Boise State clinches Mountain Division title behind another career night by Holani
The Mountain West Conference championship game is set.
No. 20 Boise State never trailed Saturday at Utah State, and the Broncos scored 49 unanswered points in a 56-21 victory.
The Broncos (10-1, 7-0 MW) clinched the Mountain Division for the third straight year and the fourth time since the conference went to two divisions, and they clinched home-field advantage in the championship game against Hawaii, set for Dec. 7.
“I think this entire week, they knew what was at stake, they knew the team we were playing, they knew we were on the road, and I think their entire preparation, mindset and focus showed up tonight,” Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin said. “They had themselves ready to play, and that’s a sign of the leadership on the team.”
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The West Division championship was more hotly contested. Hawaii led San Diego State 14-3 in the second half Saturday night with the winner getting the spot in the championship game. The Aztecs pulled within three in the fourth quarter before missing a field goal with 2 seconds left to fall 14-11.
The Broncos’ latest division championship was highlighted by their best rushing performance of the season. Their 297 yards on the ground eclipsed the 253 they put up Nov. 2 at San Jose State.
Boise State also got another career day out of true freshman running back George Holani.
“He really was almost like the backbone of our offense tonight,” Boise State quarterback Jaylon Henderson said. “The kid runs the ball hard.”
Holani finished with a career-best 178 yards, which gave him 870 on the season and left him just 130 shy of extending the Broncos streak to 11 straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher.
“We’re a spark team. We get one spark and it will eventually start a fire at the end of the day,” Boise State cornerback Avery Williams said. “He had that spark for us and we just kept building off of that.”
Holani’s first carry of the game covered 35 yards, and he became the first Boise State running back to rack up 100 yards in the first quarter since Jay Ajayi did it in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Holani posted 115 yards in the opening frame and scored a 5-yard touchdown on a Statue of Liberty handoff to put the Broncos up 21-7 with 1:20 left.
“I thought every one of our backs, and George in particular, hit the holes extremely hard, and there was a lot of power behind it and a lot of speed and momentum built up,” Harsin said. “Sometimes when you run like that you’re hard to stop.”
With 8:43 left in the first half, Holani surpassed the career-high 126 rushing yards he put up at San Jose State. And after a rare carry on a jet sweep by left tackle Ezra Cleveland put the ball on the Aggies’ 1-yard line, Holani bullied his way across the goal line for a 28-7 lead with 11:50 left in the half.
“It’s always nice to be on the sideline and look up at the screen and see our running back just bulldozing through guys,” Williams said.
Boise State scored 42 first-half points, which were its most since a win in 2016 over New Mexico. Defensively, the Broncos limited Utah State (6-5, 5-2) to 121 rushing yards, and they came up with four sacks — three of which they recorded with Aggies quarterback Jordan Love (21-for-36, 229 yards, TD) in the game.
Boise State also got another big play out of its special teams. A sack by Boise State linebacker Riley Whimpey forced the Aggies to end their first drive of the third quarter with a punt, and Williams returned it 74 yards to the end zone. Williams also returned a punt for a touchdown at San Jose State. The next week against Wyoming, he blocked a punt.
“We’ve been waiting to put a whole game together all season,” Williams said. “It just shows what we can do when the odds are against us or it’s a big-time game like that. There were a lot of guys out there making big-time plays.”
Following Williams’ touchdown, Henderson (16-of-28, 187 yards, 3 TDs) found wide receiver CT Thomas on a 15-yard touchdown pass for a 56-7 lead with 4:32 left in the third.
“Jaylon wouldn’t be having the type of performances he’s had if it was all of a sudden like, ‘OK, now it’s my opportunity,’ ” Harsin said. “He’s just out there leading. He’ll do whatever it takes, and that’s the best part of coaching a guy like that.”
Henderson’s first touchdown strike of the night was on a shovel pass that wide receiver John Hightower turned into a 30-yard score. Utah State answered with a one-handed grab on the sideline in the end zone to tie the game at seven.
The score wasn’t knotted for long, though. Boise State cornerback Jalen Walker jumped a route with 5:14 left in the first quarter and returned the interceptions 15 yards for a touchdown, which put the Broncos ahead for good. It was his first career interception, and Walker broke up three passes in the first quarter alone.
“Going into this game, we knew we had to get one thing accomplished, to get the W,” Walker said. “I just knew this was a very big game, so big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, so I had to go out there and just put it all on the field.”
Before last weekend’s senior night game against New Mexico, the departing veterans said they were determined that would not be their last game on the blue turf in Albertsons Stadium. They accomplished that goal, but they have one more regular-season game to go Friday at Colorado State (1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
“We’re not going to go overlook that football team,” Harsin said. “And I think our guys understand there’s another week of prep and another opportunity to find ways to get better in areas and then go out there and execute against another good team on the road.”
MW championship game details
The Mountain West championship game will begin at 2 p.m. Dec. 7 at Albertsons Stadium and air on ESPN. Tickets are on sale now for $45 in the main stadium, $35 in the curves and south end zone, and $25 in the north end zone. Season-ticket holders have until 2 p.m. Dec. 3 to reserve their tickets. Student tickets are free and are available beginning at 8 a.m. Monday.
Boise State beat Hawaii 59-37 on Oct 12 at Albertsons Stadium.
Broncos stay put in latest AP Top 25
Despite the lopsided win on Saturday night, Boise State remained at No. 20 in the latest AP Top 25 poll and No. 19 in the Coaches’ Poll.
The Broncos (10-1, 7-0 MW) cruised past Utah State, 56-21, to clinch the Mountain Division title and home-field advantage in the Mountain West championship game.
Cincinnati and Memphis continue to lead the Group of Five teams vying for a New Year’s Six bowl, though they’ve switched spots. This week, the Tigers (10-1) jumped the Bearcats and moved to No. 17 after a 49-10 blowout against USF. Cincinnati (10-1) fell to No. 18 after hanging on to beat Temple 15-13.
This story was originally published November 24, 2019 at 3:25 AM.
