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What Top 25 Teams Do Mountain West Schools Face?
Who is facing a ranked team?
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
What MW team has a tough schedule?
The first mainstream top 25 poll is out with the USA TODAY coaches poll being released and there are zero Mountain West teams in the rankings which is not all that surprising.
To go a bit deeper we take a look at what Mountain West teams are facing a program that is ranked or receiving votes. Every team within the conference has at least one on the schedule and the reason for that has to do with Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah State earning votes.
Of the ranked non-league games there are just five total with LSU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Washington. Then there are another four that are receiving votes from those out of conference games.
To be fair, these games are not overly amazing but then again do Mountain West teams want to play one or more ranked teams in the non-conference slate?
There needs to be a balance of getting wins and challenging one team and if we are being honest the Mountain West is a touch light on this, but that can change after a few weeks because if Army somehow upsets Michigan early on or Minnesota and UCLA get early wins could be ranked by the time they face off with a Mountain West school.
Also, what needs to be considered is that there inevitably will be a team that is not ranked now but shoot up into the top 25 by the time the game is going to be played and one of those is BYU.
The Cougars are mentioned only based on the schedule they face which starts with a ranked Utah and Washington team and also face USC and Tennessee before they face Boise State. So, if things go extremely well, BYU could be a top 25 team vs. the Broncos. It may not be likely but their schedule sets up for that opportunity.
Air Force
– Boise State (RV)
– Army (RV)
– Fresno State (RV)
– Utah State (RV)
Boise State
– Utah State (RV)
– Florida State (RV)
Colorado State
– Boise State (RV)
– Fresno State (RV)
– Utah State (RV)
Fresno State
– Minnesota (RV)
– Utah State (RV)
– USC (RV)
Hawaii
– No. 12 Washington
– Boise State (RV)
– Army (RV)
– Fresno State (RV)
Nevada
– Fresno State (RV)
– No. 13 Oregon
– Utah State (RV)
New Mexico
– Utah State (RV)
– No. 9 Notre Dame
– Boise State (RV)
San Diego State
– Fresno State (RV)
– UCLA (RV)
– Utah State (RV)
San Jose State
– Fresno State (RV)
– Army (RV)
UNLV
– Fresno State (RV)
– No. 25 Northwestern
– Boise State (RV)
Utah State
– Boise State (RV)
– No. 6 LSU
– Fresno State (RV)
Wyoming
– Boise State (RV)
– Utah State (RV)
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