A Week 2 playoff game? Boise State vs Memphis has early-season CFP implications

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The college football calendar has only just ticked over into Week 2, and Boise State is already preparing for one of its biggest games all year.

Yes, Boise State just played No. 2 Oregon. It was a massive chance for the Broncos to show what they’re made of, and despite losing 34-27, they showed that they can hang with the best of the best.

But Boise State also entered that game as 24.5-point favorites. The Broncos were expected to fall short; a loss on the road to a top-two team in the country wouldn’t make or break their season. It’s this weekend’s home opener that really matters to the Broncos.

Boise State will welcome the Memphis Tigers to Albertsons Stadium for a 4 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, and the result of the game will likely have ramifications all the way to December.

What makes Boise State vs Memphis so important?

The latest rules update to the College Football Playoff will see the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences qualify for the 12-team bracket. The College Football Playoff Committee will release its final rankings and confirm the CFP bracket on Dec. 6. That means it’s almost guaranteed that the CFP will feature just one team total between the Pac-12, American, Mountain West, Mid-American, Sun Belt and Conference USA.

Boise State entered the season among the favorites to claim that spot, and they remain in that spot thanks to the close loss to Oregon. If Boise State makes the cut, it would mark the second time in three years the Broncos would feature in the CFP, having qualified as the No. 3 seed in 2024. But Boise State is far from the only team in the conversation. National consensus puts the Broncos in the mix alongside the likes of Tulane, Navy, and, of course, the American Athletic Conference’s Memphis.

“For me this week, I get all the stuff in regard to the CFP and who (Memphis) are. What I do know is we’re playing an undefeated Memphis team that is one of the best teams we’ll see all season,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said on Monday.

As Danielson noted, Memphis comes into Saturday’s game boasting a 2-0 record. The Tigers have already defeated fellow CFP candidate UNLV, 27-21, in Week 0, before handling Arkansas State, 42-24, this past weekend.

Come selection time, if Boise State and Memphis boast similar records and accomplishments, the committee will look at Saturday’s game as a direct head-to-head to help determine the final order. A loss for the Broncos on Saturday wouldn’t just put them at 0-2. It would also hand a direct rival a valuable win on Boise State’s turf, and could mean the difference between a trip to the CFP and a trip to a random season-ending bowl game.

Boise State vs Memphis

When: 4 p.m. Mountain Time, Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (34,423, Turf)
TV: USA Sports
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 84 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 0-1, 0-0; Memphis 2-0, 0-0
Series: Memphis leads the series 1-0
Vegas line: Boise State by 8.5 points
Weather: High of 83, low of 55, humidity 30%, partly sunny, 5% chance of rain