Group Of Five – MWC College Football Preview 2024
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Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Can the conference come through all of the chaos to become bigger and better? San Diego State was about to leave this time last year but didn’t after the Pac-12 imploded. The conference is still intact and none of the other Mountain West members appear to be all that close to taking off to the other Power Four conferences.
The MWC announced a new multi-year football TV media deal with TNT sports the first of July. Beginning August 29th, the MWC will have 14 games this season featured on TruTV (linear/cable) and on Max (streaming). This is in addition to their media rights deal with CBS/Fox. Additional money is going to be a huge factor in schools not leaving for greener pastures, or the possibility of a merger with Oregon State and Washington State to rebuild the PAC 12.
It's tru‼️
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 1, 2024
The Mountain West and @tntsports have teamed up on a multi-year agreement to bring #MWFB to @truTV and @StreamOnMax 📺🏈 pic.twitter.com/NhhwcDm4YM
How big a factor will Oregon State and Washington State be? The Beavers and Cougars are hanging out with the Mountain West to fill out their respective schedules. The games don’t count in the Mountain West standings, but they’ll be a big deal overall with the two teams a weekly factor for conference members. It will be a boost for things like attendance and viewership.
What MWC teams miss Oregon State? Fresno State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming.
What MWC teams miss Washington State? Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada and UNLV.
Boise State, San Diego State, and San Jose State will get to play both.
Can the Mountain West get a team into the College Football Playoff? Boise State was the first Group of Five to play in a New Year’s Six bowl in the CFP era, when the Broncos played and beat Arizona in 2014.
How good is this Boise State offense going to be? 🥵
— Redshirt Heisman (@TasteOfSport) June 30, 2024
We already talked about how Ashton Jeanty was a STUD…but they also got 2 former 5-stars with a lot to prove:
🔵 QB Malachi Nelson (USC transfer)
🟠 WR Chris Marshall (Texas A&M transfer) 🍿 pic.twitter.com/tMXVvVgzUx
But now with the new expanded playoff, this is when the Mountain West needs to establish itself as a regular Group of Five conference in the post-season tournament. Air Force has a favorable schedule, Boise State is probably the league’s best team, and Fresno State might be in the mix even with road dates at Michigan and UCLA.
Predictions
Boise State will have one of the most productive backfields in the country. Losing QB Taylen Green to the Razorbacks hurt, but landing former USC super-recruit Malachi Nelson through the transfer portal was a big deal. Keeping top RB Ashton Jeanty from the portal was every bit as huge. No, the Broncos probably won’t be seventh in the nation in rushing again, but the combination will be one of the best in all of college football.
It’ll take a bit but expect the San Diego State offense to be a whole lot more fun. New head coach Sean Lewis took a year-and-a-half to get things going at Kent State, but when the FlashFast Offense got rolling it was amazing, finishing fifth in the nation in total yards in 2021. Again, it might take a bit to get there, but in a bold prediction kind of way, watch for the Aztec attack to be a dangerous factor over the second half of the season.
Ready to represent the #BRADDAHHOOD in Vegas 🤙@BraydenSchager and @maanuma6 will join @CoachTimmyChang on the mic at Mountain West Media Day next week. #GoBows pic.twitter.com/BoqChx8tR6
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) July 2, 2024
Hawaii will lead the Mountain West in passing for the first time since 2018. Head coach Timmy Chang will be in his third year after having to totally rebuild the program. Chang hung on to (from the portal) his quarterback in Brayden Schager, along with the top six targets from last year to finally make the high-powered passing game fly. Look for the Fly Zone again from the Rainbow Warriors.
10 Best Mountain West Players
1. Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State, Jr.
2. Tory Horton, WR Colorado State, Sr.
3. Ahmed Hassanein, DE Boise State, Sr.
4. Jalen Roads, WR Utah State, Sr.
5. Jack Howell, S Colorado State, Sr.
6. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, QB Colorado State, Soph.
Ashton Jeanty is the best runningback in the country, but wasn’t eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft.
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 16, 2024
Jeanty turned down the portal likely with interest from schools like Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, etc, and stuck with Boise State.
RB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/6dQ91SvbHc
7. Ricky White, WR UNLV, Sr.
8. Ike Larsen, S Utah State, Jr.
9. Jackson Woodard, LB UNLV, Sr.
10. Malachi Nelson, QB Boise State, Soph.
10 Best MWC Games
Keeping this to just Mountain West vs Mountain West games
1. Fresno State at Air Force, Nov. 9
2. Boise State at UNLV, Oct. 26
3. Utah State at Boise State, Oct. 5
4. Fresno State at UNLV, Sept. 28
5. Boise State at Wyoming, Nov. 23
What school has the loudest stadium in the Mountain West? pic.twitter.com/C9PQSbfUzy
— West Coast College Sports Guy (@Pac12fan10) April 28, 2024
6. Colorado State at Air Force, Oct. 19
7. Air Force at Wyoming, Sept. 28
8. Boise State at Hawaii, Oct. 12
9. Air Force at San Diego State, Nov. 30
10. Colorado State at Fresno State, Nov. 23
10 Top MWC Transfers
1. Korey Foreman, EDGE, Fresno State (USC)
2. Jalen Catalon, S UNLV (Texas)
3. Marquez Cooper, RB San Diego State (Ball State)
4. Tony Grimes, CB UNLV (Texas A&M)
5. Clay Patterson, DT UNLV (Yale)
6. Casey Cain, WR UNLV (Texas)
COMMITTED 🔒🔴⚫️ #AztecFAST #BeTheA1pha @AztecFB pic.twitter.com/2lG4ozktOc
— Marquez Cooper (@quez__15) April 27, 2024
7. Kitan Crawford, S Nevada (Texas)
8. Patrick Garwo, RB Nevada (Boston College)
9. Floyd Chalk IV, RB San Jose State (Georgia)
10. Fabian Ross, CB Hawaii (USC)
Top MWC Quarterback Transfers
– Malachi Nelson, Boise State (USC)
– AJ Duffy, San Diego State (Florida State)
– Bryson Barnes, Utah State (Utah)
– Chubba Purdy, Nevada (Nebraska)
– Matthew Sluka, UNLV (Holy Cross) & Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV (Campbell)
New MWC Head Coaches
Jeff Choate, Nevada
Fantastic as the head man at Montana State for four years, and great as the Texas defensive coordinator, he’s now taking over a Nevada program that needs an overhaul after winning just four games in the last two seasons.
Sean Lewis, San Diego State
Get ready for AztecFast. San Diego State is going through a total overhaul, but all of a sudden, Aztec football will go from tough and slow, to going warp speed offensively.
Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico
An outstanding coach at BYU, he left for Virginia and was solid. Now, after taking a few years off, he’ll try to revive a New Mexico program that hasn’t come up with a winning season since 2016.
To me, New Mexico is one of the most intriguing college football teams this season.
— CFBSelect.com (@CfbSelect) June 6, 2024
🏈 Bronco Mendenhall at the reins
🏈 123rd in returning production but 7th in Mountain West for Transfer Portal with 22 commits
🏈 Over/Under *TWO* wins (per DK) pic.twitter.com/Y0S4Mp3vPD
Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State
One of the most interesting new hires in college football this season, the longtime Navy head man won’t bring the option attack but will do a bit of tweaking. He should help keep everything Brent Brennan created and keep it running.
Jay Sawvel, Wyoming
Nothing stops. Sawvel was a longtime assistant under Craig Bohl, and now he should slip right in and keep the program’s success going.
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