Each week, Nevada Sports Net\u2019s Chris Murray will rank the Mountain West football teams. Here are this week\u2019s rankings, with each team\u2019s overall record, its ranking last week, its result last week, its next opponent and a brief comment.<\/p>\n
1. San Diego State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 1<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>7-1, 4-0 MW<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Beat Wyoming, 24-7<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>at Hawaii, 8 p.m.<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> In a week that saw three of our top-four teams (Boise State, UNLV and Hawaii) lose, San Diego State took care of business with a comfortable win over Wyoming. Turns out, when you don\u2019t give up points, you\u2019re hard to beat. And the Aztecs rarely give up points, holding six of their eight opponents to 10 points or fewer. Keeping Hawaii\u2019s offense in check on the road this week won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n 2. Boise State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 2<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>6-3, 4-1<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Lost to Fresno State, 30-7<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>Bye<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> Boise State saw its FBS-leading 16-game home winning streak snapped in a 23-point loss to Fresno State. It was the Broncos\u2019 most lopsided home loss since 1996. (And that\u2019s not even the worst thing that happened to the school this week as Boise State\u2019s men\u2019s basketball team lost its season opener to Division II Hawaii Pacific). On the football side, QB Maddux Madsen was injured early and backup Max Cutforth tossed two picks. Madsen\u2019s right ankle is expected to keep him out \u201cawhile.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. New Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 5<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>6-3, 3-2<\/p>\n Last week:<\/strong> Beat Boise State<\/p>\n This week:<\/strong> Bye<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>New Mexico\u2019s upset win over UNLV made the Lobos bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. The Lobos threw for 401 yards and forced three turnovers to beat the Rebels. Since committing six turnovers in a two-game stretch in early October, QB Jack Layne has accounted for 755 yards and four touchdowns with just one turnover in three straight wins over Nevada, Utah State and UNLV.<\/p>\n 4. Fresno State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 6<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>6-3, 3-2<\/p>\n Last week:<\/strong> Beat Boise State, 30-7<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>Bye<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> It\u2019s not often a team is a 17.5-point road underdog, throws for 35 yards on 21 pass attempts and wins that game by 23 points. But that\u2019s what Fresno State did at Boise State. The Bulldogs forced three turnovers, had two fourth-down stops and benefited from a Boise State missed field goal for their most lopsided win over the Broncos since 1996. Fresno State has three straight wins over Boise State.<\/p>\n 5. UNLV<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 3<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>6-2, 2-2<\/p>\n Last week:<\/strong> Lost to New Mexico, 40-35<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>at Colorado State, 6:30 p.m. (FS1)<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> It\u2019d be easy to blame UNLV\u2019s defense for the loss to New Mexico as the Rebels allowed 532 yards. But UNLV also lost three fumbles to fall to a season-worst fifth in our rankings after back-to-back losses to Boise State and New Mexico. UNLV still has a pathway to 10 wins with remaining games against Colorado State, Utah State, Hawaii and Nevada, but a MW title game appearance looks like a longshot.<\/p>\n 6. Hawaii<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week: <\/strong>4<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>6-3, 3-2<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Lost to San Jose State, 45-38<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>vs. San Diego State, 6:30 p.m. (FS1)<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>Hawaii trailed San Jose State, 31-14, at halftime and couldn\u2019t complete the road comeback after allowing 630 total yards, including 458 through the air. The Rainbow Warriors allowed 9.3 yards per play, its highest figure, by far, this season. Hawaii must beat MW-leading San Diego State at home this weekend to stay in the conference title hunt, and that won\u2019t be an easy task.<\/p>\n 7. San Jose State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week: <\/strong>10<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>3-5, 2-2<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Beat Hawaii, 45-38<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>vs. Air Force, 3 p.m. (FS1)<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> San Jose State played another close game, this time coming out victorious. Seven of the Spartans\u2019 eight games have been decided by one possession. Against Hawaii, QB Walker Eget threw for 458 yards and two touchdowns with WR Danny Scudero (7\/215\/2) having another huge game. The Spartans are averaging 33.3 ppg in league and must keep outscoring teams given the defensive issues (32.8 ppg allowed in MW games).<\/p>\n 8. Utah State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week: <\/strong>8<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>4-4, 2-2<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Bye<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>vs. Nevada, 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>Utah State exits its bye with a home game against Nevada. The home team has won the last seven games in this series with the Wolf Pack\u2019s win at Logan in 2009, when both were in the WAC, marking the last road victory. This is a must win for Utah State if the Aggies are going to make a bowl considering the team\u2019s final three games are against UNLV, Fresno State and Boise State.<\/p>\n 9. Wyoming<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 7<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>4-5, 2-3<\/p>\n Last week:<\/strong> Lost to San Diego State, 24-7<\/p>\n This week:<\/strong> Bye<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>Wyoming mustered 185 yards of offense and 2.98 yards per play in its loss to San Diego State. The Cowboys opened the game with an eight-play, 75-yard drive before logging just 110 yards on 54 plays on their last 14 series, none of which went longer than 27 yards. Wyoming now must win two of its final three games to reach a bowl, those coming against Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii.<\/p>\n 10. Air Force<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week: <\/strong>9<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>2-6, 1-4<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Lost to Army, 20-17<\/p>\n This week:<\/strong> at San Jose State, 3 p.m. (FS1)<\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> Air Force lost to rival Army on a 27-yard field goal as time expired to drop both of its Commander-in-Chief\u2019s Trophy games (the Falcons lost by three points to Army and Navy). Air Force outplayed Army but had three turnovers and missed a field goal. Barring a four-game win streak to end the year, Air Force will go back-to-back seasons without a bowl for just the second time in Troy Calhoun\u2019s 19 seasons.<\/p>\n 11. Colorado State<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week:<\/strong> 11<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>2-6, 1-3<\/p>\n Last week:<\/strong> Bye<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>vs. UNLV, 6:30 p.m. (FS1)<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>Colorado State had a bye to regroup after a shutout loss to Wyoming in its first game under interim head coach Tyson Summers. The Rams will have to score points to hang with UNLV this week with those teams facing off for the second time in the last six seasons (UNLV won the last matchup, 25-23, in 2023). It will be interesting to see who Colorado State hires to replace Jay Norvell with its strong facilities and budget but poor recent history of winning.<\/p>\n 12. Nevada<\/strong><\/p>\n Rank last week: <\/strong>12<\/p>\n Record: <\/strong>1-7, 0-4<\/p>\n Last week: <\/strong>Bye<\/p>\n This week: <\/strong>at Utah State, 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN)<\/p>\n Comment: <\/strong>Nevada finishes the season against a series of defensively-challenged teams, starting this week with Utah State before remaining games with San Jose State and UNLV (Wyoming is also on the schedule, but the Cowboys play defense). The Wolf Pack is averaging just 13 ppg in MW play, which ranks last in the league (Fresno State is next at 18.8 ppg). Maybe that\u2019s the spark Nevada\u2019s offense needs.<\/p>\n Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each week, Nevada Sports Net\u2019s Chris Murray will rank the Mountain West football teams. 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