Category: Boise State

Week 5 Mountain West Football Power Rankings

Week 5 Mountain West Football Power Rankings UNLV, San Jose State moving up Contact/Follow @MWCwire Is this the upside down? The Mountain West has seen a lot of different teams this year be better and worse than expected. Fresno State is playing …

Week 5 Mountain West Football Power Rankings

UNLV, San Jose State moving up

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Is this the upside down?

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The Mountain West has seen a lot of different teams this year be better and worse than expected. Fresno State is playing with a backup quarterback and looked lost and bad against the loss against UConn. UNLV is surprising us all and is seven points away from being undefeated, yeah that is right.

Those Rebels are facing the 3-1 San Jose State Spartans that regained its 2020 magic and a slow start vs. Portland State and in a game that could determine the West Division representative for the Mountain West title game.

 

Boise State was looking left for dead in an embarrassing loss to UTEP,  but then came in Dirk Koetter from the analyst roll to offensive coordinator and used two quarterbacks to crush San Diego State. Broncos fans are wondering if it was a one-week boost or if this is sustainable.

This is all to say that the Mountain West is wild and pretty this year and once again these power polls took a turn with some movement after surprising results from last week and some interesting games heading into Week 6.

Preseason | Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

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Week 5 Mountain West Bowl Projections

Week 4 Mountain West Bowl Projections This will be a weird week for bowl projections Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire Bowl projection season is here after Week 4 Week 5 2022 Mountain West Bowl Tie Ins, Lineup …

Week 4 Mountain West Bowl Projections

This will be a weird week for bowl projections

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Bowl projection season is here after Week 4

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Week 5

2022 Mountain West Bowl Tie Ins, Lineup

 

Here are the bowl lineup for the Mountain West this year.

– Cotton Bowl – at-large vs. Group of Five
– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs MAC
– Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl vs Pac-12
– New Mexico Bowl vs Conference USA
– Barstool Arizona Bowl vs MAC
– EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl vs Conference USA

Back up tie-ins are below

– Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs Big Ten or Big 12

Other Options

– Cure Bowl vs Group of Five
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs Group of Five
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs Group of Five
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs Group of Five

Preseason Bowl Projections | Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

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PODCAST: Week 5 Mountain West Football Recap

PODCAST: Week 5 Mountain West Football Recap What the heck happened to Fresno State? Contact/Follow @MWCwire San Jose State & UNLV are the favorites? Jeremy and Matt are back to recap another week of Mountain West football. This latest Week 5 saw …

PODCAST: Week 5 Mountain West Football Recap

What the heck happened to Fresno State?

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

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San Jose State & UNLV are the favorites?

Jeremy and Matt are back to recap another week of Mountain West football. This latest Week 5 saw UNLV come from behind to beat New Mexico. Boise State showed off its new offensive coordinator and quarterback in a dominant second half performance against San Diego State.

Air Force snuck past rival Navy, UConn upset Fresno State, and San Jose State looks like a front runner after topping Wyoming.

You can find the Mountain West Wire podcast below or subscribe to the show via Stitcher Radio, TuneIn, Spotify, iTunes, and more. Listen in, subscribe and rate it and let us know what you think!

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Week 5 Mountain West Football In Five Words

Week 5 Mountain West Football In Five Words Fans are fiesty this week, again Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire A short and sweet description Week 5 of Mountain West football had no shortage of drama with upsets, near wins, new starts, and …

Week 5 Mountain West Football In Five Words

Fans are fiesty this week, again

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

A short and sweet description

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Week 5 of Mountain West football had no shortage of drama with upsets, near wins, new starts, and blowouts. It makes sense that fans had emotions running high, both good and bad.

A lot happened and we will et the fans take over and give their reactions in five words about Week 5 of Mountain West football, along with ours. First here is our reaction to the week that was.

Air Force – Even when ugly, sunk Navy

Boise State – Broncos offense might be back

Colorado State – Pretty sure no one transferred

Fresno State – Did we really lose to UConn?

Hawaii – A much needed off week

Nevada – 

New Mexico – Showing actual signs of improvement

San Diego State – Open tryouts at for

San Jose State – 2020 all over again, maybe?

