James Franklin: Penn State football not taking Boise State lightly ahead of Fiesta Bowl

Boise State comes into Tuesday night’s Fiesta Bowl fully embracing its underdog mentality. But despite what the outside narratives may be, James Franklin was confident that no one inside the Penn State football program is taking its College Football Playoff Quarterfinal opponent for granted.

“Got a ton of respect for their head football coach [Spencer Danielson], for the university as a whole, and for their program,” Franklin said Sunday. “Obviously, one of the most exciting games in Fiesta Bowl history, Boise was involved in that.”

The Broncos are approaching the New Year’s Six matchup with the same “Please Count Us Out” spirit as the program has done all season. That comes with the territory of being one of college football’s most famous Cinderella stories.

“That’s what I believe in, and that’s what Boise State has been built on,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said. “The first Fiesta Bowl in 2007 where the country, me included as a high school senior, watching the Boise State Broncos beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl counted out. And that’s what draws people to Boise State.

“I talked to our staff and our players. I said: Everybody in this room, me included, has been counted out at some point in their life. At some point in football, someone said: You can’t do this. And then you say, ‘You know what? I am going to prove you wrong right now,’ and you work your tail off to earn the right to do it.

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“That’s what our team is. That doesn’t mean it directly correlates to always winning the football games you want to win. We have been counted out before. We have been counted out as a program. We have been counted out in games this year, and you thrive in that.”

© Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Fresh off a resounding first-round win and favored by two scores heading into the dual in the desert, James Franklin is making sure those inside the Penn State football program aren’t looking ahead to what may be coming down the road.

“I know they got off the planes yesterday with some shirts [“Please Count Us Out”], maybe kind of an underdog mentality, or not getting respect,” Franklin said. “I can guarantee you they have our respect. We take a lot of pride in that as a program; we respect everybody that we play, but it’s not hard to create that when you watch them on tape.

“Boise is a really, really good football team led by arguably the best player in college football, and definitely the best running back [Ashton Jeanty] in college football, or one of the best running backs in college football. They have our respect; there’s no doubt about that. Our guys have done a great job all week long preparing.”

Penn State football and the Boise State Broncos will kick off in the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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