2023 Mountain West Conference football season

2023 Mountain West Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I FBS
SportFootball
DurationAugust 26, 2023 – December 2, 2023
Number of teams12
TV partner(s)CBS Sports Family (CBS, CBSSN) Fox Sports Family (Fox, FS1, FS2)
2024 NFL draft
Top draft pickDE Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State
Picked byMiami Dolphins, 158th overall
Regular season
Season championsUNLV
  Runners-upBoise State
Championship Game
ChampionsBoise State
  Runners-upUNLV
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
UNLV y   6 – 2     9 – 5  
Boise State y$   6 – 2     8 – 6  
San Jose State   6 – 2     7 – 6  
Air Force   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Wyoming   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Fresno State   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Utah State   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Hawaii   3 – 5     5 – 8  
Colorado State   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Nevada   2 – 6     2 – 10  
New Mexico   2 – 6     4 – 8  
San Diego State   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Championship: Boise State 44, UNLV 20
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant

The 2023 Mountain West Conference football season was the 25th season of College football for the Mountain West Conference. It was part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. 12 teams competed in the conference during the season. The season began on August 26 and concluded on December 2 with the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. The full schedule for the season was released on March 2, 2023.[1]

Conference changes

Prior to the 2023 season, the Mountain West Conference announced that it would eliminate divisions, with the two teams with the best conference records now playing in the championship game instead of division winners.[2]

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The Preseason Media Poll was released July 19, 2023. Boise State has been selected as the preseason favorite to claim the 2023 Mountain West football regular-season title.[3]

Predicted finish Team Votes (for first)
1 Boise State 433 (28)
2 Air Force 364 (2)
3 Fresno State 351 (5)
4 San Diego State 338 (1)
5 San Jose State 293
6 Wyoming 281
7 Colorado State 201
8 Utah State 194
9 UNLV 177 (1)
10 Hawai'i 102
11 Nevada 92
12 New Mexico 60

Preseason All-Conference team

Mountain West preseason awards and all-conference teams were announced on July 19.[4]

Awards

Position Player Class Position Team
Award
Offensive Player of the Year Chevan Cordeiro Sr. QB San Jose State
Defensive Player of the Year Easton Gibbs Jr. LB Wyoming
Special Teams Player of the Year Jack Browning Sr. PK/P San Diego State

All-conference team

Position Player Class Team
First Team Offense
QB Chevan Cordeiro Sr. San Jose State
RB John Lee Eldridge III Sr. Air Force
George Holani Sr. Boise State
WR Tory Horton Sr. Colorado State
Justin Lockhart Jr. San Jose State
TE Mark Redman Sr. San Diego State
OL Thor Paglialong Sr. Air Force
Cade Beresford Sr. Boise State
Mose Vavao Sr. Fresno State
Cade Bennett Jr. San Diego State
Frank Crum Sr. Wyoming
First Team Defense
DL Payton Zdroik Jr. Air Force
Mohamed Kamara Sr. Colorado State
Devo Bridges Sr. Fresno State
Jordan Bertagnole Jr. Wyoming
DeVonne Harris Jr. Wyoming
LB DJ Schramm Sr. Boise State
Cody Moon Jr. San Diego State
Easton Gibbs Jr. Wyoming
DB Trey Taylor Sr. Air Force
Jack Howell Jr. Air Force
Cam Stone Sr. Hawai'i
Ike Larsen So. Utah State
First Team Special Teams
PK John Hoyland Jr. Wyoming
P Jack Browning Sr. San Diego State
PR Tory Horton Sr. Colorado State
KR Christian Washington So. New Mexico

Coaches

Coaching changes

  • On November 28, 2022, UNLV announced that they had fired head coach Marcus Arroyo. Arroyo posted a 7–23 record with the school over three years.[5] UNLV announced on December 6, 2022, that former Missouri head coach Barry Odom would become the new head coach for the 2023 season.[6]

