Category: NCAAF

2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #31, Colorado State QB Patrick O’Brien

The Colorado State Rams quarterback lands on our list of Mountain West football’s best players for 2020.

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2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #31, Colorado State QB Patrick O’Brien

The Rams quarterback lands on our list of Mountain West football’s best players for 2020.

Contact/Followย @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

At the helm of a potent offense.

It isn’t easy stepping into the breach when your team’s situation at quarterback starts falling apart, but the next player on our countdown of Mountain West football’s top players, Colorado State’s Patrick O’Brien, more than held his own.

O’Brien only played sparingly in the first two weeks of the 2019 season, but when incumbent starter Collin Hill tore his ACL, the transfer from Nebraska helped put the passing game in gear, completing 7-of-10 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. The next week against Toledo, he threw for 405 yards, and he ultimately finished the year completing 61.8% of his attempts for 2,803 yards and 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions, ranking third among qualifying quarterbacks in the conference with a 140.04 passer rating and leading that group with 8.3 yards per attempt.

With Hill gone to South Carolina, O’Brien enters 2020 as one of the rarest things in the Mountain West: An unquestioned starter at quarterback. And with a talented crew of pass catchers at his disposal, he’ll be the key to whatever rebound the Rams have.

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Mountain West Football: Eight Named To 2020 Maxwell Award Watch List

Eight players from seven different Mountain West teams start in the running to be named college football’s best overall player.

Mountain West Football: Eight Named To 2020 Maxwell Award Watch List

Eight players from seven different Mountain West teams start in the running to be named college football’s best overall player.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Who has the best chance?

Miss anything? Check out the Mountain West Wire watch list tracker.

Watch list season continued today with the release of the Maxwell Award roll call. Given annually to the nation’s best player, there are eight athletes from the Mountain West on this year’s iteration.

Boise State leads the way with a pair of players on the list in quarterback Hank Bachmeier and running back George Holani. The duo shined as freshmen for the Broncos as the program secured yet another Mountain division title, with Bachmeier throwing for 1,879 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions and Holani becoming the latest Broncos running to crack the 1,000-yard mark, finishing with 1,014 yards and seven scores in all.

Colorado State wide receiver Warren Jackson, fresh off of being named our staff’s and the conference media’s preseason offensive player of the year, lands on the list after averaging 7.7 catches and 112 yards while catching eight touchdowns in ten games.

San Jose State’s Tre Walker is the other premier pass catcher in the conference to make the cut. Though he only scored two touchdowns in 2019, he actually outpaced Jackson with 79 receptions and 1,161 receiving yards, both of which are the best such figures by any returning Mountain West receiver in 2020.

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers, who landed on the Hornung Award watch list yesterday, was one of the most well-rounded offensive weapons in the Mountain West last fall. He led the conference with 16 total touchdowns while rushing for 899 yards on 177 carries and catching 43 passes for 348 yards.

The two running backs named to the conference media’s preseason all-conference team, Wyoming’s Xazavian Valladay and UNLV’s Charles Williams, also join Rivers in the Maxwell ranks. Valladay and Williams finished first and second, respectively, in rushing yards among Mountain West runners, though Williams outpaced his Cowboys peer in yards per carry (5.93 to 5.12) and touchdowns (11 to eight).

Lastly, the big surprise on the Maxwell list is Nevada quarterback Carson Strong. In ten games last fall, he completed 63.4% of his passes for 2,335 yards and 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions. He definitely finished the year with a flourish, though, throwing for 351 yards in the rivalry game against UNLV and 401 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Ohio.

Last year’s Maxwell Award winner was Louisiana State’s Joe Burrow.

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2020 Preseason Players of the Year

Colorado State’s Warren Jackson, Fresno State’s Justin Rice, and Utah State’s Savon Scarver are the media’s picks as players of the year.

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2020 Preseason Players of the Year

Warren Jackson, Justin Rice, and Savon Scarver are the media’s picks for offensive, defensive, and special teams players of the year.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

The best of the best?

After revealing their prediction for Mountain West football’s division winners and its picks for the preseason all-conference team, the Mountain West media today announced its choices for the preseason players of the year.

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Colorado State wide receiver Warren Jackson becomes just the second at his position to be named the conference’s preseason offensive player of the year. In ten games last fall, Jackson caught 77 passes for 1,119 yards and eight touchdowns, one of two in the conference to average over 100 receiving yards per game.

The preseason defensive player of the year selection, Fresno State linebacker Justin Rice, might be construed as something of a surprise at first glance. In his first year as a starter for the Bulldogs, however, he finished third among conference defenders with 112 total tackles and also contributed eight tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three sacks and two interceptions, emerging as one of the Mountain West’s most disruptive playmakers.

