‘Devastated’: UNLV loses nail-biter before record crowd — PHOTOS
The UNLV football team lost its heavyweight matchup with No. 17 Boise State 29-24 on Friday at Allegiant Stadium.
It was a rematch of the 2023 Mountain West championship game — with College Football Playoff implications — and it made good on its promise to deliver a historic showing of fans.
The announced crowd of 42,228 broke the program’s all-time attendance record of 42,075, which was set in 2002 in a game against Wisconsin at Sam Boyd Stadium. The previous best for UNLV at Allegiant Stadium was 35,193 against Iowa State in 2021.
“I want to say thank you to the city of Vegas. I want to say thank you to all the work that our marketing staff did and our athletic department. It took everybody to pull off an environment like tonight,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “I am devastated for our team that we couldn’t find a way to win that one.”
UNLV (6-2, 2-1 Mountain West) took a 24-23 lead on Jaden Bradley’s 34-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 left in the third quarter. Boise State (6-1, 3-0) answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty that gave the Broncos a 29-24 lead with 12:38 to play.
Boise State then forced a UNLV punt and ran out the final 8:09 to seal the victory.
UNLV quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams completed 12 of 21 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries, adding another score.
Jeanty had 128 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. He came in with most of the hype, but the Broncos didn’t waste any time illustrating that they have more than one rushing threat.
On the third play of the game, quarterback Maddux Madsen broke away for a 49-yard run that brought Boise State to the UNLV’s 26-yard line, helping put his team in position for a 37-yard field goal to open the scoring.
Williams answered for the Rebels with a 71-yard run on the next possession to give UNLV first-and-goal. Unable to push through for a touchdown from the 3-yard line, the Rebels tied it up with a 28-yard field goal from freshman kicker Caden Chittenden.
Boise State went on to punt after recording just five yards in four plays, setting the stage for UNLV’s subsequent touchdown drive. It featured a 50-yard pass from Williams to wide receiver Casey Cain, followed by another dime to tight end Kaleo Ballungay, who was wide open in the end zone for a 9-yard score.
The Rebels ended the first quarter with a 10-3 lead — and the impressive feat of limiting Jeanty to five yards on 12 carries.
UNLV attempted to start the second quarter with a bang, running a trick play that tasked backup quarterback Cameron Friel with targeting Williams, but the Broncos’ defense wasn’t fooled.
The Rebels weren’t able to rebound from the incompletion. They got flagged for a false start on the next play, and Williams was sacked before Chittenden missed a 52-yard field goal that was way wide and short.
Boise State opened the second quarter with a 39-yard drive that saw Jonah Dalmas make good on another field goal, this time from 44 yards, to bring the Broncos within four points at 10-6.
After another empty drive for the Rebels, Madsen scrambled into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 13-10 advantage with 1:50 left in the second quarter.
Mistakes continued to compound for UNLV, as Williams threw an interception on the next possession that Boise State almost returned for a score. A Jeanty touchdown was called back by a penalty, but Madsen still found Matt Lauter for a 2-yard touchdown pass to give Boise State a 20-10 halftime lead.
“The takeaway that they created and then turned into points right at the end of the first half — we didn’t play real well as a team,” Odom said.
Williams rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to open the third quarter, then Boise State answered with a 29-yard field goal to maintain a 23-17 lead.
With 1:03 left in the third quarter, Williams connected with Bradley for his first touchdown with UNLV. He joined the team this summer after transferring from Charlotte.
As soon as the fourth quarter began, Boise State snatched back the lead by sending Jeanty up the middle for a series of short runs that brought the Broncos to the UNLV 1-yard line. Jeanty burst through the same spot again for the touchdown to regain the lead at 29-24 after an unsuccessful 2-point conversion.
“I thought for the most part, we contained him. He obviously made some really good runs,” Odom said. “He’s one of the best players in college football for a reason.”
UNLV couldn’t score on the next possession, punting after an unsportsmanlike conduct call on senior offensive lineman Jalen St. John preceded Williams getting sacked.
UNLV will next enjoy a bye week, which Odom said comes at a perfect time.
Receivers Jacob De Jesus and Malik Chavis will use the break to recover, as De Jesus left the game early with a lower leg injury and Chavis injured his shoulder pregame.
None of UNLV’s players spoke to the media after the loss.
“There is no consolation,” Odom said. “We’ve got a really strong team. To come up short in in a game of that magnitude, it hurts.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
