Mountain West Mania: Takeaways From The First Week of Mountain West College Football
It didn’t take long before the Mountain West flipped preseason expectations on its head.
Some teams over performed. Some didn’t live up to expectations. And one has already bounced back with a conference victory after a disappointing Week 0 result.
Here are my top five takeaways from how Mountain West teams performed after Week 1:
New Mexico Isn’t Going Anywhere
News broke that New Mexico’s No. 1 quarterback, Jack Layne, would miss the 2026 season due to injury just days before the season opener. And many wondered if the Lobos would live up to the expectations the program had established for itself as a preseason conference championship contender.
If Week 1 was any indication, New Mexico fully intends on remaining competitive.
The Lobos were dominant defensively in their 38-7 season-opening victory over Central Michigan, allowing just 149 yards of total offense. They forced a pair of turnovers, limited a strong CMU rushing attack to 3.7 yards per rush and forced the Chippewas to go 2 of 11 on third downs.
But we knew UNM could be strong on that side of the ball. So maybe what’s most encouraging is that, while three quarterbacks saw the field for the Lobos, they still were productive on that side of the ball.
Luke Moga completed 13 of 17 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown, and fellow QB James Laubstein rushed for a pair of TDs in the win. Led by Scottre Humphrey, who tallied 64 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, New Mexico rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns for the game.
It may still take a week or two for New Mexico to solidify its quarterback situation. But the Lobos still proved they can move the ball.
North Dakota State Is For Real
In terms of the Group of Six landscape, I was one who thought we should temper expectations for North Dakota State as it moved up to the FBS this season. This team didn’t quite have the same talent on paper as the NDSU teams that upset Kansas State and Iowa during its dominant run in the FCS. Thus, automatically assuming the Bison would compete for a College Football Playoff spot seemed a little lofty.
I was wrong.
The Bison started the season with a 33-7 triumph over Jacksonville State, one of the preseason favorites to win Conference USA, in Week 0. NDSU then kept its foot on the gas and beat Fordham 38-0 this past weekend.
That win over Jax State told me all I needed to know. Between some incredible passes from first-year starting quarterback Nathan Hayes, a rushing attack that put up 209 yards on the ground and a defense that limited the Gamecocks to just 85 rushing yards, this Bison team is well-rounded. And they are ready for the Mountain West.
UNLV’s Resounding Response
We’re not even to Week 2 yet, and UNLV has already played in a couple of games that could have massive College Football Playoff implications.
The Rebels hosted Memphis in Week 0 and lost 27-21. They weren’t able to score at all in the final 25 minutes of the contest, which is unlike the high-flying 2025 UNLV team that seemed capable of scoring at will.
But there were encouraging signs for UNLV in that game, specifically on defense. The Rebels mostly struggled on that side of the ball last year. The fact that they didn’t give up 40-plus points in a close game like that reflected head coach Dan Mullen’s desire to get better on defense.
And that improvement showed up in a big way in Week 1 when UNLV beat Hawaii 21-6, keeping a high-powered Hawaii offense out of the end zone for the entire game.
The fact that UNLV bounced back like it did against an opponent like Hawaii proves that the Rebels are still intent on returning to the Mountain West title game.
Hawaii Starts Off Slow
Hawaii didn’t just lose to UNLV, though. The Rainbow Warriors were also predicted by some to be a G6 team that could pull off an upset over a Power Four program when they played Stanford in Week 0.
But they couldn’t win in that one, either, losing 37-27. It was especially disappointing since Stanford led 23-7 going into the fourth quarter and Hawaii scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth to take the lead by four points with just over four minutes remaining.
Hawaii was a top 15 team in my G6 preseason rankings. Starting out 0-2, including a loss in conference play, is not how the Rainbow Warriors hoped the season would go so far.
That said, there’s still plenty of season left. With games against New Mexico State, Wyoming and San Jose State next, Hawaii could very well have a winning record before taking on Arizona State on Oct. 10.
We Should Take Nevada Seriously
To me, Nevada’s performance was the biggest surprise in the Mountain West in Week 1.
Nevada didn’t just beat Western Kentucky, my preseason pick to win Conference USA, the Wolf Pack dominated in a 49-14 win at home to open the season.
Nevada quarterback Carter Jones completed 9 of 15 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while rushing for 50 yards. Dominic Kelley ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries as Nevada rushed for 323 yards and five scores as a team. Nevada, which led 35-7 before the game even reached the fourth quarter, outgained WKU 486-367.
Wolf Pack head coach Jeff Choate was on the hot seat going into this season in many people’s eyes, but a win like this certainly helps his case to stay around in Reno.
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.
Suffocate, throttle, or dominate—pick your verb, because New Mexico’s defense executed them all on Saturday night.
In front of 24,126 fans, their largest home-opening crowd since 2014, the Lobos dismantled Central Michigan 38-7 to secure their most decisive season-opening victory against an FBS opponent in 42 years. Defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky’s unit delivered a masterclass in relentless execution, holding the Chippewas without a single first down for nearly the entire first half and surrendering just three yards across CMU's opening 12 plays.