You may think we’re just a lightly-read fan blog, but contrary to popular belief we are actually the main source of sports information for Dirk Koetter himself. After retiring for the second time, he distanced himself from all the Boise State beat writers (except for remaining Christmas Card pals with Dave Southorn; truly, something everyone should aspire to).

Due his reticence to engage with certain BNN reporters, Dirk has looked to FKWG to keep him updated on happenings around the league. So, per his faxed in request (we didn’t even know we could get faxes in our Outlook inbox) we’re providing the 2024 Mountain West Conference Reintroduction & Early Season Update!

Of note: outside of the Shriveled Husk of Troy Calhoun, there are 5 brand new faces in the head coaching ranks (technically 6 if you count Spencer Danielson) and nobody with a tenure longer than 2 years in their current position. When Timmy Chang, Barry Odom, and Jay Norvell are the veteran head men, you know it’s gonna be a weird season.

Air Force Falcons

  • Head Coach Troy Calhoun (since 2006)
  • 2023 Record: 9-4 (5-3)
  • 2024 So Far: 1-3 (0-2)

The perpetual enigma that is the Air Force Ankle Breakers seems to have entered one of their infamous lull periods. After a strong 2023 campaign that saw them fall short of the MWC Championship Game (thank god), Air Force has stumbled out of the gate in 2024. Squeaking out a win over over FCS Merrimack lead into a string of three losses, including dropping games to SJSU and _yoming.

Their season so far notwithstanding, Air Force looks to be one of the centerpieces of the new-look MWC heading into 2026, as they decided to stand pat during the alignment kerfuffle. The Old Man of the MWC, Troy Calhoun, has decided to suck a lemon wedge and keep grousing to reporters about “kids these days”.

Colorado State Rams

  • Head Coach Jay “Gritty” Norvell (since 2022)
  • 2023 Record: 5-7 (3-5)
  • 2024 So Far: 2-2 (0-0)

Like the proverbial rat fleeing the sinking ship, Jay Norvell took his Disney villain facial hair and “grit” to Colorado State. At the time viewed as a pretty lateral move, recent conference realignment has been kind to the Rams, rewarding their 2023 slaying of the Boise State dragon with a PAC-(n+1) invite.

However, the Rams couldn’t grit their way to a winning record, falling off hard after the highs of their BSU victory. The 2024 campaign has been difficult to gauge as well, alternating blowout losses to Texas and Colorado with relatively cakewalk wins over FCS Northern Colorado and UTEP.

Fresno State Bulldogs

  • (Interim?) Head Coach Tim Skipper (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 9-4 (4-4)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 3-2 (1-1)

If you blew a trivia night answer of “Who is the Fresno State Football Head Coach” recently, you likely wouldn’t be alone. Jeff Tedford once again stepped back from the job for health reasons this year, and Tim Skipper has been anointed the interim. In spite of the coaching uncertainty, Fresno State has been riding high with the recent PAC invite.

Their 2023 season was truly peak Fresno State, like some sort of sacrificial tribute to the Pat Hill Era. After going 5-0 with a couple of P5 wins, the Bulldogs shat the bed at _yoming. Trying desperately to cling to G5 relevance, they managed to recover all the way 8-1 before finally doing the traditional seppuku for the final three games of the season, playing themselves right out of NY6 conversation and even the top of the conference.

Thus far in 2024, they’ve mostly been quiet, performing the sacrifical lamb duties for reigning NCAAF Champ Michigan before racking up a 3-2 record by getting an almost-BSU level of smackdown from UNLV last weekend.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

  • Head Coach Timmy Chang (since 2022)
  • 2023 Record: 5-8 (3-5)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 2-2 (0-0)

The Floating Kidney of the MWC, Hawaii actually took some strides under second-year head coach Timmy Chang. The offense started to look a lot more like the pass-happy Hawaii of years past, and they gave some decent teams a solid run for their money. Regardless of their efforts, it looks like the islands will remain in the Mountain West, despite being about the most Pacific team possible.

So far in 2024, it looks like Hawaii still has an uphill battle, more likely to play spoiler than frontrunner. Wins over FCS Delaware State and FCS Northern Iowa sandwiched some losses to UCLA and Sam Houston State. Never count out the pass-happy Warriors, even if they’re not what they once were.

