The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Bowl Season
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Bowl season is officially over and it was less than spectacular for the Mountain West. Each team entered the bowl season with high hopes, but results were not ideal with the Mountain West winning only two of the seven bowl games they appeared in. Over the past two weeks, we reviewed the Potato Bowl and the Los Angeles Bowl. This week we look at how San Diego State, Fresno State, Hawaii, UNLV, and New Mexico fared in their bowl games. Without further ado, let’s take one final look at how the Mountain West finished the bowl season in this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.”
The Good
Hawaii
The Hawaii Bowl was far and away the best Mountain West bowl game this season. It featured two elite freshmen quarterbacks with ties to the state of Hawaii and neither disappointed. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 343 yards and Hawaii’s Micah Alejado threw for 274 yards. The atmosphere for this game was incredible and the homefield advantage for the Rainbow Warriors played a huge role in helping them pull off the 35-31 come from behind victory. While Alejado may have been the star, the play of the game actually came when backup quarterback Luke Weaver threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle after Alejado exited the game on the previous play with an injury. Not only was it an exciting game, it was a huge win over a Power Five program. With Alejado returning, the Rainbow Warriors might be the favorites in the Mountain West next season.
Fresno State
It wasn’t the prettiest football game, but it was exactly the style of football that Matt Entz and the Fresno State football team love. The Bulldogs’ defense came to play in Tuscon as they came away with an 18-3 win over a pesky Miami (Ohio) squad. The Bulldogs limited the RedHawks to only 192 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers. Bulldog quarterback EJ Warner was solid in his final game, completing 15 of 22 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. The win was Fresno State’s ninth of the season, a huge improvement over a frustrating 2024 season. If the Bulldogs can solidify the quarterback position, they have a real chance to be contenders in the PAC 12 next season.
The Bad
San Diego State
The New Mexico Bowl was unlike any San Diego State game this season. They scored a ton of points. Unfortunately, they gave up more points. In one of the most exciting games this bowl season, we saw nearly 100 points and over 1100 yards of offense in San Diego State’s 49-47 loss to North Texas. The top defense in the Mountain West had their worst defensive showing of the season against a potent Mean Green offense that had 618 yards, with 368 of those coming on the ground. The Aztecs were without Jayden Denegal in this one and went with the quarterback tandem of Kyle Crum and Bert Emanuel Jr. Both quarterbacks struggled to throw the ball, but Emmanuel Jr. kept the Aztecs in the game with his legs, rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough for San Diego State to come away with the win.
New Mexico
It was a valiant effort by the Lobos, taking the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers to overtime before losing 20-17. Special teams and defense did everything they could to keep New Mexico in this game, but ultimately they couldn’t do enough on the offensive side of the ball to come away with the victory. While it was ultimately a great season for the Lobos, inconsistent quarterback play plagued this team. Jack Layne completed only 14 of 25 passes for 88 yards and had an interception. If you want to beat good teams, you need your quarterback to perform at a higher level.
The Ugly
UNLV
Maybe Anthony Colandrea already had his mind on the transfer portal, but of all the Mountain West bowl games this felt like a sure win for UNLV and the Mountain West. The Rebels were going against a MAC team with a coach that was recently fired and couldn’t even muster 300 yards of total offense. The Rebels turned the ball over twice and looked discombobulated on offense. Sometimes it feels like Dan Mullen tries to get too cute on offense. Jai’Den Thomas was having success in the run game but had only 11 carries. This was a head-scratching performance from a team that had a successful season.
How do you feel about the Mountain West’s performance this bowl season? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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