Boise State Football Head Coach Spencer Danielson talks with the media ahead of the 2024 Fiesta Bowl versus Penn State.
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COACH DANIELSON: Merry Christmas to everyone. Appreciate your guys' time on a Monday. Merry Christmas. It's such a special time. Jesus is the rean for this sean. It's not about just Santa Claus and Christmas trees. It's about our Lord and savior coming to earth to save us from our sins.
That's mething I remind my daughters about as we're running around, trying to get them gifts. I have not shopped for my wife yet, but you better believe I will be out today shopping for her. But Jesus is the rean for the sean. I'm thankful for this time of year. Thankful to be around you guys, and excited where our team has grown to.
Had a good couple of weeks getting me guys that have been banged up healthy. We had practice today. Our guys will have Christmas Eve and Christmas off, along with the staff. And then we will be back. The 26th is the game week Monday, and we'll hit the ground rolling. We are in a good place. We have to keep growing and earn the right to play our best on the 31st. That's exactly what Penn State will do as well.
I think the world of their team. I don't know Coach [James] Franklin, but I think very highly of him, a ton of respect for him, what he's done over the years, what he's done this sean. They are a touchdown away from being the Big Ten champs and probably being the No. 1 seed in the (College Football) Playoff.
I have followed his journey for a long time. He's done a phenomenal job. Really in all three phases, they are playing their best football. What they were able to do against SMU on Saturday, I mean, that's very, very impressive. I mean, about 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, they were able to rest their guys in a playoff game. That's a testament to their team.
Offensively, they put you in a lot of conflict. Their new offensive coordinator, Andy [Kotelnicki], does a phenomenal job shifting, motioning. A bunch of different pernnels and they are very, very talented across the board. We have to do a great job with our communication, our eye control, just to deal with all the pre-snap issues – along with a lot of schematics that attack you.
I think we will have to defend two of the best running backs (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) we've seen all year. I don't even know if it's close. These two backs are elite. Not only do they have the top-end speed, but they can break any arm tackle you come with.
They have one of the best tight ends in the entire country. He will be a first day draft pick and it's deserved. What I love about Tyler [Warren], No. 44, he's not just a pass catcher. He will line up at wildcat. He catches a ton of balls, but he's extremely physical at the point of attack and the run game. They have multiple tight ends with them. They have a bunch of receivers that have a ton of juice to stretch you vertically.
And their quarterback (Drew Allar) is an NFL-type kid. He's long and can run when the pocket breaks down. They do have me designed runs we have to be ready for, and he can make the big-boy throw. Offensively, they put you in a lot of conflict and we have our work cut out for us.
Defensively, it was on full display what they did this week against SMU. One of the best fronts we've seen all sean. Obviously, everyone knows about Abdul Carter, No. 11, an elite edge rusher. Talk about a young man that's relentless to the football on both sides. No. 33 (Dani Dennis-Sutton) as well, relentless to get to the quarterback. Kobe [King], No. 41, their linebacker can go sideline to sideline.
They have a bunch of players on defense that are ablutely relentless. They are extremely talented. They play really well together, and it's really hard to get them misaligned, even on shifts and motions and different things. They are very well coached. Coach [Tom] Allen has done a very good job with that unit. They get lined up, and then they pin their ears back and they are on the attack.
One of the top run defenses in the country. One of the top defenses in the country in points scored against them. We have our work cut out for us on that end.
Special teams, they have done a great job. They have elite returners, power turn and kickoff return, and they will be aggressive. Phenomenal call by Coach [James] Franklin against Minneta on the fake punt that went for 50 and iced the game. They will be on the attack, special teams-wise, and they are extremely physical on special teams. No. 0 (Dominic DeLuca), one of their defensive players, does a phenomenal job on all three units. We have to know where he is at. And they play their best players on special teams.
We have our work cut out for us. It's a phenomenal opponent that we will meet in Arizona, and we are excited to go put the ball down.
Q. You mentioned getting guys healthy. Are you willing to say anything about [Alexander] Teubner or any of these guys that have been out?
COACH DANIELSON: Tubes (Alexander Teubner) is practicing today, he's in a really good place. He will be available for the game. We will just continue to work through what that looks like, but he's able to get a lot more reps than he was. He was able to play a little bit in the (Mountain West Conference) championship game. Not as much as we wanted. He's doing a good job to get back healthy. We'll see exactly what his reps are going to look like in the game, but he was able to get me reps at practice today.