Utah State’s Savon Scarver spent the 2019 season much as he did the one before, playing like one of college football’s premier return specialists. The media’s preseason special teams player of the year pick wasn’t an All-American like he was in 2018, but he was the only player in the Mountain West to return two kicks for scores and averaged 27.86 yards per return, which was 12th-best in the nation.

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Mountain West Football: Seven Named To 2020 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

The preseason list of those who could be college football’s best community service champion includes seven from the Mountain West.

Mountain West Football: Seven Players Named To 2020 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

The list of those who could be college football’s best community service champion includes seven from the Mountain West.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Community and the classroom matter.

Watch list season continued today with the release of the Wuerffel Trophy‘s list of players to follow. Given annually to the college football athlete who best combines community service with athletic and academic performance, there are seven players from the Mountain West who should be recognized for their contributions no matter who wins.

New Mexico’s Teton Saltes headlines the group as the lone player who returns from last year’s Wuerffel list. A two-time Academic all-Mountain West selection who graduated in the spring with a degree in political science, Saltes has been a tireless advocate for indigenous communities, a proponent of mental health initiatives in the state of New Mexico, and has had a hand in much more.

The other watch list entrants include:

Boise State offensive lineman Donte Harrington, who has lent a hand to local food drives and was an academic all-conference selection in 2017 and 2018.

Colorado State offensive lineman Barry Wesley, a versatile multi-year starter for the Rams who was named as the recipient of the Albert C. Yates Student Leadership Award earlier this year.

Hawaii running back Hekili Keliiliki, an Academic all-Mountain West honoree in 2018 and 2019 who was the recipient of the team’s Jenny Matsuda Scholar Athlete award last year and has stated his desire to work in medicine.

Nevada linebacker Lawson Hall, a three-time member of the Academic all-Mountain West team who spearheaded the Wolf Pack’s Black Lives Matter message earlier this summer.

San Jose State linebacker Christian Webb, who was named to the Academic all-Mountain West team in 2018 and 2019 and has been an active part of the African American Community Service Agency of San Jose

Utah State defensive lineman Justus Te’i, who has been a part of the Academic all-Mountain West team in 2016, 2017, and 2019 and spent time helping with local organizations in Logan.

Last year’s Wuerffel Trophy winner was Western Michigan’s Jon Wassink.

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Mountain West Football: Six Named To 2020 Paul Hornung Award Watch List

The preseason list of college football’s most versatile players includes six athletes from the Mountain West.

Mountain West Football: Six Named To 2020 Paul Hornung Award Watch List

The preseason list of college football’s most versatile players includes six from the Mountain West.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

The ones who can do it all.

Watch list season continued today with the release of the Paul Hornung Award‘s list of players to follow. Given annually to the nation’s most versatile player, there are six athletes from the Mountain West on this year’s iteration.

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers, who also appeared on this list last summer, had his best year yet for the Bulldogs in 2019. He averaged 113.9 all-purpose yards per game last fall, which was fourth-best in the conference, and led all Mountain West running backs with 43 receptions and 16 total touchdowns.

Boise State cornerback Avery Williams, meanwhile, makes the Hornung watch list for the third time. He made the all-conference first team for the first time last fall as a punt returner and was named the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the Mountain West with 13.1 yards per punt return, scoring two punt return touchdowns, and blocking two kicks. As a cornerback, he earned an honorable mention by contributing 39 total tackles, four passes defended, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The biggest names among the first time entrants are Colorado State wide receiver Dante Wright and Nevada running back Toa Taua. Wright burst onto the scene in 2019 and led the conference’s freshmen with 57 catches, 805 receiving yards, and 96.2 all-purpose yards per game while Taua followed up his Freshman of the Year campaign in 2018 by tallying 1,102 all-purpose yards and six total touchdowns.

San Diego State running back Jordan Byrd opened some eyes with a dominant performance in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl, racking up 205 all-purpose yards, but he shouldered kick return duties and a share of the rushing workload all season long. In all, he averaged 21.27 yards per kick return and 7.75 yards per punt return to go along with 355 rushing yards on 78 attempts.

Lastly, Utah State wide receiver Deven Thompkins made noise for the Aggies in the passing game and the return game, finishing the year with 40 catches, 530 receiving yards, and 680 all-purpose yards. Thompkins was also the only player in the conference with a punt return touchdown, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, finding the end zone six times in all.

Last year’s Paul Hornung Award winner was Kentucky’s Lynn Bowden.

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2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #32, Air Force DE Jordan Jackson

Air Force’s talented defensive end returns once again to our list of Mountain West football’s best athletes.

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2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #32, Air Force DE Jordan Jackson

Air Force’s talented defensive end returns once again to our list of Mountain West football’s best athletes.

Contact/Followย @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

One of the conference’s key veterans.

The first member of the Air Force Falcons to arrive on our countdown of Mountain West football’s top players is defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, who cracks the list for the second straight season.

Jackson wasn’t quite as productive as he was in 2018, though there’s little doubt he did his part to help create one of the conference’s stingiest front sevens, finishing the year with 38 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, and 3.5 sacks. He’s also had some of his biggest games against the foes that matter most at the Academy over the past two seasons: In his last four games against Army and Navy, Jackson has racked up 29 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.

With a number of fellow Falcons having graduated for 2020, his track record of disruption will be integral to the Air Force defense as they reload up front.

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2020 Preseason All-Conference Team

The Mountain West football media unveiled their latest preseason all-conference squad, honoring 11 different teams.

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2020 Preseason All-Conference Team

The Mountain West football media unveiled their latest preseason all-conference squad, honoring 11 different teams.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Did they get it right?

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s prediction that Boise State and San Diego State will clash for the Mountain West football championship in 2020, the Mountain West media today announced its collective picks for the official preseason all-conference team.

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Three players among last year’s preseason honorees — San Diego State safety Tariq Thompson, Colorado State punter Ryan Stonehouse and Utah State return specialist Savon Scarver — were named once again. Thompson, Stonehouse, and Scarver are also three among 13 total players who also received recognition as a postseason all-conference performer last fall.

Boise State leads the way with eight honors overall, including Avery Williams at both defensive back and as a punt returner. San Diego State and Colorado State each placed four onto the team, as well, with a quartet of Aztecs defenders named and two Rams on both offense and defense among the honorees. The only team without representation on this year’s preseason all-conference team is New Mexico.

Offense

QB โ€“ Hank Bachmeier, Boise State
RB โ€“ Charles Williams, UNLV
RB โ€“ Xazavian Valladay, Wyoming
WR โ€“ Warren Jackson, Colorado State
WR โ€“ Tre Walker, San Jose State
TE โ€“ Trey McBride, Colorado State
OL โ€“ Parker Ferguson, Air Force
OL โ€“ Nolan Laufenberg, Air Force
OL โ€“ John Ojukwu, Boise State
OL โ€“ Ilm Manning, Hawaii
OL โ€“ Keegan Cryder, Wyoming

Defense

DL โ€“ Scale Igiehon, Boise State
DL โ€“ Dom Peterson, Nevada
DL โ€“ Cameron Thomas, San Diego State
DL โ€“ Keshawn Banks, San Diego State
LB โ€“ Demonte Meeks, Air Force
LB – Riley Whimpey, Boise State
LB โ€“ Dequan Jackson, Colorado State
LB โ€“ Justin Rice, Fresno State
DB โ€“ Kekaula Kaniho, Boise State
DB โ€“ Avery Williams, Boise State
DB โ€“ Darren Hall, San Diego State
DB โ€“ Tariq Thompson, San Diego State

Special Teams

K โ€“ Brandon Talton, Nevada
P โ€“ Ryan Stonehouse, Colorado State
KR โ€“ Savon Scarver, Utah State
PR – Avery Williams, Boise State

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Mountain West Football: Ryan Stonehouse, Tyson Dyer Named To Ray Guy Award Watch List

The Colorado State Rams and New Mexico Lobos have their punters listed among college football’s best to follow in 2020.

Mountain West Football: Ryan Stonehouse, Tyson Dyer Named To Ray Guy Award Watch List

The Colorado State Rams and New Mexico Lobos have their punters listed among college football’s best to follow in 2020.

Contact/Followย @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Two of the best have a serious chance at the hardware.

Miss anything? Check out the Mountain West Wire watch list tracker.

College football’s watch list season continued today with the reveal of the Ray Guy Award watch list, which is given annually to college football’s best punter. The Mountain West returns a pair of elite specialists from last year’s bumper crop of standouts and both found their way back onto the list yet again among 19 total players.

For Colorado State’s Ryan Stonehouse, landing on the Ray Guy preseason list is probably old hat by now since 2020 marks his third straight appearance. Not only did he lead the Mountain West with 46.41 yards per punt, that figure was good enough to rank ninth in the country, bolstered by 16 of 49 kicks that traveled more than 50 yards. He also had just five touchbacks and helped propel the Rams special teams unit to a 42.45 net yards per punt average, the sixth-best figure in FBS.

You could make a convincing case that New Mexico’s Tyson Dyer, who makes his second appearance on this list, was just as good in 2019. Unlike Stonehouse, the Aussie import was one of ten punters to be named a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and finished the year with a 46.07 YPP average on 59 kicks that ranked second in the conference and 10th nationally. The Lobos also ranked ninth with 42.12 yards per punt thanks to Dyer, who led the nation by landing nearly 60% of his kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line with just four touchbacks.

Last year’s Ray Guy Award winner was Kentucky’s Max Duffy.

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Mountain West Football: Three Kickers Named To Lou Groza Award Watch List

Nevada’s Brandon Talton, San Diego State’s Matt Araiza and San Jose State’s Matt Mercurio are named among college football’s top kickers.

