2023 MW Football Weekly Release - Bowl Season

MOUNTAIN WEST BOWL NOTES

• The Mountain West has placed seven teams in bowl games in 2023, marking the fourth time in five years with at least seven teams competing in the postseason.
• Including this year, MW programs have earned 125 bowl bids and are 66-52 (.559) in bowl games since joining the league. Since 2004, the MW has the third-best winning percentage among all conferences in bowl games with a .573 (59-44) mark and has captured the Bowl Challenge Cup five times.
• In that same 19-year span, the MW has the most wins of any Group of 5 conference. Conference USA is second with 55 wins, against 60 losses.
• Fresno State will play New Mexico State on Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Bulldogs, who will be making their third straight bowl appearance and will be seeking their fifth consecutive bowl win, are 18-1 all-time against New Mexico State, with the teams last meeting in 2019.
• 2023 Mountain West champion Boise State will face off against UCLA on Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk. The Broncos, who are coming off a 44-20 victory over UNLV in the 2023 MW Football Championship Game, are riding a four-game win streak and have secured their 26th consecutive winning season.
• Air Force will face No. 25/24 James Madison in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 23. The Falcons will be making their second straight appearance in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl and record seventh overall. Air Force will be making its fourth bowl appearance in the last five seasons and has won its last four bowl games.
• Utah State will face Georgia State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, Dec. 23. The Aggies will be making their fifth appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which is the most by any team in the bowl’s history. Utah State will be making its sixth bowl appearance in seven years.
• San José State will play Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 23, in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl, marking the third time in the last four seasons the Spartans have earned a bowl bid. SJSU claimed a share of the regular-season MW title and has won a league-best six straight games entering bowl play. The Spartans and Chanticleers have never met in football.
• UNLV will take on Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, Dec. 26. The Rebels, who claimed a share of their first MW regular-season title and made their first appearance in the MW Championship on Dec. 2, will be making their first bowl appearance since 2013 and are 3-1 in bowls all-time.
• Wyoming will meet Toledo in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30, in Tucson, Arizona. The Cowboys, who have made a bowl game in six of the last eight seasons, will appear in a bowl game for a third straight season for the first time in program history. Wyoming is in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl for a second straight season and the third time in the last five years.

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST

• The Mountain West has the No. 2 Schedule Strength Ranking among the Group of 5 conferences, according to SportSource.
• The Mountain West has four wins over Autonomous 5 programs this season, tied for the most of any G5 conference.
• The Mountain West is one of six leagues with at least half of its teams with five or fewer losses.
• Six of the 12 Mountain West programs have received votes in either the Associated Press or AFCA poll this season. Two have been nationally ranked, with Air Force reaching as high as No. 17 and Fresno State topping out at No. 24.
• The Mountain West had six Associated Press All-Americans, tied for fifth-most among all FBS conferences and tops among G5 leagues. Several All-America team have been announced so far, with the Mountain West well-represented. See page 11 of the MW notes for the full list.
• Boise State downed UNLV 44-20 in the MW Football Championship to improve to 4-3 in title games. The Broncos’ four titles are the most in MW history. Quarterback Taylen Green was named the game’s Offensive MVP after accounting for 316 yards of total offense and four touchdowns and safety Alexander Teubner was named the Defensive MVP after making 10 tackles and recovering a fumble.
• Air Force senior safety Trey Taylor is the winner of the 2023 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, which honors the nation’s best defensive back. Taylor has posted 71 tackles (39 solo), half a sack and three interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Taylor anchors a Falcon defense that ranks sixth in the FBS in total defense (277.2), ninth in rushing defense (96.2), 13th in passing defense (181.0) and 14th in scoring defense (17.9).
• SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro became the MW’s career leader in total offense yards in the win over UNLV to end the regular season. The senior threw for 249 yards and ran for 5 in the win over the Rebels, pushing his career total to 13,537 and putting him ahead of previous record-holder Brett Rypien, who had 13,484 yards as a QB at Boise State from 2015-18.
• UNLV head coach Barry Odom is one of 12 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, one of 14 semifinalists for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award and one of 15 finalists for the College Football News Coach of the Year Award. Odom, in his first year with the program, has led the Rebels to a 9-4 overall record and a 6-2 MW mark to claim UNLV’s first MW regular-season title and a spot in the MW Championship for the first time in program history.
• UNLV placekicker Jose Pizano was one of three national finalists for the Lou Groza National Place-Kicker Award. Pizano is 25-for-27 on field-goal attempts this season, including a pair of game-winners and a MW-record 6-for-6 performance in a win over Colorado State on Oct. 21.
• Colorado State junior Dallin Holker, who was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award, was named the national Tight End of the Year and the Offensive Newcomer of the Year by College Football Network. Holker paces FBS tight ends in several categories, including catches (64) and receiving yards (767).
• UNLV’s Jacob De Jesus is one of three finalists for the Jet Award, which goes to the nation’s top kick returner. De Jesus leads all of college football with 1,019 total return yards and is the only player in the nation to rank in the top 15 for both punt and kickoff returns. The Jet Award winner will be announced in January.
• Utah State’s Jalen Royals (14), Terrell Vaughn (10) and Micah Davis (6) have combined for 30 touchdown catches this season. The only other FBS school to have a trio with 30+ combined receiving touchdowns this season is LSU.
• Fresno State’s Jalen Moss and Hawai‘i’s Pofele Ashlock are two of three freshmen this season in the FBS to have 50+ receptions and 600+ receiving yards, along with NC State’s Kevin Concepcion.
• Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty has amassed 1,818 yards from scrimmage this season, second to only Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II (1,939) among FBS players in 2023. Jeanty’s four games in 2023 with 200+ scrimmage yards are tied for the most with Troy’s Kimani Vidal.
• UNLV’s Jai’Den Thomas has scored 12 touchdowns (all rushing) this season, the most by any FBS freshman entering bowl season.
• San José State is the first Mountain West team all-time to make a bowl game despite losing at least five of its first six games. Since their six-game win streak began in Week 7, the Spartans rank fourth in the FBS in rushing yards per game (242.3) and 10th in points per game (38.7).
• New Mexico named Bronco Mendenhall its new head coach on Dec. 6. Mendenhall is no stranger to the MW, having served as UNM’s defensive coordinator and associate head coach from 1998-02 before spending 13 years at BYU, including the final 11 years as the Cougars’ head coach, earning MW Coach of the Year honors in 2006.
• Wyoming coach Craig Bohl announced his retirement on Dec. 6. Bohl, who will coach the Cowboys through the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on Dec. 30, has spent the last 10 years at the helm for Wyoming. Jay Sawvel, who has served as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator and safeties coach since February 2020, has been tapped to replace Bohl.
• Nevada named Jeff Choate its new head coach on Dec. 4. Choate comes to Reno from Texas, where he was the Longhorns’ co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach since 2021. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Montana State from 2016-20.
• Boise State’s Spencer Danielson had the interim tag removed on Dec. 3, when he was named the Broncos’ 12th head coach. Danielson served as BSU’s interim coach for the last two games of the regular season and the MW Championship, becoming the first interim coach in FBS history to lead his squad to a championship game win.
• Fresno State announced Dec. 1 that head coach Jeff Tedford has temporarily stepped away from the program to address health concerns. Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper will serve as acting head coach for the Bulldogs’ appearance in the New Mexico Bowl.
• San Diego State named Sean Lewis its new head coach on Nov. 29. Lewis replaced Brady Hoke, who retired after the Aztecs’ 33-18 win over Fresno State to end their season. Lewis comes to The Mesa after spending the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Colorado. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Kent State from 2018-22.