So close: What's next for UNLV football after Mountain West championship defeat?

BOISE, Idaho — As Barry Odom spoke at his press conference after Friday’s Mountain West championship game, there were a couple moments when he paused to collect his thoughts. During those silences, Boise State’s on-field celebration could be heard bleeding through the walls of the stadium as fans tore down goalposts and players accepted trophies.

If Odom heard the partying, he gave no indication. But the juxtaposition was undeniable: For the second year in a row, the UNLV football team was so close to its first conference title, they could hear it. They could almost reach out and touch it.

UNLV did not play well enough to deserve the championship, and indeed, Boise State was in control for the entirety of its 21-7 victory at Albertsons Stadium. But that didn’t make it hurt any less for the Scarlet and Gray.

“I hate it that we couldn’t get the win tonight for our seniors and for our program,” Odom said. “It’s obviously hard when you come up short of your goals, your dreams and the things that you’ve poured your soul into.”

So while Boise State advances to the College Football Playoff, UNLV will have to wonder about what could have been.

Championship plays

Just like in the regular-season meeting between the two teams, which Boise State won, 29-25, the Broncos made championship plays and UNLV did not.

The single biggest play came in the final minute of the first half. Though UNLV had played poorly for the first 29 minutes, Boise State had only been able to build a 14-0 lead. A two-touchdown advantage is significant, but not insurmountable, and UNLV would have felt okay about that deficit heading into the break to regroup.

Then the ball was handed to Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, and everything changed.

The star rusher found a crease, hit the open field and accelerated past the UNLV defense for a game-changing 75-yard touchdown run. That not-so-bad 14-0 hole suddenly became a 21-0 bottomless pit, and by the time Jeanty crossed the goal line with 29 seconds left in the half, UNLV’s sideline stood in stunned silence.

Senior linebacker Jackson Woodard, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, said it was a simple mistake that happened to come at the wrong time, against the wrong runner.

“People got out of their gaps,” Woodard said. “We’ve got to make up for it and get him on the ground. Once he gets to that second level he’s a really good player.”

Jeanty finished the game with 209 yards on 32 carries. Outside of the one game-breaking run, UNLV held him to 4.3 yards per carry, but like true superstars, he made a championship play when the opportunity presented itself.

Go-go stalls out

For the first time since Odom arrived at UNLV along with offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, it seemed like an opponent figured out the go-go offense.

It took UNLV more than 51 minutes to put points on the board, and it wasn’t a fluke — Boise State completely shut down the passing attack and, aside from a handful of long gains, made it tough for UNLV to gain on the ground.

Blocking was a major issue once again. Just like in the last meeting, Boise State sacked Hajj-Malik Williams six times and hassled him into several poor throws. The Scarlet and Gray converted just 5-of-16 third downs.

Execution suffered from the very first drive, which saw UNLV fumble twice. Though both were recovered by the offense, it set a tone that carried throughout the night; on 63 plays from scrimmage, UNLV was sacked six times, lost yardage on 11 plays, fumbled four times, committed five penalties and missed a field goal.

One backbreaking sequence in the third quarter saw running back Kylin James rip off an 86-yard gain down to the Boise State 6-yard line. After a delay of game penalty and a sack, UNLV went for a 4^th-and-goal from the 10 and Williams threw incomplete. Instead of cutting into the deficit, UNLV got zero points out of James’ big run.

Williams said the mistakes compounded and allowed Boise State to keep bringing pressure.

“We kind of got behind the sticks at times, and that put us in a bad situation. And then they kind of pinned their ears back with the blitz.”

Williams finished 13-of-28 passing for 110 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

The seven points scored tied the lowest output of the past two years, matching the one touchdown UNLV managed in a Week 2 loss at Michigan last year. Aside from that game, the Scarlet and Gray hadn’t been held under 20 points with Marion as OC until Friday.

The end of something?

The loss had a sense of finality to it, not just because it was the end of UNLV’s run at the playoffs, but because of the roster construction. The 2024 team was built to contend, with seniors at nearly every key position on both sides of the ball. The 2025 team will look very different.

Even in defeat, leaders like Woodard and Williams were hopeful they’ve been able to build a foundation for the next wave of players to keep the program in contention.

“We went through a lot of ups and downs,” Williams said. “Of course, right now our feelings and emotions have us feeling like everything was a failure, but when we look back on it, the men that we became, the family we became, that goes beyond years. I feel like we set the bar for UNLV football.”

Woodard certainly left the program in better shape than when he arrived as a transfer two years ago.

“We have a really high standard around here, and they exceeded it,” Woodard said. “Everyone got better this season. I’m just proud of the guys.”

Coaching future?

The harsh reality of the college football world is that the coaching carousel seems to crank up earlier and earlier each year — especially when there’s a hot name on the market.

Odom qualifies as a wanted man, as does Marion. Both were in the running for head coaching jobs at other schools last offseason but returned to UNLV; getting them both back this time around would count as a minor miracle.

Odom is reportedly one of two candidates for the open UCF job, and his name is being mentioned in just about every article on West Virginia’s opening, too. Marion interviewed at San Diego State last year and is probably the No. 1 target for power-conference teams looking for up-and-coming offensive coordinators.

Had UNLV won on Friday and advanced to the CFP, they would have remained in place until the Scarlet and Gray were eliminated. Now that a playoff run is off the table, there’s a chance one or both of them could be gone by the time UNLV plays its bowl game.

Be prepared for the carousel to spin, starting now.

Bowl bound

UNLV’s season isn’t over.

Though it’s a letdown coming off Friday’s loss, there was a time not too long ago when a trip to the LA Bowl would have been considered a major, major accomplishment for the program. Add in the chance to beat a (former) Pac-12 team like Washington or Cal to make this an 11-win season, and UNLV should be able to scrounge up plenty of motivation by Dec. 18.

Woodard said he and his teammates will get over their disappointment and take the LA Bowl seriously.

“It’s just like any game,” Woodard said. “Get back to work, let’s go win it. We take pride in winning. The ultimate goal of our team is to go win.”

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