Q. Any chance for [Sire] Gaines?
COACH DANIELSON: We'll see. He did me stuff at practice today. He looks really good. What will it look like from the game? It will be the same thing, it will be a – I don't want to say a gametime decision, but it will be game week.
Q. like consuming a game for you on Saturday, watching, you've known you were playing in this game for two weeks but you had to wait until this weekend to figure out who. What was it like watching this and how did you choose to watch it?
COACH DANIELSON: We finished our recruiting official visit on Saturday, right before the game started. But one of my favorite things – my daughter's 4-year-old birthday was Saturday, day of the game. I remember I have to do a much better job communicating with my wife as the week goes – which I'm growing in, thank the Lord. And I remember on Friday, talking to her about: ‘Man, I can't wait to finish the official visit, come home, 10 a.m. kick, and watch the game.’
And she's like ‘We're going to Fly High Jump Time for your daughter's birthday at 10:00.’ I probably should have done a much better job planning for this. But my wife is a rock star. We pivoted and we were able to go to Fly High, the trampoline park, later in the day. I was able to watch it at home with the family.
And our staff did the same, went home and watched with their families, same with our players. I sat on my couch and very impressed. Knew what we were going to see from Penn State. A lot of respect for SMU, too. I watched their game against Clemn and prepped for them as well.
Penn State on full display, they are one of the best teams in the country.
Q. Watching the game live, what was the biggest thing that stood out from Penn State?
COACH DANIELSON: Just how well-coached they are. I mean, in all three phases. You talk about from the start of the game to the end, I mean, creating takeaways by their defense. Just started fast. There wasn't any working of the game. In all three phases, they are extremely well coached. Very, very talented across the board, but they are not just out there running around. They are extremely well-coached and disciplined in all three phases.
And obviously, when you watch the film, you can slow it down in your office. But even watching it live, I think that was on full display for me.
Q. How confident are you, but al, much of an emphasis is it with Maddux [Madsen] to have ball security and being careful in this game?
COACH DANIELSON: The turnover margin is huge in every game. That's the thing I talked to our team, this is the Quarterfinal, the Fiesta Bowl, a lot of hype, lot of buzz about the game, as there should be. But we’ve got to earn the right to play our best through our prep and no different for either team. Nobody needs to go out there and put on their Superman cape. We need to focus on the fundamentals, techniques, that equate to playing really good football.
One of the biggest ones is the turnover margin, taking care of the ball on offense and taking it away on defense. In any game you play, not just because of the Fiesta Bowl. Obviously, their defense does a really good job of taking the ball away. We have to be smart with the football.
Maddux has shown that he will do that. He's one of the top quarterbacks in the country in regards to touchdown/interception ratio. They do a great job with their front creating pressure. There's me errant throws and their DBs can lock people down. And we are going to be in conflict as an offense. We're very aware of the task at hand and how talented and well-coached they are.
But I'm proud of our guys and what they have done at this point. The turnover margin will be huge in this game. The explosive battle will be huge in this game. Those two stats are really what will correlate the most to winning. In any game you play and obviously especially the Fiesta Bowl.
In big games or whatever you want to slate, really in any game, you can't beat yourself. You gotta make the plays you should make. Don't beat yourself. Stay relentless. This is a really good football team that we are playing. It will be a heavyweight fight. We have to stay in it punch after punch, and we will earn the right.
Q. You brought up Tyler Warren a little bit earlier. Is he one of the, if not the most, unique players you've faced this year? He does, like, everything.
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, absolutely. Tyler Warren is elite. And that's not just my opinion. I'm very positive he's gonna be probably the first tight end taken off the board in the NFL draft because of that. He can do it all.
More times than not, when you see a tight end, he's a really good pass catcher and you have to deal with that. Or he's really dominant and physical to the point of attack in the run game. With Tyler Warren, he does it all. I mean, he's extremely violent at the point of attack, either at the front side of a play or on the back side rim of a play. He can catch every ball. I mean, he's one of their top targets in all downs and he can play wildcat and throw the ball, too.
