2. The Most Underrated Thing Was …
Hey, everyone. The Mountain West started up its season, too.
The Big Ten got all of the love and attention. It stunk that there weren’t any Mountain West weeknight games, and the opening Saturday all happened late at night for a bulk of the nation – all while an epic World Series game was unfolding – but the Mountain West is still a big deal.
Coastal Carolina might have a shot at the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six slot from the Sun Belt, but one loss ruins that. Forget about the MAC – not enough games – and Conference USA won’t get a team in if and when Marshall ever loses. But it might come down to the Thundering Herd, Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference, and the Mountain West champ to get that high-profile bowl game.
Welcome to Boise State and San Diego State.
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Boise State looked and played the part in a dominant win over Utah State. San Diego State was wonderful – hey, an Aztec offense! – in Brady Howe’s first game back as the head man with a win over UNLV.
San Jose State shocked an Air Force team that trucked Navy a few weeks ago. Hawaii got a win under new head coach Todd Graham over Fresno State, and Nevada and Wyoming played an overtime thriller with the Wolf Pack coming through.
However, the league received almost no respect in the polls, and there wasn’t enough attention nationally in an opening Saturday that should’ve been celebrated. Change that this week.
There’s a Thursday night game – Colorado State at Fresno State – and Hawaii and Wyoming play on Friday. For the investment crowd that’s chasing on Saturday night, the other four games start a 6:00 ET, with Boise State at Air Force sure to be a thing.
– Winners & Losers From Week 8
– The One Really Big Thing
– Most Overrated Thing
– What It All Means, Week 8