There is a lot is on the line when No. 20 UNLV Rebels travel to the blue turf in Boise to take on No. 10 Boise State in Friday night’s Mountain West championship game.
For the Broncos, the stakes are magnified considering their latest CFP ranking. Keep in mind that the four highest-ranked conference champions earn a first-round bye in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Since the Broncos are ahead of the eventual Big 12 champion in either No. 15 Arizona State (10-2) or No. 16 Iowa State (10-2), there is a clear path for Boise State (11-1) to be a top four seed and earn the bye that comes with it.
Playing in front of a national audience under the lights, all eyes will be on Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty. With 2,288 rushing yards this season, Jeanty enters conference championship weekend trailing the FBS single season rushing yards record holder Barry Sanders by 340 yards, per Sports-Reference.
Although Jeanty still managed to account for 128 rush yards and a TD when the two teams met earlier this season on Oct. 25 — a game Boise State won, 29-24 — Jeanty was held to a season-low 3.9 yards per carry.
Aside from that narrow loss to the Broncos, UNLV (10-2) has come out on top of its other conference games. The Rebels’ only other defeat was to Syracuse (9-3), 44-41 in overtime.
UNLV also relies on a strong run game. According to NCAA.com, the Rebels have the fourth-best rushing attack in the country (254.1 YPG) with Boise State ranked sixth (253.5 YPG).
While he did not begin the season as the team’s starting QB, Hajj-Malik Williams has used his dual-threat ability to his advantage and completely taken over games. Williams has been effective throwing the ball (17 TDs and four interceptions). On the ground, Williams has 768 yards, nine TDs and has rushed for 100 or more yards on four occasions.
Even though UNLV will likely not receive the first-round bye with a win due to their placement in the rankings below the Big 12 title game opponents, a win should put them in the playoff field.
The five highest-ranked conference champions earn a spot in the playoff along with the next seven highest-ranked teams, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich. Since Army (10-1), ranked 24th in the country, is the closest team playing on conference championship weekend below UNLV, a win should vault the Rebels into the CFP.
Something has to give with Boise State riding a 10-game winning streak and UNLV possessing eight straight road wins dating back to the 2023 season. The Broncos are also trying to win back-to-back Mountain West title games, which has never happened in program history.
While this matchup may get overlooked considering the other conference title games and the teams appearing in them, the stakes could not be higher — not to mention the significance of one of these programs winning their way into the College Football Playoff.
