UNLV's Main foe, Boise State Favored in 11 games ahead of 2025 Regular Season

Besides their Oct. 4 game against Notre Dame, Boise State is favored in all of their regular season games this season. Alabama, James Madison, Liberty, Miami, Oregon, Penn State, and Toledo are the only other programs favored in that many games this year. The projected point spreads come from Brad Powers of the Bet the Board Podcast.

Boise State won its second straight Mountain West Championship last season, defeating UNLV in the title game. As a result, they made their first College Football Playoff appearance, finishing with a 12-2 record. The Broncos finished the season at No. 8 in the AP top 25, the program's best final ranking since 2011.

Boise State received 35 of a possible 39 first-place votes in the 2025 Mountain West preseason media poll. This is the 18th straight year Boise State has been selected to win their conference, dating back to their time in the Western Athletic Conference.

“Last year is last year,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said during his pre-camp press conference. “You can’t start halfway up the mountain.

“I get asked all the time, ‘Are you ready for this game? Are you ready for this? What are you going to do with this guy not being here?’ For me, we’re going to handle our day-to-day better than anyone else in the country. That’s what we’re working our tails off to do. … We’re a process-driven team, and I believe that will result in everything you want.”

Powers has five teams projected to win all 12 regular season games: Arizona State, Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

The Irish went 14-2 last season, falling to Ohio State in the CFP National Championship game.

FanDuel has Boise State as 16.5-point underdogs at Notre Dame. The over/under is set at 53.5 points.

This will be Boise State's first game against Notre Dame in football history.

The Broncos are the favorite to represent the Group of 5 in this year’s College Football Playoff at +194, well above Tulane (+760) and Memphis (+880) of the American. All odds are courtesy of FanDuel.

The five highest-rated conference champions in the final CFP rankings receive automatic bids to the playoff.

UNLV and Boise State are ranked closely in terms of their 2025 strength of schedule, with UNLV having the 90th hardest schedule and Boise State having the 88th. Unsurprisingly, the Oct. 18 matchup with the Broncos is critical for the Rebels, as it's considered the toughest game on their schedule. Notre Dame is seen as Boise State's toughest matchup and will be their best chance to show they belong in the College Football Playoff again.

UNLV knows they have to beat Boise State to finally get over the hump and win a Mountain West Championship. As they begin the Dan Mullen era, they hope his impressive track record can carry over from his days at Mississippi State and Florida. As the season approaches, we'll have more updates on your UNLV Rebels.