GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Every college football fan knows how iconic the Boise State Statue of Liberty play was in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. It was the BCS-busting moment when Boise State became America’s adopted team by stunning Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime. Sometimes forgotten, however, is the endearing Ian Johnson marriage proposal that followed.
On Wednesday, first-year Boise State coach Bryan Harsin watched his Broncos take a 21-0 lead on Arizona with a similar Statue of Liberty play in the 2014 VIZIO Fiesta Bowl. And after the game, he too made a proposal:
“Why wouldn’t you want to see Boise State playing against Alabama?” he offered following his team’s 38-30 win over Pac-12 runner-up Arizona. “Let’s see. Let’s get the matchup out there. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But it’s an opportunity. I like to believe that. I like to believe we have that chance to do that. Ultimately, I think every football team, Division I team, wants to play for a national championship. We’re no different.”
In this first year of the College Football Playoff, the four-team bracket is a blue-blood field with blue-blood teams from blue-blood conferences. Yet none actually play on a blue field.
Realistically speaking, despite being Mountain West Conference champions, the Broncos at 11-2 had no shot at the CFP top four. Even an undefeated Group of 5 team would have a tall order convincing the selection committee it is deserving of a spot in the elite four-team bracket. It won’t happen overnight. But Wednesday, Harsin believes his program took a very important first step.
“We consider ourselves a team that would like to have an opportunity like every other team,” said Harsin, who served as Boise State's offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2010. “To be in games like this and to win it, I hope that continues to show that when we do go out there and take care of our business and we put ourselves in position, win every single game, they’re deciding where to put us here and there, let’s put Boise State there and find out what they’re all about. Down the road, we take care of our business, do our jobs, why not?”
Wednesday at University of Phoenix Stadium, it was Jay Ajayi’s 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that reminded people why they fell in love with Boise State to begin with. Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford was the one who made the call. Already with a 14-0 lead just six minutes into the game, Sanford called for 'murica.
“We already ran ‘statue’ and we already ran ‘liberty’ so we took what was a classic and changed it up a bit so we wouldn’t telegraph it,” Sanford said. “It was very hash-specific. I wanted to run it somewhere between the 25-yard line and the 10. It came up at the right time and I went with it and said, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens.’”
What happened was Ajayi bursting and stiff-arming his way into the end zone for a 21-0 lead that left the Wildcats shell-shocked. That play, in this stadium, wasn’t just a tip of the cap to the Boise State teams of the past. It was also a reminder to the Power 5 that for all of their autonomy and all of their resources, scrappy little Boise State is going to keep stiff-arming to stay relevant.
Keep in mind, the Mountain West is now 4-1 in BCS/New Year’s Six games. Utah beat Pitt and Alabama. TCU beat Wisconsin. And Boise State beat Arizona Wednesday. In fact, the league’s only loss was when TCU lost to Boise State (prior to it joining the MWC) in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. Utah has of course moved on to the Pac-12 and TCU to the Big 12 (interestingly enough, the Horned Frogs also made a statement Wednesday for playoff inclusion).
If anything, both victories might serve to move the debate for an expanded playoff in the future.
“It’s too early to tell,” said Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne after the game. “We’re so early on in the process. I think the playoff is something that teams and fan bases are all excited about, and I think it’s going to take a few years to see where we are with this thing. To say you’d never go to eight, I don’t think anybody can say that. But the current structure for the time being is a good structure.”
No, Boise State did not deserve a spot in the 2014 College Football Playoff. And until the Broncos can run the table, they probably won’t be in the future without any sort of expansion. But that didn’t stop them from enjoying the moment Wednesday and savoring the victory for the little guys.
“Our goal is to win a national championship,” Sanford said. “That still means something to the have-nots. We were carrying the flag. And we’ve shown we can play with the team that beat Oregon, quite frankly. They beat Oregon in Eugene and we found a way to beat them in their home state.”
The 2014 Statue of Liberty, aka 'murica, might not be as iconic as the 2007 edition. But it was more than enough to keep at least one of the have-nots wondering "Why not?" moving forward.