Boise State is one victory away from cashing another big bowl game check.
The 22nd-ranked Broncos play in their first Mountain West Conference championship game on Saturday night hosting Fresno State, completely aware that a victory should assure them a spot in one of the New Year's bowl games as part of the College Football Playoff.
With losses by Marshall and Colorado State last week there is little debate left about who will be the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences. But that's only if Boise State -- having beat Fresno State 37-27 in October -- doesn't falter.
"Every player has got a cellphone, so they're aware of it. You can't hide from that," Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. "But the only thing we know for a fact is that we get to play on Saturday night for a championship. All the speculations about where we could go for a bowl game doesn't matter right now. We know we're going to a bowl game based on our record, but where we go doesn't matter right now. Our guys would be nuts if we weren't focusing on Fresno State because Fresno has been in this position before and they've won."
This was the matchup most predicted before the season began. The Broncos (10-2, 7-1 Mountain West, No. 22 CFP) and Bulldogs (6-6, 5-3) were picked as favorites in their respective divisions, although the route to the title game was drastically different. Playing in the tougher Mountain Division, Boise State withstood its only conference slip up against Air Force and clinched the division with last week's win over Utah State.
Fresno State started the season 0-3, started conference play 2-3, then won its last three games to win the West Division and become bowl eligible.
"This is a group that started off getting kicked in the teeth early in the season and then picked it back up," Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said. "They found a way to get kicked in the teeth again but still managed to find a way to win the Western Division."
Here are things to watch as the Broncos host the Bulldogs for the second time this season:
MOTIVATED JAY: Not that he needed more motivation, but after running for 1,619 yards and 24 touchdowns in the regular season, Jay Ajayi was passed over for Mountain West offensive player of the year, with the award going to Colorado State QB Garrett Grayson. Ajayi needs less than 100 yards to set a new single-season mark at the school. Last week, Ajayi rushed for 229 yards and five touchdowns in the Broncos' rout of Utah State. Ajayi rushed for 158 yards and two scores against Fresno State in October.
"Jay has done some fantastic things this year," Harsin said. "He's taken games over when we needed him to, he's finished when we've needed him to, and he's ground games out when we've needed to."
COMPLETE THE COMEBACK: Fresno State started the season 0-3 with losses to USC, Utah and Nebraska. It might have been the most difficult stretch of three non-conference games for any team in the country. The Bulldogs rebounded from that difficult start to reach bowl eligibility. According to the school, the Bulldogs are just the 21st team out of 496 FBS schools since 1980 to start 0-3 and reach bowl eligibility. Even if Fresno State loses, it will go to a bowl game because the Bulldogs reached six wins and were a division champion.
THE OTHER BACK: While Ajayi has received most of the attention as the top running back in the Mountain West, Fresno State's Marteze Waller had his moments, too. Waller rushed 18 times for a career-high 164 yards and two touchdowns, including a 76-yard TD run, when the teams met earlier in the season. It was the most yards allowed by Boise State since Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell had 210 yards rushing in 2012. Waller has 1,269 yards rushing and 11 TDs this season.
RANKED TO STAY: Boise State lived in the Top 25 most weeks between 2006 and 2012. But last week's win over Utah State was the first time the Broncos won a game while ranked since beating Washington in a 2012 bowl game.
FORGET THE PAST: The second time Fresno State ever faced the Broncos was 1984 in Boise. The Bulldogs came away with a 37-21 victory. In the seven trips to Boise since, the Bulldogs have lost each time, and never by less than 10 points.