2021 Mountain West Conference football season

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2021 Mountain West Conference football season
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pickTE Trey McBride, Colorado State
Picked byArizona Cardinals, 55th overall
Regular season
Mountain Division championsUtah State
West Division championsSan Diego State
Championship Game
ChampionsUtah State
  Runners-upSan Diego State
Seasons
← 2020
 →
2021 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mountain Division
No. 24 Utah State xy$   6 – 2     11 – 3  
Air Force x   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Boise State   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Wyoming   2 – 6     7 – 6  
Colorado State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
New Mexico   1 – 7     3 – 9  
West Division
No. 25 San Diego State xy   7 – 1     12 – 2  
Fresno State   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Nevada   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Hawaii   3 – 5     6 – 7  
San Jose State   3 – 5     5 – 7  
UNLV   2 – 6     2 – 10  
Championship: Utah State 46, San Diego State 13
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 Mountain West Conference football season, part of this year's

2012, 12 teams have competed in the Mountain West Conference. The season began on August 28, 2021 and ended on December 28, 2021. The entire schedule was released on March 5, 2021.[1]

Previous season

Main article: 2020 Mountain West Conference football season

The San Jose State Spartans defeated the Boise State Broncos 34–20 in the 2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada.

Preseason

Mountain West Media

The Mountain West Media days was held at the Cosmopolitan on July 27 and 28.

Preseason Poll

The Preseason Media Poll was released July 21, 2021. Boise State was picked to win the Mountain division, while Nevada was picked to win the West division.[2]

Mountain
Predicted finish Team Votes (for first)
1 Boise State 148 (23)
2 Wyoming 115 (2)
3 Air Force 104
4 Colorado State 72
5 Utah State 47
6 New Mexico 39
West
Predicted finish Team Votes (for first)
1 Nevada 141 (19)
2 San Jose State 121 (5)
3 San Diego State 96
4 Fresno State 85 (1)
5 Hawaii 56
6 UNLV 26

Preseason awards

The following list contains players included on preseason watch lists for national awards.

Award Head coach/Player School Position Link
Maxwell Award Khalil Shakir Boise State WR [3]
Ronnie Rivers Fresno State RB
Carson Strong Nevada QB
Romeo Doubs Nevada WR
Greg Bell San Diego State RB
Nick Starkel San Jose State QB
Xazavian Valladay Wyoming RB
Bednarik Award
 Scott Patchan Colorado State DE [4]
Lawson Hall Nevada LB
Cameron Thomas San Diego State DE
Caden McDonald San Diego State LB
Cade Hall San Jose State DE
Justin Rice Utah State LB
Chad Muma Wyoming LB
Davey O'Brien Award Nick Starkel San Jose State QB [5]
Carson Strong Nevada QB
Doak Walker Award George Holani Boise State RB [6]
Fred Biletnikoff Award Romeo Doubs Nevada WR [7]
Khalil Shakir Boise State WR
Cole Turner Nevada TE
John Mackey Award Cole Turner Nevada TE [8]
Trey McBride Colorado State TE
Derrick Deese Jr. San Jose State TE
Daniel Bellinger San Diego State TE
Rimington Trophy Tyler Orsini Nevada C [9]
Butkus Award Chad Muma Wyoming LB [10]
Outland Trophy Keegan Cryder Wyoming C [11]
Jack Snyder San Jose State OT
Jake Stetz Boise State G
Zachary Thomas San Diego State OT
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Cade Hall San Jose State DE [12]
Caden McDonald San Diego State LB
Darius Muasau Hawaii LB
Scott Patchan Colorado State DE
Cameron Thomas San Diego State DE
Lou Groza Award John Hoyland Wyoming K [13]
Brandon Talton Nevada K
Paul Hornung Award Jordan Byrd San Diego State RB [14]
Tyleek Collins UNLV WR
Romeo Doubs Nevada WR
Ronnie Rivers Fresno State RB
Calvin Turner Hawaii RB
Wuerffel Trophy Kekaula Kaniho Boise State DB [15]
A'Jon Vivens Colorado State RB
Hekili Keliiliki Hawaii RB/LB
Tysyn Parker San Jose State LB
Julio Garcia II UNLV OL
Calvin Tyler Jr. Utah State RB
Walter Camp Award Cade Hall San Jose State DE [16]
Manning Award Nick Starkel San Jose State QB [17]
Carson Strong Nevada QB
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Nick Starkel San Jose State QB [18]
CT Thomas Boise State WR
Keric Wheatfall Fresno State WR
Ray Guy Award Ryan Stonehouse Colorado State P [19]
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Demytrick Ali'fua Utah State OL [20]
Falepule Alo Utah State OL
Chevan Cordeiro Hawaii QB
Leif Fautanu UNLV OL
Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DL
Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez Boise State OL
George Holani Boise State RB
Kekaula Kaniho Boise State DB
Kohl Levao Hawaii OL
Tyson Maeva Fresno State LB
Alii Matau San Jose State LB
Darius Muasau Hawaii LB
Ezekiel Noa Boise State LB
Jonah Panoke Hawaii WR
Khalil Shakir Boise State WR
Toa Taua Nevada RB
Alama Uluave San Diego State OL
Solo Vaipulu Hawaii OL
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Hank Bachmeier Boise State QB [21]
Sean Chambers Wyoming QB
Nick Starkel San Jose State QB
Carson Strong Nevada QB
Terry Wilson New Mexico QB

