The oddities of this 2024 college football season still permeate on a weekly basis.
Like this one: A team with one of the best Group of 5 hopes of crashing this new 12-team College Football Playoff format hasn’t even played a conference game yet.
No. 25 Boise State lambasted previously undefeated Washington State 45-24 Saturday at home to improve to 3-1. The blue turf was once again graced by the presence of superstar running back Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries.
But 2024 is weird. The Broncos now roll into the month of October 0-0 in Mountain West Conference play despite their stampede over the Cougars, but very much atop the conversation of teams that can play for a national title.
The MWC agreed to a scheduling alliance with Wazzu and Oregon State, the last two members of the Pac-12, for this unique season. In the past two weeks, the Pac-12 has poached five MWC teams, headlined by Boise State, to join the conference. And since this latest confounding round of conference realignment kicked off, now the Pac-12 is suing the MWC in federal court for a “poaching fee” that could cost upwards of $40 million.
That’s the battle between the suits. On the field, Boise State continued an impressive start to a season headlined by Jeanty and a suffocating defensive front. The Broncos officially open up MWC play next weekend at home against Utah State.
The type of win Boise State needed to pad its potential Playoff resume
The margin for error afforded to the Broncos is not the same as most other Top 25 teams. Because they’re not part of a Power 4 conference, losses must be at a minimum come November and December if they want to bolster their potential case as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions that earn automatic bids.
Boise State’s first third of its season looks pretty darn good on paper.
“Where is the ceiling?” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said postgame. “We’ve got to keep growing. I know that we’re not playing our best football yet, but I also know any team on our schedule can absolutely beat us up. I know that. And that’s been shown across college football.”
They handled Georgia Southern on the road and went toe-to-toe with an Oregon team ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time in Autzen Stadium but lost 37-34 on a last second field goal. After that game, Jeanty comfortably declared the Broncos as one of the best teams in the country before adding that they would dominate the rest of the teams on their schedule.
What followed was a 56-14 win at home over Portland State and Saturday’s rout of Wazzu. It was important, because there won’t be that many more high-profile matchups.
The one that looks like it could decide the outcome of the conference — and potentially a Group of 5 automatic bid — is Boise State’s road trip to face 4-0 UNLV in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 25. Boise State has the G5’s best odds to make the Playoff at 37 percent, according to our model, but UNLV is next at 28 percent.
Another Heisman moment for the best back in college football
Jeanty bowled over two Wazzu linebackers on his way to his fourth touchdown run of the night. And when he reached the back of the end zone, he lifted his right leg up and stuck out his right arm and struck the famed pose — again. He did it after his record-setting six-touchdown performance in Week 1 at Georgia Southern. And against Wazzu, it was fitting for him to strike it again. The junior running back once again proved just how miserable it is to attempt to tackle him.
He pushed defensive linemen down with a stiff arm. He ran over linebackers who wandered into a gap. He utilized his straightaway speed to distance himself from the pack.
“Relentless,” Danielson said. “Talk about a guy who puts his team on his back, loves this team, and will find any way to score because that’s what his team needs. That’s Ashton.”
Ashton Jeanty, 59 yards to the house. Cougs with a few more missed tackles.
Jeanty tonight: 18 carries, 218 yds, 3 TD
BSU 31, WSU 17 pic.twitter.com/fZvExf1aAA
— Greg Woods (@GregWWoods) September 29, 2024
Jeanty has now rushed for 845 yards and 13 touchdowns in four games. That’s a 211 yards per game average.
“We’re going to run the ball — even when you know we’re going to run the ball — and we’re going to keep getting yards, and then we’re going to make you quit,” Jeanty said.
What other ‘outsiders’ are still in the mix?
The beauty of the expanded Playoff format allows for more fan bases to dare to dream.
There are others beyond Boise State and UNLV that can think big. Army and Navy, of the American Athletic Conference, are 4-0. Conference USA’s Liberty is also 4-0. While James Madison is 4-0 and has yet to start conference play in the Sun Belt, the Dukes’ last two offensive outings have featured a 70-point performance at North Carolina later followed by putting up 63 points at home against Ball State.
(Photo of Ashton Jeanty: Loren Orr / Getty Images)
