UNLV Reaches Mountain West Championship Game, But Rebels Look Like Team Of Past As Boise State Belts UNLV, 44-20, Saturday
Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
Back in August, not many saw this coming: the UNLV Rebels football team hosting the Mountain West Conference championship game at Allegiant Stadium.
UNLV head coach Barry Odom, a former Missouri head coach and Arkansas defensive coordinator, has instilled a new winning culture in a traditional loser of a program.
But after watching Boise State come to Las Vegas and take a 31-14 lead over the Rebels midway through the second quarter, you get a sense that Odom could really use a hug from someone — even from interim Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.
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They did close the Hacienda Avenue bridge to cars and allowed fans to walk in the street to reach Allegiant Stadium — a rarity for a UNLV football game.
The crowd looked like it was in the low 30,000 range as much of the lower bowl was packed. LVSportsBiz.com was not too far off. UNLV announced attendance at 31,473.
Lots of red-clad fans probably thought they were seeing flashbacks of yesteryear as the UNLV defense resembled the weak units of past season as Boise State piled up 297 total by midway through the second quarter.
By halftime, UNLV trailed by 14 points, 31-17, to the Boise State Broncos, which entered the game with seven wins out of 12 games, including a 6-2 conference record.
Jayden Maiava had a rough first half, throwing an interception and also fumbling.
The Rebels’ offense mustered only one touchdown as inside linebacker Fred Thompkins returned an interception for a TD that, at the time, tied the score at 14 apiece.
Then Boise State exploded for two big back-to-back touchdowns: a flea-flicker pass from quarterback Taylen Green to Austin Bolt for 57 yards. After Maiava fumbled, the speedy Green ran 70 yards for a 28-14 lead.
Boise State and UNLV traded field goals and that was your halftime score: Boise State 31 UNLV 17.
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Just last night, the Pac-12 championship was played, the final game in that conference’s storied history. Moment after Washington defeated Oregon, 34-31, stadium workers began the task of converting the Pac-12 title game field into the field for the Mountain West championship game. Take a look:
Ready to kickoff the 2023 Mountain West Football Championship game 🙌🏈🏆 pic.twitter.com/B5AbmxAIpd
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) December 2, 2023
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By midway of the fourth quarter, Boise State was cruising along with a 41-20 lead and Odom put in the team’s original starting quarterback, Doug Brumfield.
The rail-thin southpaw with a strong arm did not complete any passes on his first drive.
UNLV will announce its bowl game shortly after 12 noon Sunday.
Boise State padded their lead with a field goal and that ended the scoring. Boise State finished with 527 yards of offense — 301 running and 226 passing.
Broncos 44 Rebels 20
With the win, Boise State heads to the LA Bowl hosted by Gronk at SoFi Stadium Dec. 16.
