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BoiseStateFan27
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Week 1 turned out to be rather interesting in the Mountain West with some upset threats and high scoring outputs, this year seems like the best one for the conference in years....but it was only one week. Still let's over-analyze how everyone looks.
1. Boise State - Didn't know what to expect, Boise State traveled to face a Troy team that went 11-2 with a win over LSU and ran them out of their own stadium. Rypien who has been shaky at times was absolutely fantastic in the opener, if this Boise State team continues they will be tough. Up next is UConn at home after they were blown out by UCF.
2. Fresno State - Fresno State opened the year against Idaho who just dropped down to the FCS level. Fresno State dominated, putting up the highest scoring output in conference history, winning the game 79-13. We'll learn more about how good they can be in the coming weeks, next week is the first test as they go on the road to face Minnesota.
3. Hawai'i - These are power rankings so I get the right to overreact. I had Hawai'i ranked really low due to losing players to transfer but Rolovich has brought back the run and shoot and it looks great. Hawai'i has put up a lot of passing yards in shootout wins over Colorado State and Navy. Colorado State might be bad, but beating Navy was very impressive. Hawai'i still has a questionable defense and they seem to struggle more as the game goes on. They struggled to close out Colorado State but the offense did a great job of it against Navy. Up next Hawai'i hosts one of the few teams that has also played two games as they take on Rice. Rice struggled in their opener barely beating Prairie View but gave Houston a scare so this could still be a test.
4. San Diego State - I'm a little bit disappointed in San Diego State honestly. They played great in the first half against Stanford and controlled the game but had a wild play where they intercepted a tipped ball and the player who intercepted it tried to run with it and ended up fumbling it back to Standford. Stanford opened up with the pass, scored before the half and took off in the 3rd quarter. San Diego State did well against the run but their pass defense was helpless. They get a break, playing Sacramento State next.
5. Utah State - They were oh so close, Utah State faced Michigan State on the road in what was expected to be a blowout loss. Instead Utah State put up 31 on a very strong defense, and took the lead late in the game to threaten to pull the upset. Unfortunately they couldn't close it out. Still their offense makes them a major threat to anyone in the league. They also played very well against the run, their downfall ended up being their pass defense. Up next is a home game against a struggling New Mexico State.
6. UNLV - Another surprising performance by a MWC team as UNLV gave USC fits for 3 quarters. Their rushing offense proved to be very strong, and their defense was better than expected. Unfortunately they fell apart in the 4th quarter but this looks like the year Tony Sanchez can get this team to a bowl. Next is a UTEP team who has lost 13 straight, including a 30-10 loss to FCS Northern Arizona to open the season...ouch.
7. Air Force - Defense was Air Force's biggest question but they started off the season strong with a shutout win over Stony Brook. Air Force only allowed 75 yards, it's not a good opponent but still an encouraging start. We'll see what they're made of as they go on the road to face Lane Kiffin's Florida Atlantic team who just got crushed by Oklahoma.
8. Wyoming - I thought I would end up moving them up but yesterday's result prevented that. Wyoming opened the year strongly dominating New Mexico State for an easy win, but things weren't so great yesterday against Washington State. Wyoming couldn't go anywhere offensively but did lead at halftime, unfortunately Washington State broke through their defense in the 4th quarter. Wyoming's defense will allow them to hang around with most teams, but their offense doesn't look good so far. Next is a tough game as they travel to Missouri.
9. Nevada - Nevada actually struggled with Portland State for a little bit before taking off and putting up 72 points in a dominating effort. Their opponent, Portland State was really bad at the FCS level last year going winless so this was to be expected. Next we'll find out how much Nevada has improved as they face Vanderbilt.
10. Colorado State - What a miserable start for Colorado State. They opened up getting torched by Hawai'i but they did make a comeback against them to only lose by 9, Colorado State's defense was once against torched by rival Colorado but their offense struggled also. It's starting to look like it's going to be a long season for Colorado State. Up next they stare down 0-3 as they face Arkansas at home, which by the way 3 consecutive teams in these rankings play SEC teams, you don't see that too often.
11. New Mexico - They did not look too bad starting off the season with a blowout 62-30 win over the Incarnate Word. Obviously a strong start for the offense but it can't be encouraging to see the defense give up 30 to what sounds like a made up college. New Mexico is going to be crushed at Wisconsin this week.
