Best In The West: Week 12

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

New Mexico 38, Washington State 35

The New Mexico Lobos scored a game-winning touchdown to upend the No. 18 team in the nation, toppling Washington State with a late Devon Dampier rushing score. It was New Mexico’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2003, and its first-ever against Washington State. 

Beyond just the final blow, Dampier took it upon himself to lead the Lobos to victory, delivering an electrifying performance. He was responsible for 367 yards and four touchdowns, completing 11 of 25 passes for 174 yards and a score and adding 193 more yards and three scores on 28 carries.

New Mexico got on the board first with a touchdown, but gave up three scores to the Cougars before adding another one with 5:31 remaining in the first half on a long completion to Caleb Medford. Wazzu punched right back, though, and took a 28-14 lead into the half.

After a Washington State punt, the Lobos scored first in the second half with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 33-yard touchdown run from Dampier. Another touchdown from tailback Eli Sanders tied the game at 28, and New Mexico retook the lead with a field goal as the fourth-quarter clock trickled under five minutes. Washington State finally responded as John Mateer hit Kyle Williams for a 37-yard score to put the Cougars up 35-31 with 3:12 to play, but they left too much time on the clock for Dampier and the Lobos. They marched 75 yards down the field on 11 plays, converting on two third-down tries in the process, and facing another on third-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Dampier punched it in for his third rushing touchdown of the night to take the lead with 21 seconds remaining.

Backing up Dampier’s herculean efforts was a crafty band of offensive players, and a defensive unit that did just enough to get the job done. Sanders was a nice counterpart to Dampier on the ground, taking 13 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. Luke Wysong was responsible for much of Dampier’s air yardage with five receptions for 71 yards, while Medford took care of the scoring with two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. The defense gave up 547 yards but forced four punts and allowed just one scoring drive in the second half.

In an unfortunate quirk to their schedule, the Lobos have a late bye week coming up but will have something to play for on the other side. At 5-6 (3-3), they will conclude their season at Hawaii with a bowl berth and a winning conference record on the line.

Boise State 42, San Jose State 21

Boise State continued its unblemished march through conference play with a win on the road against San Jose State.

The Spartans didn't make it easy on their guests, scoring seven points in each of the first three quarters and at one junction staking out a 14-0 edge, but Boise State scored 14 points in each of the last three quarters, bolstering the final score with two late scores and a goal line defensive stand in the waning moments. The Broncos did enough to win, but have now survived two shaky performances in a row, narrowly escaping with a 28-21 victory at home over Nevada last week.

Ashton Jeanty did his part, rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Maddux Madsen completed 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown, a much-improved performance from the prior week. Cam Camper and Latrell Caples were the leading receivers with six catches apiece. Camper had 92 yards and Caples had 75. Madsen’s touchdown ball was to Matt Lauter, who caught two passes on the day for 23 yards and the score. The defense made big plays too, forcing four turnovers, stopping two fourth-down tries and making five tackles for loss. Ahmed Hassanein and Jayden Virgin-Morgan both recovered a fumble and Davon Banks and Ty Benefield each grabbed a pick – the former returned his for a touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the game.

The Boise State defense still managed to give up 483 yards, though, and let the Spartans stick around. Walker Eget completed 34 of 50 pass attempts for 446 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Justin Lockhart had 10 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown, and Nick Nash had nine receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. TreyShun Hurry added three catches for 66 yards and Jacob Stewart had four catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.

San Jose State is 6-4 (3-3) and has another tough matchup ahead of it with UNLV coming to town. Boise State climbed to 9-1 (6-0) and is just one win away from a 10-win season, a milestone it achieved last in 2022, and only once in the Andy Avalos tenure. The Broncos are ranked 12th in both the AP Poll and College Football Playoff rankings, and will head to Laramie to take on the Cowboys this week.

Colorado State 24, Wyoming 10

The Rams and Cowboys met in Fort Collins for the Border War, and Colorado State got the best of Wyoming, expanding its lead in the series to 60-51-5, despite Wyoming's recent success in the rivalry. This win broke up for CSU broke up a three-game Cowboy run, and was only the second win for the Rams since 2015. 

Colorado State won the game soundly, continuing its dominating conference performance. The Rams missed a field goal in the first quarter but still led 14-0 after the opening frame thanks to two touchdown drives, highlighted by a 38-yard run from Justin Marshall and a few nice plays from Avery Morrow, including an 11-yard touchdown run. A 46-yard run from Caleb Goodie and a 21-yard run from Marshall helped set the Rams up again, and Dane Olson threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi on a well-timed trick play. The teams traded field goals in the second period and the Rams took a 17-3 lead into the break.

The Cowboys punted to start the second half and the Rams put the game away with a two-play dagger: Morrow ran for 32 yards, then Fowler-Nicolosi found Tommy Maher on a 53-yard touchdown. Wyoming responded to that with its only touchdown of the night, but couldn't muster any real comeback effort. The Rams missed another field goal in the fourth quarter, but already led comfortably and suffered little for it.

The Cowboys are 2-8 (2-4) and will host Boise State this week before heading to Washington State to conclude their season. Colorado State has remained perfect through five in-conference games, and with a record of 7-3 (5-0), the Rams are in a position to play in the MWC title game if they can beat Fresno State and Utah State to close out the season.

UNLV 41, San Diego State 20

As they have done all year, the Rebels put together a complete game and beat the Aztecs on all fronts. Hajj-Malik Williams and the dynamic UNLV offense led the way for the team and generated 515 yards and 41 points. The defense gave up only 270 yards, grabbed two picks and forced the Aztecs to go 3 of 12 on third-down conversions.

The Aztecs fell out of bowl contention with the loss and the 3-7 (2-3) record they now have and will head to Logan for their next game. Outside of his two interceptions, Danny O’Neil played a fine game, going 13-of-22 passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 10 yards and another touchdown. Marquez Cooper ran for 97 yards on 26 carries.

Williams, meanwhile, completed 20 of his 29 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 29 yards and two more scores. Greg Burrell led the way on the ground with 58 yards and a touchdown, and Jai’Den Thomas added 55 yards and a touchdown of his own.

With an 8-2 (4-1) record, the Rebels have worked their way into the College Football Playoff rankings at No. 24. None of that matters for the Rebels, however, if they can’t find a way into the Mountain West title game. After losing to Boise State, UNLV has done everything it can to earn a trip to the championship game, but it will need some help from Fresno State and Utah State, the final opponents of Colorado State, to surpass the Rams in the standings.

Air Force 28, Oregon State 0

The Fly Boys are seemingly figuring it out late in the season. After a 1-7 start, they have staged two upsets in a row, first defeating Fresno State and then throttling Oregon State. Air Force looked far more like its usual self against the Beavers, committing zero penalties, losing just one turnover, and only allowing the Beavers to go 2 of 10 on third-down conversions. They surrendered just 175 yards, 106 in the air and 69 on the ground, and kept their visitors off the scoreboard entirely.

Quentin Hayes only threw five passes, but he completed all of them for 110 yards. He also ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a 29-yard pass from wideout Brandon Engel. Dylan Carson pitched in 97 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Kade Frew added 47 yards, and Owen Allen had 42 yards and a touchdown. Cade Harris was the leading receiver with two catches for 68 yards.

Air Force plays Nevada next week. The Wolf Pack will likely be favored but, have lost four in a row, while Air Force has now won two straight and will be eager to continue building the foundations for a return to form next season.