Mountain West Conference Roundup – Week 3

Welcome to the weekly Mountain West Roundup, where we look at every conference team’s weekend and what it may mean for Utah State. Wonder what Colorado State losing to New Mexico means or if the rivalry between Nevada and UNLV has any implication for the Aggies? You can find out here.

Air Force – BYE

The Falcons will have had two weeks to prepare for Utah State. That may sound bad, until you realize that since 2010, Air Force is only 4-5 in games following a bye week, and only 2-3 on the road. An extra weeks doesn’t do a whole lot for triple option teams. One of those two road wins following a bye, however, came two years ago at Utah State.

Boise State – at #24 Oklahoma State (L 44-21)

The chance for the Broncos to take the driver’s seat in the race for the Group of 5 berth in a New Year’s Six bowl fell very short. Boise State’s offensive line could not protect QB Brett Rypien and the offense struggled for much of the day as a result. In giving up seven sacks, Boise State gave the entire MW the recipe for defeating them. Most of the conference lacks the tools to fulfill that recipe. Utah State, who currently ranks second in the MW and 23rd in the nation with an average of three sacks per game, has those tools. November 24th could get interesting.

Colorado State – at Florida (L 48-10)

Well, we still don’t really know who Colorado State is. Not only did the Rams get blown out by an uninspiring Florida squad, their comeback victory over Arkansas last week looks a lot worse after the Razorbacks were blown out at home by North Texas. Stealing that victory versus Arkansas is huge for their bowl chances, but the Rams will still probably be playing for bowl eligibility come their matchup with USU. With it being their final home game of the season, it’s probably already a must-win situation for the Rams.

Colorado State quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels (1) scrambles as he is chased by Florida defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga (92) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

New Mexico – at New Mexico State (W 42-28)

The general story is that New Mexico is not that good. The finer details is that the Lobos are probably looking at their game at Utah State as one a must-win game in order to qualify for a bowl. UNM will most likely be 3-1 with Liberty coming to Albuquerque in two weeks. That means the Lobos will only need to find three wins somewhere in conference play. Having to play Fresno State, San Diego State, AND Boise State all at home will make the Lobos desperate to steal a few on the road. USU will certainly get a fight.

Wyoming – vs Wofford (W 17-14)

Even with current NFL QB Josh Allen leading the team last season, Wyoming’s offense really struggled. Without him, it’s still the same story. Even against FCS Wofford, the offense only managed 315 yards of offense. Three of Wyoming’s next four opponents rank in the top 50 in the nation for total yards allowed per game, including USU, and the last game is at Hawaii. Wyoming is staring straight at falling to 2-6 on the season unless they find an entirely new offense sometime during their bye week.

Fresno State – at UCLA (W 38-14)

Fresno State poses a fierce defense that has only allowed 288.5 yards per game this season, plus an offense that that was able to hang 79 points on Idaho to start the year. After absolutely leveling UCLA on the road, the Bulldogs might not lose until November. The next five games for Fresno: vs Toledo, at Nevada, vs Wyoming, at New Mexico, vs Hawaii.

Fresno State running back Jordan Mims (22) runs against UCLA during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Hawaii – at Navy (L 28-21)

Hawaii’s strong opening run came to an end at Navy, but the Rainbow Warriors are still well-placed for contention in the West Division. Playing at Fresno State and San Diego State may ultimately prevent Hawaii from making the MW championship game, but nine wins are well within reason this year.

Nevada – vs Oregon State (W 37-35)

I’m not sure how many people were expecting Nevada to be one of only two MW teams to beat a Power 5 school this week, but the Wolf Pack managed it. A late missed field goal certainly helped, but the win masked some of Nevada’s issues during the game. The offense still wasn’t sharp, relying on three takeaways from the defense in order to sneak by the Beavers. Nevada has one final non-conference game at Toledo before that offense is going to need to start clicking to keep the Wolf Pack alive in the MW.

San Diego State – at #23 Arizona State (W 28-21)

After getting overpowered by Stanford and giving the bare minimum against Sacramento State, the Aztecs issued a bit of a statement at Arizona State. They did everything they could to give the game away in the final minutes, and there’s still a bunch of issues, but this team assured everyone that the MW still has to worry about SDSU. With road games at Boise State and Fresno State this year, it’s still going to be an uphill battle for the Aztecs to return to the MW title game, but this week at least makes it foolish to doubt that SDSU can do it.

San Diego State place kicker John Baron II, center, kicks a 54-yard field goal during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Jose State – at Oregon (L 35-22)

Whoever had the Spartans losing to Oregon by less than Boise State would lose to Oklahoma State, stick your hand back down because no one believes you. That said, this is the second straight week in which SJSU has looked far better than was expected after losing to UC Davis. The improvements are nowhere near enough for the Spartans to hope for a bowl game, of course, but they are enough to hope for at least a win or two in MW play. I feel it’d be kind of evil to root against that.

UNLV – vs Prairie View A&M (W 46-17)

I’m still confused as to why the official MW Twitter account referred to this as a “big win” for UNLV. It was business as usual for the Rebels, but there’s not much more to say than that. QB Armani Rogers still struggled to throw the ball efficiently, and RB Lexington Thomas continues to run over whatever is placed in front of him. Nothing out of the ordinary. Next week’s game at Arkansas State will be a tough one, as the Red Wolves have been bowl eligible for seven straight seasons. We’ll know a lot more about UNLV next week.