On a cold and rainy Friday night in Boise, the Mountain West Championship commenced. Boise State jumped UNLV to a 21-0 lead and never trailed, leading to the Broncos’ third straight Mountain West Conference Championship.
OFFENSE
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea tried his best. He pushed the offensive effort to trim Boise State’s lead to 28-21 late in the third quarter, but the slow start, combined with penalties, led to the result.
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The Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year wasn’t as accurate today, completing 18 of 38 passes for 225 passing yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 66 yards and reached the endzone on the ground. Colandrea kept the Rebels afloat in the first half, breaking off big runs and stepping up under pressure. His ability to turn broken plays into big gains is exceptional.
Down 21-0, Colandrea helped start UNLV’s first scoring drive in the second quarter. He hit wide receiver TaeShaun Lyons on a drag route for 13 yards, then found wide receiver JoJo Earle on a 22-yard shot down the sideline. Running back Keyvone Lee then ripped off 20-yard runs, and then Colandrea ran it into the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown to get UNLV on the board.
After Boise answered right back to make it 28-7, Colandrea went back into the well. He scrambled into Boise territory and then broke free and would’ve scored a touchdown if he hadn’t stepped out of bounds. Running back Jai’Den Thomas pounded the ball to the 11-yard line, and with only a few seconds left before halftime, Colandrea threw a dot to wide receiver Troy Omeire near the left pylon, and he caught it just in bounds to make it 28-14 at halftime.
Colandrea never stopped fighting in the third quarter, despite heavy pressure from the Broncos’ defensive line and the pouring rain. On a huge fourth down in Boise State territory, Colandrea took a hit and found tight end Nick Elksnis over the middle to move the chain. This setup Earle to score lined up in the wildcat, bringing UNLV within one possession near the end of the third quarter.
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That was all the scoring the Rebels did. For most of the first half, Boise State owned the trenches. Thomas couldn’t get going on the ground, getting hit by Broncos defensive lineman Max Stege multiple times for TFLs, including a big one in the third quarter that put UNLV way behind the sticks.
The distribution of the offense was as expected; everyone got a touch. Wide receiver Jaden Bradley and Lyons both had three catches for 35 yards. Omeire finished with 33 yards and a touchdown, while DaeDae Reynolds also had three catches, but for 39 yards. Nine different Rebels had a reception in the game.
Despite the distribution, the Rebels weren’t able to connect on deep balls. Colandrea overthrew wide receiver Kayden McGee in the first quarter, and then, in the first possession, Bradley fumbled the football on a first-down catch, giving Boise State the ball
Thomas only had ten carries and had 41 rushing yards. Lee was very efficient on the ground, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and doing the dirty work to get the Rebel offense moving.
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UNLV converted only 4 of 14 third downs and punted six times.
DEFENSE
The defense felt eerily similar to how the unit played against Boise last time.
The Broncos had 460 yards of offense, with quarterback Maddux Madsen throwing for 289 yards and having four total touchdowns, all in the first half, to set a new Mountain West Championship Game record.
The Rebels forced Boise State to go three-and-out on their first drive thanks to a sack from defensive lineman Lucas Conti, but the big plays made the difference.
On the Broncos’ first touchdown drive, Madsen hit wide receiver Chase Penry on a slant route that he ran for 46 yards. Later in the first, a play-action pass to wide receiver Cameron Bates for 44 yards set up running back Dylan Riley’s touchdown.
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All three Boise State running backs reached the end zone. Riley scored on a 9-yard screen pass, running back Malik Sherrod broke multiple tackles to score on his 39-yard receiving touchdown, and running back Sire Gaines reached the endzone from the one-yard line in the fourth quarter to close out his 64-yard night. Sherrod had 11 rushing yards, but 60 receiving yards, and Riley finished with 84 yards.
Penry consistently hurt UNLV’s secondary with three catches for 96 yards, and Bates had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. Bates was wide-open in the endzone for his touchdown that put the Broncos up 21-0 in the second quarter.
Despite early struggles, the Rebels improved throughout the game. Linebacker Marsel McDuffie got his hands on the ball on a 3rd down play to force a punt, which then led to UNLV cutting the lead to one possession. McDuffie led UNLV with nine total tackles, and linebacker Isaiah Patterson had seven tackles. Conti was the only Rebel with a sack, and defensive back Laterrance Welch had a nice pass breakup in the second quarter and four tackles.
Every time the Rebels looked to flip momentum, Boise had another play that would break it. Trailing 28-21 and desperately needing a stop, UNLV got Boise State into a 3rd-and-3 near midfield. Madsen had pressure on his blindside, and he tossed the ball across his body to Penry, who took it all the way to UNLV’s one-yard line. Two snaps later, Gaines scored his touchdown to make it 35-21.
WHAT’S NEXT?
UNLV falls to 10-3 on the season, but now the bowl season is on the horizon. The loss stings, but the future of the program is bright under the helm of Dan Mullen.
