Boise State plays in a bowl game for the 22nd time in the past 27 seasons when it battles Washington on Saturday night in the LA Bowl at Inglewood, Calif.
It marks the second time in three seasons that the Broncos (9-4) are competing in the LA Bowl. Boise State lost 35-22 to UCLA in the 2023 edition.
The Broncos enter the contest with three straight wins, including last weekend’s 38-21 victory over UNLV to earn the Mountain West championship.
Washington (8-4) was resting last weekend while Boise State was winning its third straight conference title.
“Obviously, this is a quick turnaround,” Broncos coach Spencer Danielson told reporters. “It’s really no time off.
“It’s nice that you stay in rhythm, obviously we’re going to have some guys banged up from the championship game that it’s going to be next man up, carry the flag. It is the first bowl game in the country, which is awesome.”
The Huskies are part of a bowl game for the 14th time in the past 16 seasons.
This will be the seventh time Washington has faced Boise State — the third in a bowl — and the Huskies have either won by blowout or lost close while claiming four of the six previous meetings.
Washington’s four victories in that span have come by an average of 28.5 points, while the Broncos two wins have been by an average of 2.5 points.
Huskies coach Jedd Fisch is wrapping up his second season at the school and isn’t concerned about past matchups. He is fully intent on making sure his team doesn’t lose for the fifth time this season.
“We’re out here to win the game,” Fisch told reporters. “We’re out here to play our best football, we’re going to challenge our team to play better than we have and see how good we can play on Saturday, and hope that we can channel all of that energy and enthusiasm up to play our best game.”
Washington’s season included Big Ten losses to Ohio State, longtime rival Oregon and Michigan. The top victory came against Illinois.
Demond Williams Jr. has passed for 2,850 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions for the Huskies. He added 595 yards and six scores on the ground.
Jonah Coleman rushed for 673 yards and 14 touchdowns and Denzel Boston had 56 receptions for 755 yards and a career-high 10 touchdown grabs and also added a punt-return score. Safety Alex McLaughlin registered 89 tackles.
Boise State’s season lacked the pizzazz that came with Ashton Jeanty’s magical 2024 campaign that included a College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Penn State.
The Broncos were derailed by South Florida in the season opener and easily handled by Notre Dame in early October. Their two best wins came against UNLV, both at home on the famed Blue Turf.
Maddux Madsen passed for 2,283 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Dylan Riley emerged to rush for 1,091 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I feel like it’s a better feeling, knowing I started at the bottom and came to the top to get 1,000 yards and be the lead rusher,” Riley told reporters.
Defensively, safety Ty Benefield racked up 100 tackles, defensive end Jayden Virgin-Morgan had 10 stops for loss, defensive tackle Braxton Fely had 5.5 sacks and cornerbacks Jeremiah Earby and A’Marion McCoy each had four interceptions.
