Mountain West Football: Week 10 Winners And Losers
Who came out ahead and who left something to be desired across the Mountain West in Week 10 of the college football season?
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Encouragements and letdowns from the week that was.
With a fresh batch of rivalry games and a dash of desperation on the docket, Mountain West football’s first weekend of November action didn’t disappoint. Here are the winners and losers from Week 10.
Winners
1. Fresno State running back Malik Sherrod
The clash for the Milk Can was as advertised, but Sherrod’s contributions helped ensured the rivalry trophy would stay in Fresno following a 37-30 win against Boise State. He ran for a career-high 132 yards on 21 carries, though it was his 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that proved to be one of the Bulldogs’ biggest plays of the night. In all, Sherrod managed 255 all-purpose yards, the tenth-most in a single game in program history, and provided the Red Wave with memories they’ll talk about for a long time in the Central Valley.
2. UNLV wide receiver Ricky White
White has come alive over the past month and more than did his part on Saturday to help the Rebels keep pace in the conference title chase in a 56-14 victory over New Mexico. He had eight catches on nine targets for 165 yards and two touchdowns, the third time in four weeks he’s topped 150 receiving yards and scored multiple times.
3. Wyoming wide receiver Gunner Gentry
Sometimes, it’s not about the stats. In Gentry’s case, the nine-yard touchdown reception he hauled in during the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 24-15 win against Colorado State was his first since October 24, 2020. Knee injuries had kept him sidelined for the past two seasons, so he serves as a useful reminder that college football can often be a ground for perseverance and inspiration, to demonstrate what’s possible to others.
Losers
1. Air Force
Among the six Mountain West games last weekend, no result was more shocking than the Falcons’ litany of errors in a 23-3 defeat to Army at the Commander’s Classic. Not only did the Black Knights hold Air Force’s rushing attack to 3.9 yards per carry, they also forced six fumbles and recovered five of them, turning those opportunities into 13 points.
Quarterback Zac Larrier also had his worst game of the year at a very inopportune time, throwing two interceptions and taking two sacks while completing just 9-of-22 passes for 93 yards. The defense, meanwhile, limited Army to 4.2 yards per carry as a team but weren’t as disruptive as usual with just three tackles for loss and zero takeaways. While the Falcons still hold the inside track to hosting the conference championship, letting one of their annual goals slip away in such lopsided fashion may sting for a while.
2. Boise State
The Broncos are in the wilderness.
Little about the program is working like it did during its phenomenal run of success over two decades and the team’s 37-30 defeat against Fresno State provided plenty of evidence. Quarterbacks Maddux Madsen and Taylen Green each threw an interception, but Madsen was also just 22-of-42 for 258 yards and a touchdown and, according to Pro Football Focus, had four different turnover-worthy plays against the Bulldogs defense. Running back George Holani continued to play well following his recent return from injury, racking up 140 all-purpose yards, but he also had just three touches in the fourth quarter.
The defense, meanwhile, continued to flounder by allowing Fresno State to gain 6.4 yards per play and generating only one sack to go along with four quarterback hurries (per PFF) on 37 dropbacks. Effectively eliminated from the conference championship hunt and staring down the very real possibility of not even bowling in December, the Broncos must now move forward without top wide receiver Eric McAlister, as well, who elected to enter the transfer portal this morning. It’s a brave new world in Treasure Valley; the question is whether the blue and orange faithful are ready for it.
3. San Diego State
Speaking of less-than-ideal situations, the Aztecs’ 32-24 double-overtime loss to Utah State marked the team’s sixth defeat in their last seven games. While some individual performances stood out despite the result — linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu had three sacks, for instance, while quarterback Jalen Mayden had arguably his best overall performance of the season — many of the same problems persisted: They averaged 4.2 yards per carry, but Lucky Sutton’s 62-yard run accounted for 48.8% of the team’s rushing yardage on the game. The defense coughed up 288 yards’ worth of chunk plays and has now given up 44 plays of 20-plus yards on the season; that may not sound like much, but San Diego State gave up 48 such plays during their most recent run to the conference championship game just two years ago.
