Fresno State defeats Boise State 28-16 in Mountain West title game

Boise State's hopes of a Mountain West title fell short Saturday on The Blue, as Fresno State handed the Broncos their first conference loss of 2022.

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The Broncos (9-4, 8-1 MW) will learn their bowl-game fate on Sunday, with a variety of options on the table as the conference's No. 2 squad. The unfortunate loss at Albertsons Stadium to the Bulldogs (9-4, 8-1 MW) marks Boise State's first Mountain West loss of 2022.

"In this game, it's about what the defense is giving you, opportunities you have," head coach Andy Avalos said. "When the defense is playing with certain numbers in the box, then they're going to give you the space, we just gotta execute, and that comes down to us making sure that we put our guys in a position to rep the things they need to, to execute the plays that are being given to us by the defense."

As they have for the majority of 2022, Boise State's defense stood its ground and dominated the Bulldogs early. With just over four minutes to play in the first half, the Broncos led 3-0, thanks to a 26-yard field goal from Jonah Dalmas five minutes into the second quarter.

Fortunately for Bronco Nation, Boise State found its offensive footing enough to set Dalmas up for another field goal just before halftime. The Meridian native drilled his second try, to keep it a one-score, 14-6 game at the break.

Green completed two straight tosses, and it looked like Boise State was grooving its way towards the end zone. However, once again, the Broncos' drive stalled near the red zone, and they were unable to capitalize on the defense's continued effort.

At the end of the third quarter, Mims – who was picked over Holani for the conference's first team honors – had totaled just 33 yards on 12 carries (2.8-yard average). Haener was also held to 149 yards and no touchdowns in the first 45 minutes.

On the Bulldogs' punt on fourth-and-15, Boise State's Jaylen Clark was called for roughing the kicker. The play appeared to be closer to running into the kicker, but the call on The Blue gave Fresno State a first down on Boise State's 35-yard line.

"Gave them a whole set of downs and they ended up scoring on that series," Avalos said. "So, we got to be, we got to be aggressive, we got to get ourselves some momentum on our side too, but we also gotta be able to execute the proper fundamentals and techniques and be able to make calls to go attack the pocket of the punter and not have any worry about roughing the guy and being able to finish. If we don't get the ball, then obviously we gotta stay off his foot."