Best In The West: Week Seven

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

UNLV 51, Air Force 48 

With 44 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Anthony Colandrea scored on a 19-yard run to win a thriller for UNLV against Air Force. The Rebels improved to 6-0 on the season while the Falcons dropped to 1-5, with a 0-4 mark in the Mountain West.

Despite the disparate records of the two combatants, there with little to separate these sides throughout the contest. The Rebels scored first, then enjoyed a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, but two unanswered scores from Air Force gave the Falcons a 21-10 edge that nearly took them to the break. But with under a minute left in the second quarter, UNLV hit a field goal to make it 21-13.

The Rebels kept it rolling after the half, scoring two more touchdowns to retake the lead, 26-21. They traded a touchdown for a field goal as the frame wound down, and maintained a slim 29-28 lead going into the fourth.

Then, the teams took turns socking each other on the jaw. Air Force landed the first blow of the haymaker-heavy fourth to retake the lead, UNLV responded in kind, and Air Force did the same. They went touchdown for touchdown across three rounds, accounting for six lead changes and 42 points scored in the fourth quarter alone.

Liam Szarka accounted for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 10 of 17 attempts for 175 yards and threw a touchdown to Bruin Fleischmann, and ran 27 times for 136 yards and two more touchdowns. Owen Allen led the team with 192 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Air Force desperately needs to get back on track and will try to do so at home against Wyoming this week. 

Colandrea, meanwhile, accounted for 423 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-32 passing for 361 yards and a touchdown, and seven carries, 62 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. DaeDae Reynolds caught four passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. Jai’Den Thomas had 11 carries for 88 yards and a score. The undefeated Rebels are on the road this week at Boise State, where the Broncos have a 15-game home winning streak.

Boise State 41, New Mexico 25

After dropping their second game of the year, the Broncos got back on track and took care of business against New Mexico, handing the Lobos their third loss of the season and their second in a row. Boise State held New Mexico to its lowest output since its 34-17 season opener against Michigan, and scored more on the Lobos than any team this season.

Boise State led for the entire game, save for a short stint in the second quarter when New Mexico returned a kick for a touchdown, then scored on its next drive. The back-to-back touchdowns gave the Lobos a 14-10 lead, but Boise State snatched the edge right back on its next possession and didn’t give it up again, though the game wasn't truly out of reach until the fourth quarter. Boise State led by three at the half, and after swapping field goals in the third, by the same margin entering the final frame.

From there, it didn’t stay close long. The Broncos rattled off three straight touchdowns to effectively close the game, leading 41-17 until New Mexico scored late to make the final a bit more respectable.

Maddux Madsen was 21-of-31 passing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Ford caught them both as he nabbed six catches for 78 yards. Troy Grizzle also reeled in a touchdown, delivered by punter Oscar Doyle. Chris Marshall caught five passes for 70 yards, and Matt Lauter caught four for 31. Dylan Riley had his best game since playing against Air Force, adding 101 yards on 18 carries. Sire Gaines had 20 carries for 65 yards, scoring twice.

The Broncos have some momentum now as they prepare to host UNLV in a rematch of last year’s Mountain West title game. While two of the top teams will be battling in Boise, two of the laggards will be battling in Albuquerque as New Mexico hosts Nevada.

San Diego State 44, Nevada 10

Disguised by a loss to Washington State and a 6-3 win over Northern Illinois, San Diego State has quietly become a force through six games. In a resounding victory over Nevada, the Aztecs eclipsed the 40-point mark for the second time in a row and the third time this season. In the three games they failed to reach 40 points, they scored 36, 34 and six points. They also held their opponent under 14 points for the fifth time this year.

It was all San Diego State from the start. Sean Lewis' group scored 14 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second and nine in the third period before the Wolf Pack finally hit a field goal early in the fourth quarter and the Aztecs let off the gas. 

Nevada is now 1-5, and any optimism from last week’s emergence of Carter Jones has been severely muted. Jones was 16-of-32 passing for 177 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Pack’s leading rusher, Caleb Ramseur, had only 35 yards on eith carries. The Wolf Pack tried 13 different targets, including former starting quarterback Chubba Purdy, but could never find a winning formula, ending the game with only 254 total yards and a season-low 10 points.

For San Diego State, Jayden Denegal threw for 205 yards on a 14-of-17 passing performance with two touchdowns. He added 41 yards on the ground. Once again, the Aztecs relied on Jordan Napier for big-time yardage, as he caught five passes with no drops and churned out 110 yards. He didn’t score, which, strangely, isn’t out of character for the star receiver. He’s led the Aztecs in yardage every game this year and is the second-leading receiver in yards in the Mountain West, but he has only two receiving touchdowns.

There’s more than one way to find the end zone, however, and Napier returned two punts for a total of 85 yards and a touchdown. For the scoring duties offensively, Denegal turned to Jacob Bostick and Christian Washington, who each caught a touchdown. On one of his 16 carries, Lucky Sutton added a touchdown and ended the night with 76 yards. With the offense and special teams scoring touchdowns, the defense was not to be left out. Chris Johnson and Dwayne McDougle each snagged a pick, and Johnson ran his back 45 yards for six.

