"Everything Counts, Everything Matters"

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points. By the time you’re reading this, I’m back in Chicago after my trip to Idaho and Washington, slowly trying to un-jetlag myself. I’ll be sharing a few more newsletters and notes from that trip over the next few days. Here’s part of my takeaways from my time at Boise State:

BOISE, ID:

This might seem like a weird year to decide to fly out to Idaho and do a feature on Boise State football. After all, a glance at the AP Poll or College Football Playoff rankings shows that Boise State is nowhere to be found.

The 2023 Boise State football team isn’t a bad football team. They’re 60th in F+ and 55th in the most current SP+ rankings, right around programs like Virginia Tech, Memphis, and Toledo. By most advanced stats metrics, they’re the third-best team in the MWC and one of the better squads outside the P5. Their four losses were on a last-second field goal against UCF, a single touchdown against Memphis, a Hail Mary against Colorado State…and a beatdown against Washington. T

And to be fair, early season Washington would beat down a lot of teams this year.

But four close losses are still four losses. The Broncos have only lost four or more games six times since 2005, and three of those campaigns are under current coach Andy Avalos. Four losses mean the team isn’t close to competing for a NYE Bowl, and thanks to the upset by Colorado State, it means they’ll need perfection (and probably some luck) to win an MWC title.

A 7-5 record and a bowl pre-Christmas Bowl against a CUSA team is a perfectly fine season for many Mountain West teams. But it isn’t for Boise State, especially since their fans under the age of 40 have never known an under .500 season. The Broncos haven’t been bad since we Elder Millennials with mortgages and back pain were in 3rd grade.

This is not a place with the same expectations as many Mountain West teams. This is Boise State.

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