Boise State Football: Broncos To Opt Out Of Bowl Season, Per Reports
The Broncos came up just short in the Mountain West football title game. Now, they’ve reportedly decided to call it a season.
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An unexpected, but understandable, twist.
After losing to the San Jose State Spartans in the Mountain West football championship game on Saturday, it appears that the Boise State Broncos have decided to forgo any potential postseason berth in favor of ending their season a little early.
First reported by Stadium’s Brett McMurphy and later confirmed by KTVB’s Jay Tust, it perhaps comes as no surprise that the Broncos decided to join a number of other eligible teams like USC and a number of ACC teams in giving their athletes a reprieve at the end of what has been an unusually demanding year. McMurphy’s phrasing, however, is that the decision was “unexpected”, a framing which may be reinforced in quotes given by head coach Bryan Harsin and players Hank Bachmeier and Avery Williams after the game yesterday.
However, Boise State already had two conference games, against San Jose State and UNLV, erased by issues related to COVID-19 within the program in late November and early December.
It would mark the first time that Boise State has not gone bowling since the 2001 season, when the Broncos finished 8-4, in a tie for second place in the old Western Athletic Conference. Perhaps more unusually, it will also be the second time in three years that extraneous circumstances will keep the Broncos from playing in the postseason, as their 2018 appearance in the First Responders Bowl was cut short by lightning storms.
Here is a joined statement from #BoiseState team captains Khalil Shakir, Riley Whimpey and Avery Williams… pic.twitter.com/QbUt3K7NwP
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) December 20, 2020
This is the official word from Boise State. pic.twitter.com/ZO2G7Bthse
— OBNUG (@OBNUG) December 20, 2020
