Boise State only undefeated team left in MW conference play
Oct. 19—LARAMIE — It isn't often a team moves up in the rankings coming off a bye week. Both divisions in the Mountain West are still completely up for grabs midway through the season. This weekend's slate will go a long way toward sorting out the traffic jam in the standings on both sides of the conference.
1. Boise State (Last week: 2)
The Broncos (4-2 overall, 3-0 Mountain West) move up to the No. 1 spot in this week's rankings, despite not playing a game last weekend. Boise State is the only team left in the MW with an undefeated conference record, which includes wins over Fresno State, San Diego State and New Mexico. The Broncos will travel to Colorado Springs for a big matchup with Air Force this weekend.
2. Wyoming (Last week: 4)
Like Boise State, the Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) move up in the rankings, despite not playing a game last weekend. Wyoming is tied for second in the Mountain Division with Utah State, but that log-jam will work itself out this weekend. The Cowboys will host the Aggies at 7:45 p.m. Saturday in Laramie for homecoming.
3. Air Force (Last week: 5)
The Falcons' (5-2, 2-2) up-and-down season continued last weekend with a dominating 42-7 win over UNLV in Nevada. Despite having the most wins overall in the conference, Air Force is just .500 in conference play, and has yet to prove it can string together big wins during the conference season. Perhaps the Falcons can prove their consistency this weekend with a crucial matchup with Boise State in Colorado Springs.
4. San Jose State (Last week: 1)
The Trojans (4-2, 2-1) fell three spots in this week's rankings after a surprising 17-10 loss to Fresno State. Despite the loss, San Jose State still finds itself positioned in first place of the West Division going into this weekend's matchup with New Mexico State (2-5) in Las Cruces.
5. UNLV (Last week: 3)
The Rebels (4-3, 2-2) continue to move in the wrong direction of the conference standings after a 42-7 blowout loss to Air Force in front of their home fans last weekend. UNLV was held to just 179 yards offensively against the Falcons. Things won't get any easier this weekend. The Rebels will travel to play Notre Dame (3-3) on Saturday in Indiana.
6. SDSU (Last week: 6)
The Aztecs (3-3, 1-1) were the only MW team coming off a bye to not move up or down in the rankings. SDSU is still sandwiched right in the middle of the West Division standings going into this weekend's matchup with Nevada in Reno.
7. Fresno State (Last week: 8)
The Bulldogs (2-4, 1-1) are slowly working their way back up the conference standings after a tough 1-4 start to the season. Fresno State upset San Jose State 17-10 last weekend on the road, and will look to continue building momentum this weekend with another road game against New Mexico in Albuquerque.
8. Utah State (Last week: 7)
The Aggies (3-4, 2-1) fell one spot, despite winning last weekend. Utah State beat Colorado State 17-13 in Fort Collins, but had plenty of uphill challenges going forward after playing three different quarterbacks against the Rams. The Aggies have played four quarterbacks total this season because of injuries, and have yet to announce who will start under center against Wyoming this weekend in Laramie.
9. Hawaii (Last week: 10)
The Rainbow Warriors (2-5, 1-1) won just their second game of the season at home last weekend, 31-16 over Nevada to move up one spot. Hawaii totaled 223 yards on the ground to earn its first conference win. The Rainbow Warriors will look to push their winning streak to two games this weekend with a road matchup against Colorado State in Fort Collins.
10. New Mexico (Last week: 9)
The Lobos (2-5, 0-3) lost their fourth straight game last weekend, 21-9 to rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces to continue falling in the rankings. New Mexico won the possession battle and out-gained the Aggies 269-225 offensively in total yards, but gave up 14 points in the third quarter to fall short. The Lobos will look to right the ship against Fresno State this weekend in Albuquerque.
11. Nevada (Last week: 12)
The Wolfpack (2-5, 0-3) and Colorado State continue to trade spots for the worst team in the conference this season. Nevada moves above the Rams this week, even after losing 31-16 to Hawaii last weekend. It's less about what's going on in Reno and more about what's unfolded in Fort Collins. Nevada will host SDSU this weekend.
12. Colorado State (Last week: 11)
Two factors play into the Rams (1-5, 1-1) dropping back down to the No. 12 spot. The first is Colorado State's 17-13 loss to Utah State at home last weekend. The Aggies played three different quarterbacks in the game, including Bishop Davenport, who started the season as the team's fourth-string quarterback and played the entire second half.
The second factor is the continued flurry of players leaving the program midseason. The Rams have lost at least 13 players to the transfer portal already this season, according to Jason Turner of The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah. Colorado State will host Hawaii this weekend in Fort Collins.
Alex Taylor{span class="ContentPasted0"} covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at {a class="linkified" href="mailto:ataylor@wyosports.net"}ataylor@wyosports.net{/a} or 269-364-3560. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.{/span}
