2026-27 Mountain West Football Conference Preview: New Look in the Rockies
Written by: Nate Hornung
Published: Fri Aug 14, 2026, 11:13 am ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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For years, the Mountain West conference has been one of the most underrated leagues on both the gridiron and the hardwood court. However, this conference has a brand new look this year, as five teams left to join the newly formed Pac-12. That left the Mountain West scrambling to find participants, but they have now filled the conference with 10 total teams. Let's get into our Mountain West Preview.
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- 2026-27 SEC Preview
- Big 12 Preview 2026-27
- 2026-27 ACC Preview
- Pac-12 Preview 2026-27
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Mountain West Football Conference History
Jackson Arnold comes from Auburn to be the quarterback for the UNLV Rebels this season
Past 10 Mountain West Conference Champions
- 2025: Boise State Broncos
- 2024: Boise State Broncos
- 2023: Boise State Broncos
- 2023: Fresno State Bulldogs
- 2021: Utah State Aggies
- 2020: San Jose State Spartans
- 2019: Boise State Broncos
- 2018: Fresno State Bulldogs
- 2017: Boise State Broncos
- 2016: San Diego State Aztecs
What do you notice about those teams listed above? All but the 2020 Mountain West Champions are now gone after joining the Pac-12. This league is wide open for those who stuck around.
Old Mountain West Conference Teams
- Air Force Falcons
- Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
- Nevada Wolfpack
- New Mexico Lobos
- San Jose State Spartans
- UNLV Rebels
- Wyoming Cowboys
Hayes leads the Bison in their first year competing at the FBS level
New Mountain West Conference Teams
- North Dakota State Bison (New from FCS)
- Northern Illinois Huskies (Former MAC Member)
- UTEP Miners (Former CUSA Member)
Odds to Win the Mountain West Conference
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- New Mexico +275
- UNLV +275
- North Dakota State +325
- Hawaii +475
- Air Force +550
- San Jose State +1800
- Wyoming +2000
- Nevada +3300
- Northern Illinois +6600
- UTEP +8000
Mountain West Football Preview: Team Tiers
Dan Mullen led the Rebels to 10 wins in his first season as Head Coach, losing to Ohio in the Frisco Bowl
Tier 1 – The Front Runners
New Mexico, UNLV and North Dakota State. Yes, even the new kids on the block are slightly behind the two favorites to win this league, and for good reason. The Bison have been dominating the FCS level for decades now, and finally made the jump to FBS. They have the best offensive and defensive lines in the conference, but the defense will carry them overall.
UNLV has undoubtedly the best offense in the Mountain West with Jackson Arnold coming to Las Vegas by way of Oklahoma and Auburn. He teams up with Dan Mullen who got a lot of good out of Alex Orji, who takes the back up spot. They return RB Jai'den Thomas who was 1st Team All MW last season with over 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
New Mexico returns five offensive and six defensive starters to a unit that was top 50 in points allowed last year. While I like UNLV and Arnold more than the Lobos and Jack Layne, New Mexico does face the other teams in this tier at home, making those conference matchups a bit easier.
Micah Alejado and the Rainbow Warriors are too high up on the oddsboard for my liking
Tier 2 – Oddsmakers Have Faith?
Hawaii and Air Force are not too far behind the former three teams, but I think they are closer to the bottom of this conference. Air Force is all run, ranking top three in the nation in rushing yards per game, and also top 10 in scoring. However, their defense allowed over 30 points per game. They return eight defensive starters, but other than the linebacking unit, I don't have much faith. The Falcons struggle to move the ball in chunks.
As for Hawaii, Timmy Chang returns QB Micah Alejado who dealt with some injuries last year. A top three defense in the Mountain West and the best receiving unit might be hindered by the rushing attack and poor offensive line play. Don't expect either of these teams to compete with the top three.
Herschel Turner steps into a bigger role for the Wolfpack this season
Tier 3 – Don't Expect Much
San Jose State, Wyoming, and Nevada aren't going to make much noise. The Spartans D-Line is solid, but the LBs and secondary might be the worst in the league. The offense doesn't impress me either.
The Cowboys shouldn't be very competitive, and Nevada will be mediocre at best. This is really a three horse race in my eyes.
Tier 4- UTEP and NIU
Thank you to these two teams for joining the Mountain West to make it a 10 team conference, but I could see them both searching for their first league win of the year when they go head to head in the season finale.
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Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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