From bright blue skies as far as the eye can see to a bright blue turf erroneously perceived by geese to be the sea. There has been no better program in college football this century. Boise, Idaho, ranks 23rd on our Top 100 College Football Towns of America countdown.
To celebrate 100 days until the start of the college football season, HERO Sports is counting down the Top 100 FBS College Football Towns in America. Each day, through Aug. 24, a new city will be revealed. We will analyze the city, the program, the good and bad of the city as well as the bottom line. If you got a problem, @me on Twitter.
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23. Boise, Idaho — Boise State
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Most have the Broncos winning the Mountain West–again, but how far can this Broncos team go in 2018? (Photo: Associated Press)[/credit]
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The Program
In the entirety of Boise State's existence–23 years–only twice have the Broncos experienced a losing season, and that was their first two years. Their .776 winning percentage is the second-highest in college football. Their .838 winning percentage in the 2000s is the best. Their head coaching lineage is more prolific than Amazon's stock prices.
Head coach Brian Harsin has kept the Bronco train moving since replacing Chris Peterson in 2014. His record in four years is an astounding 42-12. More of the same is expected in 2018. Boise State starts the year ranked 22nd in the preseason coaches poll, and are heavy favorites to win the Mountain West. It should all conclude with New Year's Six game.
If there was one program to finally break the glass ceiling of the College Football Playoff for a Group of Five, it would be the Broncos.
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The City
Nestled deep in the Treasure Valley with the Snake River roaring to the west, traveling to Boise is more an adventure into a modern Mark Twain novel than it is into an American metropolis. While the last bastions of the Frontier are slowly dying, in its place is a thriving city, growing from 95,000 people in 1960 to over 700,000 in 2018.
Boise sits isolated from anything resembling a major city. Instead, venturing just a few minutes away from the city's hub is the great outdoors at your fingertips from every angle. Sun Valley is a few hours away, the Boise River Greenbelt gives you a litany of walking trails and hikes alongside riverside parks.
Nature envelops you into her bosom in Boise.
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The Good
Spending time in Boise emits a feeling like you are being let in on a secret no one else knows about. Despite USA Today naming Boise one of The Fastest Growing Cities in America, it never feels that way, unless you're at a Broncos game.
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The Bad
From the end of fall until the middle of the winter, Boise's beautiful panoramic views become muddled by something called inversion. Imagine what the sky would look like after the nuclear holocaust and that will give you some idea of life in Boise in November. A thick haze encroaches on the city and Boise's beautiful bright sky disappears and looks like a flashlight shining through a murky polluted ocean floor.
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Bottom Line
Spend a weekend in Boise for a Broncos game and you'll be surprised. Shocked by a passionate fan-base, astonished by the natural beauty and mesmerized that very few are aware of both. That is unless inversion has arrived, and in that case, GET OUT!
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NEXT: Top 100 College Football Towns in America: #24 Gainesville, Florida
NEXT: The Ultimate College Football Road Trip
