LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ashton Jeanty, the nation's leading rusher, didn't play up to his standards but still rushed for 128 yards and the winning touchdown to help No. 17 Boise State beat UNLV 29-24 on Friday night in a game with College Football Playoff implications. Jeanty's 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal with 12:38 left put the Broncos (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) in front for good.
Maddux Madsen passed for 209 yards and a touchdown as Boise State kept alive it hopes of making the College Football Playoff. The Broncos are bowl eligible for the 27th consecutive season, the nation's longest active streak. They also are 28-1 coming after off weeks since 2001.
The Rebels (6-2, 2-1) needed a victory to stay in realistic contention for a playoff spot. Jeanty's output was his second lowest of the season, just a yard better than his performance in a blowout victory over Portland State. He averaged at least 7 yards per carry in each of his prior games this season, but was held to 3.
9 yards per attempt by the Rebels. UNLV's Hajj-Malik Williams passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 105 yards and a TD. This game was played before an announced crowd of 42,228 at Allegiant Stadium, breaking a 22-year-old record for attendance for a UNLV home game.
The previous high occurred Aug. 31, 2022, when 42,075 watched the Rebels play Wisconsin at Sam Boyd Stadium, where the game was called midway through the fourth quarter because of a power outage. That was UNLV’s home stadium until.