Boise State aims for sixth, and final, Mountain West title. Relive the history
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State pursues sixth Mountain West title in final conference game before Pac-12.
- Since 2013 Boise State played nine Mountain West finals and won five titles.
- Broncos compiled two multi-year title-game streaks; key players decided outcomes.
Mountain West championship game signage began popping up around Albertsons Stadium on Thursday morning in preparation for the game against UNLV on Friday night.
Boise State is in search of a third straight Mountain West title — something no other program has done. It also would be their last, because the Broncos next year will be part of the reborn Pac-12.
That will bring a close to a 15-year relationship between the conference and BSU football, and it’s been an amazing decade and a half for the blue and orange. Since the Mountain West started holding championship games in 2013, the Broncos have played in eight of them — this will make nine — while missing just four.
Putting that into perspective? The Broncos have won more conference titles (five) than the number of championship games they’ve missed.
The dominance includes two four-year streaks in the title game, including a current one. After beating Fresno State 28-14 in 2014, the Broncos had a two-year absence before going from 2017 through 2020.
They missed in 2021, and then haven’t missed since.
Take a trip down memory lane for the eight previous Mountain West championship games Boise State has participated in.
2014: Boise State 28, Fresno State 14
The Broncos missed the very first MW title game, and then left very little drama in the second one. They led 21-0 at halftime and took a 28-0 lead late in the third quarter on a 21-yard run from quarterback Grant Hedrick.
Hedrick scored two rushing touchdowns, threw for 155 yards on 9-for-16 passing, and led the team with 81 rushing yards. Running back Jay Ajayi ended the game with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, while Tanner Vallejo earned defensive MVP honors after returning an interception for a 63-yard score in the first quarter.
The title came in Bryan Harsin’s first season as head coach, and the Broncos went on to defeat Arizona 38-30 for their third Fiesta Bowl win in program history.
2017: Boise State 17, Fresno State 14
Both teams were playing in their first title game since the 2014 meeting, and it almost ended up going the Bulldogs’ way. Fresno State led 14-10 for most of the second half, until Bronco running back Ryan Wolpin capped off a seven-play, 90-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run in the final five minutes.
Linebacker and future Dallas Cowboy Leighton Vander Esch sealed the victory for the Broncos when he picked off Fresno State QB Marcus McMaryion with less than two minutes remaining.
The victory was quarterback Brett Rypien’s single championship win, and he made it count, earning offensive MVP honors by throwing for 246 yards on just 16 completions.
2018: Boise State 16, Fresno State 19, OT
The Bulldogs finally got one over on the Broncos, thanks to a game-winning touchdown in overtime. However, it took a big special teams play to make it happen.
Fresno State led for most of the game, but Boise State was looking good in the fourth quarter when Alexander Mattison broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run. But the Bulldogs blocked Hadan Hoggarth’s extra point attempt, keeping the score tied at 13-13.
Hoggarth converted a 23-yard field goal in OT, but the Bulldogs responded with a 1-yard touchdown run on their possession to grab the Mountain West title on The Blue. Mattison led the Broncos with 200 rushing yards on a monster 40 carries, but Rypien was able to rack up only 125 passing yards on 15 completions.
2019: Boise State 31, Hawaii 10
Arguably the Broncos’ easiest title to win, they finally saw a new face. This was when the Mountain West still had divisions, and while Boise State (8-0) and Air Force (7-1) — both ranked in the Top — were battling in the Mountain, the Rainbow Warriors (5-3) were winning the West by virtue of a tiebreaker over Fresno State.
Boise State was without starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier, but that didn’t matter. Backup Jaylon Henderson threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns as the Broncos waltzed to a 31-3 lead.
Future Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir led the team with 89 receiving yards and a touchdown, while defensive end Demitri Washington recovered a fumble on the Hawaii 9-yard line to set up the Broncos’ final score.
2020: Boise State 20, San Jose State 34
The COVID-shortened 2020 season saw a 5-1 Boise State face an undefeated 6-0 San Jose State at the now-closed Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
For the first time in a Mountain West title game, the Broncos never looked like they were in the running. San Jose State led 19-6 at halftime, and although a fourth-quarter TD run from Bachmeier brought the Broncos to within a possession in the fourth quarter, at 27-20, the Spartans responded with a seven-play, 42-yard touchdown drive.
The Broncos’ only other TD came through a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown from Avery Williams, and Jonah Dalmas made a pair of field goals.
2022: Boise State 16, Fresno State 28
The Broncos defeated Fresno State 40-20 on The Blue during the regular season, but that didn’t come in handy when the Bulldogs returned to Albertsons Stadium.
Once again, one of the Broncos’ top scorers was Dalmas, who made all three of his field goal attempts for the team’s first nine points. Fresno State then opened up a 28-9 lead before quarterback Taylen Green connected with Davis Koetter for a 52-yard score late in the fourth quarter.
Green threw for 175 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while George Holani led the ground game with 74 yards on just 13 carries. The picks were big, because BSU had more total offense in the game.
2023: Boise State 44, UNLV 20
The 2023 championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas had the early signs of a shootout, with Boise State leading 21-14 just minutes into the second quarter.
That was until Green, in his last game for the Broncos before he entered the transfer portal and wound up at Arkansas, blew things wide-open just minutes later. The Rebels were driving when safety Alexander Teubner recovered a fumble on BSU’s 30-yard line. One play later, Green exploded for a 70-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14, and the team never looked back.
The victory was Spencer Danielson’s last win as interim head coach, having replaced Andy Avalos. A day after this victory, he was named coach without the interim tag.
2024: Boise State 21, UNLV 7
Last year’s game on The Blue was unsurprisingly dominated by soon-to-be Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty.
Jeanty broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run late in the first half to give the Broncos a 21-0 lead heading into the break. That was all the scoring the Broncos needed, with UNLV managing only a fourth-quarter TD and 13 first downs in the game.
Jeanty was named the offensive MVP after rushing for 209 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries, while quarterback Maddux Madsen won his first championship game as a starter with 158 passing yards and a 22-yard TD pass to wide receiver Latrell Caples.
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