The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Week 5

Week five of the college football season is behind us, and with Boise State and San Diego State on a bye, other Mountain West teams had their opportunity to shine. With some critical conference games and some manageable non-conference games, it is starting to become clear who the real contenders are. Let’s revisit the good, bad, and ugly of week five.

The Good:

Hawaii

Hawaii absolutely takes the top spot this week and it’s not even close. The Rainbow Warriors demolished the Wolf Pack in every aspect of the game Saturday night en route to a 54-3 victory. Hawaii racked up over 500 yards of total offense and overcame the turnover bug that has plagued them all season. This was a great performance by Hawaii. Now, they get two weeks to prepare for their trip to Boise, where we will learn what type of team Hawaii truly is.

Air Force

The Falcons overcame a slow start to come away with a convincing 41-24 victory over San Jose State. Solid 4th down defense and red zone execution were the key to this victory. This Air Force squad is clearly improved and is looking forward to a rivalry game with Navy this weekend.

Utah State

It was ugly, really ugly. But every conference win is huge, and the Aggies are the only 2-0 team in the Mountain Division. The weather was a major issue over the course of the game, but the Aggies were able to overcome four turnovers and poor, offensive play to defeat the Rams. We will learn a lot about the toughness of this team when they travel south this weekend to take on Louisiana State. If the Aggies can hang tough with the Tigers, they will open a lot of eyes.

Fresno State

I thought the Bulldogs would destroy New Mexico State, but poor, quarterback play continues to plague this team. They relied heavily on a solid run game to come away with a victory over the Aggies. This team still has plenty of questions they need to answer, as they get ready to open conference play.

Wyoming

The Cowboys did what they needed to do and dominated a poor UNLV squad in their first conference game of the season. Wyoming took the Air Force approach and used a dominant run game (374 yards) to open up the passing game. That was an impressive showing after a disappointing loss to Tulsa.

The Bad:

San Jose State

The Spartans have some things to clean up, but they were a few plays away from making that an interesting game. The Spartans took an aggressive approach but could not convert on multiple fourth down attempts. This San Jose State squad may not be ready for the spotlight, but they are taking steps in the right direction.

Colorado State

Utah State did everything they could to give that game to the Rams, but three second-half fumbles and an inability to get it done in the air resulted in another loss. It will be interesting to watch the rest of the season; their defense looked better this week (although it had some help from the weather).

The Ugly:

New Mexico

They lost to Liberty. I really don’t think I need to say anything else. The Lobos take on San Jose State and Colorado State the next two weeks. If they can’t get it done against those squads, they won’t win another game the rest of the season.

Nevada

Homecoming week and you lose 54-3. That is embarrassing. Hawaii is a good football team, but not 51 points better. The Wolf Pack are a mess at the quarterback position and average on the ground. A bowl game seems like a stretch for this squad. Maybe a bye week can ignite them.

UNLV

This is a bad football team; there is no way around it. They got completely dominated by an average offense, and now they have to face Boise State. Is Tony Sanchez coaching his final games?

That’s it for this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” What were some moments from week five that stood out to you?