The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Week Five

Week Five was full of surprising performances. We saw a shift in the conference race and now have a good idea of which teams might be in it for the long haul. Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly performances from this past weekend.

The Good

Boise State

After a first half where the offense looked largely incompetent, the Broncos bounced back to play their best half of the year. New starting quarterback Taylen Green struggled to throw the ball, but was electric on the ground, rushing for more than 100 yards. George Holani also eclipsed the century mark, and true freshman Ashton Jeanty added another 80 yards on the ground. The Broncos scored 35 consecutive points on their way to the 35-13 victory.

UNLV

The Rebels may have started slow, but they finished strong. UNLV was able to capitalize on some New Mexico turnovers and used another solid performance from quarterback Doug Brumfield to improve to 2-0 in conference play. The Rebels will have their toughest conference game of the year this weekend as they take on San Jose State.

Air Force

It wasn’t pretty. The Falcon offense was largely ineffective in the second half, but they were able to come up with a clutch drive that led to a game-winning field goal. These rivalry games always seem to be tricky for Air Force. Haaziq Daniels struggled with ball security, and the defense looked gassed in the second half. The Falcons had just enough in them to come away with the victory.

San Jose State

The Spartans are a legitimate contender in the Mountain West this season. They have excellent receivers and a talented quarterback in Chevan Cordeiro; they also have a veteran defense. This team showed how well-rounded they are in a convincing victory over Wyoming in Laramie.

The Bad

Utah State

The Aggies put up a valiant effort, including a great first-half performance. But they didn’t have enough in them to keep up with BYU’s offensive firepower. New starting quarterback Cooper Legas has the athletic ability to keep this team in games, but he has to limit some mistakes that often come with inexperience. This was an encouraging performance for Utah State.

New Mexico

This team is so close to breaking through. They have been competitive in nearly every game but struggle with finishing. Turnovers and long periods of offensive ineptness continue to haunt this team. If they can clean a few things up, they will surprise some teams before the season is over.

The Ugly

Wyoming

The Cowboy offense struggled to be consistent throughout this game. The biggest surprise was the secondary’s struggles as San Jose State’s passing game was able to move the ball with relative ease. The Cowboys have shown glimpses of greatness this year. Can they put it all together before it is too late?

San Diego State

The Aztecs are a squad without an offensive identity. You can blame the loss on injuries at the quarterback position, or you can see that the offensive problems this team is having are far greater than the players on the field. Offensive adjustments by Boise State proved to be too much for the Aztecs who were completely dominated in the second half. It will be interesting to see how this team responds moving forward.

Fresno State

It is hard to win games without your best offensive player (Jake Haener) or defensive player (Evan Williams). But this performance was a head-scratcher. The Bulldogs were never able to get their running game going, which is critical when you are playing without your starting quarterback. Losing to UConn is an embarrassment. If this team is without Haener for a while, they will need to make some major adjustments on offense.

Which performances from this past weekend stood out to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.