The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Week Five

Week five of the college football season is behind us, and it was another week of mixed results for the Mountain West. Let’s revisit the good, bad, and ugly moments of week five.

The Good:

Nevada

It wasn’t pretty, but the Wolf Pack managed to leave Air Force with a victory. Nevada nearly coughed up a 28-10 lead, but managed to hold on. The Wolf Pack entered the 2018 season with a highly touted offense that has struggled to live up to those expectations. However, Nevada started the conference slate with a victory, and that is all that matters.

Boise State

The Broncos left Laramie with a convincing victory over the Cowboys. Brett Rypien looked like an all-conference quarterback with his fourth straight 300 yard passing game to start the season. The Broncos went into the half with a 24-0 lead, and the game was never in doubt. Some areas of concern continue to be injuries and special teams; both were issues against the Cowboys. Entering this game, a major area of concern for the Broncos was their offensive line. It was not pretty. It was a step in the right direction, and it was not the debacle that we saw in Stillwater.

Fresno State

After a slow start against Toledo, the Bulldogs turned on the jets and never looked back. Marcus McMaryion led Fresno State to a convincing 49-27 win over the Rockets. McMaryion completed 24 of 31 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns. Good Mountain West teams should not lose to MAC teams, and the Bulldogs took care of business. At this point, it seems likely that we see BSU and Fresno face off twice this year.

The Bad:

Wyoming

The vaunted Cowboy defense gave up more than 500 yards of offense to the Broncos. Boise State dominated the time of possession, and Rypien was able to carve up Wyoming’s secondary. Wyoming had two huge plays of offense that accounted for 147 yards and two scores. The rest of the game, the Cowboys managed only 148 yards. They have a lot to figure out offensively. A trip to Honolulu and Hawaii’s struggling defense might be what the doctor ordered.

Hawaii

The Rainbow Warriors struggled with San Jose State. It took overtime for Hawaii to come out on top. Hawaii surrendered 451 yards passing to San Jose State and trailed the majority of the game. If the last three weeks are any indication, the Rainbow Warriors appear to be falling back to Earth. We will learn a lot about Hawaii in the next few weeks; they have some difficult games ahead.

San Jose State

Good teams don’t blow games like this. The Spartans had a golden opportunity to get their first win of the year against Hawaii and fell just short in overtime. The Spartans have shown some promise in their last few games. If their offense continues to improve, they should be able to finish the season with a win or two.

Air Force

The Falcons struggled to move the ball for the majority of their match up against Nevada. They showed some signs of life in the second half, but a bowl game is likely a pipe dream for Air Force.

The Ugly:

New Mexico

The Lobos lost to Liberty. THEY LOST TO LIBERTY. I was shocked to see that Liberty had an FBS program. New Mexico got absolutely destroyed in the first half. Liberty scored 52 points and had 568 yards of total offense against the Lobos. New Mexico has had some promising moments to start the season, but this feels like the beginning of the end for Davie’s tenure in New Mexico.