See where Boise State sits in college football preseason rankings so far
The college football season is just around the corner, with practice just a few weeks away and less than two months to go until Boise State kicks off 2026 with a road trip to Oregon on Sept. 5.
The season marks a fresh start for the Broncos, who’ll be competing in the revitalized Pac-12 Conference alongside four other former Mountain West teams, the Sun Belt’s Texas State, and Pac-12 holdovers Washington State and Oregon State.
The new conference appears to sit atop the newly coined Group of 6 list, which comprises the Pac-12, Mountain West, American, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Conference USA.
The latest set of qualification rules for the College Football Playoff state that the highest-ranked Group of 6 team at the end of the regular season, regardless of whether it’s a conference champion, will earn a spot in this year’s CFP bracket.
With automatic qualifiers going to winners of the Power 4 — SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC — and the remaining spots going to the highest-ranked at-large teams, the Group of 6 almost certainly will have only one team in the field.
Sportsbooks have touted Boise State as the preseason favorite to claim that spot, despite the fact that the Broncos didn’t make it last year and had a five-loss season. BSU was the Group of 5 team in the inaugural CFP in 2024.
While a lot can happen between now and December, nationwide outlets and analysts seem to agree with Vegas’ sentiment. Multiple preseason rankings have been released in recent weeks, and Boise State regularly ranks as the best G6 school.
Here’s how the Broncos fared in some preseason polls and how they compare to other G6 programs.
CBS Sports
The Broncos land well outside CBS Sports’ top 25, but they’re still the highest-ranked G6 team. The next-closest G6 program is UNLV at No. 46. The Rebels have finished runners-up in the Mountain West to Boise State the past three seasons, and finally might have a run at the CFP without the Broncos standing directly in their way.
The closest Pac-12 team to the Broncos is San Diego State, which is at No. 69.
Josh Pate’s College Football Show
Josh Pate runs a highly popular online college football show and podcast, and is a regular contributor for ESPN. His recent poll squeezed Boise State in at No. 25, making the Broncos the only G6 team to hit his list.
Phil Steele
Phil Steele is widely regarded as one of college football’s top journalists, best known for his annual Phil Steele’s College Football Preview magazine.
Steele has the Broncos all the way down at No. 47, but they’re still his highest-ranked G6 school. The American Conference’s UTSA is ranked just behind at No. 50, while Pac-12 newcomer Fresno State is at No. 54.
ESPN FPI
ESPN’s FPI isn’t technically a direct ranking of the best teams — it instead predicts how many points a team would be favored by on a neutral field against an average team. Several factors go into that calculation, including the expected points added per game by each unit of a team, offseason recruiting and coaching changes.
The Broncos come in at No. 50 with an FPI of 4, meaning they would be expected to win by 4 points against an average team on a neutral field. The next-closest G6 team is the American’s Tulane (56th), with an FPI of 2.3, and then UNLV (58th), with an FPI of 1.8.
ESPN did release a preseason Top 25, but it closely mirrored its FPI rankings.