Mountain West Football: Three Kickers Named To Lou Groza Award Watch List

Nevada, San Diego State, and San Jose State land their kickers among college football’s best.

Contact/Followย @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

A new crop of specialists takes aim at the award.

Miss anything? Check out the Mountain West Wire watch list tracker.

College football’s watch list season continued today with the reveal of the Lou Groza Award watch list, which is given annually to college football’s best kicker. The Mountain West established a trio of effective kickers in 2019 and all three, now sophomores, are among 30 in this year’s preseason cut.

Nevada’s Brandon Talton burst onto the national scene after stunning Purdue with a 56-yard walk-off field goal against Purdue, but he went on to finish the year 21-of-25 on field goal tries, which included 13 consecutive successes to begin his collegiate career and five of 40 yards, and 27-of-29 on extra point attempts.

San Diego State’s Matt Araiza was just as reliable for the Aztecs, however, in replacing multi-year starter John Baron II. He was perfect on 28 extra point attempts, the only one of the Mountain West’s Groza entrants to be so, while connecting on 22-of-26 field goal tries. He was 7-of-10 on tries of 40-plus yards, including a long of 48.

San Jose State’s Matt Mercurio finished 2019 with 97 total points, the most among returning Mountain West athletes this fall, on the strength of 20-of-24 field goals and 37-of-39 extra point attempts. He also had the third-longest streak of made field goals of anyone in the FBS last fall, connecting on 16 straight at one point, and made 5-of-9 tries of 40 or more yards.

Last year’s Lou Groza Award winner was Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship.

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New Mexico Governor Asks New Mexico, New Mexico State To Not Play Football This Fall

New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham does not want fall sports, specifically, contact sports to occur this fall.

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New Mexico Governor Asks New Mexico, New Mexico State To Not Play Football This Fall

Governor Lujan Grisham doesn’t want contact sports this falls.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Will football happen in New Mexico?

The state of New Mexico has been getting strict in regards to sports and the COVID-19 pandemic. The state has already canceled high school football this fall, plus other sports, and the latest has governor Lujan Grisham wanting the same at the college level.

There is already a two-week mandatory quarantine period by an executive order from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for those who come to the state, but that is hard to enforce for those coming to visit on vacation.

Yet, a sports team coming into town definitely can’t just sneak in and that is why USL club New Mexico United is shuffling its schedule to play multiple road games against one opponent within a week or so period before returning home.

Now, Governor Luhan Grisham is wanting to expand no contact sports for colleges and that includes New Mexico and New Mexico State, yes, that includes football.

She wrote a letter that was obtained by the Albuquerque Journalย and this is the key point to what she penned. (Full letter can be found here)

“I know what I am asking you to contemplate is difficult and unprecedented, but these are difficult and unprecedented times,” Grisham wrote. “Fighting COVID-19 is a team sport. I am asking each of you to join me and take it upon yourselves to do everything you can to fight COVID-19. Together we can protect all New Mexicans, and if we are successful, we can resume contact sports and re-engage in the camaraderie and joy they bring all of us in a safe manner as soon as we can.

โ€œIt is therefore critical that you postpone collegiate athletics in this moment of escalating danger,โ€ she wrote. โ€œThis is an essential step we must take if we are to return to some safe and balanced new normal as quickly as possible.โ€

This is a tough decision because there are a lot of people that are impacted by not having college football. Even in the state of New Mexico where the teams aren’t all that great impacts peoples jobs with those who work the games, game day experiences, fans just having fun at a football game, and the players themselves as these years in college are the last they will suit up and play the sport they love.

People want sports back, this website specifically wants college sports back but there is a time where public safety and health trump what people want. The need to contain and control this virus until there is a vaccine or the number of cases is minimal along with hospitalizations.

New Mexico athletics director Eddie Nunez and president Garnett Stokes provided a joint statement on the upcoming school year.

โ€œThe health and well-being of our student-athletes and our Lobo community is, first and foremost, our top consideration in how we approach our fall athletic programs. Equally important is ensuring student academic success. We have been in regular communication with the Governorโ€™s office over the past several months, and we sincerely appreciate the guidance her office has provided as we have worked on our plans for fall sports. We expect discussions with the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference to continue over the next couple of weeks as plans for the fall are finalized.โ€

Right now this is just a request and who knows where it will lead to and if there will be some executive order to not have these two schools play football.

Doing it safely is still up in the air as there have not been any full-contact practices at any school at the FBS level. However, there have been plenty of schools that have shut down even the small group workouts due to COVID-19 and positive tests.

The college football season is scheduled to begin on Aug. 29 with Week 0 games which are five weeks away, and the Lobos are hosting Idaho State that day.

New Mexico and New Mexico State play each other this year and that game is slated for Sept. 19.

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