* Mountain West game. Rankings are listed as Coaches/AP.
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
- 50% of MW teams have winning overall records, the second-highest percentage among the non-autonomous conferences.
- The MW leads all non-A4 conferences, with 30% of its teams boasting a winning percentage of .750 or better.
- Four MW teams have already reached bowl eligibility (Air Force, New Mexico, North Dakota State and Wyoming), while UNLV sits just one victory away. Half of the league has either secured bowl eligibility or is one win away.
- Three MW head coaches (Calhoun, Eck and Polasek) were named to the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch list, the most among non-autonomous conferences.
- The MW is tied for most victories over Autonomous 4 opponents among non-A4 conferences, and more than Pac-12, Sun Belt and C-USA.
- New Mexico is ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 and No. 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
- The Mountain West has had at least one team nationally ranked in each season since the league was formed in 1999, including multiple teams in eight of the last 10 years.
- The MW is well represented on all national award preseason watch lists, including six standouts on the Maxwell Award Watch List. The six honorees are the most selections among non-autonomous 4 conferences.
- New Mexico is riding an 11-game home win streak, the fourth-longest active streak nationally. The Lobos haven't suffered a loss at University Stadium since Nov. 2, 2024 (45-49 vs. Wyoming).
- The Lobos are also on an 11-game Mountain West win streak, tied for the longest streak nationally. New Mexico's last loss in Conference play was on Oct. 11, 2025.
- New Mexico has a 27.6 average margin of victory this season, the highest among all non-A4 teams (min. six wins).
- New Mexico held then-nationally ranked Oklahoma to just 14 points on Sept. 19. That was the fewest allowed by a MW school on the road against a ranked Autonomous-4 opponent since TCU on Sept. 3, 2005, also against the Sooners (10).
- North Dakota State has put up at least 28 points in 17 straight home games. That is the longest active streak across all FBS and FCS schools.
- North Dakota State is the only program in the last 45 seasons to win its first five games as a full-fledged FBS team.
- New Mexico (10.9) and North Dakota State (11.9) are first and second nationally in scoring defense. Excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the last school from outside the Big Ten/SEC/ACC to finish a season leading the FBS in the category was TCU in 2010.
- Four FBS teams have allowed seven or fewer points in at least four games this season. Two belong to the Mountain West in New Mexico (four) and North Dakota State (four), while the other two are ACC teams in Duke (five) and Wake Forest (four).
- The MW has had at least one 10-win team in 24 of 26 seasons, not including the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
- Looking ahead to December, if UNLV qualifies for the MW Football Championship Game, the Rebels would become just the second program ever to participate in at least three consecutive MW title games (Boise State, four straight appearances between 2017-20).
PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORTING
The Mountain West will continue player availability reporting in 2026 for all regular-season Conference games and the MW Championship Game. The policy standardizes the submission of student-athlete availability information for football contests to protect student-athlete privacy, reduce outside pressure on student-athletes for inside information, ensure transparency, and promote competitive integrity. This policy also addresses public confidence in fair play and the integrity risks associated with sports wagering. Availability reports will be posted publicly at TheMW.com.
REPLAY OPERATIONS CENTER (ROC)
The Mountain West relocated its headquarters to Las Vegas, officially opening its new office in July. Within the new office space is a state-of-the-art centralized replay operations center.
The 600-square-foot facility will connect the replay official at the stadium to a team of off-site replay officials, allowing for real-time collaboration that is designed to reduce delays and elevate accuracy.
The MW ROC features seven replay stations and will provide multiple benefits:
- Leverage real-time access to both broadcast and coaching camera video feeds to deliver multi-perspective oversight during video reviews.
- Multiple goal-line cameras, installed across all Mountain West stadiums, to deliver clarity for goal-line reviews.
- An integrated communications network, directly linking stadiums, replay officials and officiating leadership for unified decision-making.
- Full game archives from every MW football contest will fuel ongoing performance evaluations and officiating development.