Head coaches

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MW record
Air Force Troy Calhoun 17 121–78 121–78 72–51
Boise State Andy Avalos 3 17–9 17–9 13–3
Colorado State Jay Norvell 2 36–35 3–9 26–22
Fresno State Jeff Tedford 5 118–75 36–18 23–9
Hawaii Timmy Chang 2 3–10 3–10 2–6
Nevada Ken Wilson 2 2–10 2–10 0–8
New Mexico Danny Gonzales 4 7–24 7–24 3–20
San Diego State Brady Hoke 6 101–84 36–24 23–15
San Jose State Brent Brennan 7 27–42 27–42 19–28
UNLV Barry Odom 1 25–25 0–0 0–0
Utah State Blake Anderson 3 68–47 17–10 11–5
Wyoming Craig Bohl 10 156–88 52–56 32–38

Mid-season changes

  • On November 12, Boise State announced that they had fired head coach Andy Avalos. Boise State's defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson was named as the interim head coach.[7] On December 3, Danielson was promoted to the school's permanent head coach.[8]

Post-season changes

  • On November 13, San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the season.[9] On November 29, the school announced that Sean Lewis would become the head coach for the 2024 season. Lewis had previously been offensive coordinator at Colorado and the head coach of Kent State.[10]
  • On November 25, New Mexico announced that they had fired head coach Danny Gonzales after four seasons as head coach.[11] Gonzales had posted a 11–32 record during his time at the school. On December 6, New Mexico announced Bronco Mendenhall as the new head coach for the 2024 season.[12] Mendenhall had previously been head coach at BYU and Virginia.
  • On December 1, Nevada announced that they had fired head coach Ken Wilson.[13] Wilson had gone 4–20 in his two seasons with the school. On December 4, Nevada announced Jeff Choate as the new head coach for 2024.[14] Choate had previously been the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Texas and the head coach of Montana State.
  • On December 6, Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl announced that we would retire following Wyoming's 2023 bowl game.[15] Wyoming's defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel was promoted to head coach for 2024.

Rankings

See also: 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
  Pre Wk
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14		 Final
Air Force AP RV RV RV 22 19 17 RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 22 19 17 RV RV RV
CFP Not released 25
Boise State AP RV
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Colorado State AP
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Fresno State AP RV RV RV 25 24 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
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CFP Not released
Hawaii AP
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CFP Not released
Nevada AP
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New Mexico AP
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San Diego State AP
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CFP Not released
San Jose State AP
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UNLV AP RV RV RV
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Utah State AP
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Wyoming AP RV RV RV RV
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Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

The schedule for the 2023 Mountain West football season was announced on March 2, 2023.[1]

Index to colors and formatting
MW member won
MW member lost
MW teams in bold

All times Mountain time.

Week 0

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
August 26 5:00 p.m. Ohio San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA FS1 W 20–13   23,867
August 26 5:30 p.m. Hawaii Vanderbilt FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, TN SECN L 28–35   21,407
August 26 6:00 p.m. San Jose State No. 6 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA P12N L 28–56   63,411
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 1

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 1 9:00 p.m. Stanford Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI CBSSN L 24–37   13,739
September 2 10:00 a.m. Fresno State Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN BTN W 39–35   54,898
September 2 10:00 a.m. Utah State No. 25 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA FS1 L 14–24   69,250
September 2 11:00 a.m. Robert Morris Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO Altitude/MWN W 42–7   30,142
September 2 1:30 p.m. Boise State No. 10 Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA ABC L 19–56   67,475
September 2 2:00 p.m. Bryant UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV W 44–14   20,347
September 2 4:30 p.m. Nevada No. 6 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA P12N L 14–66   62,196
September 2 5:00 p.m. Washington State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO CBSSN L 24–50   31,497
September 2 5:00 p.m. New Mexico No. 23 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX ESPN L 10–52   97,560
September 2 5:30 p.m. Texas Tech Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY CBS W 35–33 2OT  26,450
September 2 8:30 p.m. Idaho State San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA CBSSN W 36–28   22,345
September 3 1:30 p.m. No. 18 Oregon State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA CBS L 17–42   20,337
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 2

