Bronco Three-Peat: Boise State captures third-straight Mountain West title, beats UNLV 38-21
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Not one.
Not two.
But three.
In a season full of ups and downs that forced Boise State to call upon a local backup quarterback for a third of the season, the Broncos found their way back to a spot oh so familiar.
The best part?
Maddux Madsen put on a masterclass in the first quarter, propelling the team to an early 14-0 lead that took the wind out of UNLV’s sails.
In case anyone wondered about a potential QB controversy, that thought can be put to rest.
Saturday’s game was a flipped version of October’s meeting as Boise State stormed out to an early advantage and, essentially, bled out the rest of the clock in the second half.
Many noted it, but offensive coordinator Nate Potter decided to pull the old “switcharoo” by opening the game with an aerial assault that caught the Rebels flat-footed. Once they created a comfortable gap, Potter geared down and settled into grinding it out with the ground game.
Not many folks on this team have received as much flak as Potter, but you have to give credit where it’s due. He evolved and progressed as a play-caller during his first season being in charge of the offense.
On a macro-level, it was evident from the jump that this program has been in the spotlight so often that they don’t flinch when the lights are brightest.
UNLV football is at an all-time high, and will continue to mature as a program despite these lumps along the way.
One can hope that head coach Dan Mullen won’t leave after just one season at the helm.
Looking at the box score, there isn’t one discrepancy that can explain away the Broncos’ 17-point victory.
But two statistics do stand out – third down efficiency and penalties.
UNLV converted under 50% of its third-down attempts, finishing the night four of 14 while Boise State kept converting short-yardage scenarios, tallying a ten of 16 mark.
With these conversions, Boise State was able to control the tempo of play and diffuse any rumbling momentum on the side of the Rebels.
And the help of over 27,000 fans didn’t hurt, either.
This was even more true in the penalty department as UNLV was called for three times as many flags as Boise State – nine to three.
UNLV giving up 70 yards of field position relative to Boise’s 20 yards only made their comeback attempt that much harder.
Specifically, the false starts at the beginning of drives were added weights that unnecessarily compounded the overbearing burden that came with playing on the road against the king of the conference – one that you haven’t beaten since 1976.
For Boise State, all three phases did their part. No unit or player was perfect by any means, but when someone was struggling, another Bronco stepped up.
However, QB Maddux Madsen was chosen as the offensive player of the game while DB Ty Benefield received the defensive honor.
In a season that felt on life support after the San Diego State loss, this may very well be the grittiest and most pride-inducing conference championship of the last three.
It was an “our-kind-of guy”, or “OKG”, type of game.
After the type of magical season that Boise State was able to experience last year, having a Heisman runner-up in the backfield with Ashton Jeanty, going 11-1 in the regular season, and winning a second consecutive conference title on their way to the College Football Playoff, expectations for this team felt insanely high.
Did they fail in their goal to reach the CFP?
Sure.
But after the late years of the Harsin era and the decline that occurred under Andy Avalos, this program is back where it should be – winning conference titles consistently, reaching double-digit wins on the regular, and putting themselves in position to play on the biggest of stages during the postseason.
For 2025?
Title… check.
CFP appearance… nope.
Ten wins… to be determined.
As the late Meatloaf once wrote, “Two out of three ain’t bad.”
With this win, Boise State will play in the Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk on December 13th.
The most recent projections have either Arizona State or Washington participating on behalf of the old Pac-12 membership.
The official matchup will be announced on Sunday, December 7th, and will serve as the first bowl game of the year.
There was a tiny, ever-so-small hope of absolute pandemonium opening the door for the Mountain West title winner to luck their way into the College Football Playoff, but that would have required the James Madison Dukes losing on Friday in the Sun Belt championship game to Troy.
To no one’s surprise, the Dukes pulled out the win and will now become the biggest Duke Blue Devil fans in the world.
If the underdog out of Durham finds a way to upset Virginia, then that would pit an 8-5 Duke against a 12-1 James Madison for the last auto bid spot reserved for conference champions.
With Tulane also winning against North Texas, the chaos scenario that many hope to see is two Group of Five schools crashing the College Football Playoff, a year after Boise State snagged an unexpected bye that placed them directly into the CFP quarterfinals.
But for now, the Broncos have played their final Mountain West football game, closing another storied chapter within its history before setting off to a new-world Pac-12.
And what better way to close said chapter than with three consecutive conference titles?
15 years a member of the Mountain West.
Seven championships.
A fitting end.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos