Mountain West Football Rankings: Week 4. Wyoming & Nevada rise, while Hawaii and UTEP fall.

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The college football season is firing on all cylinders, and games are happening every weekend. The rankings are back for another week. Read on to see how this week’s slate of games affected each team’s status in the MWCConnection Mountain West rankings.

1) North Dakota State (0)

BYE WEEK

2) New Mexico (0)

The Lobos got back to their winning ways, having no issue with New Mexico State in the rivalry game. It appears they are committing to one quarterback rather than the two-QB system they have been employing so far this season. The move appears to complement the strong running game they have. Also, New Mexico’s defense continues to look great, as they have held every team they have faced so far this year to under 20 points. The October game against NDSU figures to be a must-watch.

3) Air Force (0)

The Falcons came away with a thrilling double overtime win this weekend, and one that was sorely needed. The offense continues to put up a lot of points, headlined by a star quarterback. When they are firing on all cylinders, they are tough to stop. However, the defense continues to have problems. This past week, they displayed a lack of discipline with penalties and big plays given up. Air Force still has a lot to improve upon as they exit September, but they look like the third-best team in the Mountain West at this point in the season.

4) San Jose State (0)

BYE WEEK

5) UNLV (0)

The Rebels bounced back in a big way coming out of the bye, erupting for 493 yards and 38 points on the day. They scored early and often, with Jai’Den Thomas rediscovering his form to go over 100 yards on the day and Jackson Arnold passing for three scores through the air. The defense also found a way to pick off three passes, as well as pitch a shutout in the second half, which helped turn this game into a blowout by the end of it. It will be interesting to see if UNLV has figured some things out or if they were beating up on a weak opponent.

6) Wyoming (+1)

For at least one week, the Cowboys had everything going according to plan. They featured a strong rushing attack with just enough passing to keep the opposition off balance. And their defense executed a good scheme to keep points off the board. Wyoming still has a lot of questions to answer and a lot to improve, but they made some changes during the week of prep, and it’s nice to see some of those changes lead to success when every win matters.

7) Hawaii (-1)

The Rainbow Warriors came out of the bye week with all of the same issues they had going into it. The offense remains a shell of itself, scoring just 10 points and putting up only 226 passing yards despite 44 attempts from Micah Alejado. He and his receivers continue to struggle to get on the same page and none are stepping up to be the main guy who can make a big catch for an explosive gain. It’s been a trying season so far for Hawaii and they don’t seem to have the answers at this point.

8) Nevada (+1)

The Wolf Pack move up despite the loss for their inspired play. While fans are understandably frustrated after yet another close loss, the offense looked as good as it has all season. Hershel Turner stepped up in the diverse running game, giving them another player capable of making plays. However, the defense gave up way too many yards to win the game, although part of that may be due to the challenges facing the triple option. Nevada played much better this week, and playing to that level should win them some games this year, although it didn’t this weekend.

9) UTEP (-1)

The Miners picked up where they left off, and not in a good way. After things fell apart for them in the second half of last week’s game, they scored one lone touchdown in this contest, and that wasn’t until the third quarter. They couldn’t establish anything on the ground and didn’t do much better in the passing game. And going up against one of the best passing teams in the country isn’t fun for anyone, much less a struggling defense. It was expected that UTEP would struggle this season, but it’s still disappointing to see them play this poorly.

10) NIU (0)

The Huskies are crawling their way out of September, with another big loss. Their offensive stats look good, 432 total yards and 320 through the air, but they didn’t find the end zone enough and didn’t find it at all in the second half. Meanwhile, the floodgates were open on defense, as they were not able to contain Georgia State at all. Things won’t get any easier for NIU once conference play begins, but they have some soul-searching to do during the bye week.

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