Mountain West football power rankings: Will Nevada conclude the season at the bottom?
- Dwayne
- Dec 4, 2024
- 4 min read
Each week, Chris Murray from Nevada Sports Net will provide a ranking of the Mountain West football teams. Below are the rankings for this week, which include each team's overall record, their previous week's ranking, last week's results, their upcoming opponent, and a concise commentary.
1. Boise State
Rank last week: 1
Record: 11-1, 7-0 MW
Last week: Beat Oregon State, 34-18
Empty heading
This week: vs. UNLV, 5 p.m. Friday (Fox)
Comment: Boise State showed better form in its win over Oregon State, a 16-point decision leading into this week’s Mountain West championship game against UNLV. The Broncos are a 4-point favorite after beating the Rebels by five on the road in October. Ashton Jeanty finished the regular season with 2,288 rushing yards and averaged 31 carries per game in the team’s last seven contests, a huge number.
2. UNLV
Rank last week: 2
Record: 10-2, 6-1
Last week: Beat Nevada, 38-14
This week: at UNLV, 5 p.m. Friday (Fox)
Comment: UNLV had minimal issue winning its third straight Fremont Cannon game over rival Nevada and now has bigger fish to fry as it attempts to win the MW championship game at Boise State. It would be UNLV football’s first conference title since 1994. In its first game against Boise State, the Rebels held Jeanty to a season-low 3.9 yards per carry. If it does that again, UNLV will be holding the trophy Friday.
3. Colorado State
Rank last week: 3
Record: 8-4, 6-1
Last week: Beat Utah State, 42-37
This week: Awaits bowl opponent
Comment: Colorado State rallied from a 30-13 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Utah State by scoring 29 unanswered points to surge to victory. But Nevada’s inability to beat UNLV one day later kept the Rams out of the MW title game. Colorado State’s eight regular-season wins were its most since 2014 (10 victories), and the Rams played the MW’s toughest schedule, per ESPN’s Football Power Index.
4. San Jose State
Rank last week: 6
Record: 7-5, 3-4
Last week: Beat Stanford, 34-31
This week: Awaits bowl opponent
Comment: In the first “Bill Walsh Legacy Game” since 2013, San Jose State topped Stanford by a field goal for its final win over the Cardinal since 2006 (the Spartans had lost 10 of the last 11 in the series). San Jose State is headed to a bowl game for a third straight season for the first time in program history with Ken Niumatalolo doing an excellent job in his first season as the Spartans’ head coach.
5. Fresno State
Rank last week: 4
Record: 6-6, 4-4
Last week: Lost to UCLA, 20-13
This week: Awaits bowl opponent
Comment: It was feast or famine offensively for Fresno State this season with the Bulldogs scoring 36.2 ppg in its wins and 17 ppg in its losses. QB Mikey Keene already announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. Fresno State is expected to be in the market for a new coach, too, as interim coach Tim Skipper is not expected to be retained. Montana State’s Brent Vigen is a popular name in the search.
6. New Mexico
Rank last week: 5
Record: 5-7, 3-4
Last week: Lost to Hawaii, 38-30
This week: Season over
Comment: New Mexico fell short of bowl eligibility with its loss at Hawaii. The Lobos’ defense, an issue all year, was again the culprit, allowing 590 yards in the loss to the Rainbow Warriors. That defense yielded 38 points per game, the fifth-worst mark in the nation. But Bronco Mendenhall’s first season was a success with three MW wins (the Lobos had just seven MW wins in its previous seven seasons).
7. Air Force
Rank last week: 8
Record: 5-7, 3-4
Last week: Beat San Diego State, 31-20
This week: Season over
Comment: Air Force ended the season on a four-game win streak after losing seven straight games before that. That’s a great sign for what was one of the nation’s youngest teams in 2024. The Falcons should be back to bowl quality in 2025, and almost made a late push for the postseason this year. Against San Diego State, the Falcons completed two passes for 128 yards – 64 yards per completion!
8. Hawaii
Rank last week: 9
Record: 5-7, 3-4
Last week: Beat New Mexico, 38-30
This week: Season over
Comment: In his first start, Bishop Gorman High alum Micah Alejado completed 37-of-57 passes for 469 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 54 yards. Not bad for the 5-foot-10 true freshman, who led Hawaii past New Mexico in the regular-season finale as the Rainbow Warriors finished with five wins for the second straight season, earning coach Timmy Chang a one-year extension through 2026.
9. Utah State
Rank last week: 7
Record: 4-8, 3-4
Last week: Lost to Colorado State, 42-37
This week: Season over
Comment: Utah State heads into the coaching market after Nate Dreiling served in an interim role this season, which included just four wins thanks to a defense that allowed 37.8 ppg. The offense was much better at 31.9 ppg. One interesting candidate is Mendenhall, the New Mexico coach who could make a Jay Norvell-like shift within the conference, although Utah State is headed to the Pac-12 in 2026.
10. Wyoming
Rank last week: 12
Record: 3-9, 2-5
Last week: Beat Washington State, 15-14
This week: Season over
Comment: Wyoming’s run of seven straight years of bowl eligibility in non-COVID years came to an end, although the Cowboys did show some signs of life late in the year, especially that defense. The year concluded with a nice season-ending win over Washington State, which moves Wyoming out of the cellar in these rankings where it spent much of 2024. More is expected in Jay Sawvel’s second season.
11. Nevada
Rank last week: 10
Record: 3-10, 0-7
Last week: Lost to No. 22 UNLV, 38-14
This week: Season over
Comment: Nevada’s season ended with six straight losses. The Wolf Pack lost its final four games in 2023 and its final 10 games in 2022. Not good. Nevada is 2-21 in MW play since 2022, which is disgraceful for a program that had made 14 bowl appearances in 17 seasons from 2005-21. While 2022 was rock bottom, Nevada is still digging out of the basement as Jeff Choate’s second season approaches in 2025.
12. San Diego State
Rank last week: 11
Record: 3-9, 2-5
Last week: Lost to Air Force, 31-20
This week: Season over
