25. Boise State Broncos
- All-Time Record: 463-170-2 (.731)
- All-Time Bowl Record: 12-7 (.632)
- National Championships: 0
- Conference Championships: 20
- Consensus All-Americans: 2
- Heisman Winners: 0
The Boise State Broncos have been the Group of Five’s standard program for the last 20 years. The Broncos winning percentage (.731) is the best all-time. Boise was the original “New Year’s Six Buster,” going 3-0 in Fiesta Bowls, including their famous upset of Oklahoma in 2007. In their 25 seasons in FBS, the Broncos have 17 double-digit seasons and two undefeated seasons in 2006 and 2009. Boise has been ranked in the top 25 during the season for 20 consecutive years and finished in the top 25 in 13 of those seasons with four top-five finishes.
Boise has had some of the better coaches in college football patrol the famous blue turf’s sidelines. Dirk Koetter coached the Broncos to their early successes, winning 10 games in back-to-back seasons before leaving to coach Arizona State and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dan Hawkins took over for Koetter. Hawkins went 36-3 from 2002-2004 before leaving for the Colorado Buffaloes during those five seasons.
The Broncos found their best success under Chris Petersen. Under Petersen, the Broncos went to their first of three Fiesta Bowls and had their only undefeated seasons in FBS. Petersen won 10 games or more every season — except his last — as head coach of the Broncos and a 14-0 record in 2009. Petersen went on to lead the Washington Huskies to the National Semifinal in 2016.
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Often, it is not easy to follow a coach that has had so much success. Bryan Harsin has been more up to the task of succeeding Petersen. Harsin has won 10 or more games in five of six seasons as head coach of the Broncos. Harsin also led the Broncos to their third Fiesta Bowl victory in 2014.
The success of the Broncos relative to the time they’ve been an FBS program is why they deserve to be on this list.