12. San Jose State - They opened the year losing 44-38 to UC Davis. I've been somewhat optimistic in writing these rankings so to keep it that way the less I type about San Jose State the better. Next is Washington State.
1. Boise State - Didn't know what to expect, Boise State traveled to face a Troy team that went 11-2 with a win over LSU and ran them out of their own stadium. Rypien who has been shaky at times was absolutely fantastic in the opener, if this Boise State team continues they will be tough. Up next is UConn at home after they were blown out by UCF.
2. Fresno State - Fresno State opened the year against Idaho who just dropped down to the FCS level. Fresno State dominated, putting up the highest scoring output in conference history, winning the game 79-13. We'll learn more about how good they can be in the coming weeks, next week is the first test as they go on the road to face Minnesota.
3. Hawai'i - These are power rankings so I get the right to overreact. I had Hawai'i ranked really low due to losing players to transfer but Rolovich has brought back the run and shoot and it looks great. Hawai'i has put up a lot of passing yards in shootout wins over Colorado State and Navy. Colorado State might be bad, but beating Navy was very impressive. Hawai'i still has a questionable defense and they seem to struggle more as the game goes on. They struggled to close out Colorado State but the offense did a great job of it against Navy. Up next Hawai'i hosts one of the few teams that has also played two games as they take on Rice. Rice struggled in their opener barely beating Prairie View but gave Houston a scare so this could still be a test.
4. San Diego State - I'm a little bit disappointed in San Diego State honestly. They played great in the first half against Stanford and controlled the game but had a wild play where they intercepted a tipped ball and the player who intercepted it tried to run with it and ended up fumbling it back to Standford. Stanford opened up with the pass, scored before the half and took off in the 3rd quarter. San Diego State did well against the run but their pass defense was helpless. They get a break, playing Sacramento State next.
5. Utah State - They were oh so close, Utah State faced Michigan State on the road in what was expected to be a blowout loss. Instead Utah State put up 31 on a very strong defense, and took the lead late in the game to threaten to pull the upset. Unfortunately they couldn't close it out. Still their offense makes them a major threat to anyone in the league. They also played very well against the run, their downfall ended up being their pass defense. Up next is a home game against a struggling New Mexico State.
6. UNLV - Another surprising performance by a MWC team as UNLV gave USC fits for 3 quarters. Their rushing offense proved to be very strong, and their defense was better than expected. Unfortunately they fell apart in the 4th quarter but this looks like the year Tony Sanchez can get this team to a bowl. Next is a UTEP team who has lost 13 straight, including a 30-10 loss to FCS Northern Arizona to open the season...ouch.
7. Air Force - Defense was Air Force's biggest question but they started off the season strong with a shutout win over Stony Brook. Air Force only allowed 75 yards, it's not a good opponent but still an encouraging start. We'll see what they're made of as they go on the road to face Lane Kiffin's Florida Atlantic team who just got crushed by Oklahoma.
8. Wyoming - I thought I would end up moving them up but yesterday's result prevented that. Wyoming opened the year strongly dominating New Mexico State for an easy win, but things weren't so great yesterday against Washington State. Wyoming couldn't go anywhere offensively but did lead at halftime, unfortunately Washington State broke through their defense in the 4th quarter. Wyoming's defense will allow them to hang around with most teams, but their offense doesn't look good so far. Next is a tough game as they travel to Missouri.
9. Nevada - Nevada actually struggled with Portland State for a little bit before taking off and putting up 72 points in a dominating effort. Their opponent, Portland State was really bad at the FCS level last year going winless so this was to be expected. Next we'll find out how much Nevada has improved as they face Vanderbilt.
10. Colorado State - What a miserable start for Colorado State. They opened up getting torched by Hawai'i but they did make a comeback against them to only lose by 9, Colorado State's defense was once against torched by rival Colorado but their offense struggled also. It's starting to look like it's going to be a long season for Colorado State. Up next they stare down 0-3 as they face Arkansas at home, which by the way 3 consecutive teams in these rankings play SEC teams, you don't see that too often.
11. New Mexico - They did not look too bad starting off the season with a blowout 62-30 win over the Incarnate Word. Obviously a strong start for the offense but it can't be encouraging to see the defense give up 30 to what sounds like a made up college. New Mexico is going to be crushed at Wisconsin this week.
12. San Jose State - They opened the year losing 44-38 to UC Davis. I've been somewhat optimistic in writing these rankings so to keep it that way the less I type about San Jose State the better. Next is Washington State.
