Boise State wins Mountain West title as first expanded CFP bracket takes shape

Boise State is headed to the College Football Playoff.

The Broncos won the Mountain West Conference championship Friday night and earned a spot in the sport’s first 12-team playoffs with a 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West championship game.

Star running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown in his sixth 200-yard game of the season.

With 2,497 rushing yards this season, Jeanty ranks fourth on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list, trailing only Barry Sanders (2,628 yards in 1988), Melvin Gordon (2,587 in 2014) and UCF’s Kevin Smith. (2,567 in 2007). Jeanty also finished the regular season with 29 touchdowns.

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Running back Ashton Jeanty of the Boise State Broncos is lined up during the first half of the Mountain West Championship game against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 6, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Lauren Orr/Getty Images)

Jeanty made Boise State play with a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his 12th time of 50 or more yards this season.

Boise State will remain or improve its ranking at No. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings released Sunday. That almost makes the Broncos no worse than the fourth-best conference roster and a first-round bye.

Big 12 Championship Game Saturday pits No. 1 15 Arizona State against No. 15 16 Iowa State.

The winner is in the semi-finals. But the only realistic path remaining is for both teams to get a bye. (and the extra $4 million that comes with it) is all that adds up to that victory. It was especially a convincing victory. It matched the defeat of Atlantic Coast Conference leader No. 1 8 SMU, which played No. 8 17 Clemson.

Iowa State advertises SMU has a war of words after latest CFP rankings: ‘Off my turf!’

Offensive lineman Mathyus Su’a of the UNLV Rebels and outside linebacker Jayden Virgin-Morgan #5 of the Boise State Broncos fight along the line of scrimmage during the first half of the Mountain West Championship game at Albertsons Stadium on December 6, 2024 in Boise, Idaho (Lauren Orr/Getty Images)

The Big 12 commissioner and Iowa State’s athletic director are among those already crying foul. That’s when the main game ends and the bracket is revealed. They won’t be the only games.

The nation will now turn its attention to other conference championship games as the first playoff picture of an extended playoff era shakes up.

Oregon, the top-ranked team and the only unbeaten team in the country, is also there. But Saturday’s game against No. 1 3 Penn State clinched the Big Ten championship and a first-round bye.

If Penn State wins, there is an argument that the Nittany Lions could end up in that top spot.

In the SEC, it’s No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia. Sadly, Bevo isn’t in the building. The winner gets a bye and the championship. The loser should remain. But if the loser is Georgia, the Dawgs could be on the road in the first round.

These teams could face each other three times this season depending on how each team shapes up.

Barring something completely unexpected, it must have been lost by SMU’s change of heart from the admissions committee. Or both to get Alabama out of the bracket if the Tide can. The Southeastern Conference will have four teams in the playoffs.

This is because the selection committee placed the Crimson Tide at No. 1 on Sept. 11. That’s one point ahead of Miami. It looks like the tides will remain very much ahead of the Atlantic Coast Hurricane Conference. Last week’s rankings were shaky. That means Alabama is in and Miami is out.

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Ashton Jeanty #2 of the Boise State Broncos shoots into the crowd before kickoff of the Mountain West Championship game between the Boise State Broncos and UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium on December 6, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Lauren Orr/Getty Images)

There are a handful of teams not playing this weekend and there isn’t much to worry about: No. 4 Notre Dame will likely get a home game.

No. 9 Indiana, one of four Big Ten teams expected to make the playoffs, could be on the road.

In the meantime there was something that.. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Tennessee. Last week’s schedule pits 10-2 teams in first-round games to be played at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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