In search of record fifth Mountain West championship, Boise State ‘fired up and ready’

Boise State interim football coach Spencer Danielson spent much of the day Saturday trying to explain the computer rankings the Mountain West uses as tiebreakers to his players.

Then it was a waiting game.

“(I was) on pins and needles Saturday night into Sunday morning,” Danielson told reporters on Monday. “We were hanging on every tweet and everything that came out.”

The Broncos did their part to earn a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They ended the regular season with three straight wins, including a 27-19 victory over Air Force, but they had to wait for computer rankings to be tabulated after San Jose State upset conference-leading UNLV on Saturday.

Then the news broke Sunday morning. The Broncos (7-5, 6-2), who had a 4-5 record in early November, will travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV in the championship game on Saturday (1 p.m. Mountain time, Fox).

Danielson said he found out just before the news broke, and then scrambled to share it with the team.

“The team was fired up and ready,” Danielson said. “I’m just so proud of our team and what they’ve been able to accomplish the past two weeks to find a way to get into the championship game.”

The energy of championship week was palpable in practice Tuesday, said running back Ashton Jeanty, who had just been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.

“This is one of those weeks where you don’t need any extra motivation,” he said. “We know what’s on the line. It’s about great energy, great (attention to) detail and going hard on every single rep.”

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Last Boise State conference title was 2019

The conference title game is practically a Boise State birthright.

The Broncos (7-5, 6-2 Mountain West) are playing for the championship for the sixth time in seven years, and they are in search of their conference-leading fifth title. They’re tied with BYU, TCU and Utah with four.

But it hasn’t always been an early December celebration. Boise State hasn’t hoisted the trophy since 2019, losing in three of its past four appearances.

Sixth-year senior linebacker DJ Schramm was on the team when the Broncos knocked off Hawaii to win the title in 2019. He was also part of last year’s 28-16 loss to Fresno State at home, and was on the roster when Boise State fell 34-20 to San Jose State in 2020 at the end of the COVID-shortened season.

Schramm said he’ll always remember celebrating with his teammates four years ago. He said he’ll also be haunted by the times the Broncos came up short.

“They’re extremely gutting,” Schramm said of the losses. “It’s definitely a feeling you don’t lose for a long time.”

Hardly anyone outside the Broncos’ locker room thought this was possible just a few weeks ago. A last-second loss on a Hail Mary at Colorado State and a setback against Fresno State left Boise State’s conference title hopes in doubt.

Then Boise State fired coach Andy Avalos with two games left in the regular season.

And then things somehow fell into place. The Broncos took care of their end, Air Force nosedived from 5-0 in league play to 5-3, and Fresno State lost back-to-back games to San Jose State and New Mexico.

Just like that, Danielson became the second interim coach ever to take his team to a conference championship game. Clay Helton did it at USC in 2015, but the Trojans lost. So if the Broncos win, Danielson will make history.

He won’t make any success about himself, though.

“I’m excited for our players because they deserve all the credit and our staff deserves all the credit,” Danielson said. “I’m blessed to be around them.”

What UNLV brings to the table

Playing in the championship game isn’t foreign, but most of the Broncos on the roster aren’t familiar with UNLV. Boise State hasn’t played the Rebels since 2019. They were on the schedule in 2020, but the game was canceled because of COVID-19.

Danielson said the staff has kept tabs on the upstart Rebels this year as they’ve played common opponents. UNLV (9-3, 6-2) was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team Mountain West in the preseason, but first-year coach Barry Odom has turned around a team that finished 5-7 last year and 2-10 the year before that.

Danielson also said he wants his players treating this like any other week, as much as they can.

“Yes, it is championship week, but that doesn’t mean you deviate from the process that got you here,” he said. “No one needs to overthink it. Nobody needs to put a Superman cape on. Let’s just continue with our process.”

The Broncos will face a team that leads the Mountain West with 35.5 points a game. The balanced Rebels rank No. 5 in the conference with 236.6 passing yards a game and No. 4 with 187.8 rushing yards. They have one of the conference’s top receivers in junior Ricky White, who has 76 catches for 1,308 yards and seven touchdowns.

“They have an array of weapons across the board,” Danielson said.

Capping a tumultuous season with a Mountain West title would mean the world to every player in Boise State’s locker room, but it would be extra special for Schramm, who is preparing for his final shot at a ring.

“I couldn’t imagine a better way to end my time here at Boise State,” he said.

BOISE STATE VS. UNLV

When: 1 p.m. Mountain time, Saturday

Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas (65,000)

TV: Fox (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 7-5, 6-2 MW; UNLV 9-3, 6-2 MW

Series: Boise State leads the all-time series 8-3.

Vegas line: Boise State by 2 points