2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game

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.

2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Boise State Broncos San Jose State Spartans (5–1) (6–0) 20 34 Head coach:  Bryan Harsin Head coach:  Brent Brennan AP Coaches CFP 25 25 24
1 2 3 4 Total Boise State 3 3 7 7 20 San Jose State 7 12 0 15 34
Date	December 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
Attendance	0
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

v t e	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

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

Main article: 2020 Boise State Broncos football team

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

Main article: 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Boise State	3	3	7	7	20
No. 24 San Jose State	7	12	0	15	34

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

Statistics	BSU	SJSU
First downs	14	26
Plays–yards	66–224	77–498
Rushes–yards	25–3	25–45
Passing yards	221	453
Passing: comp–att–int	20–40–0	32–52–0
Time of possession	25:27	34:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Boise State	Passing	Hank Bachmeier	20/40, 221 yards
	Rushing	Andrew Van Buren	11 carries, 26 yards
	Receiving	Khalil Shakir	6 receptions, 85 yards
San Jose State	Passing	Nick Starkel	32/52, 453 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Kairee Robinson	12 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Tre Walker	7 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD

See also

• List of Mountain West Conference football champions