The Mountain West Conference takes center stage Friday night as the 6-1 UNLV Rebels take on the 5-1 Boise State Broncos in a game with huge College Football Playoff implications.

Boise State has a 4-0 lead over UNLV, including a 44-20 victory in the Mountain West Championship last season.

Running back Ashton Jeanty is the headliner in this massive matchup, but we have another talented player in this game whose props are very valuable.

Here’s a breakdown of Friday night’s Boise State-UNLV battle, along with a prediction and best bet.

Boise State vs. UNLV odds

When Boise State has the ball

Jeanty has rocked the college football world this season, rushing for 1,248 yards and 17 touchdowns in just six games. This puts him on track to break Barry Sanders’ records, which have stood for 36 years.

He’s tied for first place with Miami’s Cam Ward (+200, FanDuel) in this week’s Heisman betting odds, and this game presents an excellent opportunity to showcase his talents.

UNLV was respectable against the run, allowing just 3.4 yards per carry, which ranks 25th nationally. Linebacker Jackson Woodard, the favorite to win MWC Defensive Player of the Year, is the Rebels’ leading tackler (63 total, 8.5 tackles for loss).

However, Jeanty was dominant in this matchup last year, rushing 21 times for 153 yards and a touchdown, and the Rebels allowed more than 300 total rushing yards for the game.

If defensive coordinator Barry Odom can find a way to at least slow Jeanty down on early downs, UNLV could be able to force Maddux Madsen into mistakes; he has more turnover plays (seven) than big throws (three) this season.

The Rebels are ranked in the top 20 in Pro Football Focus coverage, and transfer Jalen Catalon has been dominant at safety.

When UNLV has the ball

After a bizarre midseason NIL snafu, the Rebels switched from Matthew Sluka to Hajj-Malik Williams as their starting quarterback.

It’s unclear why Williams didn’t start with this from the start; He is the far superior option as he completes 70.5% of his passes and averages 9.5 yards per attempt, compared to a 43.8% completion rate and 6.6 yards per attempt for Sluka.

Wide receiver Ricky White has developed well at Williams, averaging 122 yards per game since the move.

The Broncos rank just 102nd in pass defense (EPA) and 122nd in tackles, so White should be able to create plenty of explosive plays through the air to boost a Boise State offense to fight who should actually get a high score.

Boise has allowed just 2.9 yards per rush attempt on the ground, which ranks eighth in the country, so I wouldn’t trust the Rebels’ backfield to find much success.

Kylin James, Jai’Den Thomas and Greg Burrell are averaging more than five yards per carry, but this looks like a matchup where UNLV will have to lean on its passing game.

Betting on college football?

Choosing between Boise State and UNLV

The starting line for this game was with the Broncos as the slight favorite, and the market has been moving in that direction all week. Boise State now has a 3.5 point lead, and I can’t help but be interested in the home dog catching more than just a field goal. However, two key factors lead me to pass the spread.

Boise State has played a much tougher schedule; The strength of schedule is ranked No. 65, according to ESPN, while UNLV lags at No. 99. The Broncos will be the most impressive team the Rebels have seen all season, while Jeanty almost led his team to an upset against Oregon.

Additionally, the Broncos have a notable rest advantage in this game. The Rebels will play in a short week, Saturday through Friday, while BSU has a break week and has almost two full weeks to prepare for this crucial matchup.

Instead, I’m trying to support White in this game. You can create a parlay on FanDuel with White on the same play to gain 80+ receiving yards and score a touchdown at odds of -125, which looks like huge value considering he got those points in achieved in all four games with Williams at quarterback.

Best bet: Ricky White 80+ gets yards and a touchdown (-125, FanDuel)

Why you should trust New York Post Betting

Jacob Wayne covers college football and the NFL for the New York Post. It is up 84.5 units in both sports, with an ROI of 6.27%.