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 9 1:30 p.m. UNLV No. 2 Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI CBS L 7–35   109,482
September 9 2:00 p.m. Portland State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY MWN W 31–17   22,121
September 9 2:00 p.m. Cal Poly San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA NBCS Bay Area W 59–3   14,224
September 9 5:00 p.m. UCF Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1 L 16–18   36,447
September 9 5:00 p.m. No. 7 (FCS) Idaho Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV NSN/MWN L 6–33   19,852
September 9 5:30 p.m. UCLA San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA CBS L 10–35   32,017
September 9 6:00 p.m. Air Force Sam Houston NRG Stadium • Houston, TX CBSSN W 13–3   25,121
September 9 6:00 p.m. Tennessee Tech New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM MWN W 56–10   17,279
September 9 6:00 p.m. Idaho State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT MWN W 78–28   20,034
September 9 7:00 p.m. Eastern Washington Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA MWN W 34–31 2OT  41,031
September 9 10:00 p.m. Albany Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI Spectrum W 31–20   9,485
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 3

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 15 6:00 p.m. Utah State Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  AF 39–21   18,400
September 16 10:00 a.m. No. 14 (FCS) North Dakota Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1 W 42–18   35,610
September 16 1:30 p.m. San Diego State No. 16 Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR FS1 L 9–26   35,591
September 16 5:00 p.m. San Jose State Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH ESPN+ L 17–21   20,039
September 16 5:00 p.m. Vanderbilt UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV CBSSN W 40–37   22,582
September 16 6:00 p.m. Hawaii No. 13 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR P12N L 10–55   52,779
September 16 6:00 p.m. Wyoming No. 4 Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX LHN L 10–31   101,777
September 16 6:00 p.m. New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry) L 17–27   27,414
September 16 8:00 p.m. Colorado State No. 18 Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown) ESPN L 35–43 2OT  53,141
September 16 8:30 p.m. Fresno State Arizona State Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, AZ FS1 W 29–0   46,723
September 16 8:30 p.m. Kansas Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV CBSSN L 24–31   44,182
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 4

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 22 8:30 p.m. Boise State San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA CBSSN  BSU 34–31   23,374
September 22 8:30 p.m. Air Force San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA FS1  AF 45–20   16,124
September 23 1:30 p.m. New Mexico UMass Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ESPN+ W 34–31 OT  8,298
September 23 5:00 p.m. Colorado State Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN ESPN+ W 31–23   19,806
September 23 5:00 p.m. Appalachian State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY CBSSN W 22–19   21,169
September 23 5:00 p.m. Nevada Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPN+ L 24–35   19,257
September 23 6:00 p.m. James Madison Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT L 38–45   19,994
September 23 7:00 p.m. UNLV UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+ W 45–28   28,042
September 23 8:30 p.m. Kent State Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA CBSSN W 53–10   38,728
September 23 10:00 p.m. New Mexico State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 20–17   10,254
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 5

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 30 10:00 a.m. Utah State UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN W 34–33   21,227
September 30 2:00 p.m. Boise State Memphis Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN2 L 32–35   30,364
September 30 2:00 p.m. Hawaii UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV  UNLV 44–20   25,328
September 30 2:00 p.m. New Mexico Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY  WYO 35–26   25,477
September 30 5:00 p.m. Utah Tech Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO W 41–20   27,932
September 30 6:00 p.m. San Diego State Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  AF 49–10   24,869
September 30 8:30 p.m. Nevada No. 25 Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA FS1  FRES 27–9   39,246
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 6

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 7 6:00 p.m. Colorado State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT  USU 44–24   22,864
October 7 6:00 p.m. No. 24 Fresno State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY FOX  WYO 24–19   20,788
October 7 6:00 p.m. San Jose State Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID CBSSN  BSU 35–27   37,491
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 7

