The Boise State Broncos took home the conference crown on their way to the College Football Playoffs a year ago, but how well positioned are they to repeat that success this fall? Our 2025 Mountain West Power Rankings evaluate how the reigning champions stack up against a conference packed with talent and storylines.
12) New Mexico Lobos
2024 was a highlight year for the New Mexico Lobos behind Bronco Mendenhall and one of the most exciting offenses in CFB. The program recorded its best finish since 2016 and secured some notable victories. Yet, 2024 is already a distant memory for a team that saw more offseason turnover than most, including some of the integral parts of last fall’s success.
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck parlayed a top-25 scoring unit into a new job with the Utah Utes. Quarterback Devon Dampier quickly followed him to the Big 12 outfit, while Mendenhall landed the Utah State job.
Former Idaho HC Jason Eck arrives in Albuquerque, and he’s bolstered the team with a ton of talent. But how quickly can that team come together amid a schedule that features road trips to Michigan, Boise State, and UNLV?
11) Nevada Wolf Pack
Jeff Choate’s team made some college football waves last fall, registering landmark wins against Troy and Oregon State. However, they fell away down the stretch, losing six consecutive games and ending the year with a 3-10 overall record. Nevada also went winless in the Mountain West, the only team to not register a win in the conference, and two games behind Wyoming.
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Since then, they’ve lost starting quarterback Brendon Lewis to the Memphis Tigers, with several of their most talented players leaving the program in both portal windows. Hosting both Boise State and UNLV is better than playing them on the road, but the presence of both teams, plus San Jose State and a road trip to Fresno State, makes for a tough road to anything more than three wins in 2025.
10) Wyoming Cowboys
Replacing a Wyoming Cowboys legend like Craig Bohl was never going to be easy for Jay Sawvel. So it came to pass that his first season as the head coach in Laramie contained few bright spots.
The defense was poor, the offense was worse, and although they beat New Mexico and Washington State (and were involved in some close defeats), a 3-9 record was the worst 12-game season since 2015.
The return of tight end John Michael Gyllenborg is a huge bonus for the program, and they boast an offensive line with experience (five players with over 450 snaps last fall) to protect second-year starter Kaden Anderson. However, the departure of Harrison Waylee and several other key players could mean another difficult campaign for the Cowboys. At least they avoid Boise State on the schedule.
9) Air Force Falcons
The Air Force Falcons haven’t had consecutive losing seasons under Troy Calhoun since the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, which is the sort of psychological boost a team coming off a 5-7 record could use. Furthermore, the Mountain West outfit won the last four games of the season (three by more than one score) to carry momentum through the offseason and hopefully into 2025.
Those hopes are boosted by continuity, with potent defensive playmakers returning, including Daniel Grobe and Payton Zdroik.
However, Air Force is likely to be the third-best service academy, meaning two probable defeats before you even get to the rest of a schedule featuring Boise State (home) and UNLV (road).
8) Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors haven’t been bowl-eligible since 2020, and certain pitfalls could see them extend that run this fall. They lost two of their best players to Power Four teams in the transfer portal, alongside some losses to exhausted eligibility. Hawaii has a strong out-of-conference schedule, and its Mountain West slate opens against Fresno State and features several tough road games.
Loud opening statement 🗣️@MicahAlejado x #BRADDAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/g12148t1ZH
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) December 4, 2024
Those factors power their positioning in our Mountain West power rankings. However, there is potential for a move up.
A lack of Boise State on the schedule is a bonus. Meanwhile, young quarterback Micah Alejado has the legitimate talent to run Timmy Chang’s offense. Plus, the Rainbow Warriors retained two important playmakers in Pofele Ashlock and Nick Cenacle.
7) San Diego State Aztecs
In Sean Lewis’ first season in charge of the San Diego State Aztecs, the program saw some minor improvement from a previously sluggish offense. However, it wasn’t the significant step most expected (116th for scoring offense), and the defense took a step backward in allowing 29.6 ppg after averaging just 26.8 in 2023 and 20.5 in 2022.
Marquez Cooper ended his college football journey this offseason, while talented young quarterback Danny O’Neil entered the portal. Those departures won’t help the Aztecs’ second-year growth under Lewis, nor will road games at Washington State and Fresno State. The addition of Bert Emanuel Jr. and the retention of star EDGE Trey White were huge offseason moves.
