For the first time ever, New Mexico made an appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. That also means UNM is emerging as one of the best teams in the Group of Six and therefore is a bona fide College Football Playoff contender.
But the Lobos’ latest win wasn’t easy. In fact, a few teams struggled this past Saturday.
Here are my top five takeaways from how Mountain West teams performed after Week 8:
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New Mexico Stays On Top Of The Mountain West Standings — Barely
New Mexico still has the No. 1 scoring defense in the country right now at 11.9 points per game allowed. And the Lobos remained the lone team that’s undefeated in Mountain West play after beating San Jose State 21-16.
But this game was closer than it probably should’ve been, and that’s because of the offense. The Lobos were up 21-9 going into the fourth quarter, but an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa made it a one-possession game with just under 11 minutes to go. Yet even after a missed field goal on the following possession, New Mexico held onto the lead in large part because of its defense.
With that unit, the Lobos are unquestionably the No. 1 team in the Mountain West and the No. 2 team in the G6 right now only behind Boise State. But their offense needs to improve if they’re going to close out the regular season like they want to, because they still have to take on UNLV, Wyoming and Air Force.
Is Wyoming A Championship Contender?
Speaking of Wyoming, the Cowboys are emerging as a favorite to make the conference title. They’re second in the Mountain West standings with a 4-1 league record and are 5-3 overall after winning three straight games over San Jose State, Northern Illinois and Air Force.
I like how the Cowboys have played, but if they really are going to challenge for the Mountain West crown, they had better prove they’re ready in their next three games. They go on the road to take on UNLV next, then play at UTEP before hosting New Mexico and closing the regular season with a non-conference matchup against UConn.
Can Wyoming appear in the title game? Absolutely. Are the Cowboys my pick? Not quite. That would be New Mexico and the next team I’m going to talk about.
UNLV Survives Near Upset At Home
UNLV has gone through such a turbulent 2026 season.
The Rebels started out 1-2 with losses to Memphis and North Texas — that second game being a 44-6 blowout. But that UNT contest now feels so long ago because the Rebels have won four of their last five games.
That stretch includes victories over Cal and Mountain West challenger North Dakota State. However, after that NDSU win, the Rebels fell 41-31 against Air Force. And just when it seemed UNLV might follow up with a routine win over winless Northern Illinois, the Huskies managed to keep it close. NIU cut the lead to seven points midway through the third quarter, but the Rebels held strong and kept the Huskies scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
It’s brutal trying to figure this team out. But the Rebels close the season out against Wyoming, New Mexico, San Jose State and Nevada. And I think UNLV is better than all of those teams except for the Lobos.
If that’s true — and UNLV actually proves it on the field — the Rebels will return to the league title game.
Air Force Refusing To Go Away
If Air Force didn’t already have two conference losses, it would be more tempting to pick the Falcons as the team that’ll meet New Mexico in the Mountain West championship. The Falcons are playing well despite the loss of quarterback Liam Szarka.
They’ve won five of their last six games after defeating UConn 35-26. Kemper Hodges ran for an astounding 200 yards and four touchdowns in that one.
But the Falcons needed to bounce back after losing to Wyoming in their previous outing. And considering they still have to play Army, San Jose State and New Mexico, the Falcons may be grateful they’ve already secured bowl-eligibility.
North Dakota State Bounces Back
North Dakota State started out so strong, winning their first five contests. And the Bison kept playing well in their next four, going 2-2 with wins over Nevada and against UTEP, 31-7 last weekend.
The Bison are a championship-caliber team. But they may end up falling just short of the Mountain West title game in their first year in the FBS.
The Bison had to take on UNLV and New Mexico both on the road and ended up losing those games. So they are on the outside looking in as it pertains to the league standings. They’re not in a bad position at 7-2 and 4-2 against conference foes. And I could see them finishing the season with three straight wins against Hawaii, NIU and San Jose State.
But they won’t own tiebreakers against New Mexico or UNLV, which are both ahead of the Bison in the league standings. And Wyoming only has one loss as well.
So despite how well the Bison are playing, I don’t see the rest of the season unfolding in their favor.
New Mexico enters the AP Top 25 as a Playoff contender, while UNLV, Wyoming, and NDSU scramble for title positions. Here are 5 key Mountain West Week 8 takeaways.