Maddux Madsen threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score as host Boise State completed a Mountain West Conference championship game three-peat with a 38-21 victory over UNLV on Friday night.
Madsen completed 17 of 31 passes for 289 yards for Boise State (9-4), which jumped out to a 21-0 first-half lead en route to its seventh Mountain West title. It was the 11th straight win over the Rebels for the Broncos, who also improved to 8-0 all-time against UNLV on their blue home turf.
Anthony Colandrea, the Mountain West’s Offensive Player of the Year, completed 18 of 38 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown and rushed 12 times for a team-high 66 yards and another TD for UNLV (10-3).
Madsen, who missed the final three regular-season games with a right leg injury, showed no ill effects from the injury, rushing 10 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 and then tossing scoring passes of 9 yards to Dylan Riley and 7 yards to Cameron Bates to extend the lead to 21-0 midway through the second quarter.
Colandrea cut the lead to 21-7 with a 5-yard touchdown run by Colandrea but the Broncos answered with a 39-yard touchdown toss from Madsen to Malik Sherrod. Colandrea hit Troy Omeire with a 11-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in the half to make it 28-14.
UNLV got as close as 28-21 on a 7-yard touchdown run by JoJo Earle late in the third but the Broncos answered with a 10-play, 78-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Sire Gaines early in the fourth.
Boise State’s Colton Boomer booted a 50-yard field goal with 3:13 left to finish the scoring.