UNLV – Your first-place UNLV Rebels

Utah State – OK. Aggies looked pretty good.

Wyoming – Maybe have offensive wanted ad?


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Mountain West Football: Week 5 Winners And Losers

Who were the big winners and losers from Week 5 of Mountain West football play? We make our picks for who shined and who disappointed.

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Mountain West Football: Week 5 Winners And Losers

We take a look at the Mountain West’s winners and losers from Week 5 of college football.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Encouragements and letdowns from the week that was.

You’d think that having only six games on the docket would make our weekly exercise of identifying winners and losers from Mountain West football a little easier. You’d be wrong. Impressive performances were few and far between in Week 5 while the disappointments that have littered the conference through the season’s first month showed few signs of relenting.

Winners

1. Boise State’s running game

Just when it looked like the Broncos would be stuck in the mud through a sixty-minute fist fight with San Diego State, something clicked in the new-look offense and Boise State would gash the Aztecs on the ground to run with a 22-point victory on Friday night. After averaging 3.3 yards per carry and falling behind 13-0 at halftime, quarterback Taylen Green and running backs George Holani and Ashton Jeanty would account for all five of Boise State’s second-half touchdowns and finish with a combined 318 rushing yards on 37 carries.

Now 2-0 in Mountain West play, Boise State might have found something upon which they can lean as they look to reclaim the Mountain division crown and put their early offensive woes behind them for good.

2. San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro

There must be something about War Memorial Stadium that brings out the best in the Spartans quarterback. After torching Wyoming in Hawaii’s season finale last year, Cordeiro dropped the hammer on the Cowboys yet again in a 33-16 win on Saturday night, throwing for 314 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-37 passing while scoring two more times on the ground. Wyoming made him work for it with ten quarterback hurries, but SJSU has looked much improved week after week in large part to their veteran signal-caller.

3. Air Force wide receiver David Cormier

Who knew that Cormier’s 67-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter and run would end up being the difference in Air Force’s win over Navy? The Falcons came out firing on their first offensive possession and would be much more uneven after that, but the senior from Albuquerque posted the best game of his career with three catches for 120 yards, giving the home team just enough breathing room to be able to sing second when all was said and done.

Losers

1. Fresno State

The Bulldogs have had some heartbreaking losses over the last twenty years, but few as baffling as their complete no-show on Saturday in a 19-14 loss to the UConn Huskies. Even without several starters, Fresno State entered the day as heavy favorites and simply looked flat from the start: Logan Fife, starting at quarterback for the injured Jake Haener, had a couple of nice throws but could not stretch the field and threw two bad interceptions. The offense as a whole would finish 0-for-7 on third downs against a defense that had allowed a 52.3% conversion rate coming into the contest, while the defense had a handful of killer penalties and enabled the Huskies to convert on 8-of-17 third downs themselves, as well as both fourth-down tries.

It was an embarrassing result and, as was pointed out on Twitter, is now Jeff Tedford’s seventh straight loss as a head coach against an FBS opponent, dating back to the Bulldogs’ win over Hawaii in November 2019. He’ll need to find some answers fast to keep the team from sinking in conference play when it begins next week.

2. San Diego State’s offense

Once again, the Aztecs offense was DOA on Friday night against the Boise State, even as they built a 13-0 halftime lead against the Broncos. They couldn’t take advantage of two big red zone opportunities in the first quarter and would cross midfield just once for the rest of the game, then completely collapsed when starting quarterback Braxton Burmeister suffered a concussion and backup Kyle Crum broke his collarbone, forcing them to turn to true freshman Liu Aumavae, who wasn’t ready.

After mustering a meager 117 yards of total offense at 2.2 yards per play, offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski was finally fired. Given the state of things on the Mesa, whoever steps into the role will have a very tall order on their hands trying to turn this thing around.

3. New Mexico

The Lobos battled hard in Las Vegas on Friday night but couldn’t quite seal the deal against the surging UNLV Rebels in a 24-20 loss. After racing out to a 17-0 lead in the early second quarter, the UNM defense let the Rebels slowly chip away at the lead with five scoring drives in six total opportunities from there to the early fourth quarter. The offense, meanwhile, faltered after a strong start and saw a missed field goal and two interceptions turn into 17 UNLV points. They’ll be thinking about how this one got away for a while.

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San Diego State vs Boise State Prediction, Game Preview

San Diego State vs Boise State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 5 game on Friday, September 30

San Diego State vs Boise State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 5, Friday, September 30

San Diego State vs Boise State How To Watch

Date: Friday, September 30
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
How To Watch: FS1
Record: San Diego State (2-2), Boise State (2-2)
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Roundup: Overrated, Underrated, What it all Means
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Hot Seat Coach Rankings after Week 4
Think, Know, Believe: Football Smack Talk
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

San Diego State vs Boise State Game Preview

Why San Diego State Will Win

What’s the absolute last thing Boise State wants to deal with this week?

Besides the Buffalo Bills or slow food delivery service, the San Diego State defense.

And why? It’s 1) coming off a disastrous 27-10 loss to UTEP when absolutely nothing worked offensively, and 2) QB Hank Bachmeier decided to dip his toe into the transfer portal waters this week.

The Boise State passing game isn’t working, the running game isn’t doing much more, and overall the O is averaging under 300 yards per game. It hasn’t exactly gone against a slew of killers, either, since losing to Oregon State to start the season.

And then there’s San Diego State. There are massive problems – and blow off the stats – but the defense did its part in the 17-14 win over Toledo last week.

It hasn’t been the brick wall it’s been over the past few seasons – it didn’t do enough against Arizona or Utah – but last week’s win might have kicked it all in for a program that needed a confidence-boosting win.

However …

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 4

Why Boise State Will Win

There’s NO passing game.

The Aztecs are dead last in the nation in yards per completion, it has the second worst passing attack in the country, and Boise State should feed off that and tee off on the running game.

The Broncos might not be doing enough offensively, but the D hasn’t been all that bad. It led UTEP run a little too much, but overall it’s doing its part allowing just 267 yards per game with no problems whatsoever against anyone’s passing attack.

However, this is all about …

– Schedules, Previews College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

Is Taylen Green ready to handle what San Diego State’s defense is about to bring?

The new Bronco starting quarterback is 6-6 and can move, running for 102 yards and two scores in the Oregon State loss.

Now he’s getting his chance, but he’s going to need help from the running game and the defense.

It’s San Diego State, so this will be tear-your-eyes-out painful to watch at times, but it’ll get interesting late unless Green and company can score early.

Boise State will struggle to score. San Diego State will struggle more.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 5

San Diego State vs Boise State Prediction, Line

Boise State 20, San Diego State 16
Line: Boise State -6, o/u: 39
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
San Diego State vs Boise State Must See Rating (out of 5): 3

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– Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

Week 5 Mountain West Football: Best Bets

Week 5 of Mountain West play starts and we head into conference play. Take a look at picks for the week and place your bets accordingly.

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Week 5 Mountain West Football: Best Bets

A look at the Mountain West betting odds for Week 5

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

What are the oddsmakers saying about these match ups?

Late in the week we will look at odds and recent lines and make our best picks and bets. Odds courtesy of Vegas Insider and inputted at time of writing.

The Mountain West struggled in non-conference play, but now we’re heading towards conference play every week. We are 22-23 on picks for the year after going 6-3 in this past week. Going into conference play looks to have helped even us out a little bit.

Utah State @ #19 BYU (-24, O/U 60)

You can never really know what is going to happen in a rivalry matchup. But the over feels like a decent take right here. The over hasn’t hit in any of Utah State’s games so far this year, but it feels right for it to hit in this game. The Cougars are showing they’re a top team and probably will cover, but the Aggies might have a say in that.

Pick: Over

San Diego State @ Boise State (-6, O/U 39)

Besides the services academies and the Nevada @ Iowa game a couple weeks ago, I don’t think I’ve seen a total this low before. But it makes sense with two defensive teams facing off. And the under is very much in play for the game as well. Neither team has an effective offense, so the game may be won on a defensive score.

Pick: Under

New Mexico @ UNLV (-14.5, O/U 43)

UNLV has been the surprise team of the conference so far this year. The trunaround they’ve shown so far this year has been fantastic to watch. The Rebels are looking to go 2-0 to start conference play and they just might cover while they do it. The Lobos have struggled offensively and the Rebels will take advantage of that.

