Mountain West Week One Preview

With 12 games being played by Mountain West teams to start the 2015 season, Week One should be a very good start to the season as I have all but two teams winning their season opener.

September 3:

• Southern Utah at Utah State: 8:00 PM, Romney Stadium, Logan, UT: The Aggies have high expectations for the upcoming season and would love to get the season started with a dominant win. Southern Utah will be that sacrificial lamb to Utah State with the Aggies getting off on the right track with a home win. Utah State wins 41-3.
• UC Davis at Nevada: 9:00 PM, Mackay Stadium, Reno, NV: All Nevada does is make bowls nearly every year. The 2015 season is no different as the Wolfpack must replace several starters from last season but have the talent to not lose too much in the process. UC Davis is a bit up and down at the FCS level and should not give Nevada much of a challenge. Nevada wins 34-13.
• New Hampshire at San José State: 9:00 PM, Spartan Stadium , San Jose, CA: This game has upset written all over it with San Jose State facing one of the best FCS teams from year to year in New Hampshire. The talent level between the two programs is not as big of a gap as you would expect but the Spartans do hold that advantage. As long as San Jose State pounds the rock in the running game and takes advantage of the very late start time for an east coast program, they get the win. San Jose State wins 24-21.
• Abilene Christian at Fresno State: 9:00 PM, Bulldog Stadium , Fresno, CA: The Bulldogs are not quite as good as in 2014 but still have some talent on the field and should be a solid team. Abiline Christian should not pose much of a challenge to Fresno State and this game should be quite the blowout. Fresno State wins 44-21.
• Colorado at Hawaii: 12:00 AM, CBSSN, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: This is a game that you should only be watching if you are still drinking or cannot fall asleep. Neither team is expected to do very well this season and last year's matchup was... not very good. Expect a better game but you should be doing something better than watching this game in the middle of the night. Colorado wins 31-17.

September 4:

• Washington at Boise State: 9:15 PM, ESPN/WatchESPN, Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID: I am truly tired of writing about this game and ready for it to go ahead and happen. Boise State should win by double digits. Boise State wins 35-24.

Saturday, September 5

• Morgan State at Air Force: 2:30 PM, Falcon Stadium, Usaf Academy, CO: Coming off of a 10-win season last fall, all eyes are on Air Force to see if they can back it up with another big season in 2015. One thing is for sure, the Falcons will start the season 1-0 with a win over FCS program Morgan State. Air Force wins 42-3.
• Savannah State at Colorado State: 3:00 PM, Hughes Stadium , Fort Collins, CO: While the Rams are missing key players at quarterback and offensive line among other positions from the 2014 season, they should have no problem with one of the worst FCS teams in the nation. Colorado State wins 55-10.
• North Dakota at Wyoming: 3:00 PM, War Memorial Stadium , Laramie, WY: The Cowboys, a team I perennially pull for despite having no association with the program, should be able to give the home crowd a nice start to the season with a big win over North Dakota. Expect Wyoming to have a field day in this game offensively. Wyoming wins 45-10.
• Mississippi Valley State at New Mexico: 6:00 PM, University Stadium , Albuquerque, NM: The run first, run second, and run third offense of the Lobos should be in full gear versus MVSU in the season opener. With such a tough slate in the MWC this fall, a blowout win to start the season will feel good. New Mexico wins 55-13.
• UNLV at Northern Illinois: 6:30 PM, CBSSN, Huskie Stadium, Dekalb, IL: UNLV is an interesting team for the simple fact that they brought up a high school coach to take over the head coaching duties. UNLV has a nice passing game but will struggle versus the rushing attack of Northern Illinois. Northern Illinois wins 38-17.
• San Diego at San Diego State: 7:00 PM, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA: The Aztecs have high hopes for the upcoming season with MWC title aspirations in their heads. Expect SDSU to roll versus the FCS' San Diego. San Diego State wins 42-10.