Did Boise State get eradicated from College Football Playoff rivalry earlier than Week 1 actually will get underway?
The No. 25 Broncos misplaced 34-7 at South Florida on Thursday night time in an unsightly efficiency. Boise State turned the ball over thrice and failed on 4 fourth-down makes an attempt as South Florida dominated the ultimate three quarters.
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Boise State made the playoff final season as the highest non-power convention crew within the College Football Playoff rankings. The Broncos received the Mountain West and took top-seeded Oregon to the wire in Week 2. With (*25*) runner-up Ashton Jeanty, the Broncos have been among the best groups in faculty soccer earlier than shedding to Penn State within the Fiesta Bowl.
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Jeanty wasn’t on the sphere Thursday night time, however explaining the loss isn’t so simple as saying Boise State was lacking its star rusher. QB Maddux Madsen was simply 25-of-46 passing for 225 yards and fumbled the ball on a fourth down within the fourth quarter deep in USF territory to erase any likelihood of a comeback.
The Broncos entered the season because the prohibitive favorites to be the top-ranked Group of Six champion within the rankings once more. And they’re nonetheless most likely the favorites within the Mountain West given all of the turnover at UNLV forward of the 2025 season.
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But getting again to the playoff could also be an unimaginable mountain to climb. Even if Boise State can run the desk within the Mountain West, the Broncos journey to Notre Dame in October. There was little to take from Thursday night time to make you suppose Boise State might pull the upset in South Bend.
If the Group of Six consultant within the playoff this season isn’t going to be Boise State, it’s prone to be a crew from the American. And USF confirmed on Thursday night time why the convention is clearly fifth-best in faculty soccer.
In reality, USF is now in a stronger playoff place than Boise. Yes, the Bulls have video games at No. 15 Florida and No. 10 Miami over the following two weeks. They’re going to be vital underdogs in each of them. But if USF can hold in a single or each of these video games, the playoff committee goes to take discover.
And that may solely additional profit the American. The convention was out of the playoff a 12 months in the past due to Army’s energy of schedule and since each Memphis and Tulane every had two regular-season losses. This 12 months, it’s very attainable that a two-loss American champion will get into the playoff due to what USF simply did.
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Will that crew be USF? Maybe. The early indicators are actually promising. But for a convention that’s lengthy needed to be seen as an equal to the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, Thursday night time was a massive step towards a likelihood at the nationwide championship.