Pick: UNLV -14.5

Navy @ Air Force (-14, O/U 37.5)

Navy finally got a win this season after beating East Carolina in double overtime last week. Air Force recovered after stumbling against Wyoming with a dominating performance against Nevada. The Falcons have been on an incredible roll so far and they look to add a Commander-in-Chief trophy to their cabinet.

Pick: Air Force -14

Fresno State @ UCONN (-24 O/U 52.5)

Well isn’t this the Mountain West trap game of the week when it comes to betting. Fresno State has lost two in a row but is still managing close to 500 yards a game on offense. But they are giving up just over 400 yards a game on defense. The Huskies have their own struggles, but they should be able to put up enough points to help the over.

Pick: Over

San Jose State @ Wyoming (+3, O/U 42)

The under is absolutely in play here as well. But the Spartans have the momentum on their side after a 34-6 demolishing of Western Michigan last week. The Cowboys will look to recover after losing to BYU but it might not be enough this week. San Jose State is close to being 3-0 and will show why this week.

Pick: San Jose State -3

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Week 4 Mountain West Football Power Rankings

Week 4 Mountain West Football Power Rankings These rankings are really tough! Contact/Follow @MWCwire A lot of confusion this week There is so little clarity for who is really good within the Mountain West after three weeks of play – well, four if …

Week 4 Mountain West Football Power Rankings

These rankings are really tough!

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

A lot of confusion this week

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There is so little clarity for who is really good within the Mountain West after three weeks of play — well, four if we include Week 0. There have been surprising results and one of the biggest is Boise State falling to UTEP, a team that New Mexico defeated, UNLV being the highest-scoring team in the conference, and Utah State in utter freefall.

This week was a huge mess with teams going up and down throughout the polls that were submitted.

Preseason | Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3

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Boise State Non-Conference Schedule Preview

Previewing the non-conference schedule for Boise State.

Boise State Non-Conference Schedule Preview

Previewing Boise State basketball’s non-conference schedule in 2022-2023

Contact/Follow @Michaelbraydaly & @MWCwire

How will the early part of the season treat the Broncos?

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The 2021-2022 season turned out to be one to remember for Boise State. For the eighth time in program history, Boise State made the NCAA Tournament.

It was a postseason berth that ended early with a loss to Memphis in the first round of the tournament. The result was an 11-point, 64-53, loss in Portland, Ore. The season did not end the way Boise State would have liked, but it was a successful overall season.

Looking ahead, Boise State will try to get back to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years since the Broncos did it in 1993 and 1994. It will take help from several key returning players to fill the void of losing Abu Kigab and Emmanuel Akot. Marcus Shaver Jr. returned to the program in May after withdrawing his name from the 2022 NBA Draft.

This preview will analyze each non-conference game and predict the outcome. The non-conference schedule will run from Nov. 9 to Dec. 22. The conference schedule opens on the road at Nevada on Dec. 28.

(Game 1) Wednesday, Nov. 9: vs. South Dakota State – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

Like Boise State, South Dakota State had a magical run in the regular season and the Summit League Tournament. The Jackrabbits finished the season with a 30-5 record and an 18-0 conference record. This upcoming season will be a big change for the team without the top three scorers from last season. Douglas Wilson graduated from the school and Baylor Scheierman and Noah Freidel transferred from the school. South Dakota State will take a big hit from losing these three players.

Game Prediction: Boise State 84, South Dakota State 61

(Game 2) Saturday, Nov. 12: vs. Washington State – Boise, Idaho, Idaho Central Arena

In 2021, Boise State closed out the non-conference schedule against Washington State in a 58-52 win. This time around, it will be at the very beginning of the season and both teams are attempting to carry over the momentum from last season. Washington State reached the NIT Semifinal in March and ended the season with a 22-15 record.

Last year’s meeting between Washington State and Boise State was in Pullman, Wash., and the Broncos won 58-52. Since it is a home game in front of a large crowd of fans from both teams, it will help Boise State win the game.

