2015 CFB Preview – Mountain West


Mountain West Go to Selection Page

 
   

Oh, by the way, America, the Mountain West won the Fiesta Bowl.

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

The league might not have come up with a slew of splashy wins last season, and the bowl season wasn’t so hot, but on the big national stage against the big Power 5 team, Boise State got by Arizona to prove that it’s still an elite program and the conference does deserve to be in the discussion for even bigger things if one of its members ends up going unbeaten.

Every MW team has at least one date against a big boy, but overall, the league needs its superstar to be at a whole other level. Fresno State didn’t get enough national respect in 2013 despite its tremendous offense, and the Las Vegas Bowl blowout to USC didn’t help the cause. But Boise State has more than earned its stripes over the years and it came up with the win the conference had to have. Of course, the playoff types are always going to take each team and each season as self-contained entities, but it was the type of victory that at least showed that the Mountain West deserves to be at the top of the Group of Five pecking order.

Can the conference bust the bracket? What if there are a slew of two-loss Power 5 conference champions and Boise State goes unbeaten with wins over Washington, BYU and Virginia on the resume? It wasn’t enough to get the respect needed in the BCS era, but it’s a different world now with a jury of voters whose job it is to look at each team and determine the worthiness.
But for Boise State, or any Mountain West team, to get close, the rest of the league has to rise up and shine.

The conference went 8-19 against Power 5 teams and BYU last season, and while the 3-4 bowl record doesn’t seem that bad – especially with the Boise State win – Nevada was stopped cold by Louisiana-Lafayette from the Sun Belt, San Diego State lost a home bowl game against Navy, and Fresno State got whipped 30-6 by Rice.

But this year, there really is reason to think more improvements are coming from top to bottom.

Air Force rebounded from an awful 2013 and came up with a huge bounceback season. Now the Falcons are back to normal and should be right back in the hunt. Utah State has another terrific defense and gets Chuckie Keeton back, Colorado State should still be solid despite the coaching change, New Mexico’s ground attack will be fantastic again, and Wyoming has the pieces to improve to a possible winning season under second-year head man Craig Bohl.

San Diego State is the star of the West – the far weaker of the two divisions – but Fresno State has enough firepower to be threatening. Nevada doesn’t really play defense, but its front seven has the experience and talent to be far, far better. San Jose State has an interesting mix of talents and could surprise, and Hawaii and UNLV will at least be interesting, even if they’re not all that strong.

The league is going strong, it has good teams and a few excellent stars, and it should be in for a good chase to the finish. And if Boise State just so happens to enter conference play at 4-0, that would be fine, too.

Bold Statements
– There are going to be a few crooked numbers put up on the board in big non-conference games. The Nevada defense vs. Texas A&M’s improved attack? Uh oh. UNLV vs. UCLA? Hawaii at Ohio State? Fresno State at Ole Miss? San Jose State at Auburn? New Mexico at Arizona State? There will be some ugly moments.

– But no one will really notice those. However, America will take note of Air Force possibly giving Michigan State a rough time, Colorado State getting a home date against Minnesota, Utah State’s defense pushing Utah and Washington, San Diego State’s defense holding down Cal, and Boise State providing all sorts of problems for Washington and Virginia.

– If the Mountain West can win three of those seven games, it’ll be a big splash.

– The season might all come down to whether or not Boise State can settle the backfield. The defense is there, the O line is terrific, and the receiving corps is great. But you don’t get better by losing Jay Ajayi.

– If there is justice in the world, Chuckie Keeton will last a full season.

– Everyone oohed and aahed over Ohio State winning a national title with a third-string quarterback – even though that third-string quarterback might be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. Utah State went 10-4 and won a bowl game even though it was down to its fourth-string quarterback.

– The college football world has to take notice of the Utah State linebacking tandem of Nick Vigil and Kyler Fackrell.

– UNLV might not be very good in the first year under Tony Sanchez, but it’ll be entertaining.

– Watch out for San Jose State. No one will think much of the Spartans coming into the season, and there aren’t many sure wins, but there’s a good nucleus in place.

– It’s Craig Bohl. Wyoming will be better because it might just have the best head coach in the conference.

– The Cowboy running game will be stellar. If QB Cameron Coffman is even slightly above average, the offense will rock.

– The San Diego State brick wall of a defense and tremendous running game will be enough to get to the Mountain West title game. Winning the championship will come down to whether or not the passing game has improved.

– New Mexico can and should work. A running game like that should take the pressure off the defense, especially one with Bob Davie as the head coach. The Lobos can and will be better. It’s as if they just need to slightly turn the corner, and then … boom.

– There might not be a more intriguing player in the league than Hawaii QB Max Wittek. The USC transfer came out of high school with all the talent in the world, but can he carry the program on his shoulders? There’s a lot riding on whether or not he has a big season. It’s not an overstatement to say the future and the direction of the program might change if he’s terrific.

– With Rykeem Yates and Ian Seau up front, and linebackers Matthew Lyons and Jordan Dobrich forming a solid 1-2 punch, Nevada’s defense has to be better. It has to.

– Colorado State is an X factor. The passing game might not blow up to last year’s level, but with WR Rashard Higgins back and a good group of skill players around him, this should still be an effective attack.

– Remember, Jim McElwain didn’t actually win anything last season. Mike Bobo might.

– Air Force WR Jalen Robinette would be an all-star on any other Mountain West offense.

– Don’t be shocked if the Falcons come up with a massive season defensively. The whole is far better than the sum of the parts – this group should be a wall against the run.

– Fresno State’s quarterback situation will be eased by having Marteze Waller to hand off to. It would be nice if the defense could hold up its end of the bargain.

– There will be several worthy challengers, but it’ll be Boise State’s league again.

Team That’ll Surprise
Wyoming – Craig Bohl is too good of a head coach to struggle for too long. He has some decent skill players in place, and the defensive front has the potential to turn into something solid. Most importantly, the schedule isn’t all that bad with winnable games against North Dakota, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico and UNLV. Win one more – like at home against Nevada or with an upset somewhere else – and it’s a bowl season.

Team That’ll Disappoint
Utah State – The defense will continue to be among the Mountain West’s best, and Chuckie Keeton is back at quarterback, but the schedule is a bear. Fortunately, showdowns against Boise State and Colorado State are in Logan, but having to play San Diego State, Air Force and Fresno State on the road is a problem and non-conference road dates against Utah and Washington will be tough.

Game of the Year …
Boise State at Colorado State, Oct 10 – It turned out to be a really big deal in the Mountain West title chase last season, and while this year the Rams need some reloading, it should be a huge home date to decide the Mountain. Air Force and Utah State might have their say – the two play in Colorado Springs on November 14th.

5 Big-Time Players Who Deserve a Bigger Spotlight …

1. LB Kamalei Corra, Jr. Boise State
2. RB Jhurell Pressley, Sr. New Mexico
3. LB Kyler Fackrell, Sr. Utah State
4. SS Weston Steelhammer, Jr. Air Force
5. SS Peni Vea, Sr. UNLV

Coach on the Hot Seat
Norm Chow, Hawaii – Everyone wants to see the legendary coach succeed. He might have been a superstar coordinator, but he hasn’t had any luck after taking over the Hawaii program going 8-29 in his three seasons. With the program fighting for more revenue, more wins, and the glory of the June Jones era, Chow needs to come up with a huge turnaround season.

5 Non-Conference Games the Mountain West opponents had better take very, very seriously
1. Washington at Boise State, Sept. 4
2. Minnesota at Colorado State, Sept. 12
3. Arizona at Nevada, Sept. 12
4. Utah State at Utah, Sept. 12
5. San Diego State at Penn State, Sept. 26

5 Best Pro Prospects
1. WR Rashard Higgins, Jr. Colorado State
2. S Darian Thompson, Sr. Boise State
3. LB Kamalei Corra, Jr. Boise State
4. RB Donnel Pumphrey, Jr. San Diego State
5. DE Ian Seau, Sr. Nevada

5 Biggest Shoes to Fill
1. RB Devan Demas for Jay Ajayi, Boise State
2. QB Nick Stevens for Garrett Grayson, Colorado State
3. LB Michael Okonkwo for Zach Vigil, Utah State
4. WR Aaron Peck for Josh Harper, Fresno State
5. QB Ryan Finley for Grant Hedrick, Boise State

2015 Team Previews
Air Force
Boise State
Colorado State
Fresno State
Hawai’i
Nevada
New Mexico
San Diego State
San Jose State
UNLV
Utah State
Wyoming
Ten Best Mountain West Players
1. WR Rashard Higgins, Jr. Colorado State
2. RB Donnel Pumphrey, Jr. SDSU
3. QB Chuckie Keeton, Sr. Utah State
4. LB Nick Vigil, Jr. Utah State
5. LB Kamalei Corra, Jr. Boise State
6. LB Dakota Cox, Jr. New Mexico
7. RB Marteze Waller, Sr. Fresno State
8. WR Devonte Boyd, Soph. UNLV
9. LB Jake Fely, Sr. San Diego State
10. S Darian Thompson, Sr. Boise State