Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards and a touchdown in Friday’s win over UNLV in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images
Boise State should get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
The No. 10 Broncos put away No. 20 UNLV in the first half en route to a 21-7 victory in the Mountain West Conference championship game. The victory was fittingly sealed late in the second quarter with a 75-yard run by Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty.
Jeanty finished the game with 209 rushing yards and had Boise State fans chanting his name in the second half.
Jeanty’s total puts him at 2,499 yards on the season, as he passed former USC running back Marcus Allen for the fourth-most rushing yards in a single season.
The 75-yard TD run before halftime was Boise State’s second TD in the final three minutes of the second quarter. Maddux Madsen extended the Boise State lead to 14-0 with 2:40 left in the second quarter with a fantastic run on a QB draw.
UNLV gained four yards on three plays on the ensuing possession before Jeanty broke the game open.
The rebel attack simply failed to move anything. And when it had a scoring opportunity, it didn’t take it. UNLV missed a field goal in the first half, and Kylin James broke off an 86-yard run in the third quarter to set UNLV up for a certain TD. But Seyi Oladipo drove James down from behind to prevent the touchdown and UNLV couldn’t drive the ball into the end zone as a fourth-down pass sailed incomplete.
After finally scoring in the fourth quarter, UNLV had a chance to cut the lead to seven before the two-minute warning. But the Rebels regressed after being given another goal-to-go situation and again turned the ball over on downs.
The nature of the victory all but guarantees that Boise State will move ahead of the winner of Saturday’s Big 12 title game in Sunday’s College Football Playoff rankings. That means Boise State should be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and could even be as high as No. 3 if Clemson beats SMU in the ACC championship game.
The playoff format guarantees spots for the top five conference champions in the rankings and the top four seeds are reserved for the top four conference champions. Not many people would have bet before the season that a non-power conference champion would get one of the first-round byes, but it’s hard to argue against Boise State’s worthiness unless you’re affiliated with the Big 12.
Boise State’s only loss of the season came in Week 2 against Oregon, the only undefeated team left in college football. The Broncos lost that game 37-34 as the Ducks needed a short field goal as time expired to win the game.
Since then, Boise State has won six games by three scores or more and Friday night’s win over UNLV was the Broncos’ second victory over the Rebels. Boise State won 29-24 in Las Vegas in October.
UNLV, meanwhile, has to go to a non-playoff bowl despite having the second 10-win season in program history and the first since 1984. The Rebels could go to the LA Bowl to get to back-to-back bowl games. for the first time ever.
