Blue Friday: UNLV’s playoff dreams end with MW title game loss
BOISE, Idaho — Boise State fans were louder than Barry Odom at a point during his postgame news conference Friday night at Albertsons Stadium.
“Hard to really put that into words right now, I apologize,” the UNLV coach said in response to a question about how his program was impacted by its seniors.
The lull in Odom’s remarks was briefly overshadowed by a yelling crowd celebrating six floors below him.
After the No. 10-ranked Broncos beat No. 19 UNLV 21-7 for their second consecutive Mountain West championship, an announced crowd of 36,663 fans stormed the blue turf.
“They definitely brought the crowd,” UNLV quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams said. “We had a couple mishaps. I take full accountability for that, and I feel like that was a factor in the game.”
Williams completed 13 of 28 passes for 110 yards and an interception and added 56 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
Boise State’s Heisman Trophy candidate, running back Ashton Jeanty, stood alone on a riser amid the celebrations. He rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (12-1), who will advance to the College Football Playoff, possibly with a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions.
UNLV (10-3) will wait to find out its bowl destination. The Rebels entered the game with a chance to win the program’s first Mountain West title and a coveted CFP bid, but the Broncos quickly showed that they’re in a league of their own.
Offense sputters
The Broncos took a 21-0 halftime lead, capped by Jeanty’s 75-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left in the second quarter. They didn’t need to score again.
“You can’t tackle (Jeanty) like you tackle most people,” said UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard, who led the Rebels with 10 tackles. “You got to wrap his legs up and hold on until he’s on the ground. … I got a lot of respect for the kid. He’s a really good player. He’s going to do a lot of good things.”
Williams was sacked six times during a 29-24 loss to Boise State on Oct. 25. The Broncos’ defense picked up right where it left off Friday, with Rodney Robinson and Andrew Simpson sacking Williams for a loss 16 yards on the opening drive. Williams was sacked five more times as the game unfolded.
Late in the first quarter, Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen connected with Latrell Caples from 22 yards out for a 7-0 lead.
Two drives later, Rebels freshman kicker Caden Chittenden missed a 48-yard field goal that bounced off the bottom cross bar and kept the UNLV scoreless.
UNLV had only 14 yards in the first quarter, a stark comparison to the Broncos’ 112.
With a hint of deja vu to the Oct. 25 loss, Williams threw an interception on the Rebels’ last drive of the first half.
UNLV’s Marsel McDuffie and Jalen Catalon dropped interceptions on consecutive plays coming out of halftime.
Red-zone struggles
Late in the third quarter, Kylin James rushed for 86 yards for the longest play from scrimmage in Mountain West championship history. After Boise State safety Seyi Oladipo tackled James at Boise State’s 5, UNLV failed to score after a delay of game penalty, two runs for zero net yards and two incompletions.
Greg Burrell finally got UNLV on the board with a 31-yard touchdown run with 9:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels had another first-and-goal opportunity with 5:36 left to play, after a gritty 17-yard run from Burrell was followed by a run for the same distance from Williams to the Boise 8. Subsequent plays saw UNLV penalized for a false start, a short run from Burrell, a sixth and final sack of Williams and two incomplete passes.
Boise State also defeated UNLV in last year’s Mountain West title game, 44-20 at Allegiant Stadium. The Broncos have accounted for three of the Rebels’ eight losses during coach Barry Odom’s tenure, and the Rebels remain without a win over the Broncos since 1976.
“I don’t know where Boise will end up in the (CFP) seeding,” Odom said, “but good luck to anybody that’s going to come here and try to think they’re going to win the game.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
A previous version of this story misstated when UNLV last defeated Boise State.
