Week 7 of the 2026 season is in the books, and in what was one of the most upset-heavy weeks of play in the history of college football, it was surprisingly tame in the Mountain West in terms of results. The conference got in on the fun in terms of play itself, with offensive explosions and absurdly ridiculous plays littering these five games. Let's get right into the abundant action from the Mountain West in Week 7.
The Scoop:I'll begin this recap with a positive from NIU in this game: the Huskies scored more points in the second half yesterday (17) than they had in the second halves of their five previous games combined (14). Now that that's out of the way, let's get into the mountain of bad. This was yet another uncompetitive loss for NIU, the score sitting at 41-17 in the fourth quarter before Wyoming stopped trying. NIU never trailed by less than 10 points in the second half, allowing the Cowboys to score nearly half of their combined season point total (87) in just this game alone.
Wyoming looked like they had Josh Allen at QB again, with Tyler Hughes torching the Huskies' atrocious defense to the tune of 379 yards of combined offense, just three incompletions, and four touchdowns—all of which were on the ground. The Cowboys racked up 510 yards of offense and 25 first downs, waiting until the fourth quarter to have their second drive of the game that covered single-digit yardage. NIU's offense looked passable for most of the game, having zero giveaways for the first time all season. None of it mattered against the pure stench of their defense, who seemed more interested in going back to Iowa form than anything else. This game puts Wyoming above .500 for the first time this season, well on their way to returning to a bowl game and saving Coach Jay Sawvel's job this offseason.
NIU (0-6, 0-2 MW) will be back in action next week, hosting arguably their most winnable game of the year on Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. CDT on MW+. Their opponent will be the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (1-6, 0-4 MW), who are coming off of yet another blowout loss at the hands of the conference-leading New Mexico Lobos. The loser of this game will be officially eliminated from bowl contention, though it is highly unlikely either of these teams will come close to a bowl game regardless.
Wyoming (4-3, 3-1 MW) will be staying home this week heading into a game against the Air Force Falcons (5-1, 3-1 MW) on Oct. 23 at 7:00 p.m. MDT on The CW. The Falcons will look to clinch a bowl game in this match, having won three straight games including their most recent offensive destruction of UNLV. The Cowboys will likely struggle to stop AFA's rushing attack here, but if Hughes can run the Cowboy offense anything like he did against the Huskies, this will end up being a good ole' fashioned shootout in the mountains, which is always a sight to behold.
The Scoop:It's official: Air Force is back, and they may very well be the scariest team in the conference right now. The Falcon ground game dominated the Rebels' defensive line all game long, rushing for 430 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 41-31 victory. Jackson Arnold was a one-man offense once again, accounting for 324 of the Rebels' 376 offensive yards, along with three of their four touchdowns.
The Rebels led 24-20 at the end of the third quarter, but Air Force racked up 187 yards of offense in the fourth quarter en route to 21 unanswered points and a final score that was much more dominant than the win actually was. UNLV was unable to sack AFA QB Evan Medders even once on the night, only forcing two TFLs along the way. The Falcons scored on seven of their eight meaningful drives, a pace that was simply impossible for the Rebs to keep up with all game long.
Simply put, there aren't many teams that are going to be able to stop this offense this season. Air Force is no longer a surprise—they are a legitimate Mountain West title contender in 2026. Meanwhile, the Rebels drop to 4-3 on the season, though their tough part of the schedule is over. There is no reason to believe the Rebels will miss a bowl game, but their path to a MW title game berth is far less certain than it would have been with a win in this contest.
UNLV (4-3, 2-1 MW) will head back to Vegas for their final bye week next week, staying home for the next two weeks after. They will first take on Northern Illinois (0-6, 0-2 MW) on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. PDT on CBSSN. NIU is absolutely terrible this season, having yet to come within two scores of victory against an FBS opponent. This game should not be relatively close, UNLV should be favored and win by 20-plus points.
Air Force (5-1, 3-1 MW) will travel to Laramie next week, taking on the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 3-1 MW) on Oct. 23 at 7:00 p.m. MDT on The CW. Wyoming is off to a surprisingly great start in conference play, having easily taken down lowly NIU this week. Air Force should win this game, but the Cowboys have proven themselves to be capable of beating the odds thus far, so the Falcons should be wary of a potential upset if they are not careful.