Game Prediction: Boise State 60, Washington State 55

(Game 3) Thursday, Nov. 17: vs. Charlotte – Myrtle Beach Invitational, Conway, South Carolina, HTC Center 

An early exit in the 2022 Conference USA Tournament prevented Charlotte from having an real consideration for a postseason tournament. The 49ers had a 17-14 overall record in 2022. Jahmir Young, who was the leading scorer in 2022, entered the transfer portal and left for Maryland. The 49ers will need to build without last season’s leading scorer. This will be a difficult neutral site tournament game for Charlotte.

Boise State will be guaranteed at least one game in the tournament. If they win two games, there will be a final game on Nov. 20. If Boise State beats Charlotte, they will face the winner of Loyola Chicago vs. Tulsa in the second game. There is a chance Boise State could see Texas A&M in the tournament before their scheduled game on Dec. 3.

Game Prediction: Boise State 66, Charlotte 49

Rest of the Tournament Prediction:

Second Round: Boise State 57, Loyola Chicago 54

Championship Game: Texas A&M 53, Boise State 52

(Game 6) Saturday, Nov. 26: vs. Utah Valley – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

Add Utah Valley to the list of recycled non-conference opponents from last season. In last year’s meeting, Boise State opened up the season with a 76-56 win over Utah Valley. Expect a similar performance from both teams. The Broncos will take advantage of a weaker team.

Game Prediction: Boise State 72, Utah Valley 53

(Game 7) Tuesday, Nov. 29: vs. Cal State Northridge – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

In another 2021-2022 non-conference opponent, Boise State will welcome Cal State Northridge to Idaho. Boise State was on the road last season and defeated the Matadors, 74-48. This year’s game will have a similar outcome.

Game Prediction: Boise State 78, Cal State Northridge 44

(Game 8) Saturday, Dec. 3: vs. Texas A&M – The Battleground 2k22, Fort Worth, Texas, Dickies Arena

Despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Texas A&M nearly captured an NIT Championship in March. The Aggies finished last season at 27-13. It will be a season for the remaining key contributors to fill in for Quenton Jackson, who declared for the NBA Draft. Henry Coleman III, Tyrece Radford, and Wade Taylor IV will be the leaders of this team in 2022. The experience will be a tough test for Boise State. Based on this prediction, this will be the second meeting of the season for these two teams. Boise State will be 0-2 in the two games.

Game Prediction: Texas A&M 59, Boise State 56

(Game 9) Tuesday, December 6: vs. Eastern Oregon – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

In what should be a bit of a breather in the schedule for Boise State, Eastern Oregon will try to make the most of a big opportunity. Eastern Oregon won 18 games last season as a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference. This will be a tune up game for Boise State and should not be very competitive. It could be the best showing of the non-conference schedule.

Game Prediction: Boise State 101, Eastern Oregon 54

(Game 10) Saturday, December 10: at. Saint Louis – Saint Louis, Missouri, Chaifetz Arena 

Saint Louis will be a difficult road test for the Broncos. It will be the first official road game of the season and it could feature two teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Gibson Jimerson will be the offensive leader for the Billikens. He led the team in scoring in 2021-2022 with an average of 16.3 points. The game being on the road will be in Saint Louis’ favor.

Last season, this was a home game for Boise State and it was an overtime loss in November. Saint Louis has continued to be a strong team and will benefit from the home atmosphere.

Game Prediction: Saint Louis 83, Boise State 76

(Game 11) Tuesday, December 13: vs. New Orleans – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

With Derek St. Hilaire no longer on the roster, New Orleans will be reliant upon the rest of the roster to make up for his absence. New Orleans went 18-14 in 2022. This should be a nice recovery game from the loss to Saint Louis.

Game Prediction: Boise State 82, New Orleans 54

(Game 12) Sunday, December 18: vs. Oakland – Boise, Idaho, ExtraMile Arena

The Horizon League turned out to be what prevented Oakland from reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Oakland does not seem to be a better team in 2022-2023. This could be a trap game for Oakland since they played two close games against West Virginia and Oklahoma State in last season’s non-conference schedule. Boise State should get a convincing win.

