Boise State
moved into the all-time top 15 in the history of college football with a 49-14
win this afternoon in Bronco Stadium over Utah
State. The Broncos became just the fifth team since
1940 to compile a 49-1 home record or better.
Boise State
had been ranked #28 with a 48-2 mark prior to today’s game, losing only to Washington
State in 2001 and Boston
College in 2005. Today’s game, however, was the 50th
at home since that loss to the Cougars.
Boise State
began the streak in the 1999 season, reeling off 14 wins in a row on the Blue
Turf before the loss to WSU. Following
that defeat, the Broncos accumulated one of the top home winning streaks in
college football history with 31 in a row until the season-ending defeat to Boston
College in the 2005 MPC Computers
Bowl. Coach Chris Petersen’s team has
now won another 18 straight at home for the new 49-1 record.
Included in Boise State’s
49-1 record is a 3-1 mark against schools from Bowl Championship Series
conferences. Boise State
is 2-0 against Pac-10 teams, 1-0 vs. Big-12 teams, 0-1 against Atlantic Coast
Conference opponents, 31-0 against Western Athletic Conference foes, 3-0
against teams from the Metro Athletic Conference, 1-0 against Conference USA,
1-0 vs. I-A Independents, 2-0 against the Sun Belt, 3-0 MWC and 5-0 against
I-AA or FCS teams.
Nebraska was
the last school to accomplish the feat in 1999, when the Cornhuskers also won
their 49th home game in 50 tries dating back to 1996. Seven schools (Princeton,
Miami of Florida, Alabama, Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, Michigan
and Yale) have strung home streaks of 50 wins or more.
Besides Boise State,
the other two powers you would expect to have been capable of such a streak
recently are USC and Texas. Texas
had put together a 40-2 home record from 1996-2006 and was close to the feat
but lost their third game of the streak to Texas A & M at the conclusion of
that season. The Trojans had won a nation-leading 35 home games in a row until the Stanford loss last season and are 42-1 since
2001.
1. Princeton
75 in a row (1887-1900)
2. Miami
of Florida 58 in a row
(1985-1994)
2. Alabama
58 in a row (1963-1982)
4. Carlisle
52 in a row (1901-1915)
4. Pennsylvania
52 in a row (1889-1896)
6. Michigan
50 in a row (1901-1907)
6. Yale 50 in a row
(1886-1895)
8. Florida
State 49-0-1 (1992-2001)
8. Notre Dame 49-0-1
(1914-1927)
8. Washington
49-0-1 (1908-1917)
8. Harvard 49-0-1
(1898-1903)
12. Tennessee
48-0-2 (1925-1933)
12. Army 48-0-2
(1922-1931)
14. Boise
State 49-1 (2001-current)
14. Nebraska
49-1 (1990-1998 and 1991-1999)
14. Yale 49-1
(1900-1905) and (1902-1908)
17. Florida
48-2 (1990-1998)
17. Texas
48-2 (1968-1977)
17. Florida
48-2 (1991-1999)
17. Colgate 48-2
(1921-1933)
17. Alabama
48-2 (1910-1928) (1908-1923)
USC 42-1 heading into
tonight’s game with California
(2001-current)