By james art If there were any doubts about the legitimacy of No. 17 Boise State’s campaign for a spot in the College Football Playoff heading into Friday’s game against UNLV, the Broncos put them to rest.
On a night where Heisman Trophy favorite Ashton Jeanty put up pedestrian numbers — by his lofty standards — the Broncos battled and clawed their way to a 29-24 victory over a UNLV team that had scored at least 50 points in two of its last four games.
The win makes Boise State the favorite to host the Mountain West Championship game. It also gives the Broncos a significant lead in the race to win one of the five guaranteed spots in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
The five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed playoff berths. The next seven highest-ranked teams earn the biggest spots.
Boise State (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) was the top-ranked team out of a group of five leagues in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, and the Broncos aren’t likely to fall in next week’s poll.
Their best competition is No. 23 Army (7-0) and No. 24 Navy (6-1), both of which have some challenges in their schedules. Navy lost to Notre Dame Notre Dame today and Army faces the Fighting Irish on November 23rd. The Midshipmen still have to face Tulane and the Black Knights have to play North Texas and UTSA. Navy also hosts Army on Dec. 14.
Liberty (5-1) was likely knocked out of the race when the Flames lost to Kennesaw State on Wednesday.
The stars are aligning for Boise State
What’s left of Boise State’s schedule isn’t nearly as daunting as what Army and Navy have to face.
The Broncos will almost certainly be favored in every game the rest of the season and have a chance to go 11-1 heading into the Mountain West title game in early December. They do have to face Nevada (Nov. 9) and San Jose State (Nov. 16), both of which have looked good at times this year, but Boise State’s other five opponents have a combined record of 16-19.
Boise State hosts San Diego State on Nov. 1, travels to Wyoming on Nov. 23 and closes the regular season at home against Oregon State on Nov. 29. The Broncos don’t play Colorado State or Fresno State this year.
If Boise State tops the standings and heads into the conference championship game with its only loss of the year against top-ranked Oregon, the Broncos could be looking at a top-4 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Ashton Janty was injured in a tough performance
Jeanty posted a season-low 128 rushing yards against UNLV, falling well short of the 208 rushing yards he averaged for Friday’s game. He did find the end zone on a 1-yard run that put the Broncos ahead for good with 3:25 to play, but the Rebels’ defense slowed him down better than any other team this season.
Zanti appeared to injure his left hand or elbow in the first half. His hand was heavily taped in the second half and it was clear he was in pain, but he finished the game and helped his team to a huge victory.
Looking a little less superhuman than usual might slightly hurt Jeanty’s Heisman chances, but his health going forward is a much bigger story. Any missed time would be very detrimental to his chances of becoming the fourth running back to win the Heisman since 2000, but Jeanty didn’t seem concerned after the game.
“It’s fine,” he told CBS Sports reporter Tiffany Blackmon. “We’ll take care of it and get treatment.”
On Friday, Boise State relied on a defense that racked up six sacks. Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen, who threw for 209 yards and a touchdown, added a rushing touchdown and picked up key first downs with his feet in the second half.
Let him back in?
All is not lost for UNLV. The loss to Boise State certainly hurt the Rebels’ chances of earning a CFP berth, but they could get another shot against the Broncos.
UNLV (6-2, 2-1 Mountain West) still has a chance to make the Mountain West Championship. If the Rebels win the conference title, they move back into the playoff mix.
The Rebels still have road games at Hawaii and San Jose State and home games against San Diego State and Nevada on the schedule. UNLV could win and make the conference championship game, especially considering how explosive the offense looks.
Quarterback Hadj-Malik Williams had at least three touchdowns for the fifth straight game Friday. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns and added a team-high 105 yards and another touchdown on the ground. He did throw an interception late in the first half that led to a touchdown and helped Boise State go into the break with a 10-point lead, but this offense is tough to deal with when Williams takes care of the ball.
