Week 8 of the 2026 season is in the books, and it was yet another chaotic week in the college football world. It wasn't quite as ridiculous in the Mountain West, as three of the four spread favorites emerged victorious, but you wouldn't be able to tell the lack of chaos from simply looking at the conference standings. The Mountain West title race is getting extremely good very fast, and I am excited to see how everything turns out down the stretch. Let's get right into the action from the Mountain West in Week 8.
The Scoop:I guess the home team really does always win this rivalry series. After an atrocious start to the season where it seemed like it was only a matter of time before there was a coaching change, the Cowboys have looked like a completely different team during their last five games. What a win this was for Wyoming, stifling Air Force's lethal offense all game long in a 28-14 upset victory that sets the Cowboys up on a path to potentially make a stunning run at the MW title game, a spot they currently reside in after the chaos that took place this week. Wyoming now sits just a game away from a bowl berth, while Air Force now has some questions to answer about their previously unstoppable offense.
One of Air Force's biggest claims to fame this season was the fact that they had yet to fumble once through six games. That ended on the Falcons' very first drive of the game when Evan Medders coughed it up to the opposition. The Falcons would go on to fumble twice more in the fourth quarter while down just seven points, which sealed Wyoming's victory once they scored a touchdown after the Falcons' third and final fumble. The Falcons ran for 304 yards, but unusually had to pass for 83 yards and a touchdown as well, showcasing what an excellent job the Cowboys' defense did of defending the triple option.
Tyler Hughes led the way for the Cowboys, combining for 259 yards and three touchdowns without turning the ball over once and averaging 12.2 yards per carry on the ground.. He is proving himself to be an extremely dynamic playmaker, one that even a sturdy defense like that of Air Force had zero answers for. Perhaps more notable was the fact that Wyoming forced seven TFLs in this game, doing so to a Falcon offense that had allowed just 13 on the season prior to this contest. Wyoming's only blunder was a missed field goal in an otherwise amazing all-around performance.
Air Force (5-2, 3-2 MW) will get a break from the MW grind next week, hosting a nonconference game against the independent UConn Huskies (4-3) on Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m. MDT on MW+. The Huskies have won two straight games, getting back above .500 with a rivalry victory over UMass this weekend. Their lethal offense has scored over 35 points per game this season, ranking far ahead of every team in the MW in offensive yards per game. This game will be no cakewalk for the Falcons, they will be tested defensively against a team they lost to by 10 in Storrs last season.
Wyoming (5-3, 4-1 MW) will be on their final bye over Halloween, coming back on the start of a two-week road trip against UNLV (4-3, 2-1 MW) on Nov. 7 at 8:30 p.m. MDT on CBSSN. The Rebels were on their bye this week, and will likely have a bounceback game against NIU the week before the Cowboys travel to Sin City. In all likelihood, the winner of this game will clinch a spot in a bowl game, making this game about as important of a late-season matchup as you will get in college football.
The Scoop:It appears I greatly underestimated just how unbelievably terrible Northern Illinois truly is. Facing off against a Hawaii team possessing neither a defense or any sort of consistency, NIU made Hawaii look like the Mountain West contenders they were supposed to be this season, giving up over 500 yards of offense in a 56-21 rout that officially eliminated the Huskies from bowl contention. A win likely would not have changed that fact in the long run, but a performance this abysmal against a bad 'Bows squad is a sign that this season may end up being legendary in the worst possible way.
After tying the game at 14 early in the second quarter, the Huskies allowed the Warriors to score touchdowns on five of their next six drives, countering those drives with three punts and three turnovers. NIU ended up with a whopping five turnovers on the night, were outgained 504-266, and allowed a Hawaii offense averaging 77 yards per game on the ground to rack up 175 yards and five rushing TDs, by far their best performance of the season. This allowed Micah Alejado to have his best game of the season as well, throwing for 323 yards and three touchdowns, waiting until the 'Bows were up 49-14 in the fourth quarter to throw his traditional interception.