Game Prediction: Boise State 76, Oakland 58

(Game 13) Thursday, December 22: at. Santa Clara – Santa Clara, California, Leavey Center

When these two teams met up last season in Boise, Tyson Degenhart paced Boise State in scoring with 18 points. Degenhart will need to be a factor in this road game. It will be a tight game for most of the second half, but Boise State will pull away at the end of the game.

Game Prediction: Boise State 68, Santa Clara 59

Non-Conference Record Prediction: 10-3 Record

It should be a favorable non-conference schedule. The Broncos should be able to start the season with three-straight wins over South Dakota State, Washington State, and Charlotte. If they can do that, the rest of the non-conference schedule should be a breeze. The team is projected to lose two games to Texas A&M and one game to Saint Louis.

What’s Wrong With Mountain West Football So Far This Season?

The Mountain West mostly hasn’t played up to preseason expectations thus far. We take a closer look to try and figure out why.

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What’s Wrong With Mountain West Football So Far This Season?

The Mountain West mostly hasn’t played up to preseason expectations thus far. We take a closer look to try and figure out why.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Can the conference be fixed?

Roughly one month into the college football season, only four Mountain West teams sit above .500. The conference has just one Power 5 win, against a Colorado Buffaloes team that might be the worst in the country. It has just one non-conference road win, Nevada’s victory over New Mexico State back in Week 0. Almost no one has, to quote a sage of our era, straight up had a good time of things.

Despite what looks like an unexpectedly exciting conference title chase, it’s hard not to wonder where things have gone wrong to this point in the young campaign. That’s why we want to look under the hood and figure out what might be driving the early results.

Returning Production

It wasn’t a secret that many teams across the conference would be replacing a substantial amount of talent since, as Bill Connelly noted in his percentage adjustments throughout the summer, the Mountain West trailed the next least-experienced conference by a full five percent going into the fall. It may have been too optimistic, then, to expect that many teams would continue to operate like normal.

Nevada and Hawaii were obvious rebuild candidates at the very bottom of the list but Utah State, for instance, returned just 50% of its overall production of 2021, too. The Aggies’ net points per drive has dropped from +0.61 (37th in FBS) to -1.43 (110th) while their net available yards percentage has fallen from +8.1% (32nd) to -11.1% (95th), but they’re hardly alone in that regard: Wyoming sat just above the Wolf Pack and Warriors with 34% of its production set to return, while San Diego State brought back only 55% of its 2021 production and Colorado State sat at 58%. Despite their differing win-loss records, all have seen similar declines by both metrics.

Injuries

It may be that recency bias plays a role here, but it seems like nearly every team in the Mountain West is dealing with a harsher rash of early injuries than usual:

  • Air Force has been without DeAndre Hughes, Dane Kinamon, and Jayden Thiergood, among others, in recent weeks.
  • Boise State has played recently without Ezekiel Noa, while Tyreque Jones got banged up in the Week 4 loss at UTEP.
  • Colorado State is already missing both starting offensive tackles while quarterback Clay Millen got knocked out of the Week 4 contest against Sacramento State.
  • Fresno State is headed to UConn in Week 5 without four starters, including quarterback Jake Haener and safety Evan Williams.
  • Hawaii’s passing game has dealt with injuries to wide receivers Jonah Panoke and Zion Bowens.
  • Nevada just lost kicker Brandon Talton for the foreseeable future, and the Wolf Pack have already been without offensive lineman Aaron Frost and defensive back JoJuan Claiborne.
  • New Mexico just lost star safety Tavian Combs for the season, while linebacker Ray Leutele is week-to-week.
  • San Diego State played last week without starting guard Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli while safety Patrick McMorris has also been banged up.
  • UNLV wide receivers Kyle Williams and Jeff Weimer got knocked out of their Week 4 game, and the latter will miss Week 5 with a shoulder injury.
  • Utah State has lost contributors like Phillip Paea and Kyle Van Leeuwen for the season to injury.
  • Wyoming lost expected contributors like Buck Coors and Sabastian Harsh for the season back in fall camp, while Titus Swen and Frank Crum have been slowed at points.

The only team to really escape the injury bug so far is San Jose State, but the nature of the game is such that the Spartans are likely to be dealing with similar issues at some point, just as everyone else.

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