Mountain West Football: Week 9 Winners And Losers
We take a look at the Mountain West’s winners and losers from Week 9 of college football.
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Encouragements and letdowns from the week that was.
Week 9 of Mountain West play featured just four games and that will allow us an unusually limited pool of players or coaches to get nominated for the week that was.
There were comebacks, celebrations, and still a winless team against a particular opponent that the orange and blue will remind us all of its dominance over the green and gold.
Winners
1. San Jose State honors Camdan McWright and their family
The Spartans played their first game after the sudden passing of freshman running back Camdan McWright in a scooter accident just before the game last against New Mexico State which was postponed.
The Spartans hosted the Nevada Wolf Pack and the team did a moment of loudness to honor their teammate and family members before kick off.
In lieu of a moment of silence, Camdan McWright’s family asked for a moment of loudness to honor him. pic.twitter.com/VljSJAKhGm
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) October 30, 2022
SJSU dedicated Saturday night's emotional comeback victory to the late Camdan McWright and his family.@SanJoseStateFB pic.twitter.com/FtMpqrRxqa
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 30, 2022
“It’s been hard,” San Jose State coach Brent Brennan said after the game. “Camdan was such a special part of our team and such a special part of our family. We love Camdan McWright. We love his family…and we are really going to miss him. He was a special young man.”
2. Fresno State’s health.
Fresno State has been without starting quarterback Jake Haener for over a month when he was injured in the blowout USC loss. During his absence, the Fresno State passing attack and record has been subpar going 2-2 which included a loss to UConn.
Others who returned were S Evan Williams, WR Josh Kelly and N Justin Houston.
But it was the passing game and late heroics for Fresno State State. Haener wasn’t perfect but he threw for 394 yards, three touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions in his return to face rival San Diego State to win 32-28.
'DOGS ON TOP. #GoDogs | 📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/gfOda9Q6WW
— Fresno State Football 🧸 (@FresnoStateFB) October 30, 2022
Two of Haener’s three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. One was a Haener-led drive that went for 80 yards and included a two-point conversion. Give credit to the special teams and defense as well. There was an onside kick recovered after that Bulldog touchdown, and then Haener proceeded to find Nikko Remigio on the first play for a 37-yard score.
That defense then picked off Jalen Mayden to seal the win.
3. Divine Obichere’s big day
The FS1 broadcasters noted that Obichere doesn’t play a ton of snaps, but when he does he is a force. That happened for the Boise State defensive lineman. He had 4.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, and seven total tackles.
Divine Obichere post game presserhttps://t.co/KcaHKBftUZ
— First Kick Was Good (@FKWGblog) October 30, 2022
Obichere credited how he practiced hard and they are much harder than games. He got his chance due to injuries from Scott Matlock and Jackson Cravens.
Bonus: Wyoming wins in Hawaii for first time in 25 years.
Gotta make this count as I took over for Matt this week. Yes, Wyoming hasn’t played at Hawaii all that often due to being seperated from being in the same conference for many years and now being in different divisions.
However, the Cowboys got a big win on the islands and the first time since 1997 with Saturday’s 27-20 win.
