Mountain West Fan Guide: Week 10

With only four weeks left in the college football season, the race to the Mountain West Championship becomes hotter. There are still four teams that have a realistic chance at competing for the title and a few others that could enter the picture if things get crazy. For that reason, we are eliminating all teams that have three or four losses in conference play from the fan guide and will focus on teams that have a realistic shot of playing for the title. Let’s look at where things currently stand:

In the hunt: Air Force (5-0), Fresno State (3-1), Boise State (3-1), UNLV (3-1)

Outside Looking in: San Jose State (3-2), Wyoming (2-2), Nevada (2-2)

Nearly Eliminated: Utah State (1-3), Colorado State (1-3), New Mexico (1-3), San Diego State (1-3), Hawaii (0-4)

Here’s a look at the top seven teams and what they need to happen this weekend.

Air Force

The Falcons take on Army with a chance to secure the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy. This game does not have any impact on the conference standings, but Air Force fans should be keeping a close eye on games around the conference. Air Force fans should be pulling for New Mexico to upset UNLV and Fresno State to lose to Boise State. Air Force does not play Fresno this year, so they want to avoid a potential tie with the Bulldogs

Fresno State

After beating UNLV and Wyoming losing to Boise State, the Bulldogs now control their own destiny. If they win out, they will play for the conference championship. It’s pretty simple, the Bulldogs need to win this week. But a New Mexico upset over UNLV and a Wyoming loss to Colorado State would also help the Bulldogs with tiebreakers down the road.

Boise State

Similar to the Bulldogs, the Broncos now control their own destiny after defeating Wyoming this weekend. The Broncos have another tough task this weekend as they travel to Fresno to take on a dangerous Bulldogs squad. A win will put the Broncos in the driver’s seat for a bid in the conference championship game. A UNLV loss would also help the Broncos and open up a scenario where Boise State could play for the conference championship even if they lose to Air Force in the season finale.

UNLV

Out of all the one-loss teams, the Rebels are probably in the toughest spot as they enter a brutal stretch in their schedule. UNLV needs to take care of business against New Mexico before entering a difficult three game stretch to finish the season. The Rebels will be Boise State fans this weekend, as they hope the Broncos can pull off the road upset over the Bulldogs. They would also benefit from a Wyoming loss.

San Jose State

Despite a slow start, there are still a few scenarios, albeit unlikely, that the Spartans could play for a conference championship. They would need to win their last three games, including wins over Fresno and UNLV that would give them the tiebreaker. They would also need either Fresno to lose their last three games or Boise State to drop two of their last four. With that being said, San Jose State needs Fresno to win. A Wyoming loss would also help.

Wyoming

The Cowboys now have two losses to teams in front of them in the standings. That means they need either Boise State to lose two games or Air Force to lose three. They would also need Fresno State to drop another game. Here’s what needs to happen this weekend for the Cowboys to get back into the title picture. A Fresno win over Boise is probably the best outcome for the Cowboys. They can essentially eliminate the Wolf Pack from the conference race if they defeat them this weekend.

Nevada

Somehow the Wolf Pack is 2-2 in conference play. However, those two losses come to teams in front of them. They need Boise State to beat Fresno this weekend and hope that both the Broncos and Bulldogs slip up in the final three weeks. They also need UNLV to drop two games in the final four weeks, but none of this matters if Nevada loses to the Cowboys this weekend.

Which teams do you think will end up in the conference championship? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.