Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards and a touchdown, leading No. 10 Boise State to a 21-7 victory over No. 19 UNLV on Friday night, securing the Mountain West title for the second year in a row and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Boise State (12-1, No. 10 CFP) is almost guaranteed a first-round bye in the playoffs if it keeps its ranking above the Big 12 champion and remains one of the top four highest-ranked conference champions.
“In January when they were playing tug of war on the field with their shirts off, they talked about what they wanted to do this season,” said Boise State coach Spencer Danielson. “They wanted to win a conference championship and make it to the college playoffs, and they worked for that.”
Jeanty had the chance to showcase his Heisman case and didn’t disappoint, running for an exciting 75-yard touchdown. It was his fifth touchdown run of 70 yards or more this season, tying LaDainian Tomlinson’s FBS season record.
Jeanty also passed 1981 Heisman winner Marcus Allen of Southern California to move into fourth place on the FBS season rushing list. He needs 132 more yards to pass the current record-holder, Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State.
Maddux Madsen threw a touchdown pass and also rushed for a touchdown for Boise State.
UNLV (10-3, No. 20 CFP), which entered the game ranked seventh in the nation for scoring offense, averaging 38.7 points per game, had not been held below 23 points in any game this season.
“I have been in championship games before and come up on the wrong end of them,” said UNLV coach Barry Odom. “But you continue to learn from them and move your organization forward and find a way to get back to a game like this and win it.”
However, Odom was clear in his praise for Boise State, the team that handed his squad two of its three losses.
“Good luck to anyone who comes here and thinks they’re going to win the game,” Odom said. “I think they’re one of the best teams in college football right now. And I think they’ll do a great job representing this conference. They’re built to make a run.”
With UNLV loading up the defense with eight or nine players early in the game, Boise State relied heavily on Madsen in the first quarter. He responded by completing six of his first seven passes, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Latrell Caples, giving Boise State a 7-0 lead.
Madsen used his legs to extend the lead to 14-0 with a 14-yard touchdown run with 2:40 remaining in the first half.
After a quick stop by the defense, Boise State got the ball back and allowed Jeanty to work his magic. Just two plays later, he burst through the defense and sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown run, putting the Broncos ahead 21-0 with 29 seconds left in the half.
UNLV had a chance to fight back late in the third quarter when Kylin James ran 86 yards before being caught at the Boise State 5-yard line by Seyi Oladipo. However, the Rebels lost 4 yards on the next four plays and failed to score.
The Rebels managed to score with 9:06 left in the game on a 31-yard run by Greg Burrell.
Hajj-Malik Williams led the UNLV offense, throwing for 110 yards and rushing for 56 yards.