You talk about an extremely gifted athlete. We have to know where 44 is at, at all times. And even when you got him covered, he's the type of athlete that he's still not covered, because of how tall he is and how athletic he is. He can go up and get those jump balls any time he wants.
Q. You know the "Please Count Us Out" phrase you had turned into a shirt, and it's taken on a mind of its own here. But it seems like there's been no shortage of that, even in the last couple of days. Not a lot of people giving you guys a chance. The point spread is double digits. Are you surprised by that? Do you see it as disrespectful at all? Just your take on – I have yet to see one national pern kind of give you a chance to win that game.
COACH DANIELSON: That's our mentality here. Not just for this game playing in the Fiesta Bowl, but that's what Boise State has been built on. We have to earn our right to play against one of the top football teams in the country. I believe in our team. That's why we talk about, please count us out. People do, media or (otherwise) – count us out. I know how we are going to work and I know we are going to work to play our ablute best on the 31st. If nobody gives us a chance, if the point spread continues to grow, whatever. And I tell people too, like, hey, use this as motivation. This team doesn't need any more motivation. Like, we have been in playoff football since September. And it's one week at a time, working to play our best, counting us out. Oh, you can't keep this up or what's gonna happen? And our guys continue to work, and do what is required of them, and continue to improve every week.
All the outside noise of people counting us out? Aweme. We have been with the outside noise of everybody saying how great we are. On either side, you gotta block the outside noise and I believe that. Please count us out. That's what Boise State football is built on, is people thinking we can't do mething and we work our tails off to find a way to prove people wrong.
I believe in our team. And we use the phrase "put the ball down." Doesn't matter the stadium or what fans are there – on the 31st, put the ball down. We're gonna be ready.
Q. Are you sending out daily texts to the team with that stuff? I know you say you block it out. Are you making sure the players are aware of me of this?
COACH DANIELSON: I think for me, it's no different from the times that we were picked to beat a team by a ton of points. Or whatever the game is. When we talk about outside noise, I'm very direct with our players on what is going on. If I'm not, they are going to fill in the gaps from outside urces, either family or media.
I'm very direct with our team on what is about to happen. What do we expect from either the team we are playing, from the environment, from the media? And we talk about those things. Hey, right now, nobody thinks that you can win this game. Perfect. But there's games where everyone thinks you can win, but we could lose it quickly.
I'm very direct with our team. Hey guys, nobody thinks you can win this game. Every single pern, me included, has been counted out in their life. You can talk about it, you can feel bad, you can use it to motivate you. At the end of the day, all that matters is the work that you put in. And that is what we have to do through the next eight days.
If we do that and we continue to focus on what matters, our work, we will go play our best on the 31st.
What I believe and what my message to the team is: Your best is enough – and your best is required.
And I believe if we can continue to focus on those things, we'll be able to play our best and I know it's gonna be enough. I know Penn State is doing the same thing. Ton of respect for them on who they are this entire program, not only over the years, but how they are playing their best football right now.
And that's my message to our team. For us, we have to earn the right to go play our best and not when we go put the ball down on 31st. Like, that started two weeks ago. And it's every single day, how we prep and recover to play our best.
Q. We know about Ashton's [Jeanty] statistics. We have seen the numbers. Can you tell us, the people who cover Penn State, what makes him special?
COACH DANIELSON: Good question. First off, he's a 10 out of 10 human being. And I want people, even watching on either side, obviously especially Penn State who haven't probably focused on Ashton a lot prior to this week: He's a unanimous captain. He's one the best leaders and one of the hardest workers we have ever had here at Boise State. He's a generational football talent but also a generational leader and teammate here at Boise State.
And then outside of the stats, Ashton puts people in conflict whenever he runs the football. Like, that's something I know from being the defensive coordinator going against him for a couple years.
But how do you deal with him? Do you settle your feet? If you settle your feet, he does have really good top end and can work around you. If you come in high, he's very powerful at the point of attack. I just think he puts people in conflict on the football field and he's a relentless competitor.
And I’m proud of him and what he's been able to do through 13 games. I know he knows how talented this Penn State defense is, one of the top 10 defenses in stopping the run in a run-heavy league in the Big Ten with a lot of respect for their conference. He's working his tail off to play his best on the 31st.
Q. You talked about Penn State being able to stop the run efficiently. Have you seen any team that maybe compares to them, that maybe you coached against? And what specifically about them has made them such a successful defense at stopping the run?
