2024 MW Football Weekly Release - Sept. 3

Notes

• Ten Mountain West programs are in action in Week 2, with Air Force hosting San José State in the Conference opener for both teams. Other marquee matchups see Boise State visit No. 6/7 Oregon, Utah State head to No. 14/13 USC, San Diego State host Oregon State and Nevada welcome Georgia Southern as the MW tries to complete the season sweep against the Sun Belt.
• The Mountain West has the strongest nonconference schedule in the FBS. MW teams have 35 nonconference games scheduled this season against Autonomous 4 opponents, the most of any FBS league (counting Notre Dame, Oregon State and Washington State as A4 teams), with the next-closest totaling 27. The MW has four (4) games against the ACC, eight (8) against the Big 12, six (6) against the Big Ten and two (2) against the SEC in addition to 15 contests against Oregon State and Washington State, most of which are part of a scheduling agreement that will see all 12 MW schools face either the Beavers or Cougars. Fifteen of the MW’s games against Autonomous 4 opponents this season will be played at home.
• It’s a new era for the College Football Playoff in 2024, as the five highest-ranked FBS conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked at-large teams will earn spots in the 12-team postseason playoff. With unprecedented access to the CFP, the Mountain West will be well-positioned to earn a shot at competing for a national title.
• Three Mountain West programs are receiving votes in either the AFCA Coaches Poll or the Associated Press Top 25, with Boise State and UNLV receiving votes in both. Air Force is receiving votes in the AFCA poll.
• Mountain West squads have a total of 12 nonconference games scheduled against teams that have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA and/or AP top-25 polls this season, including four at home. Of those 12 contests, seven are against preseason ranked squads, with three inside the top 10. MW teams took on three ranked teams in Week 1, with Colorado State visiting 2023-24 CFP semifinalist and No. 4/4 Texas, Fresno State at defending national champion and No. 8/9 Michigan, and New Mexico at No. 21/21 Arizona. Week 2 sees Boise State visit No. 6/7 Oregon and Utah State head west to No. 14/13 USC.

