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Mountain West Football Week 1 Overreactions
Ups and downs after Week 1.
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Time to get crazy
The first week of Mountain West football is in the books and there is a lot to like and not like about how the teams played. Because it is just the first week we are going to have some fun and provide some overreactions after seeing just a single game, from most teams.
Fresno State is the best team, maybe
Yes, the Bulldogs lost and are 1-1 on the year but they had a few first-half miscues against Oregon and had chances to win that game against the Pac-12 favorites but ultimately lost 21-14.
They came from behind and had a chance to win but just couldn’t convert. Jake Haener had a great game throwing the ball with completing 30 of 43 for 298 yards in the loss.
The two turnovers to give Oregon the ball in the red zone that led to touchdowns really did in the Bulldogs. Even though they lost, Fresno State looks really good.
FCS did too good of a job vs. the Mountain West
This is a sore subject for Colorado State and UNLF fans, and Wyoming nearly joined them in being upset. The worst of them all was Colorado State not just losing to South Dakota State but getting embarrassed at home 42-23 is a huge red flag.
The Rams front seven was to be a bright spot but they gave up 243 yards and the Jack Rabbits leading rusher had 138 yards on 13 carries. Perhaps Colorado State is the worst team in the Mountain West?
It looks like #FireAdazzio is already in full swing on Twitter.
UNLV is not alone as they lost in double overtime to Eastern Washington, 34-32. While not acceptable, this loss was much more likely than the Rams getting blown out. Even with the Rebels still looking to find its footing, losing to an FCS team is unacceptable.
Wyoming was nearly the third Mountain West team to fall to an FCS foe as they escaped against a good Montana State team, 19-16 in a rock fight. The defense was good enough but one area of concern against the Bobcats was running back Isaiah Ifanse had 103 yards and ran 6.4 yards an attempt.
They escaped with the win but that new look offense needs work, especially the promise of a good passing game. The attempts were there with Sean Chambers completing 15 of 26 passes for just 196 yards.
It is time to rethink Hawaii’s defensive prowess, a little
The Warriors defense brought back a lot of talent on the field and defensive coordinator Victor Santa Cruz who has shown to provide schemes to shut down teams.
However, after two games, this defense needs a lot of work. Giving up 44 to UCLA was not ideal but the Bruins offense looks to be the real deal. However, 35 points to an FCS team like Portland State has to sting.
The secondary has been burnt the most and vs. Portland State not only gave up 400 yards but three players had 95 yards or more and gave up 17.4 yards per catch. However, with most of the action in the second half, maybe we can forgive the Warriors a bit.
Boise State outplayed and outmatched
At one point, Boise State held a 24-7 lead over Central Florida at their place in Orlando. Then the one time there was a big play on third down, the Golden Knights converted and led to a score. Even with the Broncos leading up until halftime, it looked like they were just outmatched.
Quarterback Hank Bachmeier was scrambling and getting hit and doing his best to make plays but the line was not itself without its starting center and also not having running back George Holani didn’t help.
Overall, it just looked like UCF was the more physical and better team.
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