Mountaintop View 9-10-18

It was another great weekend of college football. Specifically in the MWC, there were many highs and lows. Teams won games they should’ve won, lost games they should’ve lost, won games they should’ve lost, and unfortunately, lost games they should’ve won. Here are a few of the bigger storylines from this weekend to kick off your week.

More Hawaii coverage, because why not?

According to the mothership, it’s worth staying up late to watch the Rainbow Warrior offense. And from what we’ve seen of them so far, that’s true. They discuss their improbably hot start as a surprise that they’ve gelled so quickly and because their roster looked like a hodgepodge of spare parts entering the year. But a few 4th down conversions, shovel passes, and QB runs later, here we are.

Speak of Hawaii, they keep winning.

It wasn’t as big of a performance as their last two wins, but it was a win nonetheless. And fans were still booing them for running the ball late and not scoring as many points as fans wanted them to? Enjoy the good times the Warriors are having. Each of the three games have been exciting to watch and given Hawaii’s history, there are always misfire losses during the year, so enjoy the wins.

Boise State puts up most yards in MWC history, then doesn’t.

That’s what happens when they decide to kneel out the game and lose a few yards doing that. Still, 818 yards is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither is 62 points in a game that saw the starters only go one series into the second half and even saw the third string offense move the ball pretty well. It was a historic game, but this week’s matchup against Oklahoma State is likely the one that will define their season.

MWC vs P5 Statesman article

In a fantastic article by Chadd Cripe, he details the struggles of Mountain West schools vs P5 opponents over the years. This is even more magnified when comparing the MWC to the American, who has had more success against P5 schools. It’s a topic that’s been discussed here over the summer, and the gap between the two conferences certainly needs to lessen. Beating bigger schools in non-conference and bowl games (although the MWC has had better bowl showings than the AAC) is a good start.

UNLV getting a boost

On the Horizon:

• Later today: The MWC Recruiting Roundup. September recruiting rankings, plus some talk with recruits who recently committed or visited.
• Later today: More game recaps coming your way.
• Catch up on yesterday’s game recaps: Fresno State, Air Force, Boise State, Wyoming, and Hawaii.
• Later today: The Week 2 Outcomes and Game of the Week recap.
• Coming Tuesday: Week 2 of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. There was a whole lot of each this weekend.