Boise State injury updates: Spencer Danielson updates status of multiple players for Fiesta Bowl

Boise State could have a pair of talented playmakers on either side of the ball back for next week’s Fiesta Bowl national quarterfinal vs. Penn State.

Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson announced senior safety Alexander Teubner will “definitely be available” vs. the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions, while freshman running back Sire Gaines‘ status remains up in the air.

“Teubs has been practicing today, so he’s in a really good place. He’ll definitely be available for the game, we’re just going to continue to work through what that looks like,” Danielson said Monday during a Fiesta Bowl press conference. “But he’s able to get a lot more reps than he was. He was able to play a little bit in the (Mountain West) championship game, not as much as we wanted, that’s just because he’s an absolute warrior. But he’s doing a good job to get back healthy. We’ll see exactly what his reps look like in the game, but he’s able to get some reps at practice today.”

Teubner, a sixth-year senior and team captain, has been out since suffering a lower-body injury against Nevada and was spotted on the sideline in crutches and a knee brace late in that game.

Meanwhile, Gaines is still limited at practice and will be more of a “game-time decision” by comparison.

“We’ll see. He did some stuff at practice today. He looks really good,” Danielson said of Gaines. “What it looks like for the game is going to be the same thing, it’s going to be I don’t want to a game-time decision, but it’ll be game week.”

Boise State vs. Penn State odds: Early point spread released for Fiesta Bowl

The second College Football Playoff quarterfinal is set. It will be Boise State vs. Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, and the early point spread has been released for the matchup.

The Nittany Lions opened as 10.5-point favorites over the Broncos, according to FanDuel. The over-under also opened at 54.5.

Boise State received a bye to the quarterfinal as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions, winning the Mountain West. That meant the Broncos had to wait for SMU vs. Penn State to find out who they’d play in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Nittany Lions dominated the first half of Saturday’s game at Beaver Stadium en route to the victory over SMU. Now, the Fiesta Bowl is set as Penn State and Boise State get ready to square off in the CFP quarterfinal. The winner will advance to the semifinal at the Orange Bowl.

How to watch the Fiesta Bowl

Time: Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Boise State put together an impressive run to a Mountain West title, only losing to Oregon during the regular season. The Broncos took down UNLV in the MWC Championship to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff and secured a bye as the No. 3 seed.

Ashton Jeanty put together an all-time season to lead the Boise State charge. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting – the closest race since 2009 – as he rushed for an FBS-leading 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Nick Schultz contributed to this report.