COACH DANIELSON: Good question. I think when it comes to stopping the run, it's not one position group. I think a lot of focus usually goes to the defensive front, which it should be. They are at the point of attack. What I respect Penn State for much is that they are always on the same page. They're not going to give up – no one in the gap, big runs. or no leverage to the defense.
They are very well-coached. They have good answers for whatever schemes you are going to give them. They align very well and the shifts and motions and odd formations. Obviously going against their offense in fall camp has helped them as well.
They have got a phenomenal front that can impose their will on an offensive line, but once you create situations for their DBs and linebackers to tackle, they show up and make big tackles as well. What I respect much about their whole defense, especially with stopping the run, is how well they work together and their various assignments.
Q. Coach Franklin mentioned how he believes the community, the administration, everything is in line there because everyone that has gone to Boise State has had success in their own ways. And now you are having the success at this level. What can you say about just how the administration, the university, the community, impacts what you are able to do with this team and this program?
COACH DANIELSON: Yes, it's everything. I mean, I have so much support. I mean, I really truly
believe we have the best Athletic Director in the country, Jeramiah Dickey. It's never: No, I can't do
that, from him. It's always: We'll figure it out. We'll find a way. Keep pushing forward.
I mean, I am supported by our administration, supported by our staff, by our players, by the community. I mean, Bronco Nation, seven games, seven sellouts. I mean, across the board, the support that I feel as the head coach and I know our team feels from our community and beyond is through the roof.
And even where Boise State has been built on the backs of years and years of success, way before I got here. Even this season is not because of me. It's because a group of young men wanted to leave a legacy, be different. We haven't been to the Fiesta Bowl in a decade. And they said in January: We are going to go get that done. They went to work.
And we do have the support from, like I said, our administration. Our AD is a 10 out of 10 and Bronco Nation is a fan base that is near and dear to our heart that support us at all times. I know they will show up in a major way down at the Fiesta Bowl. We might not have what everybody else has, but we definitely have enough and we will continue to push forward.
Q. I was talking to JD (Jeramiah Dickey) and he mentioned he's trying to get a new contract for you. The most important thing to you was taking care of your assistant coaches. What you do think needs to be done there to make sure that you are doing what you want to do to take care of those guys, and why is it so important for you?
COACH DANIELSON: For me, it is all about the people. That's your staff and your players. First and foremost, your players, and secondly your staff. That's everything to me. Not just to be successful on the football field and continue to push forward for years to come. But the only reason I do this is to develop people.
Jeramiah Dickey is phenomenal. With the success comes trying to continue to push the needle. That's my call to our supporters, to our administration, to the state, that: Hey, we have more than enough this season. We are going to keep pushing forward. I'm not the guy that's looking at what everybody else has from money or facilities or whatever. We have more than enough to be successful and play our best in these games coming forward.
But it is something for me to use this to make sure we do und the horn. We do continue to need more. We do. And for us to continue to push forward where college football is, for our staff, for our players, we need to grow our staff salaries. We need to. I know Jeramiah Dickey is aligned with that. We need to.
If you look at the games and the teams we have to beat at Boise State? Like, we gotta push the needle on our staff salaries. We gotta push the needle on the collective and the NIL space for our players. They deserve it. That's something I'm very open about because we have the resources in this community. The Treasure Valley has the support for Boise State football and athletics.
It is here – but we do gotta continue to push forward. What we did this year is not gonna be enough going forward. No different a year from now, like, we got to continue to push the needle and it's all about people. That's my biggest push. It ain't about me. It's about our staff and our players. Not saying we gotta get all the way to where these other schools might be, but we gotta get closer. We gotta continue to push the needle and take steps towards where we need to be.
And that's a big push for me now, especially when the season is over, because this is home for me. This isn't do a good job and go try to find another one – like, this is home. This is where God's called me. And the success we're having this year, as we continue to finish the season strong. And then it will flip the switch and let's find a way to do it better next season, in '25. That's the push and that's the calling and we need everybody's help to do that.
Q. You haven't been afraid to go for it on fourth down this season. A game of this magnitude, everything on the line, how do you balance risk versus reward? Does it change? Is it the same for you? What is it?
