2020 Football Look Ahead: Independents

The Mountain West conference plays several FBS Independents every year. In fact, the Mountain West played Independents 12 times in the 2019 season. Not every team played one as Colorado State, Wyoming, UNLV & Nevada did not play an Independent.

The MWC record versus Independents in 2019:

• Notre Dame, 0-1
• Liberty, 0-1
• Army, 3-0
• New Mexico State, 3-0
• BYU, 2-2

Overall, The MWC was 8-4 versus Independents. Notre Dame and Liberty both had winning seasons and won their bowl games. Army and New Mexico State had losing seasons. BYU finished at 7-6, losing to Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. In total, the Mountain West was respectable, though not spectacular, versus Independents last season.

Now, let’s take a look at the 2020 schedule against Independents:

• Air Force - @Army on 11/7
• Boise State - BYU on 11/6
• Colorado State - None Scheduled
• New Mexico - @New Mexico State on 9/19 & UMass on 10/3
• Utah State - @BYU on 10/2
• Wyoming - None Scheduled
• Fresno State - New Mexico State on 10/17
• Hawaii - New Mexico State on 10/10
• Nevada - None Scheduled
• San Diego State - @BYU on 11/14
• San Jose State - UConn on 11/14
• UNLV - None Scheduled

That makes 9 more games scheduled against Independents in 2020. BYU and New Mexico State both play the Mountain West 3 times this fall. UMass, UConn & Army only play the Mountain West once.

So here are this weeks questions for you:

Also, please leave your thoughts in the comments below about what you think will happen between the MWC and Independents going forward.