Preseason All-Conference Team

The Preseason All-Conference Team was announced only July 22, 2021.[22]

  • Offensive player of the year: Carson Strong (Junior, Nevada quarterback)
  • Defensive player of the year: Cade Hall (Senior, San Jose State defensive lineman)
  • Special Teams Player of the Year: Savon Scarver (Senior, Utah State kick returner)
Position Player Team
Offense
QB Carson Strong Nevada
RB Xazavian Valladay Wyoming
RB Ronnie Rivers Fresno State
OL Keegan Cryder Wyoming
OL John Ojukwu Boise State
OL Jack Snyder San Jose State
OL Zachary Thomas San Diego State
OL Jake Stetz Boise State
TE Cole Turner Nevada
WR Romeo Doubs Nevada
WR Khalil Shakir Boise State
Defense
DL Cade Hall San Jose State
DL Cameron Thomas San Diego State
DL Scott Patchan Colorado State
DL Viliami Fehoko San Jose State
LB Chad Muma Wyoming
LB Caden McDonald San Diego State
LB Darius Muasau Hawaii
DB Kekaula Kaniho Boise State
DB Jerrick Reed II New Mexico
DB Cortez Davis Hawaii
DB Tre Jenkins San Jose State
Special teams
K Brandon Talton Nevada
P Ryan Stonehouse Colorado State
PR Calvin Turner Hawaii
KR Savon Scarver Utah State

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
  Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Final
Air Force AP RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Boise State AP RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released
Colorado State AP
C
CFP Not released
Fresno State AP RV 22 18 RV 25 RV RV
C RV RV 25 21 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released 23
Hawaii AP
C
CFP Not released
Nevada AP RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
New Mexico AP
C
CFP Not released
San Diego State AP RV RV 25 24 22 21 RV RV 23 22 19 RV 25
C RV RV RV RV 24 21 20 RV RV 23 22 19 RV RV
CFP Not released 24 22 19 21 19 24
San Jose State AP
C RV RV RV
CFP Not released
UNLV AP
C
CFP Not released
Utah State AP RV RV 24
C RV RV RV RV 24
CFP Not released
Wyoming AP RV
C RV
CFP Not released
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Coaches

Coaching Changes

Bryan Harsin left Boise State after seven years at the school to take the head coach position at Auburn of the SEC. He was replaced by Andy Avalos.[23]

Gary Andersen was fired by Utah State in November 2020. He was replaced by Blake Anderson.[24]