COACH DANIELSON: Going into every game is different. Me and our coordinators sit down and we have a coordinator meeting where we talk through it. What are the situations this game? Analytics does come into it. But then it's gonna be: Where is our team at? where is the situation we're going to go for it? What are the DNDs that we will use that? When do we use me of our fake field goals, fake punts? That comes into it.
All of those things are me working through with our staff and just very similar to when I was a defensive coordinator and I went into a game with a game plan – I go into every game with a game plan for situational football.
And from time-outs, to when to go for it, when to – those are the moves I have to make as a head coach. I'm not calling any three phases, but those are the situations that I go in with a plan. And obviously as a game goes, plans change and I gotta be aware of, very adaptable, as we work through these.
But our players know, too. Our players are very aware of the situations we are going to go for, the situations we will do these certain things, so we can practice them.
Q. What are the kind of benefit has Stacy Collins been in the prep with his familiarity with Penn State?
COACH DANIELSON: It's been awesome. Just like anything, he's been able to talk through me of the things they did there. He's able to talk through me of the personnel. They hired a new special teams coordinator. They are doing some similar things, but they have a lot of new stuff they are doing. Not much of a help on that phase.
But Stacy Collins, the amount of prep that he goes into, to be able to game-plan all special teams. He does all of it from the field goal, field goal block, to all four units. Being able to have an idea of their personnel, knowing a little bit about who these players are, some of the things they did last year. They do have some similarities; they have evolved and grown.
We are looking at it for face value and how can we play our best on special teams. We have grown at the end of the season. We need to do a really good job of winning the hidden yards in this game. It will be really hard. They have played well on special teams, extremely physical, very explosive. Being able to pick his brain every week we play someone on special teams is huge for me. And game management as well. But it does help that he was at Penn State and can have a little bit of an inside view.
Q. Is he excited?
COACH DANIELSON: Coach Collins is excited for every matchup. You come into a special teams meeting, and it's on. No matter what time of day, it's you better be ready. I know he's fired up for this game, not just because it's Penn State. He knows this team, but as a whole team, we're fired up to put the ball down on the 31st.
Q. Games in the first round, the home teams had a big advantage, the weather, certainly the crowd. How much does it help where it seems like it will be a level playing field? Tons of Boise State fans will be there. Weather won't be a factor obviously because it's a dome. How much are we gonna see maybe a better game because of the fact that everything seems to be pretty much even?
COACH DANIELSON: I think that's a good question. Just like anything, there's home field advantage. I mean, we feel that when we play on The Blue. Penn State feels it at home with 115,000 fans. They do a phenomenal job of selling out. When you play at a neutral site – I know Penn State will travel really well and Bronco Nation will travel very well. It will be a good mix of the fan bases down in Arizona.
The ball will be put down. At the end of the day, it's all about our prep to go play our best. Where the game is being played and what fans are there, that's nothing that we control. But what we do control is our prep to go play our best, and especially not letting moment become too big, either. Like, that's where it all comes down to practice performance for us here.
You want to go play your best on the 31st? That's how I prep in the meetings, how I practice every single day. Because then on the 31st, I'm not gonna say much to them. Let's go cut loose. You earned the right to go play your best – go do it for each other. That's what we will say.
Where that game is being played, neutral site, it does, quote/unquote even the playing field. But it's a football game. Go put the ball down. If it's on grass, in the parking lot, it doesn't matter, I know we will have 11 versus their 11 – let's go.
Q. You talked on Selection Sunday about the time off and how it would benefit Ashton [Jeanty]. But seeing him actually have time off and talking with him, how much will this help him, come New Year's Eve?
COACH DANIELSON: Ashton Jeanty is a warrior. Even on the 13-game run, how he lived in the training room, how he was able to not only play in the games where the nation was watching with the amount of carries and yards and violent hits he took? He also was doing the same thing in practice, grinding to go play his best.
Just like anything, for him and his whole team, being able to have these couple of weeks to get fresh, get healthy, has been huge. But we have been on the practice field. We are a firm believer in practice performance. We are not going out there walking through. We have to grow and improve as a team. We have a lot of things through 13 games that we did well. There's still a lot of things through 13 games we have not done well, that we have to fix, we have to have better answers schematically. We have to improve these fundamentals and techniques and that's across the board.
