Week 1 Mountain West odds: Only three teams get a line

The Mountain West schedule this week features only three games that are against FBS opponents, the other nine are taking on the smaller FCS division. So, this first week in looking at the odds there are only three games that earned a betting line.

Hawaii hosting Colorado gives the Rainbow Warriors a chance to show of new quarterback Max Wittek against a team that is not overbearing. This line shifted a lot since it first opened when Hawaii was basically given home field advantage as a 2.5-point favorite, but now the game has swung nine points to make the road Buffaloes a 7.5-point favorite. The early lean on this game is that Hawaii will at least cover this line, and possibly pull off an upset.

This is the game of the weekend for the Mountain West since Chris Petersen is back in Boise, Idaho, as the opposing coach for the Washington Huskies. Washington lost a lot of talent to the NFL and are going to struggle to get back to a bowl game. This line a 11.5 sounds about right and do not expect Bryan Harsin to take it easy on his former boss. Early look is that the Broncos will win and cover.

The Tony Sanchez era begins on the road against a MAC powerhouse Northern Illinois, but the Huskies are not their traditional self. They were pegged to finish third in their own division. The line was already over two touchdowns but now has increased to making NIU a three-touchdown favorite. UNLV has some talent on offense with Devonte Boyd who will make some place, and my early prediction is seeing the Rebels lose but cover the 21 points.