Every week, Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray evaluates Mountain West football teams. Here are this week’s rankings, with each team’s overall record, their ranking from last week, their result from last week, their next opponent and a brief commentary.

1. Boise State

Rank last week: 1

Record: 10-1, 7-0 MW

Last week: Defeat Wyoming 17-13

This week: vs. Oregon State, 9 a.m. Friday (Fox)

Comment: Boise State hasn’t looked like a top-15 team in the country in recent weeks, with a four-point win over Wyoming, a seven-point win over Nevada and a game at San Jose State that was much closer than the 21-point final score is displayed. But the Broncos are one win over Oregon State and UNLV or Colorado State in the MW title game away from getting a bye in the College Football Playoff.

2.UNLV

Rank last week: 2

Record: 9-2, 5-1

Last week: Beat San Jose State 27-16

This week: vs. Nevada, 5 p.m. (CBSSN)

Comment: UNLV outscored SJSU 17-0 in the second half to secure an 11-point victory, but Fresno State’s win over CSU was just as important as the Rebels now control their fate in the MW title race have. All UNLV has to do is beat rival Nevada as a 17.5-point home favorite to earn a rematch with Boise State. UNLV is seeking its first three-game winning streak against Nevada since it won five straight during the 2000-2004 season.

3. Colorado State

Rank last week: 3

Record: 7-4, 5-1

Last week: Lost to Fresno State, 28-22

This week: vs. Utah State, 12:30 p.m. Friday (FS1)

Comment: Colorado State’s comparatively easy path to the MW title game saw a major boost in pace at Fresno State, as the Rams fell to a 28-7 deficit in the first half before their comeback failed late in the game. Colorado State must now beat a suddenly hot Utah State on Friday and Nevada must beat UNLV on Sunday to advance to its first MW championship game. The chance of this happening is about 5 percent – ​​good luck.

4. Fresno State

Rank last week: 6

Record: 6-5, 4-3

Last week: Beat Colorado State 28-22

This week: at UCLA, 12:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Comment: Fresno State moved up two spots after beating CSU, but the Bulldogs still have losses to Hawaii and Air Force, so we won’t have the Bulldogs pushed past the Rams. Fresno State was an inconsistent but quality team. It secured its 20th bowl berth in the last 26 seasons and fourth in a row. It probably won’t be enough to win interim Tim Skipper the long-term job, but the win over CSU was a big one.

5. New Mexico

Rank last week: 4

Record: 5-6, 3-3

Last week: Bye

This week: in Hawaii, 8 p.m

Comment: New Mexico ends its break with a game in Hawaii. Win and the Lobos are headed to a bowl for the first time since 2016, breaking the MW’s longest bowl drought. New Mexico’s last six coaches won two (Danny Gonzales), four (Bob Davie), one (Mick Locksley), three (Rocky Long), three (Dennis Franchione) and zero games (Mike Sheppard) in their debut seasons. That’s an average of 1.7 wins per season; Bronco Mendenhall can bring New Mexico to seven with a possible bowl.

6. San Jose State

Rank last week: 5

Record: 6-5, 3-4

Last week: Lost to UNLV, 27-16

This week: vs. Stanford, Friday, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Comment: SJSU has lost four of its last six games after a 4-1 start. It wasn’t just a result of the loss at quarterback, but Spartans starter Walker Eget went 4 of 22 for 81 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss to UNLV. The previous game, Eget threw for 446 yards against Boise State, albeit with three turnovers. Shows how good UNLV’s defense is. This week SJSU plays Stanford for the first time since 2013.

7. Utah State

Rank last week: 7

Record: 4-7, 3-3

Last week: Beat San Diego State 41-20

This week: at Colorado State, 12:30 p.m. Friday (FS1)

Comment: Utah State has won two straight games and three of four after snapping a six-game skid. Bryson Barnes came in for the injured Spencer Petras and completed 13 of 15 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 193 yards and another score. It’s unknown who will start against Colorado State this week, although Barnes has taken advantage of his opportunities quite well (QBR of 74.6).

8th Air Force

Rank last week: 10

Record: 4-7, 2-4

Last week: Defeated Nevada 22-19

This week: at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)

Comment: Air Force is another MW team that started painfully slow (1-7) but has been playing well lately. The Falcons have won three straight games and could potentially get a 5-7 push into a bowl with a win at San Diego State if there aren’t enough postseason teams to fill bowl spots. Air Force was one of the youngest teams in the country, so it’s nice to see the Falcons show growth and finish on a high note.

9. Hawaii

Last week’s rank: 8

Record: 4-7, 2-4

Last week: Bye

This week: vs. New Mexico, 8 p.m

Comment: In theory, a loss to New Mexico could put coach Timmy Chang (12-25 overall, 7-15 in MW) in the hot seat, although Hawaii just controversially fired its athletic director, so things may be too chaotic to make a change on that one Point. The Rainbow Warriors’ offense simply hasn’t been up to par in the last three seasons under Chang – unless Hawaii plays Nevada. Then it’s completely fine.

10. Nevada

Rank last week: 9

Record: 3-9, 0-6

Last week: Lost to Air Force, 22-19

This week: at No. 24 UNLV, 5 p.m. (CBSSN)

Comment: Nevada falls to a season-low 10th place in these rankings, which may be both too high and too low at the same time. The Wolf Pack is the only MW team without a league win (and every other team has two conference wins). On the other hand, six of Nevada’s nine losses came by a single possession, and the Wolf Pack played the MW’s toughest schedule this season. But victories are important, and Nevada is lacking those victories.

11. San Diego State

Rank last week: 11

Record: 3-8, 2-4

Last week: Lost to Utah State, 41-20

This week: vs. Air Force, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)

Comment: SDSU hasn’t looked great in Sean Lewis’ first season. The Aztecs beat an FCS opponent and picked up two three-point wins against lower-ranking MW teams (Hawaii and Wyoming). Other than that, SDSU is 0-8 with an average margin of defeat of 14.6 points per game. The once-powerful defense has also allowed 41 or more points in three of its last four games. In the end, it was a real rebuilding season.

12. Wyoming

Rank last week: 12

Record: 2-9, 2-5

Last week: Lost to Boise State, 17-13

This week: in Washington State, 3:30 p.m. (The CW)

Comment: Wyoming played within four points of Boise State and led before the Broncos scored the game-winning touchdown with 5 minutes, 2 seconds left. The Cowboys held the Broncos to 1 of 12 on third and fourth downs and had the ball eight minutes longer than Boise State. This was truly an even game, and Boise State is one of the top 15 teams in the country and Wyoming is the worst team in the MW (according to these rankings). Sometimes football can be wild.

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight into Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.