For the first time this season, every Mountain West team will be playing a conference game. This week will give us a look at who the true contenders are as the season heats up. Here are some questions that should be answered this weekend. Was New Mexico only a preseason darling or can they hang with the conference heavyweights? Can Air Force play spoiler in Las Vegas? How will Utah State perform on the road against Hawaii? All of these questions and more will be answered this weekend. Before we dive
into the games, let’s take a look at the current conference standings.
Fresno State 2-0
Boise State 1-0
San Diego State 1-0
San Jose State 1-0
UNLV 1-0
Utah State 1-0
Hawaii 1-1
Colorado State 0-1
Nevada 0-1
New Mexico 0-1
Wyoming 0-1
Air Force 0-3
On to this week’s games…
Fresno State @ Colorado State (Friday 7:00 pm MT)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Likely an elimination game for a Colorado State team that had championship hopes. Fresno State can cement themselves as conference championship contenders. The Rams have to win this one, or their season is officially over.
Who you should root for: Colorado State. The Bulldogs may have looked a bit shaky the last two weeks, but they are 2-0 and have a favorable schedule outside of a trip to Boise.
Air Force @ UNLV (Saturday 1:30 pm MT)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Air Force has almost no chance at a conference championship, but they still have an outside chance at getting bowl eligible if they can turn things around quickly. I think this will be another close game for UNLV. Can they keep the magic going and improve to 6-0?
Who you should root for: Air Force. With three losses, their championship hopes are all but gone. A UNLV loss would open the door for a handful of Mountain West teams.
San Jose State @ Wyoming (Saturday 5:00 pm MT)
TV: CBS Sports Network
This is an intriguing game that could go either way. Poor special teams play and turnovers cost the Cowboys their first conference game. The Spartans appear to be trending in the right direction after an impressive win over New Mexico. This should be a very entertaining game in Laramie.
Who you should root for: Wyoming. The Cowboys already have a loss and the Spartans seem like the more dangerous team with a favorable schedule the rest of the way.
New Mexico @ Boise State (Saturday 7:45 pm MT)
TV: Fox Sports 1
Both of these teams are coming off of disappointing losses. But there is a lot more on the line for New Mexico who is coming off of a loss to San Jose State. A loss in Boise probably eliminates the Lobos. The Broncos need to make a statement on offense after a rough showing against Notre Dame.
Who you should root for: New Mexico. A loss at home for Boise State would be catastrophic to their championship hopes and would give teams across the conference reason for optimism.
San Diego State @ Nevada (Saturday 8:30 pm MT)
TV: CBS Sports Network
4-1 San Diego State vs. 1-4 Nevada feels like a significant mismatch. But I’m not so sure about that. If Nevada can limit mistakes, I think their defense can keep them in this game. San Diego State has a chance to get one step closer to bowl eligibility. This is a must-win game for both teams.
Who you should root for: Nevada. San Diego State is, arguably, the hottest team in the conference and a loss to Nevada would be a massive crush to their confidence.
Utah State @ Hawaii (Saturday 9:59 pm MT)
TV: Spectrum Sports
This is the game where we see what both of these teams are made of. Both have looked vastly improved and both desperately need this win. This is the most intriguing game of the weekend, in my opinion, and I could see this one being a shootout. If only it was getting the national attention it deserved.
Who you should root for: Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors have already dropped a conference game and the Aggies have looked dangerous.
Which game are you most looking forward to? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
