Boise state of mind: the emergence of college football's grittiest underdog

After decades of under-the-radar success,the Boise State Broncos became a household name during the 2006-07 NCAA football season. That was when the 12-0 Broncos were set to face the 11-2 Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. In that David vs.Goliath event, everyone expected the Sooners,who played in the highly competitive Big12 conference and had dominated since coach Bob Stoops took over in 1999, to beat the no-names from the Western Athletic Conference.
The matchup would end up becoming one of the greatest college football games ever played,with Boise State beating Oklahoma, 43-42, on a trick-play two-point conversion to win in overtime. But how did Boise State morph into one of the most successful and polarizing programs in the country? In Boise State of Mind, writer Joel Gundersontells the story of how the school went from ajunior college to Division I, climbing the ranksand building a program that has since beatensuch college football powerhouses as Oregon,Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma, and hasthe highest winning percentage in the countrysince 2000.