clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Mountaintop View 9-6-23. Team Rankings, Bowl Projections, Nevada football, Paul Roach, XC POTW.

By MikeWittmann
/ new

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Syndication: Journal-Courier Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Athletic Football Rankings.

The Athletic made a lot of changes to their rankings of every single FBS team, but we focus on some of the ones in the Mountain West here. The Bulldogs and Cowboys made huge jumps to become the top conference teams at 41 & 42, replacing Boise State drops all the way to 68th, below SDSU and Air Force. Looking towards the bottom, UNLV drops a few spots to 113, Colorado State fell 120, and Nevada and New Mexico are now in the bottom four rather than the bottom seven. Hopefully these teams can climb out of the cellar in the coming weeks.

Bowl Projections.

Brett McMurphy put out his bowl projections following the first full week of games, and he has six Mountain West teams in bowl games. Fresno State gets the LA Bowl. Air Force will go to the Frisco Bowl as the one outside the traditional MW bowl tie-ins. Also, UNLV enters the bowl picture this week, taking over the Hawaii Bowl. San Jose State drops out after two losses to start the year. Boise State likely won’t go to the Potato Bowl, but that’s more of an indication of how they are viewed at this point.

Murray Mailbag.

Chris Murray liked Nevada’s QB play, the play of Jamaal Bell, and the special teams play in the bowlout loss. He thinks Brendon Lewis is the answer to lead the offense, which is nice after not having one all of last year. He isn’t as high on the defense, even after adjusting for the talent they lost and the talent they played in USC. He thinks the Wolf Pack should win against Idaho but admits their non-conference schedule isn’t a cakewalk. He also discusses everyone’s favorite topic, conference realignment.

Wyoming loses a legend.

XC Athletes of the Week.

On the horizon:

  • Later today: Peak Perspective: 2023 Instant Impressions and Small Sample Sizes
  • Later today: 2023 Bowl Projections Week 1
  • Later today: The Mountain West and the National Polls
  • Coming Thursday: Game previews from Hawaii, Air Force, SDSU, and more
  • Coming Thursday: Stats Corner Week 1
  • Coming Friday: Fan Guide Week 2
  • Coming Friday: More Game Previews
  • Coming Friday: Reacts Results

Next Up In Mountain West Football

Loading comments...