Boise State football learns its bowl game. Here’s when, where and the opponent
Boise State football will finish its season with another trip to Southern California to compete in the LA Bowl on Dec. 13 against the Washington Huskies. The game will be played in the 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium.
The Broncos defeated UNLV 38-21 on Friday night in the Mountain West Championship to secure a third straight conference title, and a spot in the LA Bowl. The Broncos were in SoCal just three weeks ago, when they lost 17-7 to San Diego State, and a place in the LA Bowl seemed like a distant dream.
The Mountain West champion is guaranteed an invitation to the LA Bowl unless it is part of the College Football Playoff, as happened last year when the Broncos won the Mountain West but also earned a first-round bye in the CFP. In that instance, Mountain West runner-up UNLV headed to the LA Bowl.
There was a slim chance the Broncos could have snuck into the CFP this year, too, if results went their way.
The five conference champions ranked highest are guaranteed a spot in the CFP, and the Broncos ended up being right on the cusp. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12’s champions were already embedded in the CFP Top 12, while the American Athletic Conference’s Tulane defeated North Texas 34-21 to book their ticket to the playoffs.
That left one final spot for a conference champion. Unranked Duke defeated No. 17 Virginia in overtime, 27-20, in the ACC Championship game to throw a potential wrench in the works. However, James Madison, ranked No. 25 entering championship weekend, defeated Troy 31-14 and claimed the final automatic bid.
Boise State has some history with the LA Bowl, having also played in the game in 2023. On that occasion, the Broncos fell 35-22 to UCLA with third-string quarterback CJ Tiller under center after Taylen Green decided to transfer and Maddux Madsen was out with a season-ending knee injury.
Washington ended up as the Broncos’ 2025 opponent because the LA Bowl pits the Mountain West winner against a current or former Pac-12 team. Washington left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2023, but with the Pac-12 not restarting with a new crop of teams until next season, including Boise State, the Huskies were still eligible for an LA Bowl invite.
Boise State (9-4, 6-2 Mountain West) and Washington (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) have some history together, and not just because both teams enjoyed Chris Petersen as their head coach.
The two teams have met six times, with the Broncos winning two. The most recent meeting was in 2023, when Boise State traveled to No. 2 Washington and lost 56-19, with Washington’s future first-round NFL Draft pick Michael Penix Jr. throwing for 450 yards.
The Huskies haven’t enjoyed their best season in 2025, managing no major victories. Washington’s three games against ranked opponents all resulted in losses: to then-No. 1 Ohio State (24-6), No. 19 Michigan (24-7) and No. 5 Oregon (26-14).
Boise State and Washington also have a common opponent this season. Washington defeated Colorado State 38-21 in the first game of the season, while Boise State beat the Rams 49-21 on Nov. 22 with backup quarterback Max Cutforth under center.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 12:45 PM.
