Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos did enough to beat the UNLV Rebels, on their way to a Mountain West Conference Championship and, likely, a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
Boise State took care of business, jumping out to a 21-0 lead. The defense was smothering for most of the night and UNLV looked uncharacteristically shell-shocked on their way to a 21-7 loss in the conference title game and official elimination from any hopes at getting to the College Football Playoff.
What's interesting, though, is how this game might very well be a microcosm for what we can expect in the first-round of the College Football Playoff.
UNLV had its chances against Boise State's defense, but the Rebels continuously fell into uncharacteristic mistakes. Boise State's crowd caused several false starts and procedural penalties in key moments. After an interception and a couple more close calls, it felt like Rebels QB Hajj-Malik Williams was afraid to let go of the ball down the stretch.
You have to credit Boise State's defense for playing the way they did, but you also can't ignore the fact that UNLV had 217 yards rushing, most of which came in the second half. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome the Broncos and their crowd.
In many ways, this game might be the story for several teams in the first-round of the College Football Playoff.
The MWC Championship game essentially was a playoff game. We knew coming in that the winner would earn a spot and the loser would be sent home packing. The Boise State faithful showed up and created an insane atmosphere from start to finish.
Imagine how much more raucous environments like South Bend, Columbus, and others are going to be. Can you imagine a team like Arizona State having to travel up to Happy Valley to take on Penn State? It's a possibility, for sure.
It's not just beating the higher-seeded team. You're going to have to beat their crowd.
Something tells me that we're going to see a lot more teams in the first-round who make uncharacteristic mistakes, simply because of the hostile road environments they're going to face. A team from the SEC or Big Ten might think they're immune because they've played in a few big-time environments this season, but there's nothing that can truly prepare you for what it's going to be like to play in a College Football Playoff game on the road in front of an environment like that.
It proved to be a deciding factor for UNLV against Boise State, and it will be a deciding factor in other games when we get to the first-round of the College Football Playoff, as well.