Jeanty bolsters Heisman case: 3 takeaways from Boise State’s Mountain West Championship victory over UNLV

Jeanty runs for 209 yards as Boise State secures College Football Playoff bid

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Ashton Jeanty topped the 200-yard mark for the sixth time this season as No. 10 Boise State downed No. 20 UNLV, 21-7, in Friday night’s Mountain West Football Championship at Albertsons Stadium.

It’s the second straight MWC title for the Broncos, who also wrapped up a College Football Playoff spot with the win. Boise State is expected to be awarded a first-round bye when the final CFP rankings are released at 10 a.m. Mountain time Sunday. 

The Broncos will enter the CFP on an 11-game winning streak. 

Here are three takeaways from Boise State’s (12-1) third victory over UNLV (10-3) in 12 months.  

1. Jeanty makes strong closing argument

Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen hands off to running back Ashton Jeanty. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Jeanty entered Friday as a big underdog in the Heisman Trophy race to Colorado’s Travis Hunter. 

Playing in a spotlight game while Hunter’s Buffaloes sat at home, Jeanty had 32 carries for 209 yards and a touchdown against a stout UNLV rushing defense. The Rebels, who entered Friday ranked 10th nationally at 101.1 yards allowed per game, held Jeanty 128 yards and a touchdown in the previous meeting. 

Jeanty ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter that gave Boise State a 21-0 lead at the break. It was his 12th run of 50 or more yards this season; no FBS team has more than seven. 

One carry before the long TD run, Jeanty passed USC’s Marcus Allen for fourth on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list. Allen ran for 2,342 yards in 1981. 

Jeanty’s 2,497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns are both school records. He trails only Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders (2,628 yards, 1988 season), Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (2,587, 2014) and UCF’s Kevin Smith (2,567, 2007) on the all-time list. 

Jeanty will need 132 yards in the College Football Playoff to topple Sanders’ record. 

2. Oladipo leads ferocious defense

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) and safety Seyi Oladipo (23). / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

While Jeanty did his usual thing, the Boise State defense turned in a standout performance against the Rebels. 

The Broncos held UNLV to 327 total yards, 86 of which came on a Kylin James burst up the middle. He was hauled down by a hustling Seyi Oladipo at the 4, and the Rebels wound up turning it over on downs. 

Oladipo, a senior safety, led Boise State with 10 total tackles (two for loss) and a sack. The Broncos had 11 tackles for loss as a team, including six sacks of star quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams. 

Williams struggled all game, completing just 13 of 28 passes for 110 yards with an interception while carrying it 21 times for 56 yards. He faced near-constant pressure from the likes of Marco Notarainni, Sheldon Newton, Rodney Robinson, Andrew Simpson, Jayden Virgin-Morgan and Oladipo. 

3. Broncos lock up bye

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty is interviewed by Fox Sports reporter Allison Williams after the game. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Few people were rooting harder for UNLV than Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. 

Earlier in the week, Yormark blasted the College Football Playoff selection committee for having Boise State ranked above Big 12 Championship representatives No. 15 Arizona State (10-2) and No. 16 Iowa State (10-2).

Friday’s win likely wrapped up a first-round bye for the Broncos while the Arizona State/Iowa State winner will get the No. 12 seed. 

The five highest-ranked conference champions receive an automatic bid to the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The top four champions earn a first-round bye.

The Broncos could climb to the No. 3 seed if No. 17 Clemson (9-3) knocks off No. 8 SMU (11-1) in Saturday’s ACC Championship. If SMU wins, Boise State will likely get the No. 4 seed, much to Yormark’s chagrin. 

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

• What Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Spencer Danielson said after clinching College Football Playoff berth

• Game recap, analysis: No. 10 Boise State holds off No. 20 UNLV to win second straight Mountain West Championship

• Big 12 Commissioner takes shot at Boise State, College Football Playoff selection committee

• Mountain West Commissioner says Boise State/UNLV winner ‘will deserve a bye’

• Boise State coach Spencer Danielson questions Travis Hunter’s Heisman frontrunner status

• Boise State coach Spencer Danielson: Several Broncos ‘are getting illegally recruited to get in the portal’

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