With 4 big games in 23 months, Boise State-UNLV packs a punch. Is it a rivalry?

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State and UNLV football have developed a somewhat contentious relationship in less than two years.

The consistently dominant Broncos have seen a few teams rise to challenge them in the Mountain West over the past decade, and the Rebels have done that of late. The pair met in the past two Mountain West championship games — with Boise State winning both — and their regular season game in Las Vegas last year was a hard-fought, hard-hitting affair that saw the Broncos prevail 29-24.

The latest, and possibly last, chapter in the budding rivalry will unfold on Saturday, as Boise State (4-2, 2-0) welcomes UNLV (6-0, 2-0) to Albertsons Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in a game that easily could decide the regular season title in the league.

But is it fair to call it a rivalry? With three games in the past 23 months — all of them important — there is familiarity between the programs, but prior to that, they had last played in 2019. And next year, UNLV is not among the Mountain West teams heading to the reborn Pac-12.

The Idaho Statesman asked fans and players this week to classify how much of a rival they consider the Rebels to be, and there was a split between the groups. In an online social media poll with over 800 responses, 73% of fans responded with a resounding, “No.”

Players felt a little differently. Responses online ranged from typical fan-centric banter of calling UNLV names to logical reasoning as to why the two teams aren’t really rivals.

“They’re a blip,” X user Danica Rhoades wrote. “They’ve been irrelevant most of the time we’ve played them, and in time they’ll fade back into irrelevance.”

A common theme was pointing out that for a matchup to be a rivalry, both sides need to win. The two teams have met 14 times since the first game in 1972, with the Broncos winning 11 of those.

UNLV won three of the first five but hasn’t beaten Boise State since 1976.

Since both teams have been in the Mountain West, the Broncos are 8-0 in the series.

“A rivalry need(s) to be evenly match(ed),” X user @Sea_Bronco wrote. “If Las Vegas had any history beating Boise State then yes, but it’s so lopsided I don’t consider it a rivalry.”

“Not yet. They haven’t won enough,” X user Will Mullins added. “I think they were headed in that direction but our move to PAC will change that unless they end up there as well.”

Boise State will leave the Mountain West along with four other programs for the revived Pac-12 Conference next summer, but UNLV is not one of the others.

Not all fans were against the idea of the Rebels being classified as a rival.

“Definitely our rival,” Boise State fan @J_Hath25 wrote. “We are constantly talking about them on weeks we aren’t even playing them. How (are) they not our rival?”

UNLV fan and podcaster Jason W Kelly agreed. “The schools have played 3 times in the last couple of years, and each game has had big implications,” Kelly wrote. “There are dudes on both rosters who have gotten up for what each time they’ve played recently has been the biggest game of the year at that time. Call it what you want.”

What do the Boise State players think? Many of the Broncos suiting up this weekend have played in three high-stakes games against the Rebels since December 2023: a 44-20 win in Las Vegas in the Mountain West championship game; the five-point win at UNLV last October, in which star running back Ashton Jeanty was beaten up, injured and averaged just 3.9 yards per carry on 33 runs; and a 21-7 victory on The Blue in last December’s conference title game.

“Every time I’ve played them, it’s been a game that’s close,” Boise State redshirt junior quarterback Maddux Madsen said Wednesday. “And those are the games you really like to play football for. The last couple of years, maybe you could consider it a rivalry, but I think it’s an awesome opponent that we get another opportunity at.”

Redshirt senior wide receiver and Eagle High School alum Ben Ford said the game is one that “both teams mark on their calendar.”

Redshirt junior cornerback Jaden Mickey, who arrived in Boise this offseason and will get his first taste of a UNLV game, said the vibes around the team this week suggest it’s a strong matchup.

“It’s definitely a little bit of a rivalry, considering two of the top teams in the conference for most of the years past,” Mickey said. “But still just a nameless, faceless opponent at the end of day.”

UNLV offensive lineman Austin Boyd, who’s played in all three recent games against the Broncos, said Tuesday that the game has “turned into a pretty big rivalry for us.”

“I think everyone, in the sense of the locker room, we’ve got a pretty big chip on our shoulder,” Boyd said. “And everyone’s going into this week like any other big rivalry game.”