Head Coaches

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MW record
Air Force Troy Calhoun 15 101–72 101–72 61–46
Boise State Andy Avalos 1 0–0 0–0 0–0
Colorado State Steve Addazio 2 58–58 1–3 1–3
Fresno State Kalen DeBoer 2 3–3 3–3 3–3
Hawaii Todd Graham 2 100–65 4–4 4–4
Nevada Jay Norvell 5 25–22 18–14 18–14
New Mexico Danny Gonzales 2 2–5 2–5 2–5
San Diego State Brady Hoke 4 17–16 11–11 11–11
San Jose State Brent Brennan 5 15–30 11–20 11–20
UNLV Marcus Arroyo 2 0–6 0–6 0–6
Utah State Blake Anderson 1 51–37 0–0 0–0
Wyoming Craig Bohl 8 152–76 38–44 25–29

Post-season changes

  • On November 29,
    PAC-12 Conference beginning in 2022.[25] Assistant head coach and running backs coach Lee Marks was named interim head coach for the team's bowl game.[26] On December 8, the school announced that Jeff Tedford had been rehired as head coach after taking two years off for health issues.[27]
  • On December 2, Colorado State announced that they had fired head coach Steve Addazio after two seasons.[28]
  • On December 6, Nevada head coach Jay Norvell left the school to take the vacant head coach position at Colorado State.[29]

Schedule

The season began on August 28, 2021, and concluded on November 27, 2021.

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
Mountain West Member won
Mountain West Member lost
Mountain West teams in bold

Week zero

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
August 28 12:00 p.m. UConn Fresno State
Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA
 CBSSN W 45−0   26,043
August 28 1:30 p.m. Hawaii UCLA Rose Bowl Stadium • Pasadena, CA ESPN L 10−44   32,982
August 28 8:00 p.m. Southern Utah San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA CBSSN W 45–14   16,204
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week one

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 2 5:00 p.m. Boise State UCF
Bounce House • Orlando, FL
ESPN
 L 31–36   43,928
September 2 6:00 p.m. Houston Baptist New Mexico
University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM
 KASY-TV W 27–17   15,908
September 2 8:00 p.m. No. 11 (FCS) Eastern Washington UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV Stadium L 33–35 2OT  21,970
September 3 7:00 p.m. No. 3 (FCS) South Dakota State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO FS1 L 23–42   32,327
September 4 12:00 p.m. Fresno State No. 11 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR P12N L 24–31   43,276
September 4 12:00 p.m. Lafayette Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO Stadium W 35–14   30,012
September 4 2:00 p.m. No. 12 (FCS) Montana State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 19–16   27,007
September 4 3:00 p.m. San Jose State No. 15 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA P12N L 7–30   54,398
September 4 8:30 p.m. Nevada California California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA FS1 W 22–17   35,117
September 4 8:30 p.m. New Mexico State San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA CBSSN W 28–10   10,116
September 4 9:00 p.m. Utah State Washington State Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA P12N W 26–23   24,944
September 4 10:00 p.m. Portland State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI Spectrum OC16 PPV W 49–35   0
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week two

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 10 7:00 p.m. No. 9 (FCS) North Dakota Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT CBSSN W 48–24   18,124
September 10 7:30 p.m. UTEP Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1 W 54–13   35,518
September 11 11:30 a.m. Wyoming Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL ESPN+ W 50–43   11,334
September 11 1:30 p.m. Air Force Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS W 23–3   36,997
September 11 5:00 p.m. New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry) Stadium W 34–25   28,470
September 11 8:00 p.m. San Diego State Arizona Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ P12N W 38–14   39,097
September 11 8:00 p.m. Vanderbilt Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO CBSSN L 21–24    
September 11 8:00 p.m. Cal Poly Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA KFRE-TV W 63–10   30,119
September 11 8:30 p.m. Idaho State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV Stadium W 49–10   23.965
September 11 8:30 p.m. UNLV No. 23 Arizona State
Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
ESPN2
 L 10–37   42,918
September 11 9:00 p.m. Hawaii Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR FS1 L 27–45   27,701
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
September 11 San Jose State

