BOISE, Idaho — All eyes are on Boise State University Football as they try and secure a Mountain West Conference Championship title for the sixth time in program history.
Early 2000's
Many would argue that the early 2000's were some of the best years of BSU football.
At the time they were in the Western Athletic Conference. In 2006, Chris Peterson was head coach, and the team went undefeated.
"It just became a steamroller," Tom Scott, KTVB sports columnist, said. "They kept climbing in the rankings."
The Broncos went on to play in the Jan 2007 Fiesta Bowl and won against Oklahoma University.
"There were sombreros and Tostito bags everywhere," Scott said. "It was just a magical time."
More eyes started turning towards the Broncos.
"They had been really good from 2000 to 2005, but in 2006 the world paid attention to Boise State," Scott said. "And then Kellen Moore came on the scene in 2008, and things changed again."
Former BSU Quarterback, Kellen Moore, had a 50-3 winning record as a starter during his four years at Boise State. He was also in the running for the Heisman Trophy Award, multiple years, which is given to the "most outstanding college football player" each year.
In 2009 Boise State went undefeated again, still with Peterson as head coach. At the end of the season, in early 2010, the team went back to the Fiesta Bowl and won against Texas Christian University.
"It was a continuation, and it was just kind of like... WE'RE BACK," Scott said.
Momentum grew with ESPN's traveling game day show... College Game Day, coming to 'The Blue' in the Fall of 2010 against Oregon State.
"That was the biggest single sports day in Boise history, from dawn till sunset," Scott said. "That dawn, the sun comes up, and there's already 13,000 people there for College Game Day. And it was a very hot day. And then that night, Oregon State comes in town, and they're ranked, but Boise State is ranked a lot higher. Boise State wins the game. I mean, it was magical."
2014 season
By 2014, BSU was part of the Mountain West Conference and had a new head coach Bryan Harsin.
They didn't go undefeated that year but were close with 12-2 record. But they still made it back to the Fiesta Bowl for a third time. They beat the University of Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, Dec 31.
But after that, the momentum died down.
"They didn't win quite as much the past 10 years," Scott said. "But in my mind, the program never went away. The program has 27 consecutive winning seasons, the longest streak in the country. And what school wouldn't kill to have that streak."
2024 season
This season feels different, Scott said.
"The way it's developed in previous seasons, there has been like a bad loss in September," he said. "There wasn't one this year. The only loss, of course, was to Oregon, and that was three points... They've been riding that wave all season... They have a generational talent in Ashton Jeanty and something we're never going to see again."
This year the Broncos are ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll. This is the first time the team's been ranked this high since 2011, Kellen Moore's senior year.
"I think the national perception of Boise State is still kind of like 'The Little Engine That Could'... they're doing more with less," Scott said. "They have by far the smallest budget of any of these top 10 teams in the college football playoff rankings and they're still over, achieving massively."
Scott gave kudos to now head coach Spencer Danielson.
"If you look back a year ago, Spencer Danielson had just been named head coach at Boise State on a permanent basis, and the players were all about that," Scott said. "By Spencer's performance as a coach down the stretch last year, and then for him to take this tip to keep this team together in the transfer portal era and bring back this great team this year and then go 11-and-one to this point is just saying something."
Could this be one of the best years of BSU football history?
"I think the community is very proud of this team and to see it reach heights again that it hasn't reached in 10 years," Scott said. "I think there will be a lot of disappointment if there's a loss tomorrow night, but boy, if there's a win, look out wherever they're going...There's going to be some traveling Bronco fans."
Could BSU play in the college football national championship game?
This year is also different because it's the first time the Broncos have a clear path to a chance to play in the national championship.
That's because the system changed.
"It's very simple, it's a 12-team playoff this year instead of four," Scott said. "So, the expansion to the 12-team playoff created an avenue for a group of five team to get into the college football playoff."
He added, "10 years ago, when they formed the college football playoff system with the 14-team playoff, it really separated The Power Five and The Group of Five once and for all," Scott said.
The Power Five were the five biggest conferences and The Group of five were the five smaller conferences in the FBS, the top level of college football.
"Boise State is in Mountain West and is one of those five conferences (In The Group of Five), and very often the best conference, and right now the best conference in terms of competing for that spot in the 12-team college football playoff."
Will Ashton Jeanty win the Heisman Trophy?
As KTVB has previously reported, Ashton Jeanty could win the Heisman Trophy.
Scott said Jeanty "absolutely should."