LAS VEGAS – Ashton Jeanty, the nation's leading rusher, didn't play up to his standards but still rushed for 128 yards and the winning touchdown to help No. 17 Boise State beat UNLV 29-24 on Friday night in a game with College Football Playoff implications.
Jeanty's 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal with 12:38 left put the Broncos (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) in front for good.
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Maddux Madsen passed for 209 yards and a touchdown as Boise State kept alive it hopes of making the College Football Playoff. The Broncos are bowl eligible for the 27th consecutive season, the nation's second-longest active streak behind Georgia at 28. They also are 28-1 coming after off weeks since 2001.
“That UNLV team is legit,” Madsen said. “That defense played hard and fast until the end. We talked all week about how it was going to be a heavyweight fight. Their one loss was Syracuse in overtime. That game was going to be tough.”
The Rebels (6-2, 2-1) needed a victory to stay in realistic contention for a playoff spot.
“I am devastated for our team that we couldn’t find a way to win that one,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “Our guys battled. We’ve got a really good team. So does Boise. There is no consolation. We lost the game.”
Jeanty's output was his second lowest of the season, just a yard better than his performance in a blowout victory over Portland State. He averaged at least 7 yards per carry in each of his prior games this season, but was held to 3.9 yards per attempt by the Rebels.
“You talk about an absolute warrior,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “Every single (yard) was earned. He's the best football player in the country.”
UNLV's Hajj-Malik Williams passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 105 yards and a TD.
This game was played before an announced crowd of 42,228 at Allegiant Stadium, breaking a 22-year-old record for attendance for a UNLV home game. The previous high occurred Aug. 31, 2022, when 42,075 watched the Rebels play Wisconsin at Sam Boyd Stadium, where the game was called midway through the fourth quarter because of a power outage. That was UNLV’s home stadium until moving into Allegiant in 2020.
The Broncos appeared to take control with two touchdowns in the final 1:50 of the first half to go up 20-10.
Madsen scored on a 7-yard run when the middle opened up for him for the first TD. Then linebacker Andrew Simpson intercepted a pass to give Boise State the ball at UNLV's 7-yard line and set up Madsen's 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Lauter on fourth-and-goal. It's only the second touchdown the Rebels have allowed after a turnover.
The Rebels immediately cut the deficit to three points to open the second half, but remained in chase mode the rest of the way. UNLV then retook the lead at 24-23 with 1:03 left in the third quarter when Williams hit Jaden Bradley on a go route for a 34-yard touchdown strike.
That lead was short-lived, with Boise State going back in front early in the fourth quarter.
UNLV wide receiver/return specialist Jacob De Jesus left the game in the first half with an unspecified injury.
The takeaway
Boise State: Jeanty is the 2-1 Heisman favorite at BetMGM, through his chances might have taken a hit, especially for those looking for any reason not to give their top vote to a Group of Five player. BYU quarterback Ty Detmer in 1990 is the last player to win the award from outside a power conference. Jeanty has other opportunities to make an impression with voters and he will need to make the most of those. Danielson said any doubters should “watch the film” because of UNLV's swarming defense that made limiting Jeanty its priority.
UNLV: Untimely penalties were especially costly in the Rebels' other loss, to Syracuse, and two fourth-quarter calls were particularly harmful against the Broncos. An unsportsmanlike penalty on left tackle Jalen St. John all but killed one drive, and a defensive holding call on cornerback Tony Grimes extended a Boise State series that otherwise would've ended in a punt. The Broncos instead ran off the final 8:07.
Poll implications
The Broncos at least assured themselves of remaining in place rather than potentially falling out of the rankings. UNLV could have gotten back into the Top 25 with a victory, but seriously damaged its chances of making the poll this season.
Up next
Boise State: Hosts San Diego State on Friday.
UNLV: At Hawaii on Nov. 9.
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This story has been changed to correct that Boise State has the nation’s second-longest active bowl eligible streak, not the longest.
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