Don’t look now but the Mountain West race is going to be a fun one.

A top-heavy group in the conference returns a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Below, take a quick look at how the conference could play out this season.

Mountain West Championship Game Prediction: Boise State over Fresno State

Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State

Conference Notes

Ashton Jeanty looks to go back-to-back. Jeanty is one of the top returning backs in the nation. He is the reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and is the favorite to repeat. Last season, he totaled 1,347 yards on the ground with 19 touchdowns. He was one of the most explosive players in the nation and will lead Boise State’s attack once again. The Broncos are the favorites in the conference and Jeanty remains a major reason why.

The battle for the second spot in the conference title game will be a good one. Of course, nothing is guaranteed in college football but Boise State is expected to play for the Mountain West title this season. There will be two teams favored battling for one spot — UNLV and Fresno State.

UNLV was extremely improved last season but lost its starting quarterback to USC. The Rebels brought in highly-touted Matthew Sluka from Holy Cross to compete with Campbell transfer Hajj-Malik Williams. The offense is in good hands moving forward but UNLV needs to improve defensively. The Rebels allowed 28.6 points per game last season and 6.3 yards per snap. Barry Odom is the new head coach with a defensive background and will have to use it this season.

Fresno State returns a ton of production from a team that started 8-1 last season. The Bulldogs fell down the stretch after looking like a shoe in for the conference title game. Mikey Keene returns under center after 24 touchdowns while Malik Sherrod was just 34 yards shy of 1,000 for the season. Fresno also returns its top three receivers and four starters on the offensive line. Defensively, Fresno will be tested all year long. The team allowed 23.5 points per game and struggled against the run.

2024 Mountain West Football Standings Prediction

1. Boise State
2. Fresno State
3. UNLV
4. Colorado State
5. Air Force
6. Wyoming
7. Utah State
8. Hawaii
9. San Diego State
10. San Jose State
11. Nevada
12. New Mexico