Week three

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 18 10:00 a.m. New Mexico No. 7 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX SECN L 0–34   84,748
September 18 12:05 p.m. Nevada Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, KS ESPN+ L 17–38   48,768
September 18 2:00 p.m. Ball State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY Stadium W 45–12   23,467
September 18 2:00 p.m. Colorado State Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH ESPNU W 22–6   21,365
September 18 5:00 p.m. Utah San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA CBSSN W 33–31 3OT  11,090
September 18 5:30 p.m. Utah State Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO FS2  USU 49–45   20,264
September 18 7:00 p.m. Oklahoma State Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1 L 20–21   36,702
September 18 8:30 p.m. No. 14 Iowa State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV CBSSN L 3–48   35,193
September 18 8:45 p.m. Fresno State No. 13 UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA P12N W 40–37   50,698
September 18 10:30 p.m. San Jose State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI FS1  SJSU 17–13   0
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week four

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 24 8:00 p.m. UNLV No. 22 Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA CBSSN  FRES 38–30   35,093
September 25 10:00 a.m. Boise State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT CBS  BSU 27–3   23,715
September 25 12:00 p.m San Jose State Western Michigan Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI ESPN+ L 3–23   12,317
September 25 1:30 p.m. Colorado State No. 5 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA FS1 L 14–24   65,456
September 25 1:30 p.m. Towson San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA Stadium W 48–21   7,619
September 25 1:30 p.m. Wyoming UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN W 24–22   12,538
September 25 6:00 p.m. Florida Atlantic Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO FS2 W 31–7   19,763
September 25 6:00 p.m. Hawaii New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM KVIA-TV W 41–21   13.932
September 25 7:00 p.m. New Mexico UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+ L 13–20   15,069
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
September 25 Nevada

Week five

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 1 7:00 p.m. No. 13 BYU Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT (Rivalry) CBSSN L 20–34   25,240
October 2 1:30 p.m. Nevada Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID (Rivalry) FS1  NEV 41–31   37,426
October 2 4:00 p.m. UNLV UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+ L 17–24   20,154
October 2 4:30 p.m. Air Force New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM FS2  AF 38–10   13,158
October 2 8:30 p.m. New Mexico State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA NBCSBA W 37–31   15,803
October 2 9:00 p.m. No. 18 Fresno State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI (Rivalry) CBSSN  HAW 27–24   0
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
October 2 Colorado State San Diego State Wyoming

Week six

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 9 1:30 p.m. Boise State No. 10 BYU
Lavell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT
ABC
 W 26–17   63,470
October 9 1:30 p.m. San Jose State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO FS1  CSU 32–14   34,780
October 9 5:00 p.m. Wyoming Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  AF 24–14   24,832
October 9 7:00 p.m. New Mexico No. 25 San Diego State Dignity Sports Health Park • Carson, CA FS1  SDSU 31–7   8,387
October 9 8:30 p.m. New Mexico State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV CBSSN W 55–28   21,448
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
October 9 Fresno State Hawaii UNLV Utah State

Week seven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 15 8:30 p.m. No. 24 San Diego State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA CBSSN  SDSU 19–13 2OT  17,177
October 16 1:30 p.m. Fresno State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY FS2  FRES 17–0   20,002
October 16 5:00 p.m. Utah State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV CBSSN  USU 28–24   21,322
October 16 5:00 p.m. Colorado State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM Stadium  CSU 36–7   15,403
October 16 7:00 p.m. Air Force Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1  AF 24–17   34,446
October 16 8:30 p.m. Hawaii Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV CBSSN  NEV 34–17   22,098
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week eight

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 21 9:00 p.m. San Jose State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV CBSSN  SJSU 27–20   19,318
October 22 7:30 p.m. Colorado State Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT CBSSN  USU 26–24   21,423
October 23 1:30 p.m. New Mexico Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY Stadium  UNM 14–3   20,133
October 23 5:00 p.m. No. 22 San Diego State Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  SDSU 20–14   23,887
October 23 5:00 p.m. Nevada Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA FS1  FRES 34–32   33,012
October 23 9:59 p.m. New Mexico State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI Spectrum OC16 ppv W 48–34   0
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
October 23 Boise State

