Best In The West: Week Five

Best in the West is The Aggship's weekly Mountain West football round-up.

UNLV 59, Fresno State 14

As news spread of UNLV’s quarterback, Matthew Sluka, opting to use his redshirt season and depart the team due to a dispute over NIL agreements, the program seemed to be in a pretty unfavorable situation. The timing, it seemed, couldn’t be much worse with the Rebels set to face Fresno State in a battle that would help to set the pecking order in the Mountain West.

Amid the drama, however, the Rebels left no doubt on the field. UNLV made quick work of Fresno State and looked every bit the part of a conference contender, dominating the entire affair on its way to a statement victory, 59-14. As much as the Rebels deserve credit for the win, Fresno State has to spend some time in front of the mirror after the beatdown. The Bulldogs were flailing from the start and never looked like the title-contending team they aspire to be. 

Hajj-Malik Williams, stepping in for Sluka, made a great first impression. He completed 13 of 16 attempts for 182 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, he added 12 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown. His throwing ability was a marked improvement over Sluka’s, and led to a season-high in yardage for both Ricky White III (10 receptions, 127 yards, two TDs) and Jacob De Jesus (two receptions, 50 yards) out wide.

Mikey Keene, meanwhile, struggled with the UNLV defense and completed only 27 of his 41 pass attempts, picking up 316 yards and a touchdown but also suffering two interceptions (plus two fumbles, though Fresno State recovered both). Malik Sherrod, the other shining star of this Fresno State offense, also struggled, carrying nine times for five yards with a touchdown. Wideout Raylen Sharpe was the most productive Bulldog and had 116 yards on 10 catches.

The College Football Playoff hopes for the Bulldogs are all but dashed with this loss, but for a 4-0 UNLV squad, those hopes remain very much alive, with another chance to bolster that resume this week against Syracuse, a 3-1 ACC team. At 3-2 (1-1), Fresno State still has plenty to play for, but has a lot to fix if it wants to get back in the conversation. The Bulldogs have a week off to figure out what went wrong before hosting Washington State.

Boise State 45, Washington State 24

Boise State added another in a growing string of dominating performances to get to 3-1, rolling to a 45-24 win over Washington State. The Ashton Jeanty show continued unabated, but Jeanty’s supporting cast of characters is starting to shape up, particularly on the defensive side. Though the Cougars accumulated 24 points, their final touchdown came with only 19 seconds to play when the game was already well in hand, and Boise State spent the entire second half with the lead.

Jeanty’s performance doesn’t leave much room for a co-star on offense, which is fine when he averages 10 yards a carry, as he has all season. The standout tailback carried 26 times for 259 yards and four touchdowns, and continues to stake his claim as a serious contender for Heisman consideration – through four games, he has 82 carries for 845 yards, averaging 10.3 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns.

Trouncing a previously undefeated Washington State team pushed the Broncos from No. 25 to No. 21 in the AP poll, marking a modest but well-earned jump. Boise State has Utah State on deck.

Wyoming 31, Air Force 19

Wyoming finally got on the board after a strong second-half performance and a comeback win against Air Force. The Falcons led 13-7 at the half, but Wyoming started to find its identity in the final 30 minutes, outscoring its visitors 24-6 en route to a 31-19 win.

Beating Air Force took quarterback Evan Svoboda’s best game. He found success by throwing and carrying the ball, racking up 165 yards in the air and 70 on the ground, both season highs. His two rushing scores led the team, bolstered by one touchdown apiece from tailback Sam Scott (19 carries, 97 yards) and wideout Tyler King (two carries, two yards).

The Cowboys are 1-4 (1-0) and still don’t look like themselves in the absence of Craig Bohl, but the win was a good step in the right direction – or at least a sign of life. The Cowboys ran the ball well and played solid defense, and could build some momentum with a bye week before an aimless San Diego State squad comes to Laramie.

Meanwhile, the Falcons fall to 1-3 (0-2) with the loss, and are floundering. QB John Busha was 6-of-13 passing for 115 yards and the ground game, led by Aiden Calvert (three carries, 54 yards, one TD) and Kade Frew (seven carries, 52 yards, one TD), wasn’t enough to keep Air Force in the game down the stretch. It doesn't get any easier for Troy Calhoun's group, either, as they'll meet an unbeaten Navy team next week.

New Mexico 50, New Mexico State 40

After a two-year skid, the Lobos came out on top in the Rio Grande Rivalry, knocking off New Mexico State 50-40. It was a high-scoring endeavor to get Bronco Mendenhall’s first New Mexico team in the win column, but it wasn't always a shootout. The Lobos claimed a 21-10 lead at the half and sat comfortably on a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, despite plenty of second half fireworks that saw the two combine for 59 points.

Devon Dampier completed only 13 of his 28 attempts and didn’t throw a touchdown, but he was still dangerous for the Lobos, racking up 248 yards through the air and another 70 on the ground, thrice rushing for scores. Naquari Rogers also posted an excellent game and had a season-high of 122 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns, while Javen Jacobs added a score on the ground and had 10 carries for 91 yards.

New Mexico can celebrate its long-awaited first win with a bye week, while preparing for another big opportunity as Air Force comes to town on Oct. 12.

Central Michigan 22, San Diego State 21

San Diego State’s disappointing run continued as it fell to Central Michigan. The Aztecs scored 21 points in the first half, good for a 21-13 lead, and decided to call it a day, surrendering nine points in the second half with a last-second field goal for CMU deciding the affair, 22-21. San Diego State’s two missed field goals in the fourth quarter certainly didn’t help the effort. 

The good news, if there is any, was quarterback Danny O’Neil. He went 14-of-23 passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns, connecting chiefly with Louis Brown IV, who had eight receptions for 149 yards, and tight end Jude Wolfe, who caught both touchdown passes and had three total receptions for 40 yards. The Aztecs are now 1-3 and will host Hawaii this week.