Hawaii got the win they have so desperately needed this week, though it is almost certainly too little, too late to go on any sort of run down the stretch. At the very least, Timmy Chang's job is safe for the time being, and the 'Bows can work on moving forward instead of being worried about continuing a backslide. As for Northern Illinois, they have been blown out in by far their best opportunity to get a win this season. They are now staring down the barrel of an 0-11 start, if not an outright winless season if they cannot find a way to beat UTEP in their final game. This is a nightmarish season for NIU in every aspect; beginning their new era in the Mountain West in the worst possible way.
Hawaii (2-6, 1-4 MW) is on a bye this week, returning for yet another long road trip when they head to El Paso, TX to take on the UTEP Miners (0-3, 1-6 MW) on Nov. 7 at time and network TBD. The Miners were on a bye this week, but will have had a road trip to Fargo prior to their contest against the Warriors. This should be another winnable road game for Hawaii, especially if they continue to play anything like they did against NIU this week.
Northern Illinois (0-7, 0-3 MW) heads to Las Vegas next week to take on the UNLV Rebels (4-3, 2-1 MW) on Oct. 31 at 3:00 p.m. CDT on CBSSN. UNLV will be looking to get themselves back in the race for the MW title game, and have a dominant running game led by Jet Thomas and Jackson Arnold. They are a far cry from the Hawaii team that just dominated the Huskies; this game should not be even remotely competitive.
The Scoop:For weeks, I have discussed Nevada football as nothing more than a joke that got old about five years ago. It turns out the biggest joke of them all—aside from the referees, who stunk as always—was actually San Jose State, since the Spartans were so incompetent it drew questions about whether they threw this game. This fact should not take away from the fact of Nevada's defense having a truly excellent performance all day long, nor their offense being rather serviceable with third-string quarterback Luke Duncan. This was a much-needed victory for the Nevada Wolf Pack; their new helmet logo hopefully signaling the dawn of a new era in Reno.
San Jose State was held to just a single yard of offense on their first six drives of the game, going three-and-out on each possession. During this time, the Spartans trotted out backup QBs Daniel Rolovich and Robert McDaniel, who ended up combining for just 48 yards passing on the day. Nevada was able to dissect the Spartans' defense on their first drive for a touchdown, but the Spartans held their foes in check until using a terrible 4th and 1 run out of shotgun by Nevada to get their first actual first downs—and points—on a field goal at the end of the half.
Thankfully for Nevada, their defense continued to play incredibly in the second half, with Duncan leading the offense to three touchdowns with some sturdy, precise QB play. This effort was assisted by brilliant performances by WR Marshaun Brown, who both threw and caught a touchdown, and by returner Ky Woods, who had a 90-yard kickoff return to set up an immediate respose to a Spartan touchdown in the fourth quarter. Duncan ended up passing for 178 yards and two TDs with no picks—a marked improvement from his first start with the Pack against Montana State. Duncan also led the offense to 9-of-18 on third down, making the correct reads on nearly every do-or-die down. This was crucial for victory on a day where Nevada's run game had a very inefficient 2.7 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, the Spartans decided to reveal that they may have legitimately been throwing this game, or at the very least were not trying to win. QB Luke Weaver, second-leading passer in the conference despite missing the game against UTEP due to injury, was presumably out in this one as well. Then, near the start of the fourth quarter, Weaver was suddenly inserted into the game, leaving both the commentators and every Spartan fan in attendance speechless at the football malpractice on display. Weaver immediately made the offense about 1,000 times better the second he came in the game, scoring on two of his three drives in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late to come back, and Nevada sealed the win from there. The Spartans need to be held accountable about why Weaver was not in the game from the start if he was healthy enough to play at all.
The Spartans' logic postgame was that they seemingly did not like how the offense has looked with Weaver at the helm, so they used his injury as an opportunity to try out a new look. That explanation makes about as much sense as a Zack Snyder movie script, since the Spartans' offense has looked fantastic for the overwhelming majority of the season thus far. Yes, Weaver has thrown too many interceptions, but I would argue he has more than made up for it with his play, ranking second in the conference in yards and first in touchdown passes entering this week, even with missing the UTEP game. No amount of logic can explain these genius 400 IQ decisions that a five-year old wouldn't have made, but regardless of the "why," Nevada fully embraced the famous quote of Napoleon Bonaparte in this game: "never interfere with an enemy while he's in the process of destroying himself."
