‘We can’t lose any more’: Boise State’s playoff chances are hanging by a thread

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State ran out of mulligans for the rest of its season on a hot Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.

The Broncos started the 2025 campaign ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 and as the favorite to grab the Group of Five berth in the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.

However, a season-opening 34-7 loss to South Florida brought the team crashing down to earth — and out of the national spotlight.

That meant the weekend trip to play No. 21 Notre Dame was the perfect opportunity for Boise State to catapult itself right back into the picture.

Instead, a penalty-laden game in which an anemic Boise State offense struggled to make an impact resulted in a 28-7 loss.

“I don’t run from the fact that we have to find a way to win these football games, and I believe we will,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Saturday after the loss. “We didn’t this year, we didn’t last year, and that’s on me.”

Boise State was 11-1 last year in the regular season, its only loss a three-point setback at Oregon, which ended the season ranked No. 1. It then lost to highly ranked Penn State 31-14 in the Fiesta Bowl in the playoff quarterfinals.

Any chance the Broncos had to impress this season with a big nonconference win is gone, with the rest of the schedule filled with Mountain West opponents. And those league goals remain alive — winning another regular season conference title and then the championship game.

“This does not make or break the season. Everything’s still on the table,” sixth-year senior wide receiver Latrell Caples said after the Notre Dame game.

That’s true, and all Boise State (3-2) can do now is … not lose again. A 10-2 season, and then a Mountain West title, would at least give the Broncos a fighting chance at being the highest-rated G5 champion, which comes with an automatic CFP bid. A third loss means BSU is out.

The chief competition for that playoff bid will be the winner of a good American Athletic Conference, where Navy (5-0), Memphis (6-0) and North Texas (5-0) are all unbeaten, and South Florida and Tulane sit at 4-1.

Those teams are going to cannibalize each other somewhat the rest of the way, but a one- or two-loss AAC champ likely would be ranked higher by the playoff committee.

Boise State remains the favorite to win a third straight Mountain West title, but big home games remain with UNLV (5-0, 1-0) and Fresno State (5-1, 2-0), as well as a road trip to San Diego State (4-1, 1-0).

The Broncos, 1-0 in league play with a 49-37 win over Air Force, welcome a New Mexico team to Albertsons Stadium next, and that program has some excitement around it under former Idaho Vandals coach Jason Eck.

However, the Lobos lost 35-28 loss to San Jose State this weekend, falling to 3-2 on the season. The game Saturday night is basically like a new season opener, with Boise State looking for a perfect Mountain West run.

“We know we can’t lose any more,” Caples said. “We won’t lose any more.”