By james art Buckle up America, the Boise State Broncos bus is back in action and rolling.
Better than ever? There is still a long way to go to determine that.
But vice versa? like back back to the blue grass monsters that took the college football world by storm?
That appeared to be the case for No. 19 Boise State after another triumph in Las Vegas on Friday night, showing grit in a 29-24 thriller over the UNLV Rebels that more than lived up to heavyweight billing as the biggest matchup in a group of 5 that the sport has seen in 14 years.
“We’re doing things that Boise State hasn’t done in the last few years. There’s potential to do things we’ve never done,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen said of his 6–1 side. “I think everyone takes that as motivation every week. We are at a stage where we cannot lose football matches. That’s kind of the chip we play on our shoulder – that we’re going to go out and win every game if we want to get where we want to go.”
The aspirations of the original BCS-buster program have never been hidden from view, nor have they changed much despite the rapid development of college athletics over the past few years. From a small junior college in Idaho climbing the ranks of NCAA football to the latest powerhouses under former coach Chris Petersen knocking on the door of national gear, all the Broncos ever wanted was a chance to prove that belong on the biggest stage.
Now, though, they’re not just the ultimate upstarts struggling to make it in a world ruled by the bluebloods. Now they have a chance—a real one—thanks to an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and a guaranteed golden ticket to the top-ranked conference champion.
That was the vision former Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson had 3 1/2 years ago, in a handful of curtain-drawn conference rooms at airport hotels across the country, as he huddled with three other powerful voices in the sport trying to shape the next iteration of a successful but insufficient postseason structure.
In the four-team CFP era, many people watched college football crown a champion. Money flowed in droves. The drama of who’s in and who’s out has provided enough debate over the course of the season to fuel a Midwestern town in the dead of winter.
And it was certainly much better than the BCS days that came before it.
But it still felt like an invitational, not the tournament college football was clamoring for. Although Cincinnati broke through in one season and reached the Final Four, it took a perfect set of circumstances and mostly reinforced the glass ceiling that the majority of FBS teams continued to face while the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world failed.
In 2024, things are different. Boise State, too.
Against UNLV, the Broncos put in whatever effort it takes to overcome tough teams and tough spots on the road in conference play. The Rebels entered the week allowing just 3.35 yards per carry (same as Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs) and loaded the box with defenders to stop focal point Ashton Janty.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful — whose odds were changed mid-race by the sports bookies down the street to prevent him from being named the favorite — was supposed to remain the nation’s leading rusher for another week, but he had to fight his way through, to collect 128 yards and a touchdown . He was hit in the back of his first three outings and briefly left after injuring his left elbow.
It was far from the kind of display nearly a dozen NFL scouts and front office personnel were on hand to see from a tailback averaging 9.9 yards per entry.
It didn’t matter much either because others stepped up around Jeanty.
Madsen, a surprise choice to be the starter under center this season ahead of former five-star recruit Malachi Nelson, was throwing claws and carrying the team when his backfield teammate was blocked at the line. Madsen’s final numbers (18-of-33, 209 yards, two total touchdowns) weren’t much to show off the stat sheet, but he fired a few darts to move the sticks during the game (BSU went 4-of-4 in the fourth place) and even had the team’s longest punt when he scampered 49 yards to set up a field goal on the first drive.
“It’s easy to look at stats or flash or people who are in it for themselves, but that’s not this team,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “Our players, they deserve everything they’re getting right now because they work for it when nobody’s looking.”
Danielson had every right to shout how proud he was of his band. In addition to an offense that found solutions on several third and fourth downs that could have turned the game around, Boise’s defense seemed to step up when the occasion called for it. In addition to sacking Rebels signal-caller Hadj-Malik Williams six times (along with nine tackles for loss), they limited the home team to just 5-of-13 on third down and committed several penalties that made life tougher down the stretch. .
“We put a lot into this,” a despondent UNLV head coach Barry Odom said. “It hurts to come up short in a game of this magnitude.”
It hurts even more because the Rebels were right there with Boise State to claim that top spot among Group of 5 contenders coming into the night. They had two Power 4 wins already this season and a three-point overtime loss to another, the Syracuse Orange, three weeks ago.
Had they won in front of a school-record 42,228 at Allegiant Stadium and beaten the Broncos for the first time since 1976 (two years before they moved to Division I), UNLV would have suddenly become a must-win.
It also wouldn’t hurt to extract some measure of revenge for Boise State’s conference title win in the same building 11 months ago, or for the school’s recent departure to join the Pac-12, which left Rebel leaders desperate to have been trying to hold the Mountain West together for much of the past few weeks.
“This team [UNLV] wanted this game more than any other on their schedule. We understood the battle we were getting into, we knew we were getting the best of them,” said sixth-year safety Alexander Teubner. “But when it comes down to closing out the game, the last three possessions show the mentality of this team. Down by one point going into the fourth quarter, our offense answered the buzzer, our defense shut down and we had eight minutes to close it out. You can sum up the mentality of our team in the fourth quarter.”
There is no doubt about it. Just when Boise State needed a little more, they got it.
Trailing and in the red zone with 13 minutes to play, it was Jeanty who returned to true form. Facing third-and-goal and a deafening crowd, he broke three tackles as he zig-zagged from one marker to the next, carrying nearly four defenders with him to the edge of the end zone.
On fourth and short and everyone knew he was getting the ball, he ran it in for the winning touchdown a play later. After throwing for a few more tough yards as part of a 14-play drive that salted the final 8:07, Jeanty ran around the field to celebrate with fans in blue and orange chanting his name while holding signs advertising his “Hei2man” campaign.
Jeanty didn’t mind dreaming of making it to New York, either, showing off the famous trophy arm as he shared a moment with Las Vegas Raiders tailback (and former Bronco) Alexander Mattison before disappearing into the locker room.
If he and the team keep up their efforts, individual awards won’t be the only thing people will be talking about come December.
“When we get to the end of the season and we have the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff, I can’t wait,” Danielson said. “But that’s not what we’re doing right now. We’re ready to play a really good San Diego State team that we’re going to play Friday night next week at home.”
Yes, the Broncos will be back on the blue grass. But perhaps more importantly, they will step back into the national spotlight with the opportunity to do more than just make a good bowl game.
What happened in Vegas late Friday night, contrary to the marketing catchphrase that defines the city, won’t stay there.
The Boise bus is back. Buckle up college football.