6) Utah State Aggies
Nate Dreiling was thrust into the spotlight following the dismissal of Blake Anderson ahead of the 2024 season, hardly setting the interim HC up for success. He’ll be replaced by Mendenhall, who arrives in Logan after helping New Mexico to an impressive season in the Mountain West. Circle the Oct. 25 clash between the two teams as one of the spicier games on the conference schedule.
Mendenhall added several experienced and productive parts to a defense that ranked 129th in the country last year. While they should see some improvement on that side of the ball, question marks around an offense that lost Jalen Royals to the NFL and Rahsul Faison to South Carolina linger, especially with a schedule that ends with UNLV, Fresno State (both on the road), and Boise.
5) Colorado State Rams
The Colorado State Rams lost just one Mountain West game a year ago, remaining in contention for a spot in the title game until late November. It was a stellar turnaround after a brutal 2023 campaign, but can they now sustain that into the 2025 season?
Jay Norvell is back at the helm, and quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi continues to resist reported NIL offers to return under center. That’s important for the Rams. Yet, they relied on the ground game a lot more last year, and a key component of that success (Avery Morrow) is no longer on the roster.
Justin Marshall should step up to fill that breach, but there are enough question marks on both sides of the ball to forecast several defeats on a schedule that features both Boise State and UNLV, whom they avoided last season.
4) Fresno State Bulldogs
After suffering their first losing season since 2019, the Fresno State Bulldogs hit it out of the park with the full-time hire of Matt Entz to lead the program in 2025. A two-time FCS national championship winner with North Dakota State, Entz arrives at the Mountain West frontrunner with a 60-11 overall record and a year of FBS experience as a positional coach with USC.
Entz already got two wins this offseason, with defensive back Alzillion Hamilton and running back Elijah Gilliam rescinding their entry into the transfer portal. Gilliam and Rayshon Luke have explosive potential for the Bulldogs’ backfield, while Warner is more than capable of leading an offense. Road games at Boise State and San Jose State should define Fresno State’s season.
3) San Jose State Spartans
Ken Niumatalolo overcame preseason expectations to take the San Jose State Spartans to a bowl game in his first season in charge. The long-time Navy head coach spurned the triple-option offense that was the hallmark of his time at the service academy and unleashed aerial hell on his opponents, averaging 42.5 pass attempts per game behind quarterback duo Walker Eget and Emmett Brown.
Brown is gone (Coastal Carolina), but Eget returns for 2025. However, the QB position becomes largely irrelevant when you factor in the loss of All-American wide receiver Nick Nash. That said, Matthew Coleman and TreyShun Hurry should be primed for breakout seasons while a large chunk of last season’s team returns.
Avoiding both Boise State and UNLV should give the Spartans a path to the Mountain West Championship Game.
2) UNLV Rebels
The UNLV Rebels pushed Boise State for a Mountain West title a year ago, and could have conceivably been in the College Football Playoff. Fast forward a few months, and it’s all change in Las Vegas.
Odom is out, the team returns just over 4,000 total snaps from last year, and the architects of their success — like linebacker Jackson Woodard and receiver Ricky White III — are on to pastures new.
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In comes Dan Mullen (out of coaching since 2021) and over 30 transfer portal additions to shake up UNLV’s roster and take on a schedule that features a road trip to Boise in mid-October and a visit to Fort Collins to face Colorado State. Alex Orji and Colandrea will play out college football’s most exciting summer quarterback battle, a fight that will decide how the Rebels’ season unfolds.
1) Boise State Broncos
The coverage of Boise State’s run to the College Football Playoff centered predominantly on one man: Ashton Jeanty. With the tackle-breaking monster off to the NFL, it’s easy to undervalue the chances of the Broncos repeating a similar success.
However, Spencer Danielson’s team was more than a one-man band last fall, and they have the talent to thrive in 2025.
Maddux Madsen was a top-25 quarterback a year ago for dropback EPA and throw EPA while ranking 17th for touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.8). Of his pass attempts, 36.9% resulted in a first down or a touchdown, ranking 16th nationally.
The running back room is talented and deep, led by Sire Gaines, and Matt Lauter is one of college football’s top tight ends. Boise State’s defense also returns enough talent not to be concerned about a drop-off.
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