The Scoop:Nevada's performance on this night seemed to be a push to join the Ivy League in the near future: they decided to teach a master's level course in how to lose a football game. Against a North Dakota State team that showed vulnerability in last week's loss to UNLV, the Wolf Pack jumped out to an 11-0 lead early in the second quarter, despite not having QB Carter Jones once again. After that, Nevada engaged in a series of bloopers and blunders that led to yet another agonizing loss, while NDSU ran away to a relatively easy win.
Let's start with the pure stats. NDSU outgained the Pack 345-286 and won the turnover battle 2-0, but notably had six punts compared to Nevada's four. Nathan Hayes was rather inefficient for the Bison once again, throwing for just 153 yards on 19 completions. Crucially, however, he did not make the major mistakes his counterpart did. Subbing for Carter Jones once again, AJ Bianco played admirably for the most part. He threw for 190 yards, ran for 23, and accounting for two touchdowns despite being forced to limp around after taking a big hit in the first quarter. However, his limitations showed in big moments, tossing two interceptions in the second half—one a lame-duck and the other a phenomenal defensive play—to give the Bison the breathing room they needed. Nevada only ran the ball 21 times compared to NDSU's 45, showcasing how the Nevada offense could not figure out how to stick with the gameplan as the game went on, while the Bison did all game long.
Now let's move on to the blunders. First, with 0:03 left in the first half, down 12-11 after two straight Bison scores, Jeff Choate trotted out preseason MW Kicker of the Year Joe McFadden for a 57-yard attempt; a kick seven yards longer than his career long. This decision was made instead of going for a Hail Mary attempt from the 39-yard line: a play with a far lesser chance of ending in disaster. I only mention this because North Dakota State sent preseason MW Special Teams POTY Jackson Williams back deep to return a potential miss, a fact that was noted by fans and TV broadcasters, yet seemingly escaped Choate's attention. This decision ended predictably, as Williams returned McFadden's miss 106 yards for a touchdown, taking a 19-11 lead into the half.
Next, Nevada scored a touchdown early in the third quarter on a nice catch by Gary Givens III to cut the lead to 19-17. The Pack decided to go for two, doing so with a terribly designed double-reverse play that immediately lost 15 yards. The situation became even worse when Damien Morgan fumbled, with the Bison picking up the loose ball and returning it all the way for a pick-two—their first in a game since 1999, when they were still a D2 team. Had neither of these plays happened, the Pack would have only been trailing by four late instead of having to go for broke down 14. The parade of mistakes was complete when Choate sent his shattered kicker back out there for a 54-yard try, inevitably resulting in yet another miss.
McFadden and Bianco had rough nights, but quite frankly, that was largely due to their head coach setting them up to fail. I simply lack the will to attempt to understand why Choate made the decisions he did in this game, especially considering his statements postgame about McFadden dealing with some kind of quad injury all week. All I know is this game took whatever glimmer of hope Nevada fans had left and threw it directly into a sinkhole. NDSU, meanwhile, is officially eligible for a bowl game in their FBS debut; a phenomenal accomplishment that puts them firmly on track to achieve even greater things later this season. Just clean up the mistakes, Bison. You would have ended up losing against most other teams in the conference today.
Nevada (2-4, 1-2 MW) will fly back home to Reno next week, hosting San Jose State (4-3, 2-1 MW) on Oct. 24 at 2:00 p.m. PDT on MW+. The Spartans are coming off of a dominant win at UTEP, and will be gunning for revenge after Nevada demolished them by 45 points last year. This will most likely end up being an ugly, mistake-filled game, one that will see the Spartans make just enough good plays to get within a game of a bowl berth.
North Dakota State (6-1, 3-1 MW) will prepare for their biggest game of the season next week: in Albuquerque against the New Mexico Lobos (5-1, 2-0 MW) on Oct. 24 at 9:00 p.m. CDT on The CW. The Lobos are coming off of a sloppy win in Honolulu, so perhaps they are able to find a weakness in what the 'Bows did that they can exploit for a major victory.
The Scoop:This game was mostly the battle of the backups, with the Miners again forced to play backup Raymond Moore III for the majority of the game, while the Spartans were without both QB Luke Weaver and star RB Jabari Bates. Nonetheless, SJSU still ended up riding a dominant defensive performance to a victory in a game that got somewhat concerning at the very end, but was otherwise a great bounceback win for a Spartan team that really needed one.
