– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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LAS VEGAS — The Boise State Broncos football team winning a conference championship has been more fait accompli than twist of fate, especially given the dominance the men on the “Smurf Turf” have exhibited on the college football landscape over the past two decades. The road that the 2023 edition of the Broncos took to the conference mountaintop was by far the most trying and treacherous of any of those previous title winners, which may make today’s victory the most satisfying.
Quarterback Taylen Green accounted for four total touchdowns, leading the Broncos to a convincing 44-20 victory over UNLV to win the 2023 Mountain West Championship Game inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Ashton Jeanty ran for 153 yards and a score for Boise State, who fired its head coach, former all-conference linebacker Andy Avalos, just three weeks prior after a win against New Mexico improved its record to 5-5.
Interim head coach Spencer Danielson has won each of his three games as head coach, with today’s victory making him the first interim coach in FBS history to win a conference championship. Many of the Boise State players lobbied for Danielson to get the head coach job on a full-time basis, and a conference title less than a month after assuming the top job certainly provides momentum for the athletic department to head in that direction.
“It’s paramount,” Danielson said about his players’ support. “Those young men deserve all the credit because they had a lot of opportunities to say, ‘Let’s not do this. I’m going to find the easy way out. I’m going to transfer. I’m just not going to give my effort.’ They never did it.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with all photos taken by A Lot of Sports Talk photo editor Robert Cole. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 21 pictures in total.
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