Taylen Green ‘just kept swinging.’ Boise State QB leads Mountain West title game knockout

Boise State quarterback Taylen Green wouldn’t let himself forget about the Broncos’ loss to Fresno State in last season’s Mountain West championship game at Albertsons Stadium.

He thought about it during early morning workouts in the spring and while running decks in that same stadium in the sweltering heat of the summer.

He even carried a constant reminder of the loss around with him.

Green said one of the referees gave him the coin that was flipped at the beginning of that game. He kept it in his locker and carried it around in his backpack — saying that he would take a peek at it whenever he needed a little extra motivation.

He looked the at coin Saturday just before playing a monster game that helped Boise State wallop UNLV 44-20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to win its first Mountain West title since 2019.

“I remember how I felt,” Green said. “That motivated everyone in the offseason because we never want to feel that way again.”

Green is game’s Offensive MVP

This year, Green is taking a couple of new mementos back to Boise: the Craig Thompson trophy, named for the conference’s former commissioner and given to the winning team, and an oversized black hat with the words Offensive MVP written on it.

Green completed 12-of-15 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, and added 90 rushing yards — including an electrifying 70-yard TD run. He accounted for four touchdowns to lead Boise State to its record fifth Mountain West championship since 2012.

He said it was a picture-book ending to a tumultuous year.

“This year has been really tough on me,” Green said after the game, “but I definitely grew in my faith and my trust in Jesus.”

Green went 8-2 as the Broncos’ starter last season and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, but this season did not go to plan. He split playing time with redshirt freshman Maddux Madsen and lost his starting job before Boise State’s win over New Mexico.

He was thrust back into the starting role after Madsen suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Lobos, and he had to do operate without leading receiver Eric McAlister, who left the team in November and officially entered the transfer portal on Nov. 27, and former head coach Andy Avalos, who was fired on Nov. 12, the day after the New Mexico game.

Green didn’t flinch, though. He led the Broncos and their powerful rushing attack to back-to-back wins to end the regular season, and then was the catalyst as the team ended its championship mini-drought.

“I’m so proud of Taylen and how he responded, because football is all about your response,” Boise State interim head coach Spencer Danielson said. “He didn’t put his head down or try to find a way out. He just kept swinging.”

Broncos roll on offense in first half

Green’s resilience was tested again Saturday. He threw an ugly interception — his eighth of the season — that UNLV’s Fred Thompkins returned 50 yards for a touchdown that made it a 14-14 game in the second quarter.

Undeterred, Green then led three straight scoring drives that sent the Broncos (8-5, 7-2) into halftime with a 31-17 lead. He found wide receiver Austin Bolt on a 57-yard touchdown pass that was set up by an old school flea-flicker, and showed off his freakish athleticism on the highlight-reel TD run. He also led a six-play scoring drive that ended with a 37-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas.

Green scored on an 8-yard touchdown run in the first half to end the team’s opening drive, and hit tight end Matt Lauter on a 16-yard touchdown pass that put the Broncos up 41-20 in the third quarter.

“All offseason, we’ve talked about how to respond from adversity, because it’s a four-quarter game and a lot can go on,” said Green, who credited offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan for making the flea-flicker call. “He had trust in me even though I threw a pick-six. Seeing that, I was like, ‘OK, just don’t get too wound up and don’t get too down.’”

Green was far from the only player on Boise State’s offense to have a big day in Allegiant Stadium on Saturday.

Boise State racked up 527 yards against the Rebels, who were overwhelmed and could not get their defense off the field, to break its previous Mountain West championship high of 364, set against Hawaii in 2019 and Fresno State in 2017. The Broncos punted only once, had 23 first downs and rushed the ball a whopping 51 times for 301 yards.

Running back Ashton Jeanty ran for 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the ground game, and fellow tailback George Holani chipped in with 76 yards. Wide receivers Billy Bowens (91 yards) and Austin Bolt (72) both posted career highs in receiving yards, with Bowens hauling in a 43-yard pass in the first half that set up a score.

Defense forces three UNLV turnovers

The offense also got a lift from a defense that forced three turnovers and limited UNLV (9-4, 6-3 MW) to just three points in the second half. The Broncos turned the first two turnovers into 10 points. Ahmed Hassanein forced a fumble that safety Alexander Teubner recovered, and A’Marion McCoy intercepted a pass in the second quarter.

“We had a lot of bend but don’t break tonight,” said Teubner, who was named the game’s Defensive MVP after leading Boise State with 10 tackles. “We’ve just been through the fire time and time again, and we just knew it was up to us to keep them out of the end zone.”

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Linebacker Andrew Simpson also ended a UNLV drive with an interception in the fourth quarter. It was his second interception of the season.

Danielson credited the defense with playing aggressively all game.

“We told the players we will not wait for (UNLV),” he said. “We will be on the attack all night.”

The Broncos did not appear to have much of a chance to make it to the championship game just a few weeks ago. ESPN advanced metrics gave Boise State a .1% chance after its loss to Fresno State on Nov. 4, but Boise State’s players say they never wavered. They knew they had to put together a winning streak and let the other stuff take care of itself.

“We never lost faith in each other,” Bowens said. “We’ve been keeping it tight-knit this whole year, this brotherhood and this culture, and we came out here to do what we do.”

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The players credited Danielson for keeping them together and lighting a fire under them to win the championship that eluded them last season.

“He’s showed love ever since I’ve been here, and a lot of coaches don’t do that,” Jeanty said. “Everything about him is genuine and real, and he taught us how to love each other better ever since he’s been here.”

Danielson became the first interim coach in NCAA history to lead his team to a conference championship, but said he isn’t interested in being complimented.

“This is all about these players and they deserve all the credit,” he said. “I love these guys and couldn’t be more proud of how they stuck it out, stayed in the fight and got the job done.”

Boise State has one more game to play this season. The Broncos are bowl-eligible for the 26th consecutive season. They will find out officially where they’re heading and who they will play on Sunday, but odds are that they’ll face a Pac-12 opponent in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Dec. 16.