* 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.
- ESPN's SP+ ratings rank two MW programs (North Dakota State and New Mexico) among the top three non-A4 teams nationally. NDSU is second amongst all non-A4 programs at No. 45 in SP+ rankings, while New Mexico is No. 46.
- The Mountain West has six teams with an overall record of at least .500, more teams than C-USA and Pac-12.
- The Mountain West leads all non-A4 conferences with four wins of 25-plus points against fellow non-A4 opponents this season. The MW's four 25-point wins are its most since 2021.
- North Dakota State is receiving votes in both national polls, while New Mexico is receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The MW is the only non-A4 conference with multiple teams either ranked or receiving votes.
- 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.
- North Dakota State is the only program in the last 45 seasons to win its first four games as a fully fledged FBS team while scoring at least 30 points in each victory.
- New Mexico is riding a nine-game home win streak, tied for the eighth-longest active streak nationally. The Lobos haven't suffered a loss at University Stadium since Nov. 2, 2024 (45-49 vs. Wyoming).
- New Mexico’s defense has recorded nine interceptions this season, the most by any FBS team in 2026. The only team in MW history with more defensive interceptions through four games of a season was BYU in 2002 (10).
- New Mexico held 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).
- 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, 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.