Fresno State won its third Mountain West (MW) Conference Championship against Boise State at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday, defeating the Broncos 28-16. The win gives Fresno State its first MW Championship since 2018.­

In his return to Fresno State after stepping away two seasons , Bulldog Head Coach Jeff Tedford won his second MW Championship as the ‘Dogs head coach.­

For the third time in six years, Fresno State traveled to Albertsons Stadium for the MW Championship. The teams split the first two meetings, with Boise State winning in 2017 and Fresno State winning in 2018.

The ‘Dogs finished the regular season at 8-4 and 7-1 in MW play. The Broncos came into the game winning seven of their last eight, to finish the regular season at 9-3 and 8-0 in the MW.

On the opening kickoff, Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch kicked the ball out of bounds, which resulted in a penalty, giving Boise State good field possession to open up the game. 

The Broncos were unable to capitalize, as the ‘Dogs were able to force a turnover on downs after an incompletion from Broncos quarterback Taylen Green, who also won MW Freshman of the Year.­

Even though both teams opened up with favorable field position, neither could take advantage. On its first possession, Fresno State was unable to pick up a first down and was forced to punt against the Broncos defense, which is currently ranked seventh in the nation in yards allowed per game.

Boise State was held scoreless on its next possession.

Fresno State picked up a couple of first downs after quarterback Jake Haener connected with wide receiver Nikko Remigio for gains of 20 and 32 yards. The ‘Dogs were unable to score after kicker Abraham Montaño’s 35-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, keeping the game scoreless after the first quarter. 

After the missed field goal, the Broncos put together a 15-play drive that resulted in a 26-yard field goal from kicker Jonah Dalmas to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead with 10:26 minutes left in the second quarter.

Several scoreless possessions later on both sides, it looked to be a low-scoring match up, but Remegio created that offensive spark for the ‘Dogs. After the Broncos were forced to punt, Remigio received the ball and ran for 47 yards, giving the ‘Dogs another chance to put points on the board. 

Once again, however, they were unable to convert. Haener’s second down pass was nearly picked off by Broncos defensive back JL Skinner. Haener was sacked on the following play, forcing another Bulldogs’ punt. 

But Remigio showed why he was named All Second-Team MW. With another crucial play off a punt return, Remigio returned the punt 70 yards for a touchdown to put the ‘Dogs on the board and give them a 7-3 lead. 

After going five consecutive games without throwing an interception, Green was picked off by defensive back Cam Lockridge. Lockridge returned the interception 25 yards up to the Broncos 17-yard line. The interception gave Lockridge four on the season, which is the most on the team. 

The drive started with a 10-yard pass to Jalen Moreno-Cropper to put the Bulldogs on the seven yard line. Two plays later, running back Jordan Mims scored the ‘Dogs first offensive touchdown of the game with a 2-yard touchdown run to give Fresno State a 14-3 lead.

The touchdown gave Mims 15 rushing touchdowns on the season, the most by a Bulldog since 2009 when Ryan Mathews scored 19. 

With 1:18 minutes left in the first half, Boise State gained 39 yards in three plays to put them in field goal range. Dalmas made his 47-yard attempt to cut the lead, 14-6, going into halftime. 

Fresno State received the ball to open up the second half. However, it couldn’t gain much momentum after losing 17 yards on the first two plays. 

Taking over near midfield, the Broncos were able to put together another scoring drive. A 44-yard field goal from Dalmas cut the Bulldogs lead to 14-9. 

For the second consecutive drive, Fresno State opened up with a negative play. Haener was unable to hang on to a high snap and didn’t have time to make a play which resulted in a loss of nine yards. 

Even though they gained 17 yards on the next two plays, the ‘Dogs were forced to punt.

After giving up field goals on each of the previous two possessions, Fresno State gave up one first down and nearly had its second interception of the game after defensive back LJ Early was unable to reel in the catch. 

Once more it appeared that the Bulldogs would be unable to capitalize after losing yards on first down. 

A roughing the punter penalty to close out the third quarter gave Fresno State another opportunity to build on their 14-9 lead. 

The penalty came back to bite the Broncos. Two plays into the fourth quarter, Haener found Zane Pope in the endzone for a 22-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown gave the Bulldogs a 21-9 lead. It also added to Haener’s MW record 28th consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

A 32-yard return on the kickoff gave Boise State a good start on a crucial drive. Four plays later Green threw his second interception of the to Lockridge. The interception marked the first time in Green’s collegiate career that he had thrown multiple interceptions in a game.­

With the ball on the Broncos 34-yard line, the Bulldogs relied heavily on Mims. On that drive, Mims had all six carries for 34 yards, including his second touchdown of the game, which put the Bulldogs up 28-9 with under 10 minutes remaining. 

With Boise State needing a score in a three possession game, Fresno State’s defense forced a three-and-out in only 56 seconds.

The Broncos cut the lead to 28-16 with 5:17 remaining after Green connected with wide receiver Davis Koetter for a 52-yard touchdown. 

But the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock and hold on for their third MW title since joining the conference in 2012.

The Bulldogs will head to Los Angeles, where they will face Washington State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Dec. 17.