Mountain West Wire

Matt and Jeremy are back to preview the 2020 Boise State season. As of now, the Broncos have a full 12-game slate so we preview as normal. While this Boise State team does return 11 starts back from both sides of the ball there seems to not be any regression and possibly even an improvement over last year.

The quarterback spot is one of the deepest in the league with starter Hank Bachmeier returning for his second year and he should take a big step forward, assuming he remains healthy. Running back is deep as well led by George Holani also heading into his sophomore season, the wide receiving group does lose talent but there is talent back. The offensive line and defensive line are the biggest question marks heading into the season. The former while losing four starters had plenty of backups who started in 2019, plus a few transfers who will help shore up that line.

The defense loses some big names and usually every year there is a name that people aren't really familiar with that step up for a huge season and that should be the case this year.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/support

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to preview the Nevada Wolf Pack team. This Nevada squad brings back a lot of its talent from last year and couple that with a strong November and this team could be in contention to win the West Division. The team now has just one quarterback in Carson Strong and he is entrenched as the starter and he did play in 10 games last year. There are other pieces as well that include one of the best WR's in Elijah Cooks, the entire offensive line returns and its two top running backs. That should be a success for a breakout offensive season.

The defense returns 10 starters and if they can build upon consistency and be about average then that will allow the Wolf Pack to make a bowl game and challenge for a Mountain West title.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/support

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt provide a quick update to Air Force football with QB Donald Hammond III no longer in good standing and likely will not be with the Falcons team this year. This is a huge loss as Hammond was going to be our first-team quarterback and offensive player of the year, so the Falcons losing him is a big deal for their success in 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to preview the Air Force football season which is already down one game with the Purdue cancelation. The Falcons do lose a lot of talent, eight total starters, but their offense returns their key players in two of the best offensive lineman around, QB Donald Hammond III, and its top two running backs. The defense will have issues in the secondary with most of those starters gone and as per usual, if the Air Force defense can be just above average in yards per play allowed this team will very much compete for a Mountain West title.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Jeremy are back to talk about the tumultuous upcoming college football season that is looking less and less not normal. The Pac-12 and Big Ten have announced that they are going with only conference games and that hurts the Mountain West by losing 15 games. The two discuss what a Mountain West football season will look like and what the most likely option could be.

They also discuss any and all options, including getting in regional games that include BYU.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to preview the 2020 Utah State which is a team that has a unique identity for this upcoming year. There is a new quarterback in Henry Colombi, a new starting running back in potential breakout star Jaylen Warren, the defense is brand new and there is a new offensive coordinator in Bodie Reeder who comes over from North Texas. 

The schedule could be the biggest hurdle for the Aggies team in making a bowl game. They have Washington, Washington State and BYU in non-league play, and in the two cross-division games are San Diego State and Nevada. Looking at games in a vaccum there are a lot of winnable games but the layout of the schedule does not help.

There is no key returning defender for the Aggies but there is usually a standout everyone will know, but we just don't have a real good idea who that can be. Also, head coach Gary Andersen is relying on a number of transfers to fill the defensive holes. This season could be wild for Utah State.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to take a look at what the upcoming college football season will look like now that athletes are back on campus. With players back for workouts in a small and divided group, there are still people resting positive for COVID-19 and these are non-contact workouts. How can the season go on as planned if non-contact activities cause some COVID-19 positive tests? What goes on when there has to be physical contact to play actual football.

There will be an attempt to have a normal season but it will be tough if the virus keeps spreading the season will be shortened, condensed and, who knows, maybe even canceled.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to preview the Hawaii Warriors 2020 football team which will, if nothing else, be an exciting team to watch in the Mountain West. They have a new head coach in Todd Graham and also lost a lot of offensive talent in Cole McDonald and the top three wide receivers but there is potential with who is returning and replacing those players. There is the go-go offense which people should look up and get to know and that unique style of play. As for the defense, they just need to take a small step up to help this team overall. The defensive line need more of a pass rush or disruption to help out the entire unit.

Hawaii has the talent to be a contender in the West Division if things go well and repeat as division champs. 

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/support

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy and Matt are back to preview the 2020 New Mexico Lobos football season. The Lobos have moved on from the Bob Davie-era and made a great hire in Danny Gonzales who is a former Lobo coach and player. This hire was very popular with the Lobos fans as was being able to get back Rocky Long to the staff as he is the defensive coordinator.

This team has some potential but with a lot of questions. Quarterback is up in the air but there is a lean toward Tevaka Tuioti who has the most experience and is the only New Mexico signal-caller to complete more than 50 percent of his passes. The top-five pass catchers are back and the running game has a lot of questions but options to tote the ball.

The defense has some real issues with players transferring and overall not being that great, specifically in its pass defense. That is where Long and Gonzales come in as defensive coaches to get these players ready. This team likely won't go bowling but they will be an interesting team to watch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Jeremy are back to preview the 2020 Wyoming Cowboys football season. This Wyoming team has a lot of potential and even the loss of the multiple NFL Draft picks, this team can still be in the running for the Mountain Division title. The Cowboys do need to settle out its quarterback situation between Levi Williams and Sean Chambers, plus the wide receiving group needs new faces. The defense could be as good as 2019 as the backups who were making plays in a limited role will now have a larger spot on the team and become potential all-conference players.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mwwire/support

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices