More than two years after Boise State said yes to the Pac-12, the Broncos are finally about to step onto that stage.
Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium brings the school’s first Pac-12 football game, with Utah State coming in as the opponent in a matchup that still carries a familiar feel. Boise State and Utah State spent years together in the Mountain West, but now the Broncos open a new chapter with a conference game that kicks off at 5:30 p.m.
For Spencer Danielson, the move means more than just a change in league membership. It’s the realization of something Boise State had chased for a long time.
“There were years that Boise State wanted to get into the Pac-12 from, shoot, way before I even got here,” said Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson, who joined the program as a graduate assistant in 2017. “Seeing that happen now, seeing that come to fruition, I just think it’s awesome for our team, it’s awesome for football in general.”
Boise State’s path into the Pac-12 comes after a 15-year run in the Mountain West that produced seven conference titles. Three of those came in a row from 2023-25 under Danielson, giving the Broncos a strong final stretch before the transition.
Danielson sees the new setup as a sharper week-to-week challenge. In his view, the rebuilt Pac-12 won’t offer any soft spots, and that matters for a program trying to keep its standard high.
“When I think about the Pac-12-and I’ve said this before-there is no bottom,” Danielson said. “I mean, you look at every single team in the Pac-12, got phenomenal coaches, great players.
We were able to reload in the transfer portal, we were able to recruit really good high school kids. (The Pac-12 has) fan bases that want to win and need to win, across the board.
“We’ve got to be our best week in and week out. Because if you aren’t your best and you don’t have your fastball, you will lose.
There’s not one Pac-12 game where it’s like ‘OK, we can probably, maybe not be our best.’ If we are not our best, we will lose.
And that’s awesome for college football, awesome for West Coast football to have a conference like the Pac-12 where week in and week out it’s going to be great matchups. Regional matchups, too, where it’s everybody from around the same area.
I think it’s awesome.”
He also pointed to the structure of the league itself. With just eight teams, the Pac-12 will play a full round-robin schedule, something that isn’t possible in the larger conferences around the sport.
“It’s going to be who can find a way to win and stack wins because we play everybody,” Danielson said. “It’s not like ‘Well, you kind of missed these guys this year and you’re only going to play these (guys).’
You play everybody, and you better be your best or you will lose. That’s special.
It’s really good for college football in general, and I know it’s great for our fan base.
“The talent is through the roof. Great coaches, great coordinators. They are all going to have schematic advantages to come attack.”
Boise State enters the game at 3-1, while Utah State is 1-3. Both teams are opening conference play.
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Boise State Opens Pac-12 Play With Favorite Pressure Already Building
After four non-conference weeks, Pac-12 play is finally here, and Boise State arrives with the kind of attention that changes the conversation around a season. The Broncos are ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and, after a solid opening stretch, have been installed as the favorite to win the league title. That puts every week under a brighter microscope, especially for a program that now has to back up its status once the conference race starts to tighten.
The early results around the league have already helped shape the picture, with the article recapping recent scores, standout individual performances and the first wave of matchups for the Pac-12's eight football-playing members. For Boise State, the task is no longer just about building momentum from September, but about proving it can carry that momentum into a conference schedule where every game carries a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]