Five questions as UNLV football prepares to host MWC championship game

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023 | 8:42 a.m.

The Mountain West made it official on Sunday morning, announcing UNLV as the host of the 2023 conference championship game after roughly 12 hours of computation.

The opponent? Second-ranked Boise State.

UNLV, Boise State and San Jose State all finished with 6-2 records in MWC play, but since they didn’t all face each other during the regular season, the tiebreaker for the title-game participants went to a composite of computer rankings. As expected, those ratings had UNLV firmly in the top spot, while Boise edged out SJSU for the No. 2 slot.

Now UNLV will have an opportunity to cap its improbable turnaround season with a Mountain West championship. Five questions to ponder ahead of the big game on Saturday:

Advantage at Allegiant in Las Vegas?

Will the Scarlet and Gray finally enjoy a decided advantage on their home turf? The team has not drawn well since moving to cavernous Allegiant Stadium, mostly playing in silence even as they won their first five home games this season.

But this is the Mountain West championship game. That’s sure to bring out a raucous crowd, right? Maybe. There wasn’t much of a spike for Saturday’s finale against San Jose State, as attendance held within the normal range at 25,554, so it’s hard to imagine 40,000 partisans snapping up tickets six days later, even if this game does have much higher stakes.

Boise State fans will travel. The nightmare scenario for UNLV would be playing a virtual road game in Las Vegas as the Broncos crowd drowns out the Scarlet and Gray regulars. Look for UNLV to kick its promotional efforts into overdrive this week.

Is Boise State for real?

Normally, given the two opponents, UNLV would be the subject of this question. Boise State is the perennial power in the Mountain West, so it should be no surprise to see them waiting on the other side of the bracket. But this year has been different.

The Broncos fired head coach Andy Avalos just two weeks ago. At the time, Boise was a disappointing 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the MWC, and it looked like the program was on to 2024. Instead, interim head coach Spencer Danielson rallied the squad to wins over Utah State and Air Force to close the season, and the tiebreakers fell in the Broncos’ favor, opening the door for an unlikely title-game appearance.

So, is Boise State good now, or just riding some kind of emotional high? It’s probably a little of both, and considering the way they finished the season, the Broncos are certainly capable of winning one more game and denying UNLV its first Mountain West championship.

UNLV defense up to task?

For the first time in a long time — maybe since facing Michigan in Week 2 — UNLV looked helpless on defense in Saturday’s loss to San Jose State. Spartans running back Kairee Robinson was the main problem, as he ran wild for 165 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 10.3 yards per carry.

Boise State, as it turns out, also features an elite running back in Ashton Jeanty. The shifty sophomore is electric as a ball carrier and as a receiver — he went over 100 yards rushing and receiving in BSU’s win over Air Force on Saturday — and will be in line for a lot of touches against UNLV, especially after Boise coaches watch the tape of Robinson and San Jose State.

Can UNLV do a better job containing Jeanty?

Odom said the UNLV coaches and players will have to make sure the breakdowns that happened against San Jose State were a one-time thing.

“We’ve got to learn from what we did not do well, correct those things and then go play,” Odom said.

Who helps UNLV's Ricky White?

UNLV has its own Player of the Year candidate in dynamic receiver Ricky White. But is the offense becoming a little too Ricky-centric late in the season? White notched his fifth straight 100-yard game against San Jose State, but there was little production in the passing game when Jayden Maiava targeted other receivers.

When opposing defenses swarm White, as Boise State is likely to do, who is going to step up to make them pay? Slot receiver Jacob De Jesus is more of a short and intermediate threat. Tight end Kaleo Ballungay has made some big plays down the stretch but was held to one catch for 11 yards on Saturday.

A wild card could be freshman receiver Corey Thompson. The 6-foot San Diego native suited up for the first time on Saturday and flashed some star potential in his debut, catching three balls for 50 yards. His most impressive play came late in the fourth quarter when he made a defender miss while pulling down a 29-yard touchdown. Thompson impressed in training camp, and he seems to have Maiava’s trust now; could he be the guy to complement White with a breakout performance in the title game?

Did the computers get it right?

The Mountain West faced a dilemma due to the three-team tie at the top of the standings, and since the unbalanced schedules made a head-to-head tiebreaker moot, there were no easy solutions. The second tiebreaker turned out to be computer rankings, which had UNLV ahead by a mile, so the Scarlet and Gray played Saturday’s game knowing they had homefield advantage all but locked up.

San Jose State has a right to feel disappointed at being left out. The Spartans were playing the best of any Mountain West team (six straight wins) and would likely be favored in any matchup against UNLV or Boise State right now. But there is also blame to be laid at the feet of SJSU coach Brent Brennan, who had opportunities to run up the margin of victory against UNLV and improve his team’s computer ranking, but instead managed the game conservatively, as if he didn’t understand the tiebreaking procedure. That’s on Brennan and his staff.

UNLV certainly deserves to be hosting the game as the clear No. 1-ranked team in the conference. If the Scarlet and Gray are able to pull off a win on Saturday, it’s doubtful Odom, his staff, White, Maiava, the fans or anyone connected to the program will care about how the opponent was selected.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.