It is a fine balance. Obviously not playing a game decreases a lot of the violence and the physical shots our guys have been playing. But our guys have been practicing. We know the opponent we will see here in eight days and we know they will be ready and it's our job to make sure we are, too.
Q. When games like this come up, by nature, you can almost want to do more or practice more or more film study, but kind of your hallmark is efficiency and autonomy and trusting guys to do their jobs. And you will give them a couple of days off for Christmas. Like, have you had to fight the urge to do the opposite, now that you are at this point? Or are you trusting the process?
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, absolutely. As you know, I focus on process over everything. And I think
that's the way to stay consistent. It's not: All right, here's the big game. Now we're gonna change everything and I will try to micromanage everybody and longer practices and more meetings. To me, it's like every game is the most important game and your process should continue to grow and be elite week to week to week. Regardless of the opponent and regardless where the game is being played.
No different going into the Fiesta Bowl, Quarterfinals of the Playoff. I just want to make sure that we do our process better than we have ever done it. That's the same way when we played UNLV in the championship. We are always trying to do us better and that's no different for me.
Are there times that you kind of fight, well, we should probably do this? There is absolutely. But I got a phenomenal staff around me. And being through this now, for 13 games, I trust our process. I can't promise you what's gonna happen on the 31st. If we trust our process, we find a way to do it better.
We are efficient at practice. We are not going longer or doing extra meetings. We put a premium the time they are in this building – it is on. That 30-minute meeting you got, you need to steal every second. Because the playoff, it's not all of a sudden gonna be an hour. Efficiency in our process and trust it.
No different in our schemes. We will have switch-ups. We will have some different adjustments for Penn State, just like Penn State will have for us, but it's all gonna come down to execution.
And to focus on execution so your team doesn't play slow, I believe in process and I believe in rest and recovery. That's why I wanted our staff and our players to have Christmas Eve off and have Christmas off. They need that time. They will not get this Christmas back. Regardless what happens on the 31st, this time with their families, us included, you are not getting that back. My daughters aren't getting any younger. That matters to me. I believe we've had a good process. I think it's time to enjoy our families. On the 26th, we go back to work.
Q. Back to Tyler Warren. I know you were watching both Penn State and SMU before the game on Saturday. How quickly was it apparent what kind of a challenge he would be to cover? And what impresses you most about his game?
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, I mean, prior to even watching the game this weekend versus SMU, even on the film study, on the season he's had, and talking with a lot of coaches that have played against Tyler, every single one of them just talked about how elite he was in every phase of the game.
The second we talked to defensive coordinators that have played against Penn State, the first guy they all brought up was Tyler Warren. He's better than maybe you might even think he is. Like, it's one of those where you keep waiting for, okay, what are some flaws in his game? Is someone gonna find something, even when you are watching film? If there are any, it's hard to find, because what he's able to do in the pass game and the run game, as a quarterback, he's one of the best I have seen in a long time. He's a huge part of what they do offensively and as a team.
Q. Wanted to get your thoughts, obviously, being now in the CFP Quarterfinals. A big topic of discussion right now is the format, and which teams deserve to be in or out. I'm curious, what your thoughts are on the format overall? Why do you think your team deserves to be in the position that it is with the bye and everything?
COACH DANIELSON: Good question. In regard to the format – and I'm asked about a lot of questions that I don't control. I'm asked about transfer portal. I'm asked about NIL. I'm asked about College Football Playoff format. Those are not things that I decide. When the College Football Playoff came out and how the format was gonna happen, that's what we went on to attack. And looking at it from our team in the offseason, we knew that each game was a playoff game, and what that would mean at the end of the season was up to us handling week to week.
At the end of the season, at 12-1, winning our Mountain West Conference championship game, fully believing we deserve the right to get a first round bye. If that didn't happen, if all of a sudden they put us at a different seed, we would be fired up to play the game, because those are things we don't control.
I'm not on the College Football Playoff Committee. They are not calling me to ask me how I should change it. It's not something that I think about a lot. I do believe our team has earned the right, through 13 games, to get a first round bye and play in the Fiesta Bowl. I believe that. I tell the teams watch the film.
Everybody knew going into this season what the playoff format was, and it was our job to handle every single week through the regular season to win a championship to put ourselves in this situation. But in regard to the future and the format, it's not something that I control. I don't put a lot of thought into it.
