Two Broncos, Two Busters: Boise State Meets Western Michigan

The same horse, picked for different reasons

The Idaho school got there first. The university's own archives say students at Boise Junior College chose the Bronco during the school's first year of classes, 1932-33, because it stood for the wild horses that roamed the Owyhees. In 1935 and 1936, students built paper and wooden broncos nicknamed Elmer, paraded them downtown and set them on fire before homecoming. The first costumed Buster Bronco appeared in fall 1974. A letter from President John Barnes, dated Oct. 15, 1974, congratulated a student named Andy Reynolds for performing in the suit at the Idaho State game three days earlier.

Western Michigan took a more practical road. Its teams were the Hilltoppers, a nod to the campus on Prospect Hill, until 1939, when the school switched to Broncos to avoid being confused with other Hilltoppers, Western Kentucky's among them. Assistant coach John Gill, who later ran the program, is credited with coining the new name. Buster Bronco did not become WMU's official mascot until 1988, according to the university.

I think the Western Michigan version is the better story, precisely because it is so unromantic. One school named itself after the wild horses outside town. The other renamed itself so people would stop mixing it up with Kentucky. Eighty-seven years later, the fix produced a brand-new mix-up of its own.

Why a September game carried playoff weight

For the 2026-27 season, the College Football Playoff sets aside a single guaranteed place for a school outside the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. The CFP's August 2026 release says that spot goes to the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West, the Pac-12 or the Sun Belt. Seven more places go to the next highest-ranked teams.

In its first Pac-12 season, Boise State is chasing that same seat as Western Michigan, from the MAC. A head-to-head result between two candidates is the rare piece of evidence a selection committee can compare directly, which is why College Football News headlined its preview by asking whether this was a playoff play-in game. Neither team was in the AP Top 25 that week, but both were collecting votes: 48 for Boise State and 27 for Western Michigan, per WMU's game notes. The committee's first ranking is due Nov. 3, and the bracket is set on Sunday, Dec. 6. Our companion piece on how that one bid is decided walks through the calendar.

Two 2-1 records that hide a lot

The Idaho Broncos lost at No. 2 Oregon, 34-27, on Sept. 5. It then beat Memphis 38-20 and FCS South Dakota. Western Michigan's loss is the one people still argue about. On the same Sept. 5, Michigan beat WMU 13-12 on a Hail Mary thrown after replay officials put one second back on the clock. The NCAA's FBS Oversight Committee later said that had replay protocols been followed, the outcome would have been different, and that it still had no authority to change it. We explain why that loss stands in a separate piece.

WMU answered with wins over Monmouth, 49-14, and at Rice, 28-21. The Rice game was the program's first win in the state of Texas. Then the opposing coach made the week's most generous remark.

Coaches praise opponents every week. Calling one undefeated against the official record is something else. I read it as a kind remark with a sharp edge: it honors a staff that had been wronged, and it also tells Boise State's own players exactly how seriously to take the team across the field.

How these Broncos like to play

Boise State entered the game leading the country in time of possession at 37 minutes, 24 seconds per game. Western Michigan was 15th nationally and first in the MAC at 33:43. At Michigan, WMU put together a 20-play, 70-yard scoring drive that took 13 minutes and 40 seconds, which is most of a quarter spent walking the ball down the field. Under head coach Lance Taylor, the school counts 24 scoring drives of at least 12 plays.

The individual numbers point the same way. Boise State running back Dylan Riley had 454 rushing yards through three games, and quarterback Maddux Madsen, in his third year as the starter, had thrown six touchdowns without an interception. Western Michigan's defense had held nine straight opponents to 21 points or fewer, allowing 15.6 per game over that run.

Put two clock-eating teams on one field and something has to give. Each wants the ball for most of the hour. Only one can have it. If you catch the replay, that is the question worth watching: which side forced the other to play faster than it likes.

A familiar blue field, a first-time opponent

Western Michigan has in fact played at Boise State twice, just never against Boise State. Both trips were Famous Idaho Potato Bowls, against Air Force in 2014 and BYU in 2018. And one WMU receiver already has a Boise State highlight reel. Baylin Brooks, then a San Diego State freshman, caught five passes for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos on Sept. 22, 2023. According to WMU, it is still his career high.

Both programs also know what it feels like to be the outsider invited to the big table. Western Michigan went 13-0 in 2016 and played Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl, losing 24-16. Boise State was the No. 3 seed in the first 12-team playoff and met Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2024, losing 31-14.

What one afternoon can and cannot settle

A win in Kalamazoo clinches nothing. The reserved bid is decided by the committee's final ranking on Dec. 6, and conference play still had to be won, including Boise State games against Utah State, Fresno State and San Diego State. A loss does not end anyone's season either. What the game does settle is simpler, and to me more pleasing: for the first time, one set of Broncos gets to tell the other that it won, and both Busters have to stand there and take it.