Mountaintop View 9-27-23. Rankings, College Football Playoff, UNLV bowl game, Bulldogs defense, XC POTW

It’s getting closer to the weekend, and that means more football games. Once again, it’s the mid-way point of the weekend, and we are already closer to game day. Through it all, we have you covered. Take a look at today’s links, plus the content coming your way on our site.

Mountain West Rankings.

Chris Murray pens his weekly rankings and as usual, it’s worth the read. Fresno State is firmly entrenched at the top of the conference and for good reason. He has Wyoming second and Air Force three, and though an argument could be made to flip them, those are the clear top three teams. Boise State at #4 is a bit of a surprise, with UNLV right behind them. In the murky middle, SDSU, Colorado State, Utah State, and SJSU could all be in any order, but that’s the order Murray lists them at. In the lowest tier is Hawaii, New Mexico, and poor Nevada bringing up the rear as the conference’s only winless team and one of only five teams in the conference.

College Football Playoff Meeting today.

After all the constant conference realignment news, it would be easy to forget how it might impact the new college football playoff format, which is set to debut next season. Regardless, the CFP committee is set to meet today to discuss a potential change to the format. This article states no change to the 6+6 model (the six highest-rated conference champions and six at-large teams) is expected to take place today. Mainly because it would take all 11 members voting yes to any changes. However, it would not be surprising if they eventually altered to 5+7 instead.

Rebels focused on making a bowl.

UNLV is enjoying their second consecutive 3-1 start and is now looking to avoid the second-half slide that ruined their bowl hopes last year. So far, they have all the ingredients needed in the recipe for success. They have lots of playmakers on offense, and a tough group of defenders who do a good job limiting easy plays. The injury bug hasn’t bitten them too much yet, and at least at quarterback, they have better depth to weather the storm compared to last year. Plus, they have a favorable schedule to open Mountain West play, with three winnable games to start. The stars may be aligning for the Rebels.

The Bulldogs are top 10 in preventing points.

See where all 12 MW teams rank a month into the season.

XC Players of the Week.

On the horizon:

• Later today: Peak Perspective: OCC Betting Odds
• Later today: 2023 Bowl Projections Week 4
• Later today: The Mountain West and the National Polls Week 4
• Coming Thursday: Game previews from Air Force, SDSU, SJSU, and more
• Coming Thursday: Stats Corner Week 4
• Coming Friday: Fan Guide Week 5
• Coming Friday: More Game Previews
• Coming Friday: Reacts Results