By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Sports
2026 Week 6 Mountain West College Football Previews
The Group of Six finally got a win over a Power Four team, even if it took until October to get it done.
We have a five-game slate in the MW this week, including four conference affairs and Hawaii stepping out to travel to Arizona State.
It gives the league another shot at a big win, but the Warriors-Sun Devils matchup could prove more difficult than previous P4 tilts.
New Mexico has the bye this week.
Here is a look at the Mountain West games this week.
Friday, October 9
6:00 PM PT, CBSSN
The Cowboys are coming off a loss to North Dakota State, their first shutout since a 30-0 loss at Fresno State in 2022.
Wyoming had nothing offensively, limited to just eight first downs and 162 yards of offense.
The Spartans opened conference play last week with a win over Hawaii, pitching a first-half shutout; it was the first time since 2024 that SJSU went into halftime with no points allowed.
Luke Weaver is coming off a strong performance, completing 68% of his passes and not turning it over. The QB struggled with interceptions in the loss to Fresno but has been sharp every other timeout.
If you take out the outing vs. the Bulldogs, he has just one interception across 133 pass attempts this season.
One of the issues that led Wyoming to struggle in the loss to Fresno State was pressure, which the Spartans allowed on 22.75 of their dropbacks. Not a huge number, but more than Weaver has seen in most games.
If SJSU can give Weaver time to operate, he could pick the Cowboys apart. If Wyoming can shrink the pocket, they could force some miscues.
The Pokes have gotten pressure on just 16% of passing plays this season, only getting to the QB on 5.6% of the time. Esaia Bogar has had at least one sack in each Wyoming win while being contained in the losses.
The Cowboys need Bogar and Jack Dunkley to create off the edge.
San Jose State has allowed some yardage this season, but most of it has been through the air. The Spartans have done pretty well in containing rushing attacks, which is bad news for Wyoming.
The Cowboys offense has been pretty ineffective all around, but the passing game has really struggled.
To get the road win, the Pokes need some production from Tyler Hughes, and he’ll need to do it without giving the ball away.
The Wyoming signal caller has already thrown six interceptions this season, and the Spartans rank 11th nationally in interceptions per game at 1.2.
Saturday, October 10
4:00 PM PT, CW
North Dakota State looks every bit the part of a conference contender. Getting a road win in Vegas would go a long way toward solidifying that perception.
The Bison are currently fourth nationally with a turnover margin of +1.6 per game. Defensively, they rank third in the nation, allowing just 236.2 total yards per game, and are running the ball for over 170 per game.
All of that adds up to winning football and a reason NDSU could crash the playoff party right away. Those things could be tested in this one.
The Rebels have run the ball well, without many turnovers, and have limited opponents on the ground. They have done all of those things most of the time this season.
When they haven’t, they’ve been trounced—by North Texas, turning it over four times, not mounting a ground attack, and allowing the Mean Green to run all over them.
They also gave up 195 yards rushing in the loss to Memphis.
So, there is the key in this matchup. If UNLV can limit the Bison rushing attack and hang on to the ball, they should be in decent shape. But again, that is much easier said than done.
Jackson Arnold will need a repeat performance from last week. In the win over Cal, he ran for 110 and threw three TD passes.
The Rebel QB has yet to throw a pick this season, and his decision-making will need to be good again in this one.
DJ Scott and Myles Mitchell might just prove too much for UNLV.
When the Rebels have gone up against good rushing attacks this season, they have wilted, and the Bison should be able to pound things out on the ground.
The Rebels will stay in this one because they will not turn it over; if they do, it will get away from them. This could be similar to NDSU’s win over Air Force.
UNLV will move the ball, but North Dakota will score more points in the end.
Saturday, October 10
4:00 PM PT, FS1
The Wolf Pack opened conference play with a double overtime loss to Air Force. The Pack had no answer for the Falcons’ rushing attack but were able to match them score for score.
UTEP ran into the buzzsaw that is New Mexico and got demolished in every way possible. The Miners mounted no offense at all in the blowout loss until getting an 86-yard TD run in garbage time.
On the other side of things, the Miners allowed the Lobos to score at will.
For the Miners to be successful this season, the up-tempo offense needs to string together drives. Last game, eight of their drives were five plays or less; five of them were three-and-outs—and they turned it over five times.
The three-and-outs are killers for UTEP, as their own defense just wears down. Four of UTEP’s drives last week, not counting the two ended by each half, lasted under two minutes.
This week, the offense should be able to offer more production against a Nevada defense that has been pushed around this season, allowing over five yards per play on the season.
The schedule has been daunting for the Miners, but the offense has been really bad. It needs to produce this week. Nevada has been able to move the ball, especially on the ground.
UTEP has allowed FBS opponents to run for 184 yards per game. The Wolf Pack are 39th nationally rushing the football this season, and they should find room to run this week.
Herschel Turner went over 100 yards on 11 carries last week; The one-two punch of Dominic Kelley and Turner should gobble up yardage.
I think UTEP will be able to move the ball some in this one, but the first MW win will still elude the Miners.
Saturday, October 10
4:30 PM PT, CBSSN
The Mountain West makes its way to DeKalb, Illinois, as Northern Illinois officially kicks off its MW era playing host to Air Force.
The Huskies will need to find a way to contain the Air Force rushing attack if they hope to have any success in the conference opener. Teams that have wanted to run the ball on NIU this season have had no trouble doing so at all.
That is good news for the Falcons.
The bad news for the Air Force is they will have to move the ball without Liam Szarka, as the QB’s season is now over after a leg injury in the win over Navy last week.
Szarka currently leads the MW with 98 rushing yards per game and seven TDs. His production will be hard to replicate.
NIU will offer a good chance for Evan Medders to step in and get comfortable in a starting role. The Falcons should be able to run the ball however they see fit.
The passing attack may not be quite as good without Szarka, but the shots will still be there when the run lulls in the Huskies too much.
The real difference in this one could be the Falcons on defense. Quite simply, NIU has been one of the worst offenses in the nation.
On third downs, the Huskies have only converted 30.5%, ranking 126th in the nation. Last week, the Falcons got Navy off the field on 10 of their 11 third downs, and they rank 12th nationally in that department.
Air Force will run away from the Huskies in a hurry.
Saturday, October 10
6:30 PM PT, FS1
Hawaii has been a disappointment this season; there is no way to sugarcoat it. The Rainbow Warriors seemed poised for a big jump, and they have not looked good at all.
If it is any consolation, Arizona State has not looked the part of world beaters, either.
The Sun Devils offense looked flat-out bad against Baylor last week, and the defense that allowed 55 did not look real good either. The UH offense, however, is not on par with Baylor’s unit.
This one should be a get right-game for the Sun Devils.
A big issue in ASU’s losses has been turning the football over; the Sun Devils have given it away seven times in the two defeats while their eight total turnovers rank 100th in the nation.
The Rainbow Warriors have only created three takeaways this season; only nine teams nationally have created less. And of those nine, four have played one less game than the Warriors.
If Hawaii is to pull the upset, they will need a big day from Micah Alejado and the passing game. The Sun Devils have been far better defensively against the pass than the run.
No part of this matchup looks good for Hawaii; there will be no upset in this one.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
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