Boise State cracks top 25 in preseason poll; Broncos earn New Year’s Six projection
The Boise State football team ranked No. 22 in a preseason poll of the top 130 college football teams in the country, which was released by CBS on Thursday.
The Broncos were joined in the top 25 by five other Group of Five programs, including Mountain West member Air Force, which ranked No. 23.
Memphis led the group at No. 16. The Tigers were one of three American Athletic Conference teams in the top 25, joined by No. 20 Navy and No. 21 Cincinnati. After both programs went 10-3 last fall, AAC members UCF and SMU came in at No. 29 and No. 32, respectively. Last season’s Sun Belt champion Appalachian State ranked No. 19.
Boise State ranked No. 23 in last fall’s final AP Top 25 poll — one spot behind Air Force. The Broncos finished last season 12-2 and beat Hawaii, 31-10, to win their second Mountain West championship in the past three years.
The Broncos are scheduled to open the 2020 season at home Sept. 5 against Georgia Southern.
New Year’s Six bound?
Sporting News released its preseason 2020 bowl game projections on Thursday, and the publication predicts the Broncos will be in a New Year’s Six game.
Boise State was predicted to meet Texas on Dec. 30 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last fall, the Longhorns went 8-5 and 5-4 in the Big 12 and beat Utah, 38-10, in the Alamo Bowl.
Last season, the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bid came down to Boise State, Memphis and Cincinnati. The Tigers beat the Bearcats in the AAC title game to clinch a berth in the 2020 Cotton Bowl, where they fell, 53-39, to Penn State.
Sporting News predicted the following Mountain West teams will compete in bowl games in 2020-21: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — Air Force vs. Buffalo, LA Bowl — San Diego State vs. Stanford, New Mexico Bowl — BYU vs. Fresno State, First Responders Bowl — Wyoming vs. West Virginia, Hawaii Bowl — Hawaii vs UAB, NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl — Toledo vs. Utah State.
