Boise State coach Spencer Danielson didn’t hedge when he talked about Western Michigan. He treated the Broncos like a team sitting at 3-0, because that’s how he believes they should be viewed.
That stance lands in the middle of a strange early-season college football debate. Michigan is officially 3-0, but the finish against Western Michigan has left plenty of people convinced the result should have gone the other way.
Yahoo Sports reported that the NCAA said it cannot overturn the outcome, even while acknowledging, “The committee agreed that the instant replay protocols were not followed in the contest's second-to-last play. Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different."
Danielson, for his part, isn’t interested in brushing that off.
As Boise State gets ready to face Western Michigan on Saturday, Danielson said the film confirmed what a lot of fans were already saying. He described the Broncos’ defense as “stingy” and made it clear he sees them as unbeaten through three games.
“We I went back to study this? Unbelievable,” Danielson started.
“They’re an undefeated football team. Period.
End of story. You watch that game… they absolutely beat Michigan at Michigan and that is not hype, that is what happened.
To coach Taylor and his staff, I tip my cap to them because that defense held Michigan to 12 points or 13 points. Six points, excuse me.
Unbelievable.”
The math correction only added to the moment. Michigan ended up with 13 points on the scoreboard, but Danielson’s point was plain: in his view, the late touchdown never should have been part of the discussion in the first place.
Boise State has its own tightrope walk going on, too. The Broncos are “seven minutes short of being undefeated themselves,” after opening against Oregon, a team ranked No. 2 at the time.
Boise State came up just short in that one, then bounced back with a 38-24 win over South Dakota. Oregon, meanwhile, was exposed the following week in a 39-31 loss to unranked Oklahoma State.
Now Danielson’s team heads into a Week 4 matchup with Western Michigan before Boise State begins its first conference schedule in the rebuilt Pac-12. The Broncos and Western Michigan meet in Kalamazoo, with kickoff set for 3:30pm EST on ESPN2.
In Other News...
Iowa Just Got One More Reason To Beat Michigan
The buildup around Iowas Week 4 matchup with Michigan has taken on an extra layer, thanks to Pat McAfee floating the possibility that ESPNs College GameDay could finally return to Iowa City if the Hawkeyes come through. Iowa has not hosted the pregame show since a 2006 game against Ohio State, even though ESPN has made other recent trips to cover Iowa games, so the idea immediately added some outside stakes to a game that already mattered plenty on the field.
For Iowa, the incentive is obvious. A win over Michigan would not only strengthen the Hawkeyes position in the Big Ten race, it could also put one of college footballs biggest stage-setters back in town for the first time in nearly two decades. The catch is still the same one facing every team in these spots, though: the whole thing depends on what happens Saturday first. [Read more 🡒]
Dusty Mays Michigan Run Still Carries One Last Twist
Dusty Mays time in Ann Arbor ended up being a short but defining stretch for Michigan, a run that produced a 64-13 record and, most memorably, a national championship in 2026. Even after the title, his next move still fit the larger arc of a coach whose rise had been fast and decisive, as he accepted the Dallas Mavericks job after Jason Kidds departure and pointed to both transfer portal frustrations and a long-held NBA goal as part of the reason.
More than any rsum line, though, Mays Michigan story now gets one final layer through the draft. Dallas selected Morez Johnson Jr., a key piece from that championship team, and Johnson said he was excited about the chance to reconnect with his former coach. For Michigan fans, it is the kind of odd aftershock that keeps a title run from feeling fully finished, because Mays exit and Johnsons arrival now intersect in the NBA. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Faces A Big Ten Test That Should Worry Fans
Iowa is the kind of Big Ten opponent Michigan fans know can make a Saturday feel heavier than it should. The matchup has long carried the look of a grinder, and this one arrives with the Hawkeyes bringing a defense-first identity into a game that will ask Michigan to be sharp, patient and clean in all three phases.
The concern for Michigan is not just Iowas reputation, but the way the Hawkeyes have managed this season on both sides of the ball. Analysts and coaches around the game have pointed to the same basic truth: if Michigan wants to avoid getting dragged into a field-position battle, it will need to handle Iowas strengths early and keep the pressure on rather than let the game settle into the kind of low-possession struggle that usually favors the Hawkeyes. [Read more 🡒]