Boise State walks into Week 1 with no shortage of drama, and head coach Spencer Danielson didn’t try to downplay it on Monday.
The Broncos open the 2026 season at 1:30 p.m. Mountain time Saturday against No.
2 Oregon at Autzen Stadium, with the game set for a national CBS broadcast. Danielson’s message was simple: this is exactly the kind of stage his team should want.
“We’re fired up. Everybody schedules differently and I’ve got a lot of different questions about like ‘Hey, how do you schedule?
What’s the best way to schedule?’ I’ll tell you what man, college football is the best game on the planet.
And when we’re able to go open up Week 1 with the No. 2-ranked team in the country, it’s awesome for college football, awesome for our fan base, awesome for our players, and awesome for our team to know ‘Hey guys, you want to know where you’re at?’
“This is going to be a monster test come Saturday afternoon, and competitors don’t run from the test. You fight every battle you’re given, and you give it your absolute best shot. … When you’re opening the season, going on the road against the No. 2-ranked team in the country-and especially from a regional standpoint, a team that we know a lot about and have a lot of respect for-awesome for college football, awesome for our fan base and most importantly, awesome for our team.”
Boise State has had plenty of experience with Oregon, even if this matchup comes with the biggest spotlight yet. The Broncos are 3-1 all-time against the Ducks, and the teams last met in Week 2 of the 2024 season, when Oregon escaped Autzen Stadium with a 37-34 win. Both programs eventually made the College Football Playoff.
This one carries a different kind of weight, too. Oregon is the highest-ranked opponent Boise State has ever faced.
That mark used to belong to TCU, which came into the 2010 Fiesta Bowl ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll. Boise State won that game 17-10 to finish a perfect 13-0 season.
Danielson also made it clear he has plenty of respect for Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.
“I don’t know him super well, but have a ton of respect for him. We’ve talked a couple times, and I have a ton of respect for him as a head coach, him as a defensive coach, and just what he’s been able to do at Oregon over his time.
I mean, hats off to him. It’s very, very impressive how they’ve been able to win at a high level, consistently.”
The same goes for Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, who Danielson called “arguably the best player in the country at quarterback.” He added that he studied Moore throughout the offseason and saw a passer who can do a little bit of everything.
“Elite accuracy, makes great plays with his feet, either can run the ball or make tough throws. Very hard to get rattled. Cool, calm, collected.”
Up front, Danielson singled out Oregon’s defensive line as one of the nation’s best, pointing to the unusual return of all four players from the Ducks’ front four.
“Probably one of the top front fours in the entire country. And honestly in this day and age, really cool to see all four of them come back.
I love seeing that where guys come back to school, finish what they started. … All four would’ve had opportunities to go be top-round picks in the NFL, all four came back.
They’re a really, really good front.”
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