Boise State got a little more breathing room in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, climbing one spot to No. 24 when the new top 25 dropped Tuesday.
The Broncos are 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Pac-12, and they’ll put that mark on the line Saturday at home against Oregon State, with ESPN’s College GameDay in town. Boise State opened the first CFP rankings at No. 25 last week, so the move up keeps the Broncos inside the committee’s picture as the season tightens.
The committee slotted Boise State as the No. 12 seed in its latest projection, which would send the Broncos into an opening-round game against No. 5 Notre Dame.
For now, Boise State remains the only Group of Six team in the rankings, and that matters. Under the current format, the highest-ranked Group of Six team in the final CFP rankings earns an automatic berth into the 12-team playoff.
Boise State already has one CFP appearance on its résumé, reaching the field in 2024 after winning the second of three straight Mountain West titles.
The Broncos also benefited in the weekly polls. For the second consecutive week, they landed much higher in the AP Poll at No. 17 and the Coaches Poll at No. 18 than they did in the CFP rankings.
DraftKings Sportsbook adjusted its playoff odds after Tuesday’s release, and Boise State still sits as the clear favorite to claim the Group of Six bid at -160. Only Georgia (-9000), Notre Dame (-4000), Alabama (-3000), Miami (-2500), Indiana (-1000), Utah (-700), UCLA (-430) and Texas (-380) have better odds to make the CFP.
The next Group of Six team in the DraftKings odds is Mountain West leader New Mexico at +160. The Lobos are 8-1 and 5-0, and they host UNLV this week before road games at Wyoming and a home date with Air Force.
North Texas is also in the mix at +1400. The Mean Green are 7-2 and 5-0 in the American, and their trip to UTSA this week looms as what amounts to a CFP elimination game. The Roadrunners fell to +3000 after a blowout loss to FAU last week.
Liberty, which shares the Sun Belt lead at 8-1 and 5-0, is still alive at +1700.
No other Group of Six team has CFP odds listed by DraftKings. Earlier this week, the CFP announced it will expand to 24 teams for the 2027 season, though the Group of Six will still be guaranteed only one spot in that playoff.
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Boise State Is About To Test An Oregon State Defense In Flux
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