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 13 6:00 p.m. Fresno State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT CBSSN  FRES 37–32   17,220
October 14 3:00 p.m. UNLV Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV (Fremont Cannon)  UNLV 45–27   24,578
October 14 4:00 p.m. San Jose State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM  SJSU 52–24   13,027
October 14 6:00 p.m. Wyoming Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  AF 34–27   28,311
October 14 7:45 p.m. Boise State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO  CSU 31–30   34,901
October 14 9:00 p.m. San Diego State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI CBSSN  SDSU 41–34   10,039
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 8

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 21 10:00 a.m. No. 22 Air Force Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS W 17–6   38,803
October 21 4:00 p.m. Hawaii New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM  UNM 42–21   13,723
October 21 5:00 p.m. Colorado State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV  UNLV 25–23   22,585
October 21 5:00 p.m. Utah State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA CBSSN  SJSU 42–21   15,028
October 21 7:00 p.m. Nevada San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA FS2  NEV 6–0   27,122
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 9

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 28 3:30 p.m. Wyoming Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS2  BSU 32–7   35,189
October 28 5:00 p.m. No. 19 Air Force Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO (Ram–Falcon Trophy) CBSSN  AF 30–13   22,570
October 28 8:30 p.m. New Mexico Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV CBSSN  NEV 34–24   13,083
October 28 8:30 p.m. UNLV Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA FS1  FRES 31–24   41,031
October 28 10:00 p.m. San Jose State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI (Dick Tomey Legacy Game)  SJSU 35–0   11,486
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 10

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 3 6:00 p.m. Colorado State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY (Border War) CBSSN  WYO 24–15   27,905
November 4 12:30 p.m. No. 25 Air Force Army Empower Field at Mile High • Denver, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBSSN L 3–23   52,401
November 4 2:00 p.m. Hawaii Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV  HAW 27–14   15,540
November 4 4:00 p.m. UNLV New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM  UNLV 56–14   12,353
November 4 5:00 p.m. Utah State San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA FS2  USU 32–24 2OT  23,096
November 4 8:00 p.m. Boise State Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA (rivalry) CBSSN  FRES 37–30   41,031
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 11

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 10 8:45 p.m. Wyoming UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV FS1  UNLV 34–14   25,568
November 11 1:00 p.m. Nevada Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT  USU 41–24   17,760
November 11 5:00 p.m. San Diego State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO CBSSN  CSU 22–19   22,033
November 11 8:00 p.m. New Mexico Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1  BSU 42–14   34,076
November 11 8:30 p.m. Fresno State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA (rivalry) CBSSN  SJSU 42–18   18,886
November 11 9:00 p.m. Air Force Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI (rivalry)  HAW 27–13   12,742
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 12

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 18 12:00 p.m. Hawaii Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY (rivalry)  WYO 42–9   18,233
November 18 1:00 p.m. Nevada Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO  CSU 30–20   20,121
November 18 1:30 p.m. UNLV Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  UNLV 31–27   23,574
November 18 5:00 p.m. Boise State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT CBSSN  BSU 45–10   17,821
November 18 8:30 p.m. New Mexico Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA FS1  UNM 25–17   38,569
November 18 8:30 p.m. San Diego State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA CBSSN  SJSU 24–13   16,224
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Mountain Time.

Week 13

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 24 1:30 p.m. Utah State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM CBSSN  USU 44–41 2OT  12,094
November 24 2:00 p.m. Air Force Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1  BSU 27–19   36,390
November 25 1:00 p.m. San Jose State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV  SJSU 37–31   25,554
November 25 7:00 p.m. Wyoming Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV CBSSN  WYO 42–6   12,044
November 25 8:30 p.m. Fresno State San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA (rivalry) FS1  SDSU 33–18   22,000
November 25 9:00 p.m. Colorado State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI  HAW 27–24   11,013
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Mountain Time.