New Mexico Lobos

  • Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 4-8 (2-6)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 1-4 (0-1)

Perpetual Boise State Job Candidate Bronco Mendenhall decided to hitch his wagon to the hapless Lobos after last season. It looks like the rebuild is still very much in the early phases, however, as the Lobos have been taken behind the woodshed by pretty much everyone but the NMSU Aggies this past weekend.

Bob Davie, we barely knew ye.

San Diego State Aztecs

  • Head Coach Sean Lewis (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 4-8 (2-6)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 1-3 (0-0)

Another fresh face in the MWC coaching ranks, Sean Lewis was also once rumored to be a BSU candidate. Taking over the hapless-but-once-vaunted Aztecs, Coach Lewis managed dominant win over FCS Texas A&M Commerce before promptly getting pantsed by everyone else they’ve played.

Even with the recent (and delightful) regression to the mean, the Aztecs managed to parlay their geography and history into a PAC invite as well, finally fulfilling their long dream of being somewhere “not-MWC”. I suppose we’re sort of obligated to wish them well as a future conference mate, but realistically I’m enjoying the schadenfreude.

San Jose State Spartans

  • Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 7-6 (6-2)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 3-1 (1-0)

San Jose State may have won the most recent edition of the coaching carousel, netting themselves the former Navy headman Ken Niumatalolo after Brent Brennan dipped to Arizona. Despite the good-looking hire, it wasn’t enough to garner interest from the PAC, so SJSU is sticking in the MWC.

Coach Niumatalolo has seemingly gotten the Spartans back into shape after a middling 2023 campaign under Brennan. The Spartans managed easy wins over Sacramento State, Air Force, and Kennesaw State before pushing Wazzu to overtime. While it remains to be seen how their season shakes out, they’ve got a decent start going.

University of Nevada at Las Vegas Rebels

  • Head Coach Barry Odom (since 2022)
  • 2023 Record: 9-5 (6-2)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 4-0 (1-0)

UNLV’s Barry Odom led the Rebels to a solid 2023 campaign, topped off by a decisive loss to newly-minted BSU head coach Spencer Danielson. After their first winning season in the past decade (and only their second in 20 years), UNLV managed to garner enough interest from the reborn PAC to become a linchpin in the recent realignment shenanigans. Disregarding the PAC’s interest, the Rebels opted for the immediate payday from the MWC and stayed put.

Not to be outdone by off-field antics, the Rebels promptly lost their starting quarterback thanks to NIL considerations (or lack thereof). His departure was hardly mourned, however, as their backup was ready for the call and kept the current win streak alive by flaying Fresno State. The Rebels are currently ranked #23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #25 in the AP Poll.

University of Nevada at Reno Wolfpack

  • Head Coach Jeff “Traitor” Choate (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: Bad
  • 2024 Record So Far: Also Bad

UNR is a school that has a football team.

Utah State Aggies

  • Head Coach Nate Dreiling (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 6-7 (4-4)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 1-3 (0-0)

Remember Blake Anderson? Utah State hopes you don’t. After a lackluster 2023 season, Utah State had something happen and now Nate Dreiling is their head coach. Don’t ask too many questions, as they’ve managed to parlay their western aesthetic into a PAC invite in the meantime.

The Aggies miserable 2024 (PAC invite aside) looks to be getting worse, as they get Boise State and UNLV on back-to-back weeks. Current forecast: dark and foreboding.

_yoming Cowboys

  • Head Coach Jay Sawvel (since 2024)
  • 2023 Record: 9-4 (5-3)
  • 2024 Record So Far: 1-4 (1-0)

Bald icon Craig Bohl took one last ride around the MWC in 2023, turning in a Bo Pelini-esque 9-3 with a bowl win to close it out on a high note. He hand-picked his defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel as his successor, and rode off into the sunset before realignment hit.

Coach Sawvel was promptly fed to the wolves of Arizona, Idaho, BYU, and North Texas before finally staunching the bleeding with a solid win over the hapless likes of Air Force. Hardly hitting the highs of the 2023 campaign, it looks like _yoming is likely returning to their 6-6 ways of old while remaining in the MWC for the foreseeable future.

They can have the W back when they earn it (so probably never)

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