UNLV football can’t finish off dream season

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 | 5:08 p.m.

After a season where everything seemed to go right for the UNLV football team, it all went wrong at the worst possible time, as breakdowns in all phases led to a 44-20 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game.

The once-charmed Scarlet and Gray have now dropped two straight contests and are 9-4 on the year. 

A victory on Saturday would have clinched the program’s first MWC title and sent them to Southern California for a marquee matchup against a Pac-12 opponent in the L.A. Bowl. Instead, following an afternoon filled with miscues on both sides of the ball, UNLV will have to wait until Sunday to learn its bowl destination.

Boise State looked every bit the perennial power on the game’s opening drive. The Broncos marched the length of the field and took a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard scramble by quarterback Taylen Green, immediately quieting the 31,473 fans in attendance at Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV answered with a 13-play, 87-yard touchdown drive of its own, capped by a 5-yard scoring run by senior Vincent Davis, and at that point it looked like the upstart Scarlet and Gray were going to make a real push for the championship. And when senior linebacker Fred Thompkins picked off Green and took it back for a 48-yard touchdown to tie the game, 14-14, early in the second quarter, UNLV’s magical run appeared unstoppable.

Reality came quickly, however, in the form of a 57-yard touchdown pass from Green to an uncovered Austin Bolt on a flea flicker just two plays later.

UNLV’s ensuing drive came to an end when quarterback Jayden Maiava was stripped in Boise State territory. The Broncos covered the loose ball, and on the very next play Green ran a keeper and weaved through the UNLV defense untouched for a 70-yard score, giving the visitors a commanding 28-14 lead.

In the span of a few minutes, UNLV went from a team of destiny to a team of wondering what the heck happened.

Junior linebacker Jackson Woodard, an All-Mountain West selection, felt the defense was in position on Boise State’s long touchdowns but just couldn’t make the tackle.

“We’ve got to wrap up,” Woodard said. “That was the biggest thing. We were there.”

UNLV could never force its way back into the game, even when given an opening by Boise State.

A Jose Pizano field goal on the opening drive of the second half trimmed UNLV’s deficit to 31-20, and Boise’s next play was a bad snap over Green’s head that pinned the Broncos at their own 8-yard line, facing a 2^nd-and-26. Instead of taking advantage of that good fortune, UNLV allowed two straight completions, ceding a first down and all momentum. Boise State ended up kicking a field goal on that drive to restore its 14-point advantage.

How unlucky were the Scarlet and Gray? Junior Jacob De Jesus — the first team All-Mountain West kick returner — found a seam on the ensuing runback and crossed midfield at top speed and with nothing but open field in front of him. As he cut back to blow by Boise’s kicker, De Jesus tripped over the artificial turf and stumbled to the ground at the 50.

That drive ended four plays later when Maiava was stopped short of the marker on a fourth-down run, giving possession to Boise State.

It was a deflating sequence, and pretty much closed the door on UNLV’s championship dreams.

“I feel like we had captured momentum a couple times, but man, we never could keep it on our sideline,” Odom said.

Boise State averaged 8.0 yards per play on offense, as Green connected on 12-of-15 passes for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, was mostly an afterthought but finished with 153 rushing yards after posting some long gains late in the fourth quarter.

After its opening touchdown drive, UNLV could not get in gear. The Scarlet and Gray averaged just 2.9 yards per rush, a season low against a conference opponent, and Maiava, the MWC Freshman of the Year, faltered when forced to throw. He completed 15-of-29 passes for 166 yards while committing three turnovers.

Junior receiver Ricky White had a big day, catching six passes for 86 yards. That was enough to break the program record for receiving yards in a single season (he’s now got 1,386), but White downplayed that accomplishment after the loss.

“It’s an honor,” White said, “but I want to keep working. I’m not finished. We’ve got another game. I want to go out there and win.”

Now that the squad’s quest for the unlikeliest of league titles has come up short, they will head to one of the Mountain West’s other affiliated bowl games. Most projections have UNLV in the New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 16) or the Arizona Bowl (Dec. 30), but that won’t be finalized until Sunday.

As for Saturday’s deflating defeat, Odom said it will serve as a springboard for all the important games UNLV will play in the near future.

“I think we’ll learn from what it takes to go win one of these, and we’ll be better the next time we get in it,” he said.

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