2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game

Last updated

2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Boise State Broncos San Jose State Spartans
(5–1)(6–0)
2034
Head coach: 
Bryan Harsin 		Head coach: 
Brent Brennan
AP Coaches CFP
252524
1234Total
Boise State337720
San Jose State71201534
DateDecember 19, 2020
Season 2020
Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium
Location Whitney, NV
MVP Nick Starkel (offensive) and Cade Hall (defensive), San Jose State [1]
Favorite Boise State by 6.5 [2]
Referee Scott Campbell
Attendance0
United States TV coverage
Network Fox
Announcers Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Petros Papadakis (analyst)
Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
 ← 2019   2021 → 
2020 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 24 San Jose State y$ 6 –0   7 –1  
Boise State y  5 –0   5 –2  
Nevada  6 –2   7 –2  
San Diego State  4 –2   4 –4  
Hawaii  4 –4   5 –4  
Fresno State  3 –3   3 –3  
Air Force  2 –2   3 –3  
Wyoming  2 –4   2 –4  
New Mexico  2 –5   2 –5  
Colorado State  1 –3   1 –3  
Utah State  1 –5   1 –5  
UNLV  0 –6   0 –6  
Championship: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mountain West suspended the season, but later decided to begin play on October 24. [3]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2020 Mountain West Conference Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, to determine the 2020 champion of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). [4] The game featured the regular-season champions San Jose State and regular-season runners-up Boise State, and was the conference's eighth championship game.

Contents

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game was played behind closed doors without fans. Because San Jose State could not host the game due to COVID restrictions, the game was instead hosted in Nevada. [5] [6]

Teams

Boise State

Boise State entered the championship game with a 5–1 record (5–0 in conference play). Their only loss of the season was to BYU, then ranked ninth in the AP Poll, in early November.

San Jose State

San Jose State entered the championship game with a 6–0 record, all in games played against conference opponents. Their closest game of the season was a 10-point win over Nevada on December 11. This was San Jose State's first appearance in a Mountain West Conference Championship Game.

Game summary

2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
Quarter1234Total
Boise State337720
No. 24 San Jose State71201534

at Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, Nevada

  • Date: Saturday, December 19, 2020
  • Game time: 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST)
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 56 °F (13 °C) • Wind: NE 1 mph
  • Referee: Scott Campbell
  • TV announcers (Fox): Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Petros Papadakis (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
  • (8:36) SJSU – Tre Walker 55 yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:48; San Jose State 7–0)
  • (3:31) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 51 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 44 yards, 5:05; San Jose State 7–3)
Second quarter
  • (14:46) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 24 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 3:45; San Jose State 10–3)
  • (6:40) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 36 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 1:56; San Jose State 13–3)
  • (2:31) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 26 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 3:27; San Jose State 16–3)
  • (0:50) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 32 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards, 1:05; San Jose State 19–3)
  • (0:01) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 50 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards, 0:50; San Jose State 19–6)
Third quarter
  • (2:48) BSU – Avery Williams 69 yard punt return, Jonah Dalmas kick (San Jose State 19–13)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:17) SJSU – Isaiah Hamilton 30 yard pass from Nick Starkel, 2-point pass good (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:31; San Jose State 27–13)
  • (10:51) BSU – Hank Bachmeier 2 yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:26; San Jose State 27–20)
  • (3:48) SJSU – Derrick Deese Jr. 1 yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 4:30; San Jose State 34–20)

Statistics

StatisticsBSUSJSU
First downs1426
Plays–yards66–22477–498
Rushes–yards25–325–45
Passing yards221453
Passing: comp–att–int20–40–032–52–0
Time of possession25:2734:32
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Boise StatePassing Hank Bachmeier 20/40, 221 yards
RushingAndrew Van Buren11 carries, 26 yards
ReceivingKhalil Shakir6 receptions, 85 yards
San Jose StatePassing Nick Starkel 32/52, 453 yards, 3 TD
RushingKairee Robinson12 carries, 39 yards
ReceivingTre Walker7 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD

Aftermath

It was later revealed that this game would be the last football game ever held at Sam Boyd Stadium, as it was the last scheduled event for the stadium. The stadium was permanently closed officially in 2022. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Spartans Claim Conference Championship". sjsuspartans.com. December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ "ESPN Game Summary - Boise State vs. San Jose State - December 19, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ "WE'RE BACK". twitter.com/MountainWest. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ "2020 Mountain West Football Championship". themw.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Game Tracker: Boise State tries to launch 4th quarter comeback to win Mountain West Championship". KTVB . December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ https://www.fbschedules.com/2020-mountain-west-championship-game-boise-state-vs-san-jose-state/amp/
  7. ↑ "What's Become of Sam Boyd Stadium?". Las Vegas Advisor. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.