By admin 
Over just a few days, the area around Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium has transformed from a quiet parking lot and practice field into a bustling kaleidoscope of semi-trucks, stages, metal fences and the constant drone of countless fans lined up outside the stadium.
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For the first time in over 16 years, ESPN’s “College GameDay” is coming to Boise State.
College football’s flagship pregame show will broadcast from outside Albertsons Stadium on Saturday morning ahead of No. 24 Boise State’s Pac-12 game against Oregon State. A win for the Broncos would secure home-field advantage in the Pac-12 championship game, while Oregon State, after two straight losses, is suddenly playing to stay in championship-game conversations.
“We targeted this game a few weeks ago because we thought it might be an elimination game one way or the other in terms of being the highest-ranked Group of Six team,” Rece Davis, host of “College GameDay,” told media members Friday morning.
Should the Group of Six have more CFP accessibility?
College football fans across the country were calling for “College GameDay” to visit Boise this weekend because of the College Football Playoff implications.
Only one team from the G6 conferences — Pac-12, Mountain West, American, Mid-American, Sun Belt and Conference USA — is guaranteed a spot in this year’s 12-team playoff. Boise State is the only G6 team ranked in the CFP committee’s rankings, at No. 24; Oregon State was hot on the Broncos’ tail for weeks before dropping its last two games.
“College GameDay” also arrives in Boise less than a week after the playoffs were announced to expand to 24 teams starting in 2027-28, yet only one spot will still be guaranteed to a G6 school.
Playoff access is a hot topic for schools across the G6, including Boise State, which is looking to qualify for its second CFP in three years. One popular idea is to give an automatic berth to all 10 FBS conference champions, which would still leave 14 at-large spots for top-tier non-champion teams.
When asked about the possibility of all 10 conference champions earning a berth, Davis mused that while fans might be “more receptive,” it would also create “an invitational more so than you have a competition for a championship.”
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“I’m a real believer that if you’re competing for a championship, that as best you can, it ought to be the teams that are the best,” Davis said. “And sometimes that means those who have had the most difficult schedules and tested themselves at the highest level, as opposed to finding automatic access.”
Davis added that he prefers the 12-team over the 24-team model because he thinks the new system will allow too many teams into the playoffs. However, he added that a benefit of the 24-team bracket is that it gives G6 teams more room to break into the playoff picture without having to climb all the way up into the top 12 of the rankings.
Davis was also asked Friday whether he thinks there’s a concern that not giving G6 conferences automatic spots would devalue the regular season, especially as bowl games are beginning to hold less and less value.
“I’m not more concerned for the G6 than I am for the Power Four,” Davis said, referring to the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC. “I fear that the price is too high for going to 24 in terms of what the sport has been built on: the unique quality of the regular season. But time will tell how successful it is.
“I don’t think there’s any difference in that regard at the G6 level than at the Power Four level.”
No. 24 Boise State vs. Oregon State
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (34,423, Turf)
TV: USA (Nate Gatter, Ryan Leaf, Lauren Green)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 84 (Bob Behler, Michael Callahan)
Records: Boise State 8-1, 5-0 Pac-12; Oregon State 5-4, 3-2
Series: Oregon State leads the series 6-5
Vegas line: Boise State by 14.5 points
Weather: High of 54, low of 43, humidity 60%, partly sunny, 5% chance of rain
This story was originally published November 13, 2026 at 7:05 PM with the headline “Why is College GameDay at Boise State for the first time in over 16 years?.”
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