The college football season is underway, and games are happening every weekend. The rankings are back for another week. Read on to see how this week’s slate of games impacted each team’s status in the MWCConnection Mountain West rankings this week.
1) North Dakota State (+1)
The Bison have a case to be the best team in the Mountain West and earn the top spot this week. While Air Force might not be a great team, it’s a better win than the two New Mexico has at this point. But North Dakota State is rolling through the competition
thanks to methodically executing their offensive style of play to pair with a stifling defense that had little issue defending the triple-option attack. Their biggest tests are still to come, but they passed a notable one this week against the Falcons.
2) New Mexico (-1)
The Lobos had a laugher for the ages, emptying the bench in another complete effort against an inferior opponent. They are taking care of business in the early part of the season, beating opponents in convincing fashion, although they haven’t been tested yet. The running game looks strong for New Mexico, with 287 yards and 7 TDs on the ground, which takes pressure off their quarterback situation. The defense appears as good as advertised so far, although a huge test looms in Week 3.
3) San Jose State (+2)
The Spartans become the de facto third-best team in the Mountain West following a rough weekend slate of games for the conference. They are winning the games they should, which shouldn’t be taken for granted so far this season. Furthermore, the San Jose State offense looks to be solid, and something opposing teams shouldn’t take lightly. It’s hard to know how good they are until they play someone closer to their own level, and they will get the chance to do so next week against Fresno State.
4) Air Force (+1)
The Falcons put up a fight and nearly came back to win, but they ultimately fell short against the Bison this weekend. Despite a few bright spots, their defense is extremely uncharacteristic for an Air Force team. The offense is good, but is not built to play from behind and was forced into too many dropback passing situations. Still, they play a full 60 minutes and don’t give up, and that may get them some tough wins this year in the new Mountain West. Fortunately for them, Liam Szarka can cover some gaps as well.
5) UNLV (-2)
The Rebels look broken, getting boat-raced by North Texas in embarrassing fashion. They could not run the ball at all, which is surprising and should be seen as a top concern. And the turnovers need to be cleaned up as well. Much of this could be due to a struggling offensive line, but there are nearly as many questions on the defensive side of the ball. UNLV heads into the bye week in need of a reset. Thankfully, this loss doesn’t impact their Mountain West championship hopes, but it does question their ability to get to the title game.
6) Wyoming (+1)
The Cowboys avoided total disaster (see Nevada below) against Northern Colorado, but trailed entering the fourth quarter. They found their offense late, with two 4Q touchdown passes from Tyler Hughes. The Cowboys were in a bend (345 yards given up) mode, but didn’t break (13 points allowed), and made plays when needed, forcing the Bears to throw 2 interceptions and holding them to 4 for 12 on third down. It’s hard to have confidence in this team, but in a week where wins are hard to come by, getting one counts for something.
7) Hawaii (+1)
The Rainbow Warriors finally got their first win of the season, but it was a nail-biter. They saw a 16-point lead disappear, with the game tied at 19 early in the third. Micah Alejado and the offense looked improved, with the gunslinger going for over 300 yards, connecting with two WRs for over 100 yards receiving each. But there were no passing TDs, which still signals more kinks to work out. Progress is progress, and Hawaii will need to keep improving, as the road only gets tougher with more conference games starting next week.
8) Nevada (-1)
The Wolf Pack followed up their big win with a surprising dud. The offense was lifeless, not showing any of the rushing ability that worked so well for them in the season-opener. They couldn’t get anything going, not scoring until early in the fourth. Much of the criticism went to the quarterback play (for good reason), which featured two ineffective QBs who threw a combined three picks on the evening in place of Carter Jones. But the running game, responsible for 323 yards in their Week 1 win, only managed 182 yards in this week’s loss. Some of that can be attributed to the awful passing attack, but establishing the run will be key for Nevada going forward.
9) UTEP (+1)
The Miners got to unleash their frustration at home against Texas Southern. EJ Colson picked apart the Tigers, throwing for over 200 yards and throwing 4 touchdowns, plus 49 yards rushing and 1 TD on the ground. The Miners had a balanced attack, totaling 491 yards that was almost evenly split (239 passing, 252 rushing). Obviously, the defense did their job as well, shutting Texas Southern out in the second half and holding them to 211 yards for the game. For at least one game, all went according to play for UTEP.
10) NIU (-1)
The Huskies went into a tough game against FCS Illinois State and came away with a loss. The offense was fine, but they aren’t getting a ton from their running game. This side of the ball needs to find ways to generate more explosive plays to lead more points on the board. Overall, Northern Illinois didn’t play bad in this game, and looked evenly matched against the Cardinals, which illustrates the problem.
