Mountain West Football: Week 8 Winners And Losers
Who came out ahead and who left something to be desired across the Mountain West in Week 8 of the college football season?
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Encouragements and letdowns from the week that was.
Regardless of what you wanted on Saturday, Mountain West football delivered: Shocking upsets. Late game drama. Hotly contested rivalries and memorable highlights. For every joy, though, there’s just as much heartache.
Here are the winners and losers from Week 8.
Winners
1. UNLV’s special teams
A lot had to go right for the Rebels to rally from a 13-3 deficit and beat Colorado State by a 25-23 margin, but Jose Pizano’s 28-yard field goal to win the game as time expired was just one example of UNLV’s specialists leading the way on Saturday.
For starters, that game-winner was one of Pizano’s six field goals, a half-dozen successes that included kicks of 42, 43, and 46 yards. Meanwhile, Marshall Nichols averaged 53 yards per punt, doing his part to make the Rams work for two scoring drives in the first half, and Jacob De Jesus averaged 25.8 yards per kick return and 20 yards on two punt returns (and this doesn’t even include his team-high 120 receiving yards, as well). It hasn’t been talked about enough, but the work that coordinator James Shibest has done this fall has been one of the most significant reasons why the program is now bowling for the first time since 2013. This group has earned the right to be considered one of the best units anywhere in the Mountain West.
2. New Mexico safety Jermarius Lewis
The Lobos put Hawaii in a world of hurt throughout a 42-21 victory, capped by a standout performance from their sophomore safety. The Summit, Mississippi native had seven tackles, two pass breakups, a fourth-down sack to erase a Warriors red zone threat at the end of the third quarter, and two fourth-quarter interceptions, all of which provided a much-needed bright spot for a defense that has often been challenged in 2023.
3. Air Force linebacker Bo Richter
It was a good day in Annapolis for the Falcons, opening their defense of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with a 17-6 win over Navy, and the senior edge rusher Richter had a particularly productive day with seven total tackles, four tackles for loss, and a sack. It was his fourth game of the season with multiple TFLs and the latest evidence for his case as the Mountain West’s defensive player of the year.
Losers
1. San Diego State offensive coordinator Ryan Lindley
How? The Aztecs have had some offensive clunkers over the years, but getting shut out 6-0 by the previously winless Nevada Wolf Pack may have been a new low.
The obvious failings were plentiful — 3.8 yards per play on offense, 0-for-10 on third downs, a missed 34-yard field goal, two failed fourth downs inside the Nevada 40-yard line, four drops by SDSU pass catchers (according to Pro Football Focus), two fumbles (one of which was lost on their final drive), and a 32% success rate — but the overall sloppiness is something that can’t be easily quantified and it falls on a coaching staff that has struggled to consistently generate points this season. Unless they can snap out of a funk that has seen them score ten or fewer points in four of the last six games, more change may be needed on the Mesa.
2. Utah State quarterback McCae Hillstead
Hillstead’s first start after missing two games with a concussion wasn’t what he or Aggies fans hoped for, as San Jose State held Utah State’s explosive passing game in check throughout a 42-21 defeat. He completed 17-of-29 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions and managed just two plays of 20 or more yards. It didn’t help that, per PFF, he also had to withstand five quarterback hits and 12 pressures, though it was the third straight game in which he threw multiple interceptions.
Hillstead now holds a 5.9% interception rate on 119 attempts, so if he’s to be the long-term solution under center in Logan, he must become more disciplined in taking care of the football.
3. Hawaii
Not much went right for the Warriors in a 41-21 road loss to New Mexico. The defense allowed touchdown drives of at least 55 yards on five of the Lobos’ first six possessions and gave up 6.7 yards per play. And though the offense scored three touchdowns on four trips to the red zone and averaged six yards per play, Hawaii also finished 1-of-10 on third downs and turned the ball over four times.
With a tough November schedule on the horizon, the pressure is on Timmy Chang and his coaching staff to demonstrate their team can play with more consistency in order to steal at least one win down the stretch.
