Boise State Florida State Series A Huge Win for The Broncos
By Kyle Kensing
Dec 22, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Boise State Broncos head coach Chris Peterson and defensive back Jamar Taylor (5) celebrate their 28-26 win over the Washington Huskies in the Maaco Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Josh Holmberg-USA TODAY Sports
A Boise State Florida State series was signed for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the universities announced on Monday. In a huge win for the Broncos, this no pair of neutral games, or a road-and-neutral — FSU will come to Boise in 2020.
“We are very excited to add Boise State to our future football schedule,” FSU Director of Athletics Randy Spetman said in a statement. “Boise State has an excellent football program and we feel this will be an out of conference game that will be exciting for fans of both schools and appealing to TV networks.”
A tip of the cap is in order for Spetman. BSU has been a perennial top 15 football program since 2001, and been willing to schedule up in the ongoing quest for national respect. However, non-conference games with opponents like Virginia Tech and Georgia have been played in neutral stadiums, in the backyard of the power conference teams.
Pac-12 schools Oregon and Oregon State have ventured into Bronco Stadium, but an East Coast opponent has eluded the Smurf Turf. Spetman and Seminole head coach Jimbo Fisher are bucking an unfortunate and somewhat unfair trend in college football. Chris Petersen has led BSU to the game’s elite, but never been granted a place at the table. Florida State is the program finally willing to extend a chair.
“Scheduling a home-and-home series against a perennial top-25 program like Florida State is another step in growing our football program,” Boise State Director of Athletics Mark Coyle said in a statement. “Florida State is a team fans talk about when discussing the top collegiate programs in the country and I know Bronco Nation will be excited about hosting a team like Seminoles in Boise.”
Such a match-up gives Boise State legitimacy in the forthcoming playoff system. The Mountain West Conference is one of the five outsiders with access to an upper echelon bowl game, but entry into the four-team tournament is a much more difficult proposition for one of its members. Fisher is building Florida State back to a nationally elite level. That, combined with the brand name alluded to in Coyle’s statement, gives Boise State the promise of a truly marquee match-up in the confines of its own stadium.
Moreover, the Boise State Florida State series sets a precedent. The first is always the most difficult — now that one top tier, Eastern program is signed onto a date in Boise, others are more likely to follow. Consider Gonzaga basketball, which for years similarly struggled to attract college hoops’ elite to Spokane, but this season brought in Baylor and Illinois.