* Mountain West game. Rankings are listed as Coaches/AP.
WEEKLY RELEASE
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
- A new look Mountain West opens the 28th football season for the Conference, welcoming NIU, North Dakota State and UTEP.
- Conference play opens up in Week One when UNLV travels to Hawai‘i (4 p.m. HT on The CW). This will be the first MW game on the league's newest broadcast partner, The CW.
- Saturday features the first live football games on MW+ as Air Force hosts Duquesne (11 a.m. MT) and Fordham at North Dakota State (2:30 p.m. CT). Fans can get 15% off an annual subscription by signing up for MW+ before Sept. 30.
- ESPN's Bill Connelly ran one million simulations using the preseason SP+ projections and determined the top five non-autonomous 4 teams who have the greatest chance of earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. North Dakota State (12.6%) and UNLV (7.0%) were ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, on that list.
- North Dakota State scored 33 points in its FBS debut, a 26-point victory over Jacksonville State. The Bison's 33 points are the sixth-most scored in a FBS debut since 1987.
- New Mexico and UNLV are receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and U.S. LBM Coaches preseason polls, while Hawai‘i is receiving votes in the U.S. LBM Coaches Poll.
- The Mountain West leads all non-autonomous 4 conferences with three teams receiving votes in the U.S. LBM Coaches preseason 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.
- MW teams will play 10 games against Autonomous 4 opponents, including UNLV hosting Cal in Week 5.
- New Mexico is riding a seven-game home win streak, tied for 9th-longest active streak nationally. The Lobos haven't suffered a loss at University Stadium since Nov. 2, 2024 (45-49 vs. Wyoming).
- UNLV has recorded back-to-back seasons of at least 10 victories. The Rebels are looking to become the first MW program with at least three straight years with double-digit wins since Boise State from 2016-19.
- 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, shall UNLV qualify 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.