Week nine

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 29 8:00 p.m. UNLV Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV (Fremont Cannon) CBSSN  NEV 51–20   28,960
October 30 1:00 p.m. Hawaii Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT Spectrum OC16 PPV  USU 51–31   19,219
October 30 2:00 p.m. Wyoming San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA FS2  SJSU 27–21   13,042
October 30 5:00 p.m. Boise State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO CBSSN  BSU 28–19   25,221
October 30 8:30 p.m. Fresno State No. 21 San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA (Rivalry) CBSSN  FRES 30–20   11,034
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
October 30 Air Force New Mexico

Week ten

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 6 9:30 a.m. Army Air Force Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS L 14–21 OT   
November 6 1:30 p.m. Colorado State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY (Border War) CBSSN  WYO 31–17    
November 6 2:00 p.m. Utah State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM KVIA-TV W 35–13    
November 6 5:00 p.m. Boise State No. 25 Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA CBSSN  BSU 40–14    
November 6 5:00 p.m. UNLV New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM Stadium  UNLV 31–17    
November 6 8:00 p.m. San Jose State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV FS2  NEV 27–24    
November 6 9:00 p.m. San Diego State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI FS1  SDSU 17–10    
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week eleven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 12 7:00 p.m. Wyoming Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1  BSU 23–13    
November 13 2:00 p.m. Hawaii UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV Spectrum OC16 PPV  UNLV 27–13    
November 13 5:00 p.m. New Mexico Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA Stadium  FRES 34–7    
November 13 5:00 p.m. Air Force Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO (Rivalry) CBSSN  AF 35–21    
November 13 8:30 p.m. Nevada San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA CBSSN  SDSU 23–21    
November 13 8:30 p.m. Utah State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA FS1  USU 48–17    
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week twelve

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 19 7:00 p.m. Air Force Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV FS1  AF 41–39 3OT   
November 19 9:30 p.m. No. 23 San Diego State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV CBSSN  SDSU 28–20    
November 20 6:00 p.m. Wyoming Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT (Rivalry) CBSSN  WYO 44–17    
November 20 7:00 p.m. New Mexico Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1  BSU 37–0    
November 20 9:00 p.m. Colorado State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI Spectrum OC16 PPV  HAW 50–45    
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.
Date Bye Week
November 20 Fresno State San Jose State

Week thirteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 25 1:30 p.m. Fresno State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA (
Rivalry
) 		FS1  FRES 40–9    
November 26 10:00 a.m. Boise State No. 22 San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA CBS  SDSU 27–16    
November 26 11:00 a.m. Utah State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM FS1  USU 35–10    
November 26 1:30 p.m. UNLV Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO CBSSN  AF 48–14    
November 27 1:00 p.m. Hawaii Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY (Rivalry) Spectrum OC16 PPV  HAW 38–14    
November 27 7:00 p.m. Nevada Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO CBSSN  NEV 52–10    
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Week fourteen

Main article: 2021 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 4 1:00 p.m. Utah State San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • San Diego, CA FOX  USU 46–13    
#Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Mountain Time
.

Postseason

Bowl Games

Main article: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games
Legend
  Mountain West win
  Mountain West loss
Bowl game Date Site Television Time (MST) Mountain West team Opponent Score Attendance
New Mexico Bowl December 18 University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM ESPN 12:15 p.m. Fresno State UTEP W 31–24 16,422
LA Bowl December 18 SoFi Stadium • Inglewood, CA
ABC
 5:30 p.m. Utah State Oregon State W 24–13 29,896
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 21 Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID ESPN 1:30 p.m. Wyoming Kent State W 52–38 10,217
Frisco Bowl December 21 Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ESPN 5:30 p.m. San Diego State UTSA W 38–24 15,801
Quick Lane Bowl December 27 Ford Field • Detroit, MI ESPN 9:00 a.m. Nevada Western Michigan L 24–52 22,321
First Responder Bowl December 28 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN 1:15 p.m. Air Force Louisville W 31–28 15,251
  • Hawaii was originally slated to play in the Hawaii Bowl against Memphis on December 24. The team was forced to withdraw from the bowl game due to a shortage of available players, stemming from a combination of a COVID-19 outbreak within the team, players already out with injury, and players who transferred away from the school at the conclusion of the regular season.[30]
  • Boise State was originally slated to play in the Arizona Bowl against Central Michigan on December 31. The team was forced to withdraw from the bowl game due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the team. The Arizona Bowl was cancelled, and Central Michigan was instead invited to move to a vacated spot in the Sun Bowl.[31]

