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

In Week 4 of Mountain West play, we saw multiple teams show resilience. And all of them make the conference title race much more compelling.

Here are my top five takeaways from how Mountain West teams performed after Week 4:

QB Picture Becoming Clear In New Mexico’s Resounding Rivalry Victory

On my Substack, The Pool Report, I’ve talked about how I think New Mexico is still the best team in the Mountain West despite North Dakota State’s emergence. But that widely depended on UNM’s quarterback situation and if the Lobos could have that solidified going into the final two months of the regular season. That appears to have happened.

Toa Fa’avae was the lone quarterback to throw a pass for UNM in the Lobos’ 42-18 win over New Mexico State in the Rio Grande Rivalry on Saturday.

Fa’avae completed 10 of 17 passes for 174 yards while rushing for 57 yards. Former Oregon transfer Luke Moga didn’t take a snap. James Laubstein does have a role in the offense, but more as a change-of-pace player, as he rushed for 17 yards and two touchdowns against NMSU.

But New Mexico didn’t win this one because of its passing game. The Lobos rolled to a 3-1 record because of their run game and defense. Scottre Humphrey rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. UNM also forced three turnovers to help the offense out.

New Mexico is getting better and better, and that’s a scary concept for the rest of the conference.

UNM / NMSU Game Story: More defensive thievery helps Fa’avae, Lobos throttle NMSU Aggies [READ NOW]

Air Force’s Gutsy Win

Air Force, in some people’s eyes, was a Mountain West contender going into the season. But the Falcons’ season might’ve gone off the rails if they lost this past week, and they nearly did.

Still, Air Force found a way to beat Nevada 36-33 in double overtime, improving to 2-1 and 1-1 in conference play. The Falcons forced two field goals in both OT periods on defense, and after a field goal of their own in the first OT frame, Rocco Conti lifted his team to a win with a 7-yard touchdown run.

This was after Air Force led Nevada 27-17 with less than four minutes remaining, but the Wolf Pack (1-3, 0-1) scored 10 points to force OT.

Not surprisingly, Air Force was resilient en route to the win. Quarterback Liam Szarka completed 5 of 12 passes for 92 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. Conti added 77 yards and the TD on 11 rushing attempts.

UNLV’s Much-Needed Rebound

After starting the season 1-2, and after losing to North Texas 44-6, some began to rightfully doubt UNLV. The Rebels may still need to prove they can play better than they have, but at least they’re back on track.

UNLV (2-2) beat Akron 38-10 on the road. It wasn’t close. And going up against a team like the Zips, that’s important because it shows the Rebels have some life after their letdown performance against UNT.

Jackson Arnold led UNLV with 290 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-29 passing. Jai'Den Thomas rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while catching three passes for 54 yards and two TDs. Taz Reddicks caught a UNLV-high four passes for 116 yards and one touchdown.

UNLV also outgained Akron 493-301 and won the turnover margin 3-0. This was a much-needed outing for the Rebels, who may still need to be taken seriously in the Mountain West.

Wyoming’s Surprising Conference Victory

Wyoming seems to be a forgotten team in the Mountain West landscape. But as of right now, and of course it’s incredibly early, but the Cowboys are tied for the lead in the conference standings with North Dakota State and UNLV with a 1-0 league record.

Wyoming pulled off a 27-10 win over Hawaii and is 2-2 overall. After losing to rival Colorado State to start the year, barely beating FCS Northern Colorado and falling to Central Michigan, it was easy to write Wyoming off. But the Cowboys are 2-2 overall going into October. 

Will the Cowboys be at the top of the conference standings in a month? Will they even be there after next week’s matchup with North Dakota State? I doubt it. 

But could Wyoming fight its way to bowl-eligibility in 2026? At this point, I could see it happening.

Tiers In The Mountain West Emerging

Last week, I wrote about how New Mexico and NDSU are clearly the top two teams in the Mountain West. And I stand by that.

But there are two more tiers in the league I wanted to take a closer look at. UNLV, Wyoming, Air Force and San Jose State each have two wins so far this season and make up that second tier of teams in the conference, in my mind. 

UNLV stands out among them, even after that astoundingly disappointing loss to North Texas. And even after the defeat against NDSU, Air Force has some upside. But each of those four teams have interesting potential and could at the very least give the frontrunners some problems.

That brings me to the next four teams, the bottom tier. UTEP, Nevada and Hawaii are all 1-3 while Northern Illinois is 0-4. None of those teams’ struggles shock me more than the Rainbow Warriors’. I expected, with a high-flying offense, Hawaii would be in the mix for a conference title. But after the Wyoming loss, Hawaii is now at the very bottom of the Mountain West standings with a 0-2 league mark.

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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