AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
The Mountain West finished the season with the No. 2 Schedule Strength Ranking among the Group of 5 conferences, according to SportSource.
The Mountain West picked up four wins over Autonomous 5 programs this season, tied for the most of any G5 conference.
Six of the 12 Mountain West programs received votes in either the Associated Press or AFCA poll this season. Two were nationally ranked, with Air Force reaching as high as No. 17 and Fresno State topping out at No. 24. Five squads – Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, UNLV and Wyoming – received votes in the final AFCA poll.
The Mountain West had six Associated Press All-Americans, tied for fifth-most among all FBS conferences and tops among G5 leagues. See page 11 of these notes for the full list of Mountain West All-Americans.
MW squads went a combined 3-4 in bowls this season. Fresno State picked up the league’s first win, claiming a 37-10 win over New Mexico State in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl. Air Force downed No. 25/24 James Madison 31-21 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, while Wyoming capped the MW bowl season with a 16-15 win over Toledo, hitting a walk-off field goal to send coach Craig Bohl into retirement on a high note.
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 won the 2023 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, which honors the nation’s best defensive back. Taylor finished the season with 74 tackles (40 solo), half a sack and three interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Taylor anchored a Falcon defense that ranked sixth in the FBS in total defense (277.7) and rushing defense (90.8), 12th in scoring defense (18.2) and 20th in passing defense (186.8).
SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro finished his career as the MW’s career leader in total offense yards. The senior wrapped the season with a total of 13,811 yards, putting him ahead of previous record-holder Brett Rypien, who had 13,484 yards as a QB at Boise State from 2015-18. Cordeiro also finished his career as the MW’s career leader in total offense plays (2,138) and touchdowns responsible for (113).
UNLV head coach Barry Odom was 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, one of 15 finalists for the College Football News Coach of the Year Award and one of three finalists for the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year Award. Odom, in his first year with the program, led the Rebels to a 9-5 overall record, 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, and their first bowl appearance in a decade.
UNLV placekicker Jose Pizano was one of three national finalists for the Lou Groza National Place-Kicker Award. Pizano finished his final collegiate season 26-for-29 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 paced FBS tight ends in several categories, including catches (64), catches per game (5.3) and receiving yards (767).
UNLV’s Jacob De Jesus was one of three finalists for the Jet Award, which goes to the nation’s top kick returner. De Jesus led all of college football with 1,079 total return yards. He ranked 13th in the FBS in kickoff returns with an average of 25.7 per return and fell one punt return shy of the qualifying standard in that category, but his average of 16.1 yards per return would have ranked third nationally.
Utah State’s Jalen Royals (15), Terrell Vaughn (11) and Micah Davis (6) combined for 32 touchdown catches this season. Entering bowl season, the only other FBS school to have a trio with 30+ combined receiving touchdowns this season was LSU.
Boise State punter James Ferguson-Reynolds paced the FBS with an average of 49.7 yards per punt this season. His average was a school record for a season and was the sixth-best season average in FBS history.
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 700+ receiving yards, along with NC State’s Kevin Concepcion.
Ashlock earned Freshman All-America honors from the FWAA.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty finished the season ranked second in the FBS with 159.67 all-purpose yards per game. He finished third in total all-purpose yards with 1,916 despite missing two games.
UNLV’s Jai’Den Thomas scored 12 touchdowns (all rushing) in 2023, the most by any FBS freshman.
San José State was the first Mountain West team to make a bowl game despite losing at least five of its first six games. The Spartans turned their season around with a six-game winning streak to claim a share of the MW regular-season title. After the season, head coach Brent Brennan was tapped for the same position at Arizona.
On Jan. 21, the Spartans named former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo to their head post. Niumatalolo, a three-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year who won a program-best 109 games and led the Midshipmen to 10 bowl games over 15 years, served as an assistant coach in the MW at UNLV from 1999-2001 and played (1987-89) and coached (1990-94) at Hawai‘i before the Rainbow Warriors joined the league.
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 spent the last 10 years at the helm for Wyoming, will become the new executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. Jay Sawvel, who has served as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator and safeties coach since February 2020, was 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. Prior to being named to the post permanently, 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 served as acting head coach for the Bulldogs’ 37-10 win over New Mexico State in the Isleta 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 came 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.
