BOISE, Idaho — The playoffs start Friday night for Boise State and UNLV with a winner-take-all showdown for the Mountain West Conference championship.
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams this season, there’s a guaranteed berth for the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion. The CFP selection committee’s penultimate rankings released Tuesday made clear the MWC winner will be in.
Boise State, 10th in the CFP rankings after completing the regular season 11-1 overall and 7-0 against conference opponents, even has the potential to earn a first-round bye if the Broncos defeat No. 20 UNLV (10-2, 6-1) for the second time this season.
“When you play in a championship game, you want to play the best,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “UNLV … is one of the best teams around. They’ve got a bunch of talent. They play well together. They’re very motivated and driven to win this game, just like us.”
If the title game goes anything like the teams’ matchup earlier this season — a 29-24 Boise State victory on Oct. 25 in Las Vegas — it promises to be a competitive clash. Or at least much closer than last year’s title game, when the Broncos coasted to a 44-20 win over the Rebels.
BetMGM Sportsbook has made the Broncos four-point favorites.
UNLV is 6-0 on the road this season and is on a program-record eight-game winning streak away from home. The active streak is the nation’s third-longest behind Texas (11) and SMU (10). The Rebels’ last road loss was Oct. 28, 2023, at Fresno State, which scored 24 points in the third quarter of a 31-24 defeat of UNLV.
“We’re thankful to have an opportunity for the second year in a row to be playing in the Mountain West championship game,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “The guys that were here last year can use those experiences to maybe put us in a better situation this year on how we prepare, how we play and the understanding that we’ve been in a lot of big games this year already. We know a lot about our opponent, and on the other side, they know a lot about us.”
Everyone knows about Boise State star running back and Heisman Trophy hopeful Ashton Jeanty.
The bruising back leads the nation in rushing with 2,288 yards this season, just 340 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record set in 1988 during his third and final season at Oklahoma State. But in the teams’ first matchup this season, UNLV’s defense held Jeanty to 128 yards on 33 rushes for an average of 3.9, his lowest yards per carry in a game in 2024.
“A tremendous player,” Odom said. “I think he is the best player in college football. He’s got all the great traits you want to see in a running back — unless you’re trying to tackle him. We know it’s going to take all 11 guys. We need to try to eliminate as many one-on-one tackles with him as we can in that situation.”
Friday’s game will be Jeanty’s last chance to make his case for the Heisman Trophy, with voting based on regular-season performances and the winner set to be revealed on Dec. 14.
“I feel like I’m the best player in the country,” said Jeanty, who confirmed Thursday that he won’t return next season. “I’ve put that on notice every single week, and it’s just the same thing. I take it week by week. If I’m picked to win (the Heisman), I win. But my focus right now is going out and playing my best football for my teammates and coaches and winning a championship.”
Although most of the spotlight on Boise State this season has focused on Jeanty and the offense, the team’s defense ranks second in the country in sacks with 45.
The Broncos, however, will be without senior safety Alexander Teubner, who has been out since injuring his left leg Nov. 9 against Nevada. In the Oct. 25 matchup with UNLV, Teubner led the team in tackles with 14, including two for loss, with a sack and a forced fumble.
And Jeanty isn’t the only Boise State player hitting the Football Bowl Subdivision record books this season. Broncos kicker Jonah Dalmas is fourth in FBS history with 503 career points, and his 93 made field goals is third best and just four behind record holder Christopher Dunn. His career field-goal percentage of .877 is also seventh all-time.
Dalmas has hit all 60 of his extra-point tries this season and is 13-of-16 on field-goal attempts with a career long of 56 yards.