But I do love the College Football Playoff as an expansion, because it gives everybody a shot. What's gonna happen at the end of the year? Who will win the national championship? Nobody knows. But across all FBS teams, when you start the season, everybody is at a level playing field. Everybody has got a shot, and then you gotta go earn the right to win the game that you can get in.
Q. On the Penn State side, we obviously don't know a lot about Boise State. What makes you, Spencer, you as a coach and as a man of Christ?
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, it's something that I'm very open about. I really do believe that the only reason I'm the head coach here is that Jesus put me here to develop people. me people might not like that I say that, but I truly do believe that. And everything I focus on is developing these young men for life.
That doesn't mean that there's not a driving passion with every single game we play. I mean, it says in the Bible: Run the race to win, and that's in everything you do in life. And that's my message to our players. In life, you can't take losses. If you take too many losses as a husband, you will get a divorce. If you take too many losses as a father, your kids aren't going to want to be around you.
But it's all about developing these young men for life. I know the more you develop them as men of character, men of integrity, men of discipline, and so forth, they will make the right decision on fourth down when the game is on the line, but that's a byproduct of developing them as people.
That's something I'm very passionate about. There are still so many things that I'm excited too as a head coach to learn and grow in, but my drive and passion to impact these people – these young men for life, long after football is over, that will never change.
Q. Last week before Penn State/SMU, I asked Rhett Lashlee about Abdul Carter, who you mentioned earlier. He said that based on the film, Abdul was the best defensive player SMU had had to prepare for in his time there. In your time at Boise State, including your years as an assistant, is there any opposing defensive player that you've seen at Abdul's level? And what are the challenges that come with preparing for a guy who not only is arguably the best defensive end in college football, but he's also talented enough to do damage at every position on the field?
COACH DANIELSON: Good question. Regarding Abdul Carter, going back through our season this year, I don't think we have seen a defensive player like him. I mean, very, very impressed with his game. Being able to transition from inside linebacker to edge, and the success he had, not just the statistics, which he has all those. I think he's got 11 sacks, a bunch of TFLs, a bunch of tackles. I love the relentlessness that he plays with. And he's a guy that you better know where 11 is at, at all times.
And just to give you the best shot to block him, to get hands on, because even if you slide to him, even if you chip him, I mean, he's so long, so explosive. One of the most elite get-offs I have seen in a long time as an edge player. He's a nightmare to deal with.
And not only is he doing that in the pass game, the amount of plays I have seen him run down from the back side by relentless pursuit, I mean, it's too many to count. I love the way he plays the game. He plays it with his hair on fire. He's a guy, you better know where he is at at all times and have an answer for, or he's a game wrecker.
Q. The uniform combo, you kind of let that out of the bag. Was there any doubt or question about that and just kind of worked out and you got to pick and you are sticking with what worked?
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, there was no question about it. I'm a huge fan of the all blues, the all blacks, and the all whites. I have zero swag. I have zero feel of what people might want. I'm probably the wrong guy to ask, but I knew the second we were playing in the Fiesta Bowl, that wasn't even going to be a conversation for me. I said, whatever we did prior, I know that's what people are going to want. Let's let the fans happy, and our guys will put it on and go to work.
Q. For Max Cutforth, I assume he's your number two. What does he have to do between now and game day to be ready for that position? It seemed like there was even a point in time during the season where he might have been pushing to be number two to be a minute.
COACH DANIELSON: Yeah, Max has done a great job. As a redshirt freshman, a walk-on, just fighting his ablute tail off. Last year on scout team – the scout team quarterback is a nightmare job and just doing it with a smile on his face and continuing to get better. Coach [Dirk] Koetter has done a phenomenal job with Max.
And seeing him as the third quarterback, you don't get a ton of reps through the season. But just seeing him even the past week and a half, the reps he's getting. I mean, we do two minute versus our defense, and seeing him operate, execute. Max Cutforth will be a really good player for us.
Even seeing him today at practice, executing the offense, making the throws he needs to, being smart with the football. all of those things aside, being a red shirt freshman, he's doing a really good job. And we have full trust in him. Even talking to our leadership group, they brought that up too: Coach, seeing Max, the past week and a half, he's doing a great job. We have full confidence in him if Maddux [Madsen] goes down, like Max, you are up, and let's go run the offense.
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