Mountain West Mania: Takeaways From The Fifth Week of Mountain West College Football

After slow starts, we saw a few Mountain West teams prove they aren’t going away and are going to keep being factors in the conference title race. We also saw the top two teams in the conference keep dominating.

Here are my top five takeaways from how Mountain West teams performed after Week 5:

UNLV Pulls Off A Power Four Win

After UNLV lost to Memphis in Week 0, it would’ve been easy to think the Rebels would still be a solid team. Then after they lost to North Texas 44-6, it would’ve been easy to write UNLV off.

But whether UNLV makes the Mountain West Championship, like many thought the Rebels would going into the season, the team just proved it’s going to be a problem for the rest of the league.

UNLV (3-2) scored 24 straight points in the first half and added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hold onto a 39-31 win over Cal.

UNLV quarterback Jackson Arnold completed 11 of 22 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. 

UNLV managed to win despite allowing 464 yards on defense, and that unit is going to continue to be something to monitor. 

But suddenly that game next week when UNLV hosts North Dakota State got more interesting.

North Dakota State & New Mexico Keep Winning

Speaking of NDSU, the Bison and New Mexico have emerged as the best two teams in the Mountain West. And they just keep winning.

The Lobos are 4-1, with their lone loss being a one-possession game against Oklahoma, after beating UTEP 61-7. That one UTEP touchdown came in the fourth quarter in garbage time. That UNM defense, which gave up 270 yards of offense and forced five turnovers, is one of the best in the FBS and the Group of Six. And Toa Fa'avae keeps proving to be the leader in the quarterback room, as he threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns with one interception while completing 15 of 19 passes.

Meanwhile, North Dakota State is one of two undefeated Group of Six teams remaining as the Bison shut out Wyoming to the tune of 28-0 to improve to 5-0.

NDSU quarterback Nathan Hayes was impressive yet again. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 187 yards while rushing for 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

NDSU and New Mexico are very much threats to make the College Football Playoff from the G6.

Wyoming’s Offense Sputters

Speaking of Wyoming, the Cowboys have struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball. Head coach Jay Sawvel and his staff are going to need to figure things out if the Cowboys are going to be bowl-eligible this season.

Wyoming gained just 162 yards of offense on Saturday in the loss to NDSU, and now the Cowboys have the eighth-fewest yards in the FBS at 293.2 per game. They’ve scored the fourth-fewest points in the FBS at 14.2 per contest.

I still think the Cowboys have a solid defense, and they still have some winnable games like San Jose State, Northern Illinois and UTEP. But they’re only winnable if the Cowboys show some life on offense.

Air Force’s Encouraging Rivalry Victory

After starting Mountain West play with a six-point loss to North Dakota State at home, and a double-overtime win over Nevada, Air Force may be back on track.

The Falcons are 3-1 after beating Navy 14-9 to get an early advantage in the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy race. 

One stat you should always look at when academy teams play: time of possession. And Air Force won that battle by just over 12 minutes. The Falcons limited Navy to 11 first downs as the Midshipmen went 1 for 11 on third downs. 

Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka completed 6 of 11 passes for 82 yards with two interceptions but rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns. With him leading the way offensively, and Air Force’s defense playing the way it is, the Falcons could very well stay in the mix for the Mountain West title race.

San Jose State Keeps Battling

In the G6 landscape, I don’t think we’re talking about San Jose State enough. The Spartans are 3-2 overall and are 1-0 in conference play after beating Hawaii 20-16. 

Now, the Rainbow Warriors aren’t as good as I thought they would be this preseason. But considering that game was on the road, I still think that’s a solid win for SJSU. The Spartans also looked to be a competitive team in their losses against USC and Fresno State. 

And with upcoming games against Wyoming, UTEP and Nevada, the Spartans may be bowl-eligible before we even get to November.

Colton Pool is a Group of Six college football writer and has covered the G6 for five years. He’s the host of The Pool Report Podcast and writes for The Pool Report Substack.

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