By Gio Gaxiola — Reporter
This week, the Mountain West Conference saw upsets and close calls. Let us take a look at the scores, news and notes from around the MW as we head into the last week of the regular season.
Wyoming (6-5, 2-5 MW) 44 Utah State (8-3, 5-2 MW) 17
The biggest upset of the weekend was when the Cowboys went on the road to decimate the Aggies. The Wyoming offense managed to get 604 yards as a team in the win. Junior running back Travis Swen had 15 rushes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 98-yard touchdown run. Senior running back Xazavian Valladay also had a nice game with 21 rushes for 145 yards. Cowboy’s sophomore cornerback Cameron Stone had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Aggies junior quarterback Logan Bonner completed 19 of his 40 pass attempts for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Wyoming will finish at home against Hawaii on Saturday. Utah State will hit the road to play against New Mexico on Friday.
No. 19 San Diego State (10-1, 6-1 MW) 28 UNLV (2-9, 2-5 MW) 20
The Aztecs were able to survive on the road against the Rebels. Senior quarterback Lucas Johnson completed 18 of his 24 passing attempts for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Junior wide receiver Jesse Matthews caught all three touchdowns to go along with his nine catches for 75 yards. The Rebels were able to get a strong defensive performance from junior linebacker Jacoby Windmon, who had three sacks in the loss. SDSU will finish the regular season at home against Boise State on Friday night. UNLV will play on the road against Air Force on Friday.
Air Force (8-3, 5-2 MW) 41 Nevada (7-4, 4-3 MW) 39
It took three overtimes, but the Falcons were able to get a huge road win against the Wolf Pack on Friday night. Junior wide receiver Deandre Hughes was the star of the night for the Falcons. Hughes had 23 rushing attempts for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running Brad Roberts also had a field day with 28 rushes for 111 yards and one touchdown. Air Force outrushed Nevada i 522-24. Wolf Pack junior quarterback Carson Strong completed 25 of his 43 passing attempts for 346 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the loss. Strong has been playing like a first round draft pick all year. Air Force plays its final regular season game at home on friday against UNLV. Nevada will hit the road to take on Colorado State on Saturday.
Hawaii (5-7, 2-5 MW) 50 Colorado State (3-8, 2-5 MW) 45
It was a shootout in Honolulu on Saturday night. Defense was non-existent in this game as both teams combined for 1,186 yards of total offense in the game. Rams senior quarterback Todd Centeio completed 29 of his 47 passing attempts for 527 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite target was junior wide receiver Dante Wright, who had eight catches for 150 yards and one touchdown. Rainbow Warriors senior running back Dedrick Parson had 11 rushes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Junior linebacker Darius Muasau was the lone bright spot on defense for the Rainbow Warriors. Muasau finished with 11 tackles and two sacks. Hawaii will finish the regular season at home on Saturday against Wyoming. Colorado State will also play at home on Saturday against Nevada.
Boise State (7-4, 5-2 MW) 37 New Mexico (3-8, 1-6 MW) 0
It was all Broncos over the Lobos on Saturday night. Boise State managed to get more yards than New Mexico 427-85. The Broncos defense scored early in the first quarter with a blocked punt. It was all downhill for New Mexico after that play. Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir had seven catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. Freshman running back Aaron Dumas had 15 rushes for 36 yards, the most yards by a Lobo on Saturday. Sophomore Connor Genal had an abysmal game. Genal completed just one of his five passing attempts for 16 yards and one interception. The Broncos defense was the star of the match for how well they kept the Lobos offense at bay. Boise State will hit the road to face off against No. 19 San Diego State . New Mexico will play at home on Friday against Utah State.
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