2023 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game

2023 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Boise State Broncos UNLV Rebels
(7–5) (9–3)
44 20
Head coach: 
Spencer Danielson (interim)		 Head coach: 
Barry Odom
1234 Total
Boise State 1417103 44
UNLV 71030 20
DateDecember 2, 2023
Season2023
StadiumAllegiant Stadium
LocationLas Vegas, NV
MVPOffensive: Taylen Green, Boise State
Defensive: Alexander Teuber, Boise State
FavoriteBoise State by 2.5
Attendance31,473
United States TV coverage
NetworkFox
AnnouncersJason Benetti, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams
Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
 < 2022  2024 > 
2023 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
UNLV y   6 – 2     9 – 5  
Boise State y$   6 – 2     8 – 6  
San Jose State   6 – 2     7 – 6  
Air Force   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Wyoming   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Fresno State   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Utah State   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Hawaii   3 – 5     5 – 8  
Colorado State   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Nevada   2 – 6     2 – 10  
New Mexico   2 – 6     4 – 8  
San Diego State   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Championship: Boise State 44, UNLV 20
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant

The 2023 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game which was played on December 2, 2023, at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada. It was the 11th edition of the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the Mountain West Conference (MW) for the 2023 season. The game began at 12:00 p.m. PST and was aired on Fox. The game featured the Boise State Broncos and the UNLV Rebels.

Teams

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Boise State, UNLV, and San José State all finished with a 6–2 conference record, creating a three-way tie. Since all three teams did not face each other during the season and no team was ranked in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings before the game, the three-way tie was broken by computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey and Wolfe. UNLV finished with the best average rankings, while Boise State came in second and San José State at third. Therefore, the Broncos and Rebels secured their spots in the MW Championship. UNLV and Boise State did not play each other during the regular season. The Rebels had the higher average ranking and earned the right to host the title game.[1]

UNLV Rebels

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Main article: 2023 UNLV Rebels football team

The Rebels, who entered the game with a 9–3 record, 6–2 in conference play, were making their first MW title game appearance.

Boise State Broncos

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Main article: 2023 Boise State Broncos football team

The Broncos entered the game with a 7–5 record, 6–2 in conference play. They made their second consecutive Mountain West title game appearance and seventh overall. They were 3–3 in previous appearances, having last won the title in 2019.

Scoring summary

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2023 Mountain West Championship
Boise State Broncos (7–5, 6-2) vs. UNLV Rebels (9–3, 6–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Boise State 14 17 10344
UNLV 7 10 3020

at Allegiant Stadium • Las Vegas, NV

Game information
First Quarter
  • (11:08) BSU – Taylen Green 8 yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:52; Boise State 7–0)
  • (6:45) UNLV – Vincent Davis Jr. 5 yard rush, Jose Pizano kick (Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards, 4:18; Tied 7–7)
  • (2:21) BSU – Ashton Jeanty 5 yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:24; BSU 14–7)
Second Quarter
  • (14:49) UNLV – Fred Thompkins 47 yard interception return, Jose Pizano kick (Tied 14–14)
  • (13:32) BSU – Austin Bolt 57 yard pass from Taylen Green, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:17; Boise State 21–14)
  • (12:10) BSU – Taylen Green 70 yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 1 play, 70 yards, 0:12; Boise State 28–14)
  • (7:23) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 31 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 16 yards, 3:31; Boise State 31–14)
  • (3:35) UNLV – Jose Pizano 51 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 3:48; Boise State 31–17)
Third Quarter
  • (11:07) UNLV – Jose Pizano 46 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 45 yards, 3:47; Boise State 31–20)
  • (5:03) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 50 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 41 yards, 6:04; Boise State 34–20)
  • (0:16) BSU – Matt Lauter 16 yard pass from Taylen Green, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 6 plays, 59 yards, 3:01; Boise State 41–20)
Fourth Quarter
  • (3:43) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 22 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 4:12; Boise State 44–20)
Statistics BSU UNLV
First downs 23 16
Plays–yards 66–527 66–298
Rushes–yards 51–301 28–81
Passing yards 226 217
Passing: comp–att–int 12–15–1 18–38–2
Time of possession 37:10 22:50
Team Category Player Statistics
Boise State Passing Taylen Green 12/15, 226 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing Ashton Jeanty 21 carries, 153 yards, TD
Receiving Billy Bowens 4 receptions, 91 yards
UNLV Passing Jayden Maiava 15/29, 166 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Vincent Davis Jr. 14 carries, 55 yards, TD
Receiving Ricky White III 6 receptions, 86 yards

References

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  1. ^ "UNLV to host Boise State in MW Football Championship". mw.com. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
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