Mountain West records vs Other Conferences

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:

Mountain West vs Power Five matchups

The following games include Pac-12 teams competing against Power Five conferences teams from the (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame, BYU and SEC). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
August 28 Pac-12 Hawaii UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA L 10–44
September 4 Pac-12 Fresno State No. 11 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Fresno, CA L 24–31
September 4 Pac-12 San Jose State No. 15 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 7–30
September 4 Pac-12 Nevada California California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA W 22–17
September 4 Pac-12 Utah State Washington State Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA W 26–23
September 11 Pac-12 San Diego State Arizona Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ W 38–14
September 11 SEC Vanderbilt Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO L 21–24
September 11 Pac-12 UNLV No. 23 Arizona State Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ L 10–37
September 11 Pac-12 Hawaii Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR L 27–45
September 18 SEC New Mexico No. 7 Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX L 0–34
September 18 Big 12 Nevada Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, KS L 17–38
September 18 Pac-12 Utah San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA W 33–31 OT
September 18 Big 12 Oklahoma State Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID L 20–21
September 18 Big 12 No. 14 Iowa State UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV L 3–48
September 18 Pac-12 Fresno State No. 13 UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA W 40–37
September 25 Big Ten Colorado State No. 5 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA L 14–24
October 1 Independent No. 13 BYU Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT L 20–34
October 9 Independent Boise State No. 10 BYU Lavell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT W 26–17

Mountain West vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include Mountain West teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC or Sun Belt.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 4 American Boise State UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL L 31–36
September 10 C-USA UTEP Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID W 54–13
September 10 MAC Wyoming Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL W 50–43
September 11 American Air Force Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD W 23–3
September 18 MAC Ball State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 45–12
September 18 MAC Colorado State Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH W 22–6
September 25 C-USA New Mexico UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX L 13–20
September 25 MAC San Jose State Western Michigan Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI L 3–23
September 25 C-USA Florida Atlantic Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO W 31–7
October 2 C-USA UNLV UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX L 17–24

Mountain West vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include Mountain West teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn or UMass.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
August 28 Independent UConn Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA W 45–0
September 4 Independent New Mexico State San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA W 28–10
September 11 Independent New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM W 34–25
September 25 Independent Wyoming UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT W 24–22
September 25 Independent Hawaii New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM W 41–21
October 2 Independent New Mexico State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA W 37–31
October 9 Independent New Mexico State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 55–28
October 23 Independent New Mexico State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 48–34
November 6 Independent Army Air Force Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX L 14–21OT

Mountain West vs FCS matchups

The

Football Championship Subdivision
comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

Date Visitor Home Site Score
August 28 Southern Utah San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA W 45–14
September 2 Houston Baptist New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM W 27–17
September 2 Eastern Washington UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV L 33–352OT
September 3 South Dakota State Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO L 23–42
September 4 Lafayette Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO W 35–14
September 4 Montana State Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 19–16
September 4 Portland State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 49–35
September 10 North Dakota Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT W 48–24
September 10 Idaho State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 49–10
September 10 Cal Poly Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA W 63–10
September 25 Towson San Diego State Dignity Health Sports Park • Carson, CA W 48–21

