It’s a familiar foe as Boise State set to play UNLV in MWC championship game

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football will face UNLV in the Mountain West championship game Friday evening at Albertsons Stadium.

UNLV defeated Nevada on Saturday 38-14 to book its place in the championship game. Boise State had already secured the top spot in the Mountain West before this weekend with an unblemished conference record of 7-0. The Broncos defeated Oregon State 34-18 in a nonconference matchup on Friday to close out the regular season.

Friday’s matchup is a repeat of the 2023 conference championship game, which Boise State won 44-20 in Las Vegas.

The Broncos will be looking to win back-to-back Mountain West championship titles for the first time in program history. The pair of teams also played in Las Vegas earlier this season.

In late October, a fourth-quarter touchdown from junior running back Ashton Jeanty helped propel the Broncos to a 29-24 victory.

A victory in the championship game means more than just a title, though.

Whichever team wins will likely earn an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. A victory for Boise State, ranked No. 11 in the CFP committee rankings, also could mean a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. The fifth highest-ranked champion still has to play a first-round game, a scenario UNLV, ranked No. 22, would likely face if it wins.

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff crew will travel to the Treasure Valley for the game to host a pregame show. The program, hosted by Rob Stone, also features national championship-winning coach Urban Meyer and former college football stars Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn.

Big Noon Kickoff’s pregame show will start at 5 p.m. ahead of a 6 p.m. kickoff.

HOW DID UNLV MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?

UNLV and Colorado State ended the regular season with a conference record of 6-1. On Friday night, the Rams overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Utah State 42-37, putting pressure on the Rebels to beat Nevada.

The Mountain West’s first tiebreaker is head to head, but because UNLV and Colorado State haven’t played this season, the next tiebreaker is the CFP ranking. UNLV is ranked No. 22 in the latest rankings, while Colorado State is unranked.

Even though the next CFP committee rankings come out on Tuesday, the Mountain West uses the current rankings to decide its championship game, meaning UNLV makes the cut.