Return to the rankings: Boise State football back in Top 25, seeks to continue momentum

It seemed far away last month when the Boise State football team was 3-2, and unlikely even last week when the Broncos were home underdogs for the first time in more than a decade.

But believe it — Boise State is ranked once again.

The Broncos are No. 23 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 24 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, both released Sunday. The big leap was thanks to the 24-17 win Friday over then-AP No. 16 Fresno State, the Broncos’ fifth straight victory.

“We had a really good win, we got some momentum and we want to carry it into this week,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said.

Only three other Group of Five schools were ranked in the AP poll with the Broncos — No. 11 UCF and No. 19 Cincinnati from the American Conference and No. 14 Utah State, which travels to Boise for the Nov. 24 regular-season finale.

If Boise State takes care of business Friday night at New Mexico, that final game will become a win-or-go-home scenario for the Mountain West Mountain Division title.

Players said last week that Harsin told them their playoff hunt started with Fresno State, needing to win out in all likelihood for a shot to repeat as conference champions.

“We’ve got two guaranteed games left ... a lot of work goes into where we are right now, it’s a chance to finish it right and it starts with New Mexico this week,” Harsin said, adding “it’s a matter of fact, we know what our goal is, to play in that championship game, and you have to win games to get into it.”

Also important to remember — the next set of College Football Playoff rankings will be announced at 5 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. Fresno State was No. 23 last week, and Utah State was unranked. Boise State could make an appearance, further giving reason to think the Broncos still have an outside shot at a New Year’s Six bowl if UCF or perhaps Cincinnati can’t win the American.

But first things first, and that’s New Mexico. The Lobos have lost five in a row, but they’ve rarely failed to give Boise State a challenge. The only game quarterback Brett Rypien has ever missed since his redshirt was burned was last year’s 28-14 win. Two of the three visits to Albuquerque as Mountain West members were 32-29 and 60-49 wins.

Harsin said the Lobos’ 31-24 upset of the Broncos in Boise in 2015 will certainly be mentioned to the team.

“That still stings. ... I’ll do my part to let them know what they’re getting into,” Harsin said.

If anything has put into perspective the day-to-day mentality, it’s the Broncos’ rash of injuries, from season-ending ones to safety DeAndre Pierce, linebacker Riley Whimpey and quarterback Chase Cord, to ones that have taken players out for a few games.

“Some of these injuries ... the most important game is the next one, because you don’t know if you’re going to be in the next one after that,” Harsin said. “If that doesn’t teach you a lesson about being focused ... you’re losing what this is really all about.”

MW STANDS BY FINAL MEASUREMENT

Friday’s game ended with a strange scenario in which the officials reviewed a spot for Boise State which was either to be a fourth-and-inches or a first down. The original call was fourth down, and the spot was upheld on replay review. But then the sticks were brought out for a measurement, which showed the Broncos actually earned a first down with 18 seconds left, effectively ending the game.

Social media went crazy with a shot showing the ball perhaps an inch shy of the stick, but the Mountain West released a statement Saturday saying “there are no perspectives which are directly perpendicular to the line to gain and therefore no conclusive evidence that the line to gain was not in fact reached. It has been confirmed the spot, instant replay review and measurement processes were all executed correctly. Therefore, the judgment of the referee, who was looking directly down on the ball and the pole, and was supported by the umpire and back judge, prevails.”

NEWS AND NOTES

The Broncos’ latest depth chart has redshirt freshman Zeke Noa and sophomore Jordan Happle as starting weakside linebacker and field safety, respectively. Both made their first starts against Fresno State. ... Boise State has won its last nine games against Mountain Division teams after having gone 5-5 combined in 2015 and 2016. ... Junior running back Alexander Mattison has 870 yards rushing, and if he reaches 1,000 yards, would give the Broncos a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the last 10 seasons, tied for the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

No. 23 BOISE STATE AT NEW MEXICO

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Dreamstyle Stadium (39,422; FieldTurf); Albuquerque, N.M.

TV: CBS Sports Network (Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor, John Schriffen); Cable One ch. 139/1139, DirecTV ch. 221, Dish Network ch. 158

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: BSU 8-2, 5-1 (won 24-17 vs. Fresno State on Friday); New Mexico 3-7, 1-5 (lost 42-24 at Air Force on Saturday)

Series: Boise State leads 8-1 (Broncos won 28-14 on Sept. 14, 2017, in Boise)

Vegas line: Boise State by 20

Weather: Mid-40s, clear

This story was originally published November 11, 2018 at 4:29 PM.