Mountaintop View 8-31-26. Bison win, SJSU, Hawaii, UNLV suffer losses. NCAA Calendar Changes

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It’s Monday, and we are back at it! As the season officially kicks off, we have you covered. As always, check out our original coverage and what we can find on the World Wide Web below.

Spartans outclassed by Trojans

This Week 0 game went pretty much as expected. The Spartans were outclassed for much of the game, getting shut out until midway through the third quarter. They were able to bring things back to respectability during garbage time, which counts for something. However, new starting quarterback Luke Weaver looked good, which is a relief. Hard to glean much else from this game.

Bison dominate in first FBS game

North Dakota State had a statement victory, their first of many at the FBS level. Nathan Hayes had a strong debut, throwing for two touchdowns. The defense stole the show, scoring a touchdown and holding the Gamecocks to 2 for 10 on third downs and 170 total yards for the game. The road will get tougher for the Bison, but they were more than capable this week.

Hawaii battles back, finds way to lose

The Rainbow Warriors have had some memorable Week 0 wins over the years. This was almost one of them, but instead turned into a heartbreaking loss. Trailing 23-7 heading into the fourth quarter, Hawaii’s offense finally got going, with two TD passes late by Micah Alejado to take the lead with just over 4 mins to go. Stanford answered with a TD of their own and then recovered an Alejado fumble for a scoop-and-score to go up by 10 with 1:12 to play. In a confusing response, Hawaii didn’t seem to try to score again. For those monitoring the WR situation, it was young players stepping up. Kainoa Carvalho led the way with 72 receiving yards, while Tama Uiliata had 62 yards and a TD.

UNLV suffers a loss to open the year.

In arguably the best Week 0 matchup entering the weekend, and one of the best G6 games in 2026, the Rebels came up on the wrong side of the score. It was a back-and-forth affair, with Jackson Arnold proving he can lead the offense. However, Memphis pulled away in the fourth thanks to some aggressive pass-rushing and consistency in moving the ball down the field. UNLV struggled to get the run game going after the early scripted plays, and the offense struggled mightily after star OL Austin Boyd left the game with an injury. UNLV will have a lot to clear up before their next game.

NCAA Calendar Changes

On the horizon:

Today: Mountain West Players of the Week: Week 0

Today: Mountain West Rankings: Week 0

Today: A new Recruiting Roundup discussing recruiting pitches by teams in new conferences

Tuesday: Hike’s Peak Podcast: Episode 168

Tuesday: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Week 0

Tuesday: The Lobos still have the QBs to win

Tuesday: Reacts Survey

Wednesday: Bowl Projections: Week 0

Wednesday: The Pac-12 has rebuilt; now the hard work begins

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