* Mountain West game. Rankings are listed as Coaches/AP.
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
- A new look Mountain West opens the 28th football season for the Conference, welcoming NIU, North Dakota State and UTEP.
- 50% of MW teams have winning overall records, tied with the American for the highest percentage among the non-autonomous conferences.
- Seven of the 10 Mountain West teams have multiple conference wins this season (70.0%). That is the highest share among all G6 conferences in 2026.
- New Mexico and North Dakota State are two of the top four rated non-A4 teams in ESPN’s SP+ ratings. The MW is the only Group of Six conference with multiple teams in the top 4.
- 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 amongst non-A4 conferences, and more than Pac-12, Sun Belt and C-USA.
- New Mexico is receiving votes in both national polls for the third consecutive week.
- 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, tied for the fifth-longest active streak nationally. The Lobos haven't suffered a loss at University Stadium since Nov. 2, 2024 (45-49 vs. Wyoming).
- New Mexico is one of two FBS teams to have multiple games scoring at least 60 points this season (along with top-ranked Georgia). The Lobos are the first MW team to have multiple 60-point games in a single season since 2018.
- 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).
- New Mexico is the only FBS team that has forced multiple turnovers in every single game this season. The last MW teams to have a longer streak within a single season were San Diego State and TCU in 2005 (10 straight each).
- 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 (11.3) and North Dakota State (12.5) rank first and third in the FBS for fewest points allowed per game this season. The Mountain West has never finished a season with two teams in the top five in the category.
- 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.