Buckle up America, the Boise State Broncos bus is back up and running at full speed.

Better than ever? There is still a long way to go before this is clear.

But back? How back Will you return to being the blue-turf monsters that captivated the college football world?

That appears to be the case for No. 19 Boise State after another triumph in Las Vegas on Friday night, showing a tough resilience more than worthy of its heavyweight reputation in a 29-24 thriller over the UNLV Rebels became the biggest Group Five duel the sport has seen in 14 years.

“We’re doing things that Boise State hasn’t done in the last few years. “There’s the potential to do things we’ve never done before,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen said of his 6-1 team. “I think everyone takes that as motivation every week. We have reached the point where we can no longer lose football games. That’s kind of the chip that we play with – that if we want to go where we want to go, we’ll win every game.”

The aspirations of the original BCS Buster program have never remained hidden and have never changed significantly despite the rapid development of college athletics in recent years. From a small junior college in Idaho climbing the ranks of NCAA football to the recent powerhouses under former coach Chris Petersen knocking on the door of national hardware, everything the Broncos ever wanted was one Chance to prove they belonged on the biggest stage.

Now, however, they're not just the ultimate upstarts struggling to make it in a world ruled by the bluebloods. They now have a real chance thanks to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and a guaranteed golden ticket for the top-seeded conference champion.

That was the vision that former Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson had three and a half years ago when, in a handful of curtained conference rooms at airport hotels across the country, he joined three other powerful voices in the sport in attempting to create the next iteration of success to design, but faulty postseason structure.

In the four-team CFP era, many people watched college football crown a champion. The money flowed in droves. The drama of who was in and who was out generated enough debate over the course of a season to heat up a Midwestern town in the middle of winter.

And it was definitely a lot better than the previous BCS days.

But it still resembled an invitational tournament and not the tournament college football had longed for. Although Cincinnati broke through and reached the final four in one season, it was a perfect confluence of events and, more importantly, reinforced the glass ceiling that the majority of FBS teams consistently encountered than the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world took breaks.

In 2024 everything is different. So is Boise State.

Against UNLV, the Broncos showed the all-around effort needed to overcome difficult teams and difficult away situations in conference play. The Rebels allowed just 3.35 yards per carry to start the week (the same as Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs) and charged the box full of defenders to stop focal point Ashton Jeanty.

The Heisman Trophy contender – his odds were changed mid-contest by the sportsbooks across the street to avoid calling him the favorite – was expected to remain the nation's leading rusher for another week, but had to fight hard to win 128 yards and a touchdown. He was hit in the backfield on his first three runs and briefly left the game after injuring his left elbow.

It was a far cry from the kind of performance nearly a dozen NFL scouts and front office personnel saw from a tailback averaging 9.9 yards per incoming carry.

It didn't matter much because there were others around Jeanty.

Madsen, who was surprisingly selected as the starter under center this season over former five-star recruit Malachi Nelson, nailed it and carried the team when his backfield mate was stymied at the line. Madsen's final numbers (18 of 33, 209 yards, two total touchdowns) weren't particularly impressive, but he fired a number of darts to move sticks during the game (BSU went 4 of 4). on fourth down) and even had the team's longest rush, rushing 49 yards for a field goal on the first drive.

“It's easy to look at stats or flash or people who are in it for themselves, but that's not this team,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “Our players deserve everything they get now because they work at it when no one is watching.”

Danielson had every reason to shout about how proud he was of his group. In addition to an offense that found solutions on multiple third and fourth downs that could have decided the game, the Boise defense seemed to step up just when the opportunity called for it. Not only did they sack the Rebels' signal-caller, Hajj-Malik Williams, six times (and nine tackles for a loss), but they limited the home team to just 5 of 13 on third down and drew a handful of penalties that made life even tougher the route.

“We put a lot into it,” said a dejected UNLV head coach Barry Odom. “Coming up short in a game of this magnitude hurts.”

It hurts even more because the Rebels were right where Boise State claimed the top spot among Group 5 contenders entering the evening. They already have two Power 4 wins this season and a three-point overtime loss to another team, the Syracuse Orange, three weeks ago.

Had they won at Allegiant Stadium in front of a school-record crowd of 42,228 and beaten the Broncos for the first time since 1976 (two years before moving to Division I), UNLV suddenly would have become a must-see.

It also wouldn't hurt to take revenge for Boise State winning the conference title in the same building 11 months ago, or for the school's recent joining of the Pac-12, which has left the Rebels leadership desperate to try , holding the Mountain West together much of the past few weeks.

“This team (UNLV) wanted this game more than any other on their schedule. We understood the fight we were getting into and knew we were going to do our best,” said sixth-year safety Alexander Teubner. “But when it comes to finishing the game, the last three possessions show the mentality of this team. We were down a point early in the fourth quarter, our offense answered the bell, our defense got a stop and we had eight minutes to finish the game. You can sum up our team’s mentality in the fourth quarter.”

There is little doubt about that. Just when Boise State needed a little something extra, they got it.

With 13 minutes to play, it was Jeanty who was behind and in the red zone, returning to his true form. Facing a third-and-goal play and a deafening crowd, he fended off three tackles while zigzagging from one marker to another, dragging nearly four defenders with him to the edge of the end zone.

On fourth-and-short, with everyone knowing he was going to get the ball, he swished it in and scored the game-winning touchdown one play later. After throwing in a few more hard-fought yards as part of a 14-play drive that shaved 8:07 into the final, Jeanty ran across the field to celebrate as fans in blue and orange chanted his name and held up signs promoting “his.” Hei2man” campaign.

Jeanty also didn't mind indulging in such dreams of making it to New York, showing off the trophy's famous stiff arm and spending a moment with Las Vegas Raiders tailback (and former Bronco) Alexander Mattison before heading to the locker room disappeared.

If he – and the team – continue their efforts, individual awards will be far from the only thing talked about in December.

“When we get to the end of the season and have the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff, I can’t wait,” Danielson said. “But we don’t plan to do that at the moment. We’re ready to play a really good San Diego State team that we’ll be playing at home on Friday night next week.”

Yes, the Broncos will be back on the blue turf. But perhaps more importantly, they'll be back in the national spotlight and have the opportunity to do more than just make a pretty bowl game.

What happened late Friday night in Las Vegas, contrary to the marketing phrase that has defined the city, is not going to stay there.

The Boise bus is back. Strap in to college football.