The Aztecs have, in theory, their toughest conference test to date coming up at Fresno State after a bye week for both teams, but the Bulldogs just lost an embarrassing game to Colorado State, which SDSU toppled 45-24 earlier in the season.

Colorado State 49, Fresno State 21

Every time Colorado State has taken the field this season, it’s been an embarrassing endeavor for one of the teams involved. Five times this year, the Rams have been that team, but this time, it was Fresno State's turn.

Colorado State started strong, allowing just 22 yards on Fresno State’s opening drive and forcing a punt. On the third snap of the game for the CSU offense, Justin Marshall broke free for a 73-yard run to take the lead – a lead that would survive, unthreatened, for the remaining 55 minutes of football. Fresno State’s next possession ended on an interception, and the Rams capitalized with another touchdown.

Already flirting with desperation in the first quarter, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth down and got stuffed, which set up the Rams to take a 21-0 lead early in the second frame. The first three drives, a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs for the Bulldogs and a hat trick of touchdowns for the Rams, set the tone for the game.

The Bulldogs did score on their next drive, but Colorado State punched right back, and turned a Fresno State fumble into six more points not long after. The Bulldogs gave up 35 points before they forced Bryan Hansen, CSU's punter, to take the field 15 seconds before the end of the first half. Fresno State added a third-quarter touchdown, but the Rams responded with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to set the final margin. 

Fresno State’s E.J. Warner gave his most on-brand performance of the year. He was 28-of-49 passing for 350 yards and a perfectly balanced three touchdowns to three interceptions. Josiah Freeman was the recipient of two of those touchdowns, gaining 89 yards on seven catches. Rayshon Luke caught the other, a 23-yard score, and added 38 yards on five carries.

Jackson Brousseau was 12 of 18 for 144 yards and three touchdowns at the helm of Colorado State's offense. He did most of his damage with three receivers, who claimed three catches apiece: Javion Kinnard had 72 yards and a touchdown, Armani Winfield had 28 yards, and Rocky Beers had 26 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Marshall, Lloyd Avant and Jalen Dupree each scored. Marshall led the game in yards with 93 on seven carries, while Avant had 52 yards on 16 carries and Dupree added 31 yards on seven carries.

After a really solid first half of the season, the Bulldogs fell to 5-2 (2-1) with this loss, and they will take the week off to decide whether this was a fluke or the beginning of another mid-season collapse. The Rams have taken the opposite route. They also have some soul-searching to do, albeit with less time to do it. They host Hawaii this week, looking for another surprising victory to get this campaign back on track.

Wyoming 35, San Jose State 28

A week after seemingly figuring out their offense, the Spartans reversed course and gave way to a Wyoming comeback effort, falling to 2-4 (1-1) while the Pokes improved to 3-3 (1-1).

San Jose State took an early lead when it scored on the opening drive. Wyoming initially failed to match and had to punt it away, but when the Cowboys forced a punt themselves, they evened up the score on a 49-yard punt return from Trent Carrizosa. San Jose State retook the lead two plays later when Walker Eget hit Danny Scudero for a 72-yard touchdown. The Spartans enjoyed a pair of 14-7 quarters in the opening half, and took a 28-14 lead into the break.

The third quarter was scoreless and left the Cowboys looking at the same 14-point deficit from the first half. That 14-point deficit was preserved when SJSU missed two field goals in a row. The second led into the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys couldn’t make anything of it as Kaden Anderson threw an interception, which, following an interception and a turnover on downs, was Wyoming's third giveaway in a row.

San Jose State was just as willing to give the ball away, and had fumbled the ball on the drive before its back-to-back missed field goals, and gave the ball right back again. Brayden Johnson made this turnover very costly for the Spartans as he returned Xavier Ward’s pass 65 yards for a touchdown to make it a one-score game.

Wyoming’s offense finally caught the momentum after a San Jose State punt, striking from 45 yards out to knot the game at 28. The Spartans punted again on their ensuing drive, and Terron Kellman broke through from 28 yards out to push Wyoming into a 35-28 lead with only 40 seconds to play. San Jose State managed to get to the Wyoming 45-yard line on its final drive, but could travel no further as time expired.

It was the highest-scoring game of the year for Wyoming, and the Cowboys scored more in the fourth quarter alone than they had in all but one of their games.

Eget went 23-of-37 passing for 295 yards and four touchdowns. When he exited the game briefly with an injury, Tama Amisone was 5 of 8 for 30 yards, and Ward was 3 of 10 for 15 yards and one very costly INT. Scudero was the leading receiver with 24 targets, but only reeled in 10 catches. He made the most of those receptions and cashed in 180 yards and four touchdowns.

Lamar Radcliffe had seven carries for 29 yards, Steve Chavez-Soto had 12 carries for 25 yards, and the team ended up with just 43 total yards on the ground. San Jose State is in action again on Friday at Utah State.

For Wyoming, Anderson went 23-of-39 passing for 304 yards, two TDs and two INTs, connecting with 11 different receivers. Michael Fitzgerald and Charlie Coenen both turned their lone receptions of the game into scores, while Kellman added the other offensive touchdown on one of his six carries worth 42 yards. Samuel Harris led the Wyoming ground attack with nine carries for 47 yards. The Pokes are headed to Air Force this weekend, looking for back-to-back conference wins for the first time since Craig Bohl's final season at the helm.