The Good, the Bad, the Ugly; Week One

Week one of college football has concluded. We have an idea of what each Mountain West football team looks like, and there are plenty of reasons to be concerned. Some of the conference's premiere teams struggled, and the national profile of the conference took a major hit. Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly performances from the first week of the college football season.

The Good:

Air Force

It is hard to gauge too much from this performance. The Falcon offense was efficient and the defense limited Northern Iowa for the most part. The Falcons are going to compete for a conference championship, but the defense has plenty to work on if they are going to be playing the opening weekend of December.

Nevada

Through two weeks, the Wolf Pack are ahead of where I thought they would be. We haven’t seen them compete against a good football team yet, but they have competed and looked like a disciplined football team. Maybe they can find a way to sneak into a bowl game.

Wyoming

A great bounce back performance by the Cowboys. Andrew Peasely looked more comfortable in the offense and the Cowboy defense and special teams contributed to the 40-37 win by scoring touchdowns. The Wyoming defense is still struggling to finish tackles and stop the opposing passing attack, but this was a much needed victory for Wyoming.

New Mexico

This was a well placed game for the Lobos. They needed a game where they could build some confidence, and Maine was just that. The Lobo offense looked sharp and the offense was efficient. A 41-0 win to open the season was just what this team needed.

The Bad:

Fresno State

It is hard to get too upset over a 35-7 victory. But Fresno State was expected to blow Cal Poly out, and it just didn’t happen. The Bulldog offense was inconsistent, but I expect this team to bounce back this weekend against Oregon State.

San Jose State

The Spartan offense was supposed to be electric this year. Hawaii transfer Chevan Cordeiro was supposed to propel this team into a contender, but it took some fortunate breaks for San Jose State to walk away with a 21-17 victory over Portland State. This team needs to improve fast, or they could be in for a long season.

The Ugly:

Utah State

Expectations were low heading into this one, but the Aggies didn’t even put up a fight. They entered haltime against the number one team in the country trailing 41-0. Nobody expected Utah State to win this game, but I did expect their offense to be more effective. The coaches were quick to pull the plug on starting quarterback Logan Bonner. Will he lead this team moving forward?

San Diego State

The Aztecs opened their season in a brand new stadium. It was the hottest football game ever played in San Diego. The visiting Arizona Wildcats felt right at home. Arizona looked like a different team with a new quarterback; the same can’t be said for the Aztecs. San Diego State’s secondary struggled to slow down the Wildcat passing game on their way to a 38-20 loss.

Boise State

I have watched every football game this team has played for the last 18 years, and this one was arguably the biggest headscratcher. Fourth year starter Hank Bachmeier was benched in favor of redshirt freshman Taylen Green. The Bronco offense showed signs of life under Green, but he still has a long way to go as a passer, as he struggled with accuracy. This is not the Boise State football team that we are accustomed to. This coaching staff has a lot of growing up to do.

Colorado State

The Jay Norvell era is off to a less than stellar start. The Air Raid offense was grounded by an elite Michigan defense. The final score of 51-7 may not show it, but there were some signs of life from the Ram defense. I still think this can be a good team if they find their groove on offense.

Hawaii

Take out the turnovers and we saw some signs of life from the Rainbow Warrior offense. But this team has a long way to go. The defense is really bad and they are being forced to play guys that would have been second and third stringers had it not been for the mass exodus that occurred this past offseason. Rainbow Warrior fans should not be focused on wins and losses, they need to focus on progress.

That’s it for this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” What stood out to you from the opening weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.