San Jose State (4-4, 2-2 MW) will head back home to a likely road-crowd heavy home stadium next week, facing off against the conference-favorite New Mexico Lobos (5-1, 2-0 MW) on Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m. PDT on MW+. New Mexico is coming off of a massive win against North Dakota State, looking to keep things rolling on their way to a potential CFP berth. This game will most likely not end up being close.
Nevada (3-4, 2-2 MW) will take a break from MW action next week, heading on the road for their final nonconference game. Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack, said game will be against the unexpectedly dominant AP No. 9-ranked UCLA Bruins (7-0) on Oct. 31 at 1:15 p.m. PDT on the Big Ten Network. UCLA, coming off of a disastrous season where they went 3-9 with losses to both UNLV and New Mexico, look reborn as a program in their first year with new head coach Bob Chesney. The Wolf Pack should be massive underdogs in this matchup; losing by less than 20 would be a monumental accomplishment.
The Scoop:This game lived up to all the hype, it surely would have been worthy of hosting College Gameday after all. In a defensive slugfest, New Mexico used a few key plays to defeat North Dakota State, clinching a bowl berth and keeping their rapidly accelerating CFP hopes intact. As for the Bison, they have been all but eliminated from CFP contention, but their goal of reaching the MW title game is still very much alive. This season is far from over, but the loss of a chance at the playoffs is surely disappointing for NDSU.
UNM never trailed in this game. They scored a touchdown on their first drive, only allowing a field goal in return before the quarter was over. The second quarter began with a whopping seven punts in a row, four possessions being three and outs. New Mexico ended up breaking the drought with a 46-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half. The Lobos began to look rather shaky in the second half, missing two field goals while the Bison cut the lead to just five in the meantime.
Thankfully for the Lobos, the NDSU drive following their second miss ended when CB Austin Brawley picked off a Hayes pass and returned it to the house for what was ultimately the game-winning touchdown. NDSU made things closer with a late touchdown and ended up getting the ball back down five, but the Lobos forced a turnover on downs to clinch one of UNM's biggest home wins ever—their 11th straight at University Stadium.
New Mexico's offense was led by a dominant run game that went off for 187 yards on 44 carries against the second-best run defense in the conference. NDSU, meanwhile, averaged shy of two yards per carry, which forced the inconsistent Hayes to attempt 33 passes, completing just 17 for 198 yards, two TDs and two picks, including that game-losing touchdown. Hayes was only sacked once, but the Lobos' whopping nine TFLs was instrumental in throwing off the chemistry of NDSU's offense on early downs. The Bison certainly had their chances, but they should not be considered any less excellent despite this loss. These are two excellent teams that gave us an absolute treat of a game to cap off another of the craziest nights in college football history.
NDSU (6-2, 3-2 MW) will head back home for a pseudo-bye week next week, having the opportunity to play the UTEP Miners (1-6, 0-3 MW) on Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. CDT on MW+. UTEP is a hapless team to begin with, having only beaten a bad FCS team this season, but the Miners are likely still going to be without many contributors offensively when they head to Fargo. This game will not be close, NDSU will be favored by a ton and win by even more.
New Mexico (6-1, 3-0 MW) will travel out west for a game against the San Jose State Spartans (4-4, 2-2 MW) on Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m. MDT on MW+. SJSU is coming off of a humiliating loss to Nevada where they came under scrutiny for operating a QB carousel for seemingly no real reason. This should be an easy game, as the Spartans have revealed themselves to be total frauds.
| Rank |
Team |
Conf Rec |
Ovr Rec |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
New Mexico |
3-0 |
6-1 |
| 2 |
Wyoming |
4-1 |
5-3 |
| 3 |
North Dakota State |
3-2 |
6-2 |
| 4 |
Air Force |
3-2 |
5-2 |
| 5 |
UNLV |
2-1 |
4-3 |
| 6 |
San Jose State |
2-2 |
4-4 |
| 7 |
Nevada |
2-2 |
3-4 |
| 8 |
Hawaii |
1-4 |
2-6 |
| 9 |
UTEP |
0-3 |
1-6 |
| 10 |
Northern Illinois |
0-3 |
0-7 |
