It wasn’t a hot start for Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Penn State. Before the ball was even kicked off, the Broncos, who are a heavy underdog despite being the No. 3 overall seed in the 12-team CFP bracket, were already being roasted by the internet for a pregame mishap.
While running out for their third-ever New Year’s Six Bowl Game (all the previous three in the Fiesta Bowl), a Boise State player carrying an American flag got caught by the turf monster and face-planted
Penn State fans and college football social media alike jumped at the opportunity to roast the Mountain West Champions.
Things looked a bit better on Bosie State’s first possession. Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, was bottled up by the Penn State defense, but quarterback Maddux Madsen went 3/3 for 41 yards and moved the Broncos into field goal range. Then, things took another turn for the worse after Jeanty was stopped on third-and-7.
The Boise State kicker turned social media on the Broncos again with an abysmal field goal attempt. A run-first team like Boise State is at its best with an early lead, and they blew the opportunity in a big way.
The underdogs needed a good start to knock off Penn State, and things haven’t been pretty before and after kickoff. It's hard to tell which was worse, the runout or the missed kick, but Penn State has to make the Broncos pay for their early mistakes on the field or else the Nittany Lions will be the punchline at the end of the night.