• Since 2018, the MW has the best winning percentage over Autonomous 5 teams (28.6) among its peer conferences. MW teams have collected 30 wins over such teams in that span.
• Seven Mountain West teams earned victories in Week 1. UNLV collected a 20-point win over Houston for its first win over a Big 12 opponent since 2008, while Boise State and Nevada picked up key road wins over Sun Belt squads. Air Force, San Diego State, San José State and Utah State all rolled to home wins over FCS opponents.
• UNLV used a suffocating defense to down Houston in Week 1 taking a shutout deep into the fourth quarter of its 27-7 win. The Rebels held the Cougars to just 247 yards of total offense, including just 38 on the ground and linebacker Jackson Woodard had a game-high 11 tackles and a career-best three sacks among four tackles for loss to earn MW Defensive Player of the Week honors. Safety Jalen Catalon had two interceptions, one of which he returned 36 yards for a touchdown, while quarterback Matthew Sluka was 6-for-13 for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jacob De Jesus in his first start as a Rebel.
• Boise State dropped Georgia Southern 56-45 behind a record-setting day from running back Ashton Jeanty, who carried 20 times for a school-record 267 yards and six touchdowns, surpassing the BSU record and matching the MW record. Freshman running back Sire Gaines accounted for 154 all-purpose yards, running for 110 yards and a touchdown and catching three passes for 44 yards and a TD. The pair were named the MW Offensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, after headlining the Broncos’ 371-yard rushing attack, with Jeanty adding Reese’s Senior Bowl Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. Senior Jonah Dalmas converted six point-after tries to push his career total to 410 points, making him the Mountain West’s career scoring leader. He passed former TCU kicker Ross Evans, who had 407 points from 2008-11.
• Nevada picked up its first win of the season and the first win of the Jeff Choate era with a 28-26 victory at two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy. Quarterback Brendon Lewis was efficient, going 17-for-20 for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Savion Red rushed 11 times for 137 yards. Linebacker Drue Watts had a game-high 12 tackles to pace the Wolf Pack defense. Nevada, whose first two opponents were receiving votes in either the AFCA or Associated Press preseason polls, host Georgia Southern on Saturday to continue its tough early slate. The Wolf Pack dropped a 29-24 contest to new ACC member SMU to open the season in Week 0.
• Air Force won its 18th straight season opener with its 21-6 victory over Merrimack in Week 1, taking a shutout into the final second of the game. The Falcons’ defense was the star of the show, forcing four fumbles, recovering three and converting two into touchdowns. Junior quarterback John Busha made his first career start, completing six passes for 71 yards and rushing nine times for 37 yards. Wide receiver Cade Harris ran for 11 yards and two touchdowns and running back Owen Allen rushed 16 times for a game-high 63 yards.
• San Diego State’s Marquez Cooper had an outstanding debut for the Aztecs in their 45-14 win over Texas A&M Commerce, rushing 27 times for 223 yards and two touchdowns to give coach Sean Lewis a win in his SDSU debut. After trailing 6-3 at the half, San Diego State seized control of the game with a three-touchdown burst in a span of 5:01 in the third quarter. Cooper got the rally started with a 47-yard scoring run. Two plays later, Trey White forced a TAMUC fumble that Tano Letuli jumped on in the end zone for a score. The Aztecs capped the quick onslaught with Danny O’Neil‘s 44-yard touchdown pass to Louis Brown IV to make it a 22-6 game. SDSU would score 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
• Jeanty and Cooper posted the top two rushing games of the season so far, as the MW has two of the three 200-yard rushing games in the FBS.
• San José State got the Ken Niumatalolo era started off right with a 42-24 win over Sacramento State in Week 1. Wide receiver Nick Nash had a monster game for the Spartans, catching 10 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns and passing for a 26-yard score. The Spartans forced five turnovers on the evening.
• Utah State rolled up 646 yards of total offense in its season-opening 36-14 win over Robert Morris, handing interim head coach Nate Dreiling his first career win. Wide receiver Kyrese White had three catches for 131 yards and two TDs, while kicker Elliott Nimrod converted three field goals, including a career-best 50-yard effort, en route to 12 points on the day and MW Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
• Fresno State gave defending national champion and No. 8/9 Michigan a battle, trailing just 16-10 with 10:06 to play, but fell 30-10 in Ann Arbor. Quarterback Mikey Keene completed 22-of-36 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown, while receiver Jalen Moss had six catches for 97 yards. Defensive back Camryn Bracha had a game-best 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss.
• Hawai‘i came tantalizingly close to picking up its first win over Big Ten opponent since 2006, but UCLA kicked a 32-yard field goal with 56 seconds left to steal a 16-13 win. Quarterback Brayden Schager was 25-for-42 for 227 yards and a touchdown to Pofele Ashlock, who had nine catches for 112 yards.
• New Mexico dropped a 61-39 decision at No. 21/21 Arizona in a contest that was closer than the final score indicated. Tied at 14 after the first quarter and down just three at the half, the Lobos tallied 471 yards of total offense, led by quarterback Devon Dampier and wide receiver Luke Wysong. Dampier threw for a career-best 260 yards and three TDs and ran for 130 yards and two scores. Wysong nearly had a career day in the first quarter alone, catching five passes for 94 yards, one shy of his career-best effort. He would finish the day with 129 yards and a TD on eight catches.
• Wyoming fell 48-7 at Arizona State to open its season. The Cowboys avoided the shutout on Kaden Anderson‘s 3-yard TD pass to Chris Durr with 2 seconds left in the contest. VMI transfer Jack Culbreath punted eight times in his Wyoming debut for an average of 47 yards per punt and a long of 59.
• Colorado State fell 52-0 at No. 4/4 Texas in Week 1. Despite the Longhorns’ smothering defense, CSU redshirt freshman running back Justin Marshall had 25 carries for 106 yards.
• On Saturday, Colorado State will retire the No. 14 worn by Lt. Col. John Mosley across all sports. Lt. Col. Mosley came to Colorado State as a National Merit Scholar in 1939. He made the football team as a freshman, becoming the first African American football player at CSU since 1906 and was eventually the first African American letterwinner in CSU football history. Lt. Col. Mosley, who was also an all-conference wrestler for the Rams, is a member of the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. After graduation, he enrolled at the Tuskegee Flight training center and became one of the first African American bomber pilots in United States history.
• Eighty-two players from Mountain West programs are on NFL rosters, with 53 on active rosters. Boise State leads the way with 12 players on active rosters entering the 2024 season.
• Two MW players were added to the Ray Guy Award watch list prior to Week 1 action. The additions of Colorado State graduate Paddy Turner and San Diego State senior Tyler Pastula give the MW six players on the watch list.
• Eight of the 12 MW programs are under new leadership this season. Boise State’s Spencer Danielson enters his first full season for the Broncos after serving as their interim coach for the final four games of the season, while Fresno State’s Tim Skipper, who served as acting coach for the Bulldogs in their win in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl last season, will serve as Fresno State’s interim coach this season after former coach Jeff Tedford stepped down in July. Jeff Choate (Nevada), Bronco Mendenhall (New Mexico), Sean Lewis (San Diego State), Ken Niumatalolo (San José State), Nate Dreiling (Utah State, interim) and Jay Sawvel (Wyoming) enter their first seasons at the helms of their respective programs. Mendenhall, the 2006 MW Coach of the Year, was the head coach at BYU from 2005-10, while Sawvel served on former Pokes coach Craig Bohl’s staff since 2020 as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Niumatalolo, who was a three-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year during a successful 15-year run at Navy, 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.