5 Non-Power 5 teams that could make the College Football Playoff

Boise State has come close to crashing the national party before. During the BCS era, the Broncos pushed awfully close to one of the top two spots in the BCS rankings. It would have been a world-shattering event on par with BYU’s national title in 1984. But the Broncos had a propensity for dropping WAC games at the most inopportune moments. Thus things fell apart every time Boise State came close to breaking that ceiling for non-Power Five teams.

After winning against Sun Belt contender Troy, Boise State has one of the better wins among Group of Five teams vying for a New Year’s Six spot. The Broncos, though, need to concentrate on winning a Mountain West title for the first time since 2014. That year, Bryan Harsin‘s first as head coach at his alma mater, marked Boise State’s return to the Fiesta Bowl.

They have a big matchup this weekend against No. 20 Washington State in Pullman. The Pac-12 North champions have just as much incentive to take down a premier Group of Five squad as the Broncos do to capture a statement win on the road.

If Boise State takes down the Cougars, Virginia, and independent BYU, they will have three statement wins out of conference. A sweep of the Mountain West schedule would make the Broncos a sentimental favorite to burst into the College Football Playoff. That would especially be true if every major conference champion finishes with at least one loss.