LAS VEGAS – UNLV won the Mountain West tiebreaker. Boise State won the right to host the championship game with its 56-31 victory over the Rebels on Oct. 18.
Dan Mullen’s 10-2 Rebels finished first among four teams tied atop the conference. Boise State finished second, then claimed home field on the head-to-head result.
Friday's kickoff at Albertsons Stadium is 5 p.m. Pacific on Fox. It is the third consecutive championship meeting between UNLV and Boise State, which won the previous two titles. Mullen inherited that history, but few of the same players.
Mullen called the opportunity the product of work by players who barely knew one another when his staff arrived. “I'm proud of the buy-in during year one from a team returning only two starters and with over 70 new players in the program,” he said in UNLV's announcement of the matchup.
UNLV reached 10 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time. The Rebels are 30-10 since the start of 2023, a striking climb for a program that had spent so long trying to make one championship game.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to play for the Mountain West title,” Mullen said. He added that the team had improved during the season and hoped to play its best game in Boise.
The conference had a problem the standings couldn't settle. UNLV, Boise State, San Diego State and New Mexico all finished 6-2. The Lobos had beaten the Aztecs in double overtime Friday, and the Rebels had won at Reno Saturday. Yet those teams had not all played one another. There was no complete set of head-to-head results to sort the four, so the Mountain West turned to a composite of four national ratings.
The composite averaged Connelly SP+, ESPN Strength of Record, KPI and SportSource. UNLV's 45.50 average led the group, followed by Boise State's 47.75. San Diego State was third at 51.00 and New Mexico fourth at 54.75. That left two 9-3 teams outside the title game while 8-4 Boise State advanced. The numbers made the decision consistent with the rule. They did not make the disappointment in San Diego or Albuquerque imaginary.
Boise State had given Mullen a more useful measure in October. Dylan Riley ran for 201 yards on 15 carries, with two gains accounting for 114. The Broncos averaged 9.8 yards over 57 offensive plays. UNLV’s path to a championship depended less on the computers that selected the field than on preventing those explosive runs from reaching the secondary again.
None of the four tied teams was in the College Football Playoff rankings, according to Boise State’s announcement. That removed another possible way to separate the group before the computer comparison. The published figures are average rankings: UNLV’s lower number put it first among the four, rather than representing a point spread or a forecast of Friday’s score.
UNLV had earned its place in the tie Saturday in Reno. The Rebels kept the Fremont Cannon with a 42-17 victory, led 28-3 at halftime and gained 496 yards. They did not have to wait for another result to find out whether they had done their part.
Jai'Den Thomas scored four rushing touchdowns on 11 carries and gained 103 yards. Anthony Colandrea threw for 270 yards and added a rushing touchdown. The defense recovered two fumbles, helping keep a rivalry game from becoming a late scramble for championship eligibility.
After losing to Boise State and New Mexico, UNLV had little margin. The win at Reno completed a recovery through Colorado State, Utah State, Hawai‘i and Reno. UNLV could not change the October loss that would ultimately determine its destination, but the Rebels could make sure the Broncos had to fight for the title again.
Athletic director Erick Harper credited the players and staff for earning another chance. “I couldn't be more proud of Coach Mullen and the team,” Harper said, after describing the effort that had carried UNLV back into the game.
Boise State had lost to Fresno State and San Diego State in November, yet survived the final weekend with a 25-24 comeback at Utah State. Max Cutforth filled in for injured Maddux Madsen and helped keep the Broncos in contention. Without that win, the October result against UNLV would not have been enough.
Madsen had been out since an injury against Fresno State. Boise State had not announced its championship starter as of Sunday's matchup release.
The Broncos will make their ninth appearance in the conference championship game and their eighth in nine seasons. Albertsons Stadium will host it for the seventh time. Boise State is 4-2 in the six previous title games played there, experience that comes with the home-field advantage its October win secured.
The October meeting had been 28-24 at halftime. Boise State scored the next four touchdowns, including a 60-yard interception return by A'Marion McCoy, and finished with 558 yards on 57 plays. It was the most lopsided loss of Mullen's first season and the reason this championship will be played on blue turf.
In 2023, the Rebels hosted the title game but lost 44-20. In 2024, they reached Boise again and scored only one touchdown in a 21-7 defeat. Those losses came under Barry Odom, with much of a different roster, but they left the same obstacle waiting for the next coaching staff. Mullen has already brought an almost new team to 10 wins. The championship will require the newcomers to do what the previous groups could not, in the place where UNLV fell short last December on blue turf.
