Shortly after taking over the UNLV football program, Barry Odom’s Rebels have been consistently met with accolades such as “best since”, “first time since”, “most since” and “biggest game since”. Even back to his first season where UNLV’s game at Air Force was lauded as the biggest regular season game in UNLV football history. And with each win, the same mantra carried forward.

Fast forward to year two and UNLV is met with a brand new biggest game in regular season history. Oh, there have been several other big games, must wins to make a bowl game, for example. But none have carried the same type of potential significance of UNLV’s Friday night game against #17 Boise State at Allegiant Stadium.

It’s not a big game in that it’s a chance for some payback for last year’s MWC Championship loss against these same Broncos. It’s not that a victory over the Broncos would thrust themselves back into a place they were earlier this season - the top 25. It’s not even so much that it would keep the Rebels at the top of the conference standings.

This has the potential to be much more than all of that. While it may not be likely with so much season left to play, but a victory over the talented and well rested Broncos gives UNLV the possibility of being the G5 school that gets to mix it up with the biggest and the best in the nation. The same potential big prize is on the line for the Broncos as well, so the clash will attract a lot of eyes across the nation.

The College Football Playoff will feature 12 teams for the first time this season, including a guaranteed spot for a team out of the Group of Five conferences: American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, MAC, and Conference USA. With some impressive early season wins against power conference teams, a win over Boise positions the Rebels nicely for the loftiest of goals.

It won’t be easy. The Broncos feature one of the best players in the nation in Heisman candidate running back Ashton Jeanty, and coming off a bye week, the Broncos are well rested.

The Broncos (5-1, 2-0) are with only one loss, a heartbreaking, last second 37-34 road decision at current #1 Oregon, who was ranked #7 at the time.

The Rebels (6-1, 2-0) only loss on the season was similar, an overtime loss against Syracuse, a game in which the Orange needed a late touchdown to force overtime.

The Broncos are listed as a three point favorite and the game has the makings of a classic in UNLV history.

Jeanty is best back the Rebels will face all season. He leads the nation in ground yardage and has yet to be held under 100 yards in any game. He's toppped 200 yards in half of Boise's games with a high of 259 on 26 carries against Washington State. He's broken for at least one run of 50 yards in every game. He's averaging near an astounding 10 yards per carry. He also has 17 touchdowns and has yet to cough up the ball. All of this makes him a viable Heisman contender.

Jeanty will be the obvious focal point for the Rebel defense, a defense that has been relatively stout against the run, allowing only 111 yards per game. If the Rebels oversell on the run, quarterback Maddux Madsen has the potential to pick away at the Rebel defense, as several opponents have done against UNLV this season. Madsen is a not a run threat, he's a pocket passer who has thrown with accuracy this year and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He has 12 touchdown passes to only two interceptions while completing 64% of his passes.

Jeanty is the type of runner who can bounce off would be tacklers with ease and can turn in subpar game into a career game in just a few runs. It is going to take a concerted effort by all layers to contain Jeanty and when it seems like he's down, the Rebels cannot let up. Focusing on strips aids Jeanty because those are the tackles he will shed the most easily. The linebacking corps, led by Jackson Woodard, will be key in handling Jeanty. Fortunately for the Rebels, they expect the return of Marsel McDuffie who missed several weeks with a lower leg injury. In his absence, Mani Powell excelled at the spot. As a safety net, Jalen Catalon has to be sharp with his tackling. He leads the team in interceptions with four, but his strong tackling out of the defensive backfield is a necessity against Jeanty.

For the Rebels to pull the upset, they'll need to continue to thrive in areas which they've excelled all season long.

First off, UNLV, at the very least, cannot lose the turnover battle. The Rebels are +12 in turnover margin and that number alone has had a profound impact on the season's success. The Rebels have only turned the ball over seven times in six games but have grabbed 16 interceptions and three fumbles.

Special teams for the Rebels have been special again this season and it must continue. Accurate kicking by Chittenden and Nichols have contributed mightily, but the Rebels have four blocked punts on the season, three by Mr. Everything wide receiver Ricky White. The Rebels have a kickoff return for a touchdown and Jacob De Jesus has flipped the field on more than one occasion and is a steady threat with every punt.

Offensively, the Rebels need to strike a sound balance. The Rebel offense is top 10 nationally with 429 yards per game while averaging nearly 44 points per game. Even though the Rebels have a talented and explosive group of receivers, the bread and butter has been the running game. Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, Jai'Den Thomas and Kylin James have done most of the heavy lifting for the 250 yards per game average.

UNLV expects a record crowd at Allegiant Stadium on Friday night for the clash. Kickoff is at 7:34 pm PST and can be viewed on the CBS Sports Network.