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Freshman
Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position
Week 0 (August 30)[32] Nick Starkel San Jose State QB Aaron Mosby Fresno State DE Will Hart San Jose State P Cale Sanders Jr. Fresno State DB
Week 1 (September 6)[33] Carson Strong Nevada QB Chad Muma Wyoming LB Connor Coles Utah State K Ralph Fawaz Wyoming P
Week 2 (September 13)[34] Terry Wilson Jr. New Mexico QB Justin Rice Utah State LB Kaegun Williams San Diego State KR Seyi Oladipo Boise State S
Week 3 (September 20)[35] Jake Haener Fresno State QB Justin Rice (2) Utah State LB Cayden Camper Colorado State K Jack Howell Colorado State DB
Week 4 (September 27)[36] Jalen Cropper Fresno State WR Cameron Lockridge Hawaii DB Matt Araiza San Diego State K/P Noah Avinger San Diego State CB
Week 5 (October 4)[37] Toa Taua Nevada RB Khoury Bethley Hawaii S Brandon Talton Nevada K Brayden Schager Hawaii QB
Week 6 (October 11)[38] Carson Strong (2) Nevada QB Vince Sanford Air Force LB Cayden Camper (2) Colorado State K Kaonohi Kaniho Boise State CB
Week 7 (October 18)[39] Deven Thompkins Utah State WR Shaq Bond Utah State S Matt Araiza (2) San Diego State K/P No selection
Week 8 (October 25)[40] Jordan Mims Fresno State RB Khoury Bethley (2) Hawaii S Matt Araiza (3) San Diego State K/P Isaiah Chavez New Mexico QB
Week 9 (November 1)[41] Jordan Mims (2) Fresno State RB Evan Williams Fresno State S Brandon Talton (2) Nevada K Ralph Fawaz (2) Wyoming P
Week 10 (November 8)[42] Deven Thompkins (2) Utah State WR Chad Muma (2) Wyoming LB Jonah Dalmas Boise State K Cameron Friel UNLV QB
Week 11 (November 15)[43] Charles Williams UNLV RB Cameron Thomas San Diego State DE Matt Araiza (4) San Diego State K/P Aaron Dumas New Mexico RB
Week 12 (November 22)[44] DeAndre Hughes Air Force RB Darius Muasau Hawaii LB Cameron Stone Wyoming KR Jack Howell (2) Colorado State DB
Week 13 (November 29)[45] Chevan Cordeiro Hawaii QB Patrick McMorris San Diego State S Matthew Shipley Hawaii P/K No selection

Mountain West Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Mountain West Conference football coaches at the end of the season.[46]

Award Player School
Offensive Player of the Year Carson Strong, Jr., QB Nevada
Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Thomas, Jr., DL San Diego State
Special Teams Player of the Year Matt Araiza, K/P San Diego State
Freshman Player of the Year Cameron Friel, QB UNLV
Coach of the Year Brady Hoke San Diego State

All-conference teams

The following players were selected as part of the Mountain West's All-Conference Teams.[46]

All–Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2021 College Football All-America Team.

The 2021 College Football All-America Teams are composed of the following

Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Yahoo! Sports
(Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
First Team All-Americans
TE Trey McBride Colorado State AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF * *
DE Cameron Thomas San Diego State ESPN, The Athletic
P Matt Araiza San Diego State AFCA, AP, CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT, WCFF * *
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
OL William Dunkle San Diego State AP
TE Trey McBride Colorado State CBS
DE Cameron Thomas San Diego State AP, FWAA, TSN, USAT, WCFF
LB Chad Muma Wyoming WCFF
P Ryan Stonehouse Colorado State TSN
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Third Team All-Americans
AP Deven Thompkins Utah State AP
LB Chad Muma Wyoming AP

National award winners

NFL draft

The following list includes all Mountain West players who were drafted in the

2022 NFL Draft
.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Trey McBride TE Colorado State 2 23 55 Arizona Cardinals
Chad Muma LB Wyoming 3 6 70 Jacksonville Jaguars
Cameron Thomas DE San Diego State 3 23 87 Arizona Cardinals
Daniel Bellinger TE San Diego State 4 7 112 New York Giants
Romeo Doubs WR Nevada 4 27 132 Green Bay Packers
Khalil Shakir WR Boise State 5 5 148 Buffalo Bills
Cole Turner TE Nevada 5 6 149 Washington Commanders
DaRon Bland CB Fresno State 5 24 167 Dallas Cowboys
Matt Araiza
P
 San Diego State 6 1 180 Buffalo Bills
Zachary Thomas
 OT San Diego State 6 7 186 Chicago Bears
Jordan Jackson DT Air Force 6 15 194 New Orleans Saints

References

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  25. ^ "UW Huskies hire Fresno State's Kalen DeBoer as next head football coach". www.seattletimes.com. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
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