Hawaii: Chang needs to be better
A lot has been made about how much Hawaii lost this offseason. New head coach Timmy Chang has been given some leeway, despite the 63-10 loss to Vanderbilt. But last week’s performance vs. Western Kentucky—especially the series below—should at least partly be blamed on Chang’s coaching.
Yes, Chang is brand new to this and will improve as the season goes on (well, at least that’s the hope) but he has to be better, or at least get the team to execute better. This week gets substantially more difficult for the Rainbow Warriors as they will travel to Ann Arbor for a date with the Michigan Wolverines. Yikes.
Nevada: Nevada still isn’t a very good team
2-0 Nevada might be the surprise of the Mountain West but the schedule has been very weak and the wins haven’t been the most impressive. New Mexico St. and Texas St. aren’t murder’s row by any stretch. How have the Wolf Pack been winning? They’ve forced four turnovers in each game. If Nevada can keep the turnover differential up, they might end up being the surprise team in all of FBS football but the chances of that happening are incredibly slim.
Nevada is +9 turnovers in just two games.
— Dave Cokin (@davecokin) September 4, 2022
Colorado St.: This team might surprise in the Mountain division
On a surface level, losing 51-7 doesn’t necessarily scream optimism after Week 1. But considering the expectations in Fort Collins were relatively low this year with first year head coach Jay Norvell, putting up a respectable fight against an underrated Michigan squad provides quite a bit of optimism for the Rams faithful.
Both sides of the ball appear better for CSU this year and considering the state of the rest of the division, the Rams might be the surprise team in the Mountain West this year. Next, a visit from Middle Tennessee St.
San Diego St.: The Aztec defense is headed for a down here
SDSU’s success in recent years have been reliant on a stingy defense. This year? Not so much, as they got carved up by an admittedly improved Arizona. Still, it seems as though there has been a substantial drop off in talent on the defensive side of the ball this year for the Aztecs.
Who knows, maybe it was just the heat wave that hit San Diego last week but things don’t look so bright for SDSU right now. They’ll get a chance to rebound this week vs. lowly Idaho St.
Man. This is disappointing pic.twitter.com/OSeKE6r4Ln
— A.Mazon (@afmazon) September 5, 2022
Wyoming: Craig Bohl bought himself a little more time
After the Week 0 blowout loss vs. Illinois, it looked like Bohl was starting the downward slide to unemployment. However, he bought himself a little more time with a win over Tulsa. Yes, it is only Tulsa but it’s something, especially considering how bad the Cowboys looked in Week 0.
Bohl’s job is by no means safe, but with Northern Colorado visiting this week, getting above .500 is well within reach and should provide some breathing room before things could potentially get really ugly in conference play.
Air Force: The Falcons are the class of the Mountain West
Maybe this is more of an overreaction to the rest of the Mountain West, but after Week 1, Air Force appears to be the class of the conference. The Falcons rolled through a traditionally strong FCS program in Northern Iowa and will get a shot at a home vs. Colorado this week.
Is this the year that Jeff Calhoun wins a Mountain West Championship? After Week 1, it sure seems like this could be the year.
New Mexico: This program is beginning to turn a corner
The Lobos looked great in a route of FCS Maine. Wait, the Lobos looked great?
It’s true. That might be the first time in years that the collective opinion around the New Mexico program has been positive but it truly does look like it is starting to turn a corner. Kudos to Danny Gonzales.
The real test will come this week Friday night at Boise St. The Broncos struggled Week 1 and if the Lobos can hang around and potentially even pull an upset, it will signal a complete turnaround for the program and even a potential bowl game.
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