
Three Fiesta Bowl championship trophies sit in shiny cases near the front door of Boise State’s football complex. It’s the first thing visitors see when they arrive and the last thing players see as they leave.
The 2024 group has a chance to add to the legacy and history and tradition of Boise State’s storied program – and add a fourth Fiesta Bowl trophy to the group.
“It fits,” Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein said. “Boise State has always been (associated with) the Fiesta Bowl, so I’m super excited and the whole team is super excited.
“It almost feels unreal, to be at the Fiesta Bowl, one of the biggest stages, to be in the playoff. It’s a great opportunity. I look at that trophy and the game against Oklahoma and that really built Boise State, winning these types of games.”
Some might point to a 2001 win at No. 8 Fresno State as the game to start Boise State’s rise to a college football power. But many would say the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, when the WAC champions shocked the world with trick plays and a memorable finish to beat Oklahoma and pick up the biggest win in school history.
Enrollment skyrocketed in the coming years and new buildings went up all over campus. Investments into the football program led to the Stueckle Sky Center, the Caven-Williams indoor practice facility, the Bleymaier Football Complex, stadium expansion and more.
Along the way the Broncos picked up plenty more signature wins – over Georgia, Virginia Tech, Oregon, Utah, BYU and Florida State to name a few. And of course two more wins in Glendale over No. 4 TCU in 2010 and No. 10 Arizona in 2014.
Players on Boise State’s current roster were toddlers when the Broncos beat Oklahoma. But they can’t walk down a hall or into a room in the football complex without seeing some sort of photo, mural, trophy or other reminder from one of the three Fiesta Bowl wins.
“When I came here in 2019 I heard a lot about being Fiesta Bowl champions and the great games Boise State has played in those bowl games,” senior offensive lineman Ben Dooley said. “So it’s exciting to be a part of that group.
“I think that was a pretty quick selling point (during his recruitment). Right when you walk in there the trophies are there and everyone kind of knows that is Boise State’s claim to fame. That’s kind of what this place is built on.”
The iconic blue turf is probably the first thing mentioned by coaches in recruiting. The Fiesta Bowl might be second.
“Honestly it’s kind of all I heard about,” defensive back Seyi Oladipo said. “My first time walking into the facility you see the trophies right there.”
Said linebacker Marco Notarainni: “That’s one of the first things you talk about when you step in here, the legacy those guys have built. Obviously our facilities have been built from the ground up and considering our history and where we’ve started from and where we are now, a lot of that is a testament to the culture of the program and the alumni.
“We hear all the time about how much better we have things because of how the alumni built this program, so to be able to build on that and play in a game like the Fiesta Bowl, it’s unbelievable.”
Ian Johnson, Jared Zabransky, Vinny Perretta, Drisan James, Marty Tadman and others from the 2006 team (who won the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2007) will forever be legends.
The Hook and Ladder from Zabransky to James to Jerard Rabb tied the game late in the fourth quarter. The halfback pass from Perretta to Schouman in overtime set up the Statue of Liberty and Johnson’s postgame proposal. Some still call it one of the best college football games of all-time.
In 2010 it was the fake punt and a pass from Kyle Brotzman to Kyle Efaw in a tie game in the fourth quarter which set up the go-ahead score. That team had Kellen Moore, Doug Martin, Austin Pettis, Shea McClellin, Tyrone Crawford, Winston Venable and Jamar Taylor to name a few.
The 2014 team was led by Jay Ajayi, Thomas Sperbeck, Jake Roh, Shane Williams-Rhodes, Kamalei Correa, Tanner Vallejo, Darian Thompson and Ben Weaver among others. And don’t forget they ran a variation of the Statue of Liberty, named ‘Murica’ by offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, which went for a touchdown run by Ajayi.
The Fiesta Bowl is synonymous with Boise State – which makes the Broncos being here, instead of being shipped to the Peach Bowl, all that much more perfect.
“It’s just tradition,” quarterback Maddux Madsen said of Boise State playing in the Fiesta Bowl. “All the fun trick plays, the Oklahoma game, I remember my first bowl game when we played North Texas, it was on the TV on replay and I think I watched it two different times.
“The Fiesta Bowl and Boise State are a good combination.”
Even the uniforms will be the same. Boise State has worn the same combination – blue helmet, white jerseys and orange pants – in all three Fiesta Bowls. And the Broncos will honor their history by doing it again on Tuesday.
“There was no question about it,” coach Spencer Danielson said. “I knew the second we were playing in the Fiesta Bowl that wasn’t even going to be a conversation for me.”
Like many of the players Danielson credited Boise State’s success in the Fiesta Bowl as the reason he ended up coaching a camp in Boise in 2015 and eventually joining the program as a graduate assistant in 2016.
“I was a senior in high school in 2007 and I’ll never forget watching that game at home with my dad,” Danielson said. “Seeing it happen, not knowing a ton about Boise State football and the tradition, the legacy, but being blown away by that game. Seeing the Fiesta Bowl since then, I remember watching the 2014 Fiesta Bowl when they won.
“I coached my first camp out here in 2015. I was able to be on The Blue for the first time coaching summer camp, and I came here because of watching those games. A southern California kid watching Boise State win a Fiesta Bowl in front of the nation. It’s special watching those moments. It was special when I got here and is now being able to be in that game.”
Boise State is looking to become the first Group of 5 team to ever win a game and advance in the College Football Playoff. Previously Cincinnati was the only G5 team to even qualify for the playoff, but they lost 27-6 to No. 1 Alabama in 2021.
In each of the three previous Fiesta Bowls the season ended with the win. Now, the Broncos have a chance to extend their season further – and make history in the process.
And it just feels right to do it back at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale.
“There’s not a better stage for us to do something that no one has ever done before,” Oladipo said.
Kick off against Penn State is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN and ABC. Bronco Nation News will have live coverage from State Farm Stadium throughout the day, including live pregame and postgame shows on YouTube, Facebook and X.