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San Diego State and New Mexico were picked by the conferences coaches as co-favorites to win the Mountain West this season. Both teams received 32 points and also each earned three first place votes in the coaches poll.
New Mexico went 32-27 last season and is returning 18 letter winners to their squad. While SDSU went 41-23 last season and returns 20 letter winners to their squad, as they try to retain the Mountain West Conference Championship. SDSU has won the conference three years in a row.
Both teams start their seasons Friday with SDSU taking on Oregon, and New Mexico facing Hawaii. While the race for first-place is tied so is the next spot as both Air Force and Fresno State are tied with 24 points at third, plus the Bulldogs are receiving the only other first-place vote.
Expect the race for the regular season champ to be quite competitive this year; rounding out the rest of the preseason rankings are UNLV, Nevada and then San Jose State.
Here is a look at the key non-conference matchups this year.