‘Aware of our history’: Neither Boise State, Penn State has lost a Fiesta Bowl game

Boise State naturally takes pride in its Fiesta Bowl heritage.

The Broncos have been an FBS program for not quite three decades, but they have been to one of the grandest of the bowl games, the Fiesta, three times — and have won all three.

All three of those trophies sit in the Bleymaier Football Center at Albertsons Stadium. Adding a fourth would be a significant step forward for a program that has re-emerged on the national stage.

In the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff, No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1) will take on No. 6 Penn State (12-2) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve, which is one of the quarterfinal games.

The Nittany Lions have an impressive Fiesta Bowl legacy as well. They have been to the game seven times and won all seven. No team has won more — Ohio State and Arizona State each won five.

“Our guys are very aware of our history here at Penn State,” head coach James Franklin said Monday morning. “And we spend a lot of time in the offseason talking about those things, or former players coming back to talk to our guys.”

Penn State won its first Fiesta Bowl in 1977, defeating Arizona State 42-30 in the Sun Devils’ own stadium, where the game used to be played. Since then, the Nittany Lions emerged victorious in 1980, ‘82, ‘87, ‘92, ‘97 and 2017 — when they defeated Chris Petersen’s Washington team 35-28.

The Broncos won their three Fiesta Bowls between 2007 and 2014. The first of those was a classic: a 43-42 overtime victory over the Adrian Peterson-led Oklahoma Sooners in 2007 that is considered one of the greatest college football games of the past 25 years.

The Broncos’ other Fiesta Bowls were a 17-10 win over TCU in 2010 and a 38-30 victory over Arizona in 2014. They were underdogs in all three games and will be again on New Year’s Eve, with Penn State opening as 10.5-point favorites.

Boise State remains the last non-Power 5 conference team to win the Fiesta Bowl.

“We might not have what everybody else has, but we definitely have enough,” head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday. “And we’re going to continue to push forward.”

Franklin, who briefly lived in Pocatello as Idaho State’s wide receivers coach in 1999, said Boise State has the “ingredients to succeed” that other schools often lack.

“It’s in the university, it’s in the community, it’s embedded there. And that’s why you’ve seen so many people be able to go there and have success,” Franklin said. “... I’ve got a ton of respect for Boise, the university, the history, the traditions. We’re excited to play them.”

The Broncos will have a big piece of that tradition on display in the game: the uniform combination they’ve had in every Fiesta Bowl victory. That consists of a blue helmet, white jerseys and orange pants.

“I am a huge fan of the all-blues, the all-blacks and the all-whites. I have zero swag. I have zero feel of what people might want,” Danielson said with a laugh. “So I’m probably the wrong guy to ask, but I knew the second we were playing the Fiesta Bowl, (the uniform) wasn’t even going to be a conversation for me.”

Fiesta Bowl, Boise State vs. Penn State

When: 5:30 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday, Dec. 31

Where: State Farm Stadium (63,400, natural grass)

TV: ESPN

Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 12-1; Penn State 12-2

Series: First meeting

Vegas line: Penn State by 10.5 points

Weather: Indoors