Looks like Boise State Broncos now face a double-edged sword. Initially, it looked like a bed of roses. Spencer Danielson and Co. crushed UNLV on a chilly Friday night at Albertson’s Stadium. And VOILA! They got their tickets to the College Football Playoff. But looks like their charm is over. All of a sudden nobody is talking about Danielson’s program anymore. That’s because the path ahead looks tough. Meanwhile, Penn State Nittany Lions enter as the heavy favorite in the Fiesta Bowl. But is Danielson bothered about the underdog story? Not at all!   

Do you know that for the Broncos-Nittany Lions bowl game, the prices are the cheapest? Passes are currently going for between $173-$196 each. Now that tells a lot about how Spencer Danielson’s program has lost all its luster. However, this was not expected from the Broncos. After all, their 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory over the Oklahoma Sooners has been regarded as one of the greatest David and Goliath stories in college football history. But it’s high time that we accept the reality.

College football analyst Greg McElroy pointed out that the underdog story was working fine until some time. He stated, “The whole nobody respects you things great that’s awesome until you’re down 10 nothing and then you start to think well I know now I know why nobody respects us.”

McElroy continued, “I mean like I do think time is not on their side in playing the underdog card a little bit going into these games on Jan 1 and on New Year’s Day Eve.” We have seen how Danielson’s program struggled against Oregon. The loss can be directly attributed to special teams that rank among the worst in the country.

They even struggled with three different kickers with less-than-desired results. Co-host Josh Pate came forward with another narrative. “That is both teams don’t have equal rest and there’s a weird way in my head where that helps Texas to me that helps Penn State because they haven’t both sat around for a month,” stated Pate. 

Danielson’s Broncos and Arizona State were the two teams that enjoyed equal rest for a long time this season as they landed early in the playoffs. On the other hand, Texas and Penn State did not get enough rest. Even having so much time in hand, Boise State is coming off as underdogs in the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Danielson is proud of their ‘underdogs’ tag.      

Spencer Danielson’s rallying cry for Boise State  

No.3 Broncos received a first-round bye. However, James Franklin’s No.6 Penn State is now a 10.5-point favorite, the second-largest margin between teams in the quarterfinals. But that should not have been the case. After all, it’s a known territory for Danielson’s program. In 2007, Fiesta Bowl, they opened as an 8-point underdog; in 2010, they were the 7-point underdogs vs. TCU; and 4-point underdogs in 2014 against Arizona. And guess what?

Even being the underdogs, Boise State won all three games. So, now you know why Danielson is okay with getting tagged as “underdogs.” The Boise State HC said he and his team are not looking for any outward validation during a press conference on Monday, December 23. “Please, count us out,” the Broncos HC dropped a bomb.  

“That’s what Boise State football has been built on: people thinking we can’t do something, and we work our tails off to find a way to prove people wrong,” Spencer Danielson sounded all confident. Now let’s see whether the Broncos can prove the haters wrong for the fourth time.