SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — They walked off the plane in Phoenix an hour late, wearing t-shirts with a timeless message that for three decades has fueled the giant-killer program.
Count us out.
Overlook the running back closing in on an immortal NCAA record. Forget about the defense that led the nation in sacks for much of the season.
Ignore little ol’ Boise State, the team from the forgotten Group of Five conferences that had No. 1 Oregon beat before a couple of special teams touchdowns.
Nothing to see here. Just a speed bump on the way to Penn State rolling into the College Football Playoff semifinals.
‘They’re as good as any team we’ve played this season,” said Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.
But nothing about this feels dangerous for Penn State. Not the moment or Boise State’s history of winning big on the big stage.
Not the personnel mismatches or the routs in the first round of the College Football Playoff that quickly set the tone for the postseason. Not even the sleepy New Year’s Eve time slot, where the game could quickly get lost amid the annual worldwide revelry.
Somebody had to play on New Year’s Eve. You can’t fit four CFP games in one New Year’s Day window without one of the game beginning well past bedtime on the East Coast.
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Why not the team that has made a living doing what they’re not supposed to do? The team that has become synonymous with major bowl upsets.
And that’s why Penn State should be concerned.
Because while the Lions could lose their two biggest games of the season (again) and still make the playoff, Boise State has been in a fight from the first week of the season. The playoff began when the Broncos – like every Group of Five team in the power conference world of college football – kicked off the season.
Win or go home. Every week, every game.
It’s more than star running back and Heisman Trophy runner up Ashton Jeanty chasing Barry Sanders’ single season rushing record. More than a 5-feet-10 quarterback no one wanted, or the star defensive end from Egypt that only began playing the game a few years ago.
More than the head coach who played college ball at tiny Azusa Pacific, and got the job at Boise State late last season on an interim basis — and then forced his way into the full-time gig by winning the Mountain West Conference. And then kept winning.
It’s the count-us-out mentality — and it’s not new. They’ve been feeding off it for three decades, since former coach Dan Hawkins famously said, “bigger isn’t always better.”
There’s just more on the line now.
“We represent a lot of people, a lot of teams that have been counted out,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “I do believe when someone is counted out, how they show up when the ball is put down does echo through the entire college football landscape for years to come.”
This is what Penn State is dealing with Tuesday night. Not what the sharps in Vegas think (Boise State is an 11-point underdog), or what talking heads on television believe, or what just about anyone outside of the Boise bubble with a pulse believes.
Because there’s an important factor lost in this Penn State stroll to the semifinals narrative since its rout of SMU in the first round: common opponent.
Penn State lost to Oregon 45-37 in the Big Ten championship game, where Penn State never led and really never threatened the Ducks.
Oregon needed a punt return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown and a game-winning field goal as time expired to beat Boise State 37-34 — in Eugene.
Boise State outplayed Oregon by every statistical measure, and held the Ducks to a season-low total yards (352 yards). But for coverage busts on two special teams returns for touchdowns, Boise State would be unbeaten.
That game was quarterback Maddux Madsen’s second career start, and he completed only 17-of-40 passes. He has accounted for 25 touchdowns (20 passing and 5 rushing) since, and has only three interceptions.
Jeanty ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns against the Ducks, and the Boise State defense sacked Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel four times and forced two fumbles.
In both of Penn State’s losses this season, Allar was harassed by the Ohio State and Oregon defenses, and threw three interceptions. Don’t think that can’t happen again.
Don’t think the overlooked and the counted out can’t do what they’ve always done in this moment. Can’t do what Boise State first did on the big stage in 2006, when a majority of this team were toddlers and Danielson was a senior in high school.
“The field will change, the lights will be on,” said Boise State safety Seyi Oladipo. “They might be a little brighter than somewhere else, but we have a mission. We’ll do everything it takes to get this job done.”
Like they have every other time in this moment. There’s just more on the line now.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.