Best In The West: Week 12

Best in the West is The Aggship's weekly Mountain West football round-up.

San Diego State 17, Boise State 7

Boise State’s 30-7 loss to Fresno State seems to have broken the Broncos, while the Aztecs have successfully put their 38-6 loss to Hawaii behind them. With a 17-7 victory, San Diego State got back on track, picked up its eighth win, and kept control of its path to the MWC title game.

The Broncos, meanwhile, picked up their fourth loss and their second conference loss (which have been back-to-back). They still have a shot at making the championship game, but they don’t control their destiny and will need a bit of help from around the league – and a lot of help from themselves – to reach the title bout.

The game was tied twice, once at kickoff and once when Boise State scored a touchdown to retie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. After that, Boise State was done scoring, and the deficit only grew. The Aztecs added a touchdown immediately after Boise State’s, making it three straight scoring drives between the two teams and a 14-7 SDSU lead that lasted until the fourth quarter, when they added a field goal to reach the final score of 17-7.

Still without their QB1, Maddux Madsen, the Broncos had Max Cutforth under center. Cutforth went 12 of 18 for 104 yards. Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines shared the majority of yardage on the ground with a pretty even split. Riley had 21 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown, and Gaines had 78 yards on 13 carries.

San Diego State’s Jayden Denegal was just 6-of-10 passing for 17 yards, but rushed for 16 yards and two touchdowns. Lucky Sutton picked up 150 yards on the ground on 25 carries, and Christian Washington turned nine carries into 98 yards.

San Diego State is the only team in the league with just one conference loss and sits atop the heap at 8-2 (5-1). Up next for the Aztecs is a home game against the Spartans of San Jose State on Nov. 22. The Broncos are one of five two-loss teams left in the MWC, joined by Fresno State, Hawaii, New Mexico and UNLV. They are 6-4 (4-2) and host Colorado State this weekend.

Fresno State 24, Wyoming 3

The Bulldogs have taken care of business since their two-game skid against Colorado State and San Diego State in October. In a massive bounce-back effort on Nov. 1, Fresno State dispatched Boise State, then picked up its second win in a row and seventh of the year this past weekend with a convincing win over Wyoming, 24-3.

Fresno State took a 7-3 lead in the first, and things only got better from there. Wyoming didn’t score again after its first-quarter field goal, and the Bulldogs used a 14-point fourth quarter to put things out of reach.

The stingy Bulldog defense held Kaden Anderson to just six completions on 23 attempts for 64 yards and an interception. The Cowboys had only 77 yards in the air and 184 total. For their part, the Bulldogs only picked up 95 yards in the air, but didn’t need more than that. Carson Conklin was 12-of-25 passing for 95 yards and a touchdown, and the Bulldogs rushed for 216 yards and two scores.

After their loss to Colorado State (which is now 2-8), things looked pretty bleak for the Dogs, but they are now 7-3 (4-2) with their title hopes alive and well. Fresno State hosts Utah State this week. Wyoming, now 4-6 (2-4), could still make a bowl if it wins out. Up next for the Pokes is a home game against Nevada, then a trip to Hawaii.

New Mexico 20, Colorado State 17

The Lobos survived a close call against Colorado State, but held the Rams at bay long enough to hand them their eighth loss of the year.

Both teams were blanked in the first quarter, but the Lobos got started with a 10-0 lead in the second frame. After the break, the Rams flipped the script and scored 10 of their own, tying the game heading into the final quarter. Another 10-point burst from the Lobos put them back in control, but Colorado State scored a touchdown to make it a three-point game with 5:09 left. New Mexico gave the ball back on downs to give the Rams a chance with a little under 20 seconds remaining, but they couldn’t convert, and New Mexico held on for the 20-17 win.

Jack Layne was 13-of-25 passing for the Lobos, picking up 226 yards to go with 10 carries, 23 yards and a rushing score. D.J. McKinney added the other UNM score while rushing 17 times for 52 yards. Colorado State relied primarily on redshirt freshman signal-caller Darius Curry and got a fun performance out of the youngster. He took too many risks, throwing three interceptions and taking three sacks, but he also completed 26 of 34 passes for 248 yards and two scores. Lloyd Avant, Colorado State's leading rusher, had 36 yards on 12 carries.

New Mexico picked up its seventh win of the year and is now 7-3 (4-2). The Lobos have a trip to Air Force up next. Colorado State is 2-8 (1-5) with a trip to Boise on deck.

Nevada 55, San Jose State 10

Nevada picked up its first FBS win, and it did it in a big, big way, dismantling San Jose State 55-10.

The Wolf Pack shut out the Spartans in the first half and raced to a 31-0 point lead. Nevada hardly slowed down in the second half, adding another 24 points. San Jose State did eventually get started, grabbing three points in the third and seven in the fourth, but it was far too little and far too late.

Carter Jones enjoyed perhaps his best day with the Wolf Pack, completing 16 of 19 attempts for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Caleb Ramseur rushed 20 times for 128 yards and a score, Chubba Purdy added eight carries for 51 yards and a score, and Dominic Kelley pitched in a touchdown of his own on six carries for 27 yards. Nevada also picked up an interception return for a touchdown (Nakian Jackson) and a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Ky Woods.

Nevada is now 2-8 (1-5) on the year, while San Jose State is 3-7 (2-4) and out of the running for bowl eligibility. Nevada will be on the road at Wyoming this week, and San Jose State will head down the coast to play San Diego State.

UConn 26, Air Force 16

In a rare week 12 non-conference game, Air Force fell to UConn to drop out of contention for a bowl and guarantee itself a losing record.

The Falcons claimed an early 7-6 lead when UConn failed to convert a PAT and Air Force scored a touchdown to stake out an edge, but gave up 10 straight before scoring again. When the Falcons did score, it was a field goal to cut the lead to 16-10 in the third frame.

UConn added 10 more in the final period, and Air Force scored a late touchdown to bring the final tally to 26-16. Fullback Kemper Hodges was nearly even with Liam Szarka as Air Force's leading passer, completing 4 of 8 tries for 32 yards while Szarka hit 2 of 3 for 34 yards. Owen Allen led the ground attack with 122 yards on 22 carries, and Dylan Carson did the scoring for the Falcons with two touchdowns and 58 yards on 11 carries.

Air Force hosts New Mexico this week, with an upset on its mind and little else to play for but pride.