Ashton Jeanty continues Heisman push as Boise State leads No. 17 UNLV

Kathleen William October 26, 2024

Oct. 12, 2024; Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) cuts through the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors defense for a touchdown in the first quarter at Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex. Mandatory attribution: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Heisman Trophy front-runner Ashton Jeanty rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown to help No. 17 Boise State to a 29-24 victory over UNLV in their Mountain West showdown in Las Vegas on Friday night.

Maddux Madsen completed 18 of 33 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown and also had a rushing score for the Broncos (6-1, 3-0). Matt Lauter caught a touchdown pass for Boise State, which beat UNLV for the eighth straight time.

Hajj-Malik Williams completed 12 of 21 passes for 179 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Rebels (6-2, 2-1). He also rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts.

Jaden Bradley and Kaleo Ballungay caught touchdown passes for UNLV, which last beat a ranked opponent (Arizona State) in 2008.

Jeanty carried the ball a career-high 33 times but struggled to find gaps in the UNLV defense that tried to stop him. Although he surpassed the 100-yard mark for the seventh consecutive time this season, his long run was only 16 yards while increasing his nation-leading rushing yard total to 1,376.

Jeanty pounced on fourth-and-goal from the UNLV 1-yard line to give the Broncos the winning points with 12:38 to play. The subsequent 2-point conversion pass was incomplete.

UNLV scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 24-23 lead.

Williams scored on a 5-yard run early in the second half to pull the Rebels within three points. Jonah Dalmas answered with a 29-yard field goal, giving the Broncos a 23-17 lead.

UNLV took the lead on a 34-yard scoring pass from Williams to Bradley with 1:03 left in the quarter.

UNLV's Dalmas (37 yards) and Caden Chittenden (28) traded field goals early in the game before Williams threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to the wide-open Ballungay to give the Rebels a 10-3 lead with 4:30 left -Head start gained in the opening quarter.

Dalmas kicked a 44-yard field goal with 9:22 left in the second quarter, but the Broncos scored two late touchdowns in a 17-point quarter to lead 20-10 at halftime.

Madsen scored on a 7-yard scramble with 1:50 left to give Boise State a three-point lead. Adrian Simpson then intercepted Williams' pass and returned it 25 yards to the UNLV 7, setting up Madsen's 2-yard pass to Lauter with six seconds left.

–Field level media