Championship Game

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
December 2 1:00 p.m. Boise State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV (Mountain West Championship Game) FOX  BSU 44–20   31,473
#Rankings from College Football Playoff. All times are in Mountain Time.

Postseason

Bowl Games

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA football bowl games
Legend
  Mountain West win
  Mountain West loss
Bowl game Date Site Television Time (MST) Mountain West team Opponent Score Attendance
New Mexico Bowl December 16 University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM ESPN 3:45 p.m. Fresno State New Mexico State W 37–10 30,822
LA Bowl December 16 SoFi Stadium • Inglewood, CA ABC 5:30 p.m. Boise State UCLA L 22–35 32,780
Armed Forces Bowl December 23 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ABC 1:30 p.m. Air Force James Madison W 31–21 30,828
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 23 Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID ESPN 1:30 p.m. Utah State Georgia State L 22–45 12,168
Hawaii Bowl December 23 Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI ESPN 8:30 p.m. San Jose State Coastal Carolina L 14–24 7,089
Guaranteed Rate Bowl December 26 Chase Field • Phoenix, AZ ESPN 7:00 p.m. UNLV Kansas L 36–49  
Arizona Bowl December 30 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ Barstool / The CW 2:00 p.m. Wyoming Toledo W 16–15  

Selection of teams

  • Bowl eligible (7): Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
  • Bowl ineligible (5): Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State

Mountain West records vs other conferences


Mountain West vs Power 5 matchups

This is a list of games the Mountain West has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.


Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
August 26 SEC Hawaii Vanderbilt FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, TN L 28–35
August 26 Pac-12 San Jose State No. 6 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 28–56
September 1 Pac-12 Stanford Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI L 24–37
September 2 Pac-12 Boise State No. 10 Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA L 19–56
September 2 Pac-12 Washington State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO L 24–50
September 2 Big Ten Fresno State Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN W 39–35
September 2 Pac-12 Nevada No. 6 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 14–66
September 2 SEC New Mexico No. 23 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX L 10–52
September 2 Big Ten Utah State No. 25 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA L 14–24
September 2 Big 12 Texas Tech Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 35–33 2OT
September 3 Pac-12 No. 18 Oregon State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA L 17–42
September 9 Big 12 UCF Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID L 16–18
September 9 Pac-12 UCLA San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA L 10–35
September 9 Big Ten UNLV No. 2 Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI L 7–35
September 16 Pac-12 Colorado State No. 18 Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, CO L 35–43 2OT
September 16 Pac-12 Fresno State Arizona State Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ W 29–0
September 16 Pac-12 Hawaii No. 13 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR L 10–55
September 16 Big 12 Kansas Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV L 24–31
September 16 Pac-12 San Diego State No. 16 Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR L 9–26
September 16 SEC Vanderbilt UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV W 40–37
September 16 Big 12 Wyoming No. 4 Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX L 10–31

Mountain West vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include Mountain West teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, or Sun Belt.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
August 26 MAC Ohio San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA W 20–13
September 9 C-USA Air Force Sam Houston NRG Stadium • Houston, TX W 13–3
September 16 C-USA New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM L 17–27
September 16 MAC San Jose State Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH L 17–21
September 23 C-USA Colorado State Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN W 31–23
September 23 MAC Kent State Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA W 53–10
September 23 C-USA New Mexico State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 20–17
September 23 Sun Belt Nevada Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX L 24–35
September 23 C-USA UNLV UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 45–28
September 23 Sun Belt James Madison Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT L 38–45
September 23 Sun Belt Appalachian State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 22–19
September 30 American Boise State Memphis Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, TN L 32–35
October 21 American No. 22 Air Force Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD W 17–6

Mountain West vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include Mountain West teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, UConn, or UMass.

