The Boise State Broncos had a great run this season, with their star player, running back Ashton Jeanty, being the driving force behind their success. The Broncos won the Mountain West title and earned a bye to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. However, things didn’t go as expected in their first playoff game as they lost to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
This seemingly vindicated those who had been critical of Boise State getting a first-round bye and further emboldened those who even suggested that the Broncos did not belong in the CFP. Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, however, had some words for the naysayers.
Spencer Daniels Defends Boise State’s Performance in Playoff Game
Rather than attack his team’s critics, Danielson responded after Boise State’s loss to Penn State by taking the opportunity to defend his team and point out how well they performed despite losing.
“Hopefully, everybody just watches the film,” Danielson said. “That’s been my big message all year: watch the film. Watch the game tonight. They had 387 yards; we had 412. Yes, we didn’t execute. We lost the game. That is what it is, but watch our team.”
While the Broncos ultimately lost the game, Danielson’s words ring true. Boise State looked just as good as Penn State, and their loss was mostly due to their offense failing to make the most of several opportunities. Meanwhile, Danielson chose to focus on the progress the Broncos made this season rather than the outcome of one game.
“I’m proud of our team, and I know there’s a legacy here for this group, Ashton, Ahmed [Hassanein], who won’t be wearing the blue and orange going forward, but there’s a legacy they left,” Danielson said.
The Broncos had a bumpy start in the game, falling behind 14-0 to the Nittany Lions, who scored two touchdowns in three minutes of each other in the first quarter. Just when the game was starting to look like a mismatch, Boise State fought back, pushing the score to 17-14 by the third quarter.
Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton, however, scored on a 58-yard run in the last five minutes of the final period to seal the 31-14 victory for the Nittany Lions.
Despite the final score, Boise State was competitive through most of the game and could have pushed the final score closer. They missed two field goals and tossed three interceptions, blunders that arguably cost the Broncos the game.
“A lot of people counted us out, and we were a couple plays away from winning,” Danielson said. “That’s football, though. We could lose to anybody in the country. But I also believe we could beat anybody in the country.
“With the expansion of the College Football Playoff, all you want is to give teams a chance,” he added. “Everybody knew how to make the playoffs to start the season. There was no gray area.
“We’ve been in playoff mentality since September. We knew after we lost on the last-second field goal in Oregon, we can’t lose again, and we didn’t,” Danielson continued.
“There’s been a lot of teams that have said they should be in it. I’m curious how they played their bowl games. To me, it’s all about putting the ball down, playing the game. Whatever they set to make the playoffs, that’s on us as coaches and competitors to go get it done.”
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