The college football season is firing on all cylinders, and games are happening every weekend. The rankings are back for another week. Read on to see how this week’s slate of games affected each team’s status in the MWCConnection Mountain West rankings.
1) New Mexico (0)
The Lobos continue to run through the Mountain West, with Nevada as their latest victim. Because the Wolf Pack aren’t great, this game doesn’t tell us much about New Mexico’s offense or their ability to improve after the previous week’s struggles.
They have a tough slate to end the season, and they will need to show their offense can continue to keep up with their defense, which is one of the best in the entire country. But at the end of the day, this team is head and shoulders above the rest of the conference.
2) North Dakota State (0)
BYE WEEK
3) Wyoming (+1)
The Cowboys continue to be arguably the hottest team in the Mountain West over the past month or so. They put up 34 points in the first half, the first time they have done that in two years. Their offense has been a total revelation, even outshining their defense. While some of this may be halted due to uncertainty about their quarterback’s health, there is no question that Wyoming has become one of the best teams in the conference.
4) Air Force (+1)
The Falcons won another rivalry game, and with it clinched the prestigious Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. This is the primary goal of any academy program and winning it this season shows how much Air Force has improved from their previous two season. It’s been a total team effort, getting contributions from several different players, all of which embodies what Air Force is all about.
5) UNLV (-2)
The Rebels have been inconsistent all season, and this weekend was the latest example of that. After barely getting by NIU, they followed it up with a dud against Wyoming. They did battle back and deserve credit for nearly staging a comeback. However, UNLV hasn’t been able to earn the benefit of the doubt this season and now may have a bit of a controversy at quarterback. There is a growing list of questions for a program that was expected to be in the conference championship this season.
6) San Jose State (0)
The Spartans played down to Northern Illinois’ level in the first half of the game before pulling away in the second half. The good news is that they tied their season high for points scored in a game with 30. The bad news is the only two times they’ve done that are against an FCS team and the worst team in the FBS this season. The vaunted offensive system has been a shell of itself this season, and the instability at quarterback hasn’t been helping. San Jose State does only need one more win for to reach a bowl game, so they can still end the year on a positive note.
7) Hawaii (+1)
The Rainbow Warriors squeaked out a win this weekend, although it was still a disappointing showing. Playing against a defense that is giving up an average of 34.3 points a game, they could only muster a mere 17, which almost wasn’t good enough to win. Alejado piled up the passing yards, but couldn’t find the endzone more than once. Although it does bode well for Hawaii that two wide receivers had over 1oo yards on the day. It’s been a tough season for Hawaii and this game does nothing to change that.
8) Nevada (-1)
The Wolf Pack didn’t put up much of a fight at all in their most recent game. Part of that is because they went up against the best team in the Mountain West, and part of that may be because they are ready for the end of the season. Either way, no touchdowns in a game is bad. Other stats are even worse: 97 total yards and -9 rushing yards. Nevada’s biggest issue is the instability at quarterback. But that’s just one of many, including the disappearance of their run game that was once the backbone of their offense.
9) UTEP (0)
The Miners lost a close game, which counts for something, but not much at the end of the day. Their defense seemed to play well, but there wasn’t enough firepower on offense. This was a good chance for a victory, but it didn’t come to fruition. As previously discussed, a lot of it came down to UTEP’s final game against NIU, which is the only conference team they are better than at this point.
10) NIU (0)
Credit to the Huskies, they kept it close for a half and gave the Spartans a bit of a scare. 400 yards of total offense is encouraging, and the offense got some positive contributions as well. Unfortunately, they just don’t have enough weapons to get over the hump. It’s nice to see Northern Illinois hasn’t quit on the season, which would have been easy to do at this point. Hopefully they can be rewarded with a win at some point before the end of the year.