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 23 New Mexico UMass Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA W 34–31 OT
September 30 Utah State UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT W 34–33
November 4 No. 25 Air Force Army Empower Field at Mile High • Denver, CO L 3–23

Mountain West vs FCS matchups

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 2 Robert Morris Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO W 42–7
September 2 Idaho State San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA W 36–28
September 2 Bryant UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV W 44–14
September 9 Eastern Washington Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA W 34–31 2OT
September 9 Albany Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 31–20
September 9 No. 7 (FCS) Idaho Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV L 7–33
September 9 Tennessee Tech New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM W 56–10
September 9 Cal Poly San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA W 59–3
September 9 Idaho State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT W 78–28
September 9 Portland State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 31–17
September 16 No. 14 (FCS) North Dakota Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID W 42–18
September 30 Utah Tech Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO W 41–20

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Freshman
Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position
Week 0[16] Nick Nash San Jose State WR Cody Moon San Diego State LB Jack Browning San Diego State K/P Pofele Ashlock Hawaii WR
Week 1[17] Mikey Keene Fresno State QB Levelle Bailey Fresno State LB John Hoyland Wyoming K Pofele Ashlock (2) Hawaii WR
Week 2[18] Dylan Hopkins New Mexico QB Alec Mock Air Force LB Matthew Dapore Air Force K Matthew Coleman San Jose State WR
Week 3[19] Emmanuel Michel Air Force FB Carlton Johnson Fresno State DB Jose Pizano UNLV K Jayden Maiava UNLV QB
Week 4[20] Ashton Jeanty Boise State RB Wrook Brown Wyoming DB Jakorey Hawkins Wyoming CB Jai'Den Thomas UNLV RB
Week 5[21] Zac Larrier Air Force QB Wyett Ekeler Wyoming S Ike Larsen Utah State S Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi Colorado State QB
Week 6[22] Andrew Peasley Wyoming QB Ike Larsen Utah State S James Ferguson-Reynolds Boise State P Maddux Madsen Boise State QB
Week 7[23] Kairee Robinson San Jose State RB Trey Taylor Air Force DB Jack Browning (2) San Diego State K/P Brayden Fowler-Nicolsi (2) Colorado State QB
Week 8[24] Dylan Hopkins (2) New Mexico QB Jermarius Lewis New Mexico S Jose Pizano (2) UNLV K Jayden Maiava (2) UNLV QB
Week 9[25] Eric McAlister Boise State WR Dean Clark Fresno State S Brandon Talton Nevada K Maddux Madsen (2) Boise State QB
Week 10[26] Ricky White III UNLV WR Ike Larsen (2) Utah State S Malik Sherrod Fresno State RB Jayden Maiava (3) UNLV QB
Week 11[27] Kairee Robinson (2) San Jose State RB Peter Manuma Hawaii DB Jose Pizano (3) UNLV K Jayden Maiava (4) UNLV QB
Week 12[28] Jacory Croskey-Merritt New Mexico RB Marsel McDuffie UNLV LB Jordan Noyes Colorado State K Jayden Maiava (5) UNLV QB
Week 13[29] Levi Williams Utah State QB Wyett Ekeler (2) Wyoming S Jack Browning (3) San Diego State K/P Marcus Ratcliffe San Diego State S

Mountain West Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Mountain West Conference football coaches at the end of the season.[30]

Award Player School
Offensive Player of the Year Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State
Defensive Player of the Year Mohamed Kamara, DE Colorado State
Special Teams Player of the Year Jose Pizano, K UNLV
Freshman Player of the Year Jayden Maiava, QB UNLV
Coach of the Year Barry Odom UNLV

All-conference teams

The following players were selected as part of the Mountain West's All-Conference Teams.[30]

National awards

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2023 College Football All-America Team.

