BOISE, Idaho — Over the weekend, the Penn State Nittany Lions punched their ticket to the Fiesta Bowl to take on the Bosie State Broncos on New Year's Eve, kickstarting the second round of the newly expanded 12-team college playoffs.
"We've got our work cut out for us, that's a perennial opponent we're going to meet down in Arizona, and we're excited to go put the ball down,” said BSU Head Coach Spencer Danielson.
Excited to go put the ball down. That was the message of Head Coach Spencer Danielson on Monday before the Broncos took a few days off for the holiday season.
“We’re very aware of the task at hand and how talented and well-coached they are,” said Danielson of the Penn State squad.
With Penn State's 38-10 victory over SMU over the weekend, the Broncos know their fate in what will be a first-ever meeting for both programs and the next step in Bosie State's historic jump into the race for a national championship.
On Monday, coach Danielson had high praise for their Big-10 foe.
Fiesta Bowl round 4 coming soon 🔵🟠#BleedBlue | #BuiltDifferent pic.twitter.com/ex8J5uqXNk
— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) December 23, 2024
"What they were able to do against SMU on Saturday, that's very, very impressive,” said Danielson. “About 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter and to be able to rest their guys in a playoff game, that's a testament to their team."
With many national pundits already calling Penn State a substantial favorite, coach Danielson is doing his best to manage the outside noise.
"We talk about those things. Like 'hey, right now nobody thinks you can win this game'— Perfect,” said Danielson. “All the outside noise of people counting us out, awesome. We’ve been with the outside noise when people are saying how great we are. On either side, you have to block out that noise and I believe that... Please count us out, that's what Boise State Football has been built on— people thinking we can’t do something, and we work our tails off to find a way to prove people wrong."
It's been a decade since the Broncos have been to the Fiesta Bowl, with previous wins coming against Oklahoma, TCU, and Arizona. Coach Danielson knows Bronco Nation will travel well and could make this neutral-site game more of a homecoming. "I know Penn State is going to travel well and I know Bronco Nation is going to travel very well. So, it will be a good mix of the fanbases down in Arizona,” added Danielson.