San Jose State racked up a MW season-high 11 sacks on the night, 3.5 of those from Jayland McGlothen, who now leads the team with 6.0 on the year. On the other side, backup RB Viliami Teu rushed for 156 yards and two TDs, while freshman QB Daniel Rolovich (yes, he is Nick's son) threw for 193 and a score of his own. The Miners missed two field goals during this game, a fact which could have made their second-to-last drive mean a whole lot more had those kicks been made. However, UTEP turned the ball over on downs at their opponent's 24-yard line anyway, which sealed their fate—now sitting just one loss away from another bowl-less season in El Paso. Fittingly, this game's final play was sack #11 for the Spartans, capping off a fantastic performance for Bojay Filimoeatu's unit.
SJSU (4-3, 2-1 MW) will be back on the road again next week, heading to Reno, NV for a game against the Nevada Wolf Pack (2-4, 1-2 MW) on Oct. 24 at 2:00 p.m. PDT on MW+. Nevada is coming off of arguably their game most riddled with mistakes this season in their loss to NDSU, and will surely be looking to get back on track against a Spartan team they have dominated as of late. I have a feeling this will be a turnover-filled contest regardless of who starts at QB for either team—an environment that will provide the Spartans an opportunity to get revenge on the Wolf Pack for last year's 55-10 drubbing.
The Scoop:Lobos, I know you are not historically used to being an elite team, so let me be the first to introduce you to the concept known as a "trap game." Hawaii jumped out to a 10-0 lead at halftime, holding their superior foes to two turnovers and three punts in the first half. Things still looked good for Hawaii after halftime, only giving up one touchdown before forcing another punt and interception to enter the fourth quarter up 10-7. The 'Bows absolutely imploded from there, with their three fourth-quarter drives resulting in a punt and two giveaways of their own. Meanwhile, the Lobos scored TDs on both of their final-frame possessions before running out the clock to secure an ugly 21-10 win and stay undefeated in conference play.
Toa Fa'avae had a very bad game through the air, completing just five passes for 59 yards and throwing two picks and no TDs. The Lobos' run game had to carry the load, racking up 243 yards and three TDs on 48 carries. Scottre Humphrey led the way with 90 yards and two TDs, former Mean Green back Kiefer Sibley ran for a season-high 87, and Fa'avae ran for 77, including the game-winning touchdown. Rather humorously, Fa'avae's 35-yard catch on a trick pass from WR Bailen George made him the Lobos' leading receiver as well.
Meanwhile, harrassed all night by a Lobo defense that racked up 11 TFLs, Micah Alejado's one-man show resulted in another week of barely 50% completion, 250 yards, a TD, and accounted for both Hawaii turnovers in the fourth quarter. Penalties also helped the Warriors out immensely, with the Lobos collecting 16 flags for 145 yards—nearly half of their offensive total (337). This game was far from pretty, but the important thing is that the Lobos, against all odds, simply found a way to win. Their opponent—and many other teams in the conference, for that matter—would love to say that they could do the same.
New Mexico (5-1, 2-0 MW) will head back to the Rio Grande this week, hosting North Dakota State (6-1, 3-1 MW) on Oct. 24 at 8:00 p.m. MDT on The CW. This matchup lost a great deal of its allure (and potentially College GameDay) when the Bison lost to UNLV last week, but with NDSU getting back on track with a win over Nevada this week, the Bison will be ready to go for what both teams surely still believe to be a MW Championship preview. This will be an exciting matchup, I cannot wait to see how this game goes.
Hawaii (1-6, 0-4 MW) will be forced to relive the days of playing at Louisiana Tech in the WAC, flying 4,200 miles east to DeKalb, IL to take on Northern Illinois (0-6, 0-2 MW) on Oct. 24 at 9:30 a.m. HST on MW+. The loser of this game will be eliminated from bowl contention, and I have little clue who is actually going to win this game. I would say this game will be another boring affair, but honestly, with how bad NIU's defense has looked recently, this game could just as easily throw back to the days of the Warriors combining with Fresno State for over 100 points in an absolute barnburner.
| Rank |
Team |
Conf Rec |
Ovr Rec |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
New Mexico |
2-0 |
5-1 |
| 2 |
North Dakota State |
3-1 |
6-1 |
| 3 |
Air Force |
3-1 |
5-1 |
| 4 |
Wyoming |
3-1 |
4-3 |
| 5 |
UNLV |
2-1 |
4-3 |
| 6 |
San Jose State |
2-1 |
4-3 |
| 7 |
Nevada |
1-2 |
2-4 |
| 8 |
Northern Illinois |
0-2 |
0-6 |
| 9 |
UTEP |
0-3 |
1-6 |
| 10 |
Hawaii |
0-4 |
1-6 |
