2022 Mountain West Week 2 Football Power Rankings

2022 Mountain West Week 2 Football Power Rankings

> A look at the state of the Conference with our inaugural Power Rankings

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  By Matt Wadleigh, SuperWest Sports

   September 8, 2022

The Mountain West Conference experienced a few surprises in Week 1, and the San Diego State Aztecs losing their home opener and stadium reveal to the Arizona Wildcats was one of them.

Boise State lost to Oregon State, although that may end up being a “quality loss,” as the Beavers look to be a sleeper in the Pac-12 this year.

Wyoming barely fought off Tulsa in a double-overtime thriller in Laramie, and everything else went pretty much as expected.

With Week 2 kicking off on Friday night as Boise State and New Mexico play each other in Albuquerque, let’s examine the state of the conference with our inaugural Power Rankings for the MWC. You find my previews for this week’s matchups here.

1. Fresno State Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0)

Until something happens, Fresno State will be the top team.

They had an easy game against Cal Poly in Fresno, and while they had some concerns, that was to be expected in the first game of the Jeff Tedford era 2.0.

2. Air Force Falcons (1-0, 0-0)

Air Force ran the ball at will against Northern Iowa (surprise, they always do that).

But, the preseason expectations and excitement about Air Force looked real in Week 1.

Next up they face Colorado, and a 2-0 start would be magnificent for the Falcons.

3. Nevada Wolfpack (2-0, 0-0)

The Wolfpack played their first game without Carson Strong and Romeo Doubs, and losing a QB-WR combo such as that will be tough to overcome for some time.

Yet, Nevada sits here at 2-0 with wins over New Mexico State and Texas State, respectively.

4. Boise State Broncos (0-1, 0-0)

The Broncos had the toughest matchup of the entire Conference with a game against Oregon State in Corvallis.

Take that loss with a grain of salt—this Broncos team is good.

5. San Diego State Aztecs (0-1, 0-0)

The Aztecs had a ton going against them in Week 1.

Arizona is much-improved from last year’s one-win squad, and the weather reached triple digits in San Diego—something the Aztecs aren’t used to at all.

Plus, a new quarterback getting into the mold is never easy. The Aztecs should be one of the top teams in MWC play.

6. Wyoming Cowboys (1-1, 0-0)

From here on out, it is a total crapshoot. The bottom half of the Mountain West is pretty bad.

So, the Cowboys get here by default with a 1-1 record. They defeated Tulsa but lost to Illinois, 38-6, in Week 0.

7. Utah State Aggies (1-1, 0-0)

How good (or bad) are the Aggies? They defeated Connecticut 31-20 in Week 0.

Then, for some reason, they went to Tuscaloosa and got steamrolled by Alabama, 55-0.

We really won’t know the true state of this team until Week 4 when they face UNLV.

8. Colorado State Rams (0-1, 0-0)

The Rams are 0-1, but they had to face the Michigan Wolverines at Ann Arbor.

What are these programs doing playing these College Football Playoff teams?

Nonetheless, the Rams scored just one touchdown in a 51-7 game, but it’s hard to tell where they belong thus far.

9. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1-0, 0-0)

UNLV dropped 52 points in a Week 1 home victory over Idaho State.

Doug Brumfield threw for four scores for UNLV as the offense flexed its muscles, and Ricky White exploded with 8 catches for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns.