Mountain West Title Game: Three Players To Watch For Boise State
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This season has been interesting and exciting for the Mountain West this year, but in the end, preseason picks Boise State and Fresno State meet for the championship game on Saturday. At one point, Fresno was 1-4, and Boise State was 2-2 with an embarrassing loss at UTEP. Fresno State’s early issue was an injury to quarterback Jake Haener, while the Bronco’s issues were tied to an offensive coordinator that was just never able to get the team going.
In the week six matchup, in which the Broncos won 40-30, Fresno State had to rely on Logan Fife to stay in the game and even had it tied 20-20 in the third quarter. They could not hang on, though, as the Broncos racked up 316 rushing yards behind 157 from George Holani and 109 from Ashton Jeanty.
Title Game: Fresno State (8-4, 7-1 in MW) vs Boise State 9-3 (8-0 in MW)
Where: Albertsons Stadium; Boise, ID
TV: Fox
Streaming: Fubo TV with a free trial
Radio: Fox Sports Am 1340: 670 KBOI
Series Record: 17-7 Boise State Leads
Website: gobulldogs.com | broncosports.com
Odds – 3.0 – Boise
Three Players to Watch
QB Taylen Green
Week six was only the second start for Green, and he hadn’t been let loose in the passing game, only attempting 18 passes on the evening. Since then, the Bronco coaching staff has been giving him progressively more opportunities, and he has made a significant impact with 12 touchdowns to only four interceptions. When you add in how dangerous he is with his legs, Green has the ability to break the game open on almost every play of the game.
Skinner will be playing his last game on The Blue and has been a defensive leader for the past two seasons. He should be well rested after being ejected in the fiesta half of last week’s game for an illegal hit. Finishing second on the team in tackles (58) and first in interceptions (4), Skinner’s presence on the field can make any player nervous, and with Haener playing this time around, the secondary will be tested.
RB George Holani and Ashton Jeanty
These guys are a two-headed monster on offense, so they only count as one entry. Holani got over the 1,000-yard mark this season, the first Boise State back to do so since 3019, and finished with 13 total touchdowns. Jeanty had 764 total yards and six touchdowns while he was in. When the production of these two is added to Taylon Green, the Bronco run game has been difficult to stop. Both helped a great deal in the passing game as well, combining for 34 catches and just over 300 yards through the air. If they can get going again against Fresno State, the Bulldogs will be in for a very long night.
Prediction
Fresno State is much better than they were in the first meeting. Haener’s return has been instrumental to the seven-game win streak for the Bulldogs. The Bronco secondary is still a weakness, and both Boise State and Fresno State are offensively in a much better place than they were in the last match-up as well, so a high-scoring game seems likely. In the end, the Broncos can control the ball with the running game and get a couple of big plays through the air to win the champoinship.
Boise State 33, Fresno State 30
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