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. College Football All-American consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
First Team All-Americans
S Trey Taylor Air Force AFCA
K Jose Pizano UNLV FWAA
AP Ashton Jeanty Boise State ESPN, USAT
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
TE Dallin Holker Colorado State AFCA, AP, FWAA, SI, TSN, USAT, WCFF
DE Mohamed Kamara Colorado State FWAA
S Trey Taylor Air Force FOX
K Jose Pizano UNLV AFCA, AP, FOX, SI, WCFF
P James Ferguson-Reynolds Boise State AFCA, FOX, SI
KR Jacob De Jesus UNLV USAT
AP Ashton Jeanty Boise State AP, USAT
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Third Team All-Americans
WR Ricky White III UNLV AP
S Trey Taylor Air Force AP
P James Ferguson-Reynolds Boise State AP

Home game attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Total Average % of Capacity
Air Force Falcon Stadium 46,692 30,142 † 18,400 24,869 28,311 52,401 23,574 177,697 29,616 63.43%
Boise State Albertsons Stadium 36,387 36,447 35,610 37,491 † 35,189 34,076 36,390 215,203 35,867 98.57%
Colorado State Canvas Stadium 41,000 31,497 27,932 34,901 † 22,570 22,033 20,121 159,054 26,509 64.66%
Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium 41,031 41,031 † 38,728 39,246 41,031 41,031 38,569 239,636 39,939 97.34%
Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex 15,194 13,739 † 9,485 10,254 10,039 11,486 12,742 11,013 78,758 11,251 74.05%
Nevada Mackay Stadium 27,000 19,852 16,890 24,578 † 13,083 15,540 12,044 101,987 16,998 62.95%
New Mexico University Stadium 39,224 17,279 27,414 † 13,027 13,723 12,353 12,094 95,890 15,982 40.74%
San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium 35,000 23,867 22,345 32,017 † 23,374 27,122 23,096 22,000 173,821 24,832 70.95%
San Jose State CEFCU Stadium 21,520 20,337 † 14,224 16,124 15,028 18,886 16,224 100,823 16,804 78.08%
UNLV Allegiant Stadium 65,000 20,347 22,582 25,328 † 22,585 25,568 25,554 141,964 23,661 36.40%
Utah State Maverik Stadium 25,100 20,034 † 19,994 22,864 17,220 17,760 17,821 115,693 19,282 76.82%
Wyoming War Memorial Stadium 30,181 26,450† 22,121 21,169 25,477 20,788 27,905 18,233 162,143 23,163 76.75%

Bold – At or Exceeded capacity
†Season High

NFL draft

See also: 2024 NFL draft

The NFL draft will be held at Campus Martius Park in Detroit. The following list includes all Mountain West players in the draft.

List of selections

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Mohamed Kamara DE Colorado State 5 23 158 Miami Dolphins
Trey Taylor S Air Force 7 3 223 Las Vegas Raiders

References

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  2. ^ "Mountain West Announces Elimination of Football Divisions in 2023". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. May 20, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "Boise State Picked to Win 2023 Mountain West Football Title". themw.com. The Mountain West Conference. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team".
  5. ^ Yamashita, Andy (November 28, 2022). "UNLV athletic director discusses Arroyo dismissal..." Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Rittenberg, Adam; Low, Chris (December 6, 2022). "UNLV hires Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom as coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Thamel, Pete (November 12, 2023). "Boise State fires football coach Andy Avalos after 22-14 record". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Thamel, Pete (December 3, 2023). "Boise State names interim Spencer Danielson new head coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Bonagura, Kyle (November 13, 2023). "San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke to retire after season". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "San Diego State Football Names Sean Lewis Head Coach". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Thamel, Pete (November 25, 2023). "New Mexico fires Danny Gonzales after 4 years as head coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Thamel, Pete (December 6, 2023). "New Mexico hires Bronco Mendenhall as football coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "Nevada announces change in football leadership". nevadawolfpack.com. December 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "Jeff Choate named Nevada Football head coach". nevadawolfpack.com. Nevada Wolf Pack Athletics. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 6, 2023). "Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl retiring after bowl game". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "MW Football Players of the Week August 28". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  25. ^ "MW Football Players of the Week - October 30". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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  29. ^ "MW Football Players of the Week - Nov. 27". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Mountain West Announces 2023 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.