The 2021 Mountain West Conference football season, part of this year's NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 23rd season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). Since 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.
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.
Mountain 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 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 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 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 Carson Strong Nevada QBDoak Walker Award George Holani Boise State RB Fred Biletnikoff Award Romeo Doubs Nevada WR Khalil Shakir Boise State WR Cole Turner Nevada TE John Mackey Award Cole Turner Nevada TE Trey McBride Colorado State TE Derrick Deese Jr. San Jose State TE Daniel Bellinger San Diego State TERimington Trophy Tyler Orsini Nevada CButkus Award Chad Muma Wyoming LB Outland Trophy Keegan Cryder Wyoming C 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 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 Brandon Talton Nevada K Paul Hornung Award Jordan Byrd San Diego State RB Tyleek Collins UNLV WR Romeo Doubs Nevada WR Ronnie Rivers Fresno State RB Calvin Turner Hawaii RB Wuerffel Trophy Kekaula Kaniho Boise State DB 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 RBWalter Camp Award Cade Hall San Jose State DE Manning Award Nick Starkel San Jose State QB Carson Strong Nevada QB Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Nick Starkel San Jose State QB CT Thomas Boise State WR Keric Wheatfall Fresno State WRRay Guy AwardRyan Stonehouse Colorado State P Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Demytrick Ali'fua Utah State OL 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 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.
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
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Air Force AP RV RV RVC 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 RVC 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 25C 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 24C 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.
Gary Andersen was fired by Utah State in November 2020. He was replaced by Blake Anderson.
Head coaches Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MW recordAir Force Troy Calhoun 15 101–72 101–72 61–46Boise State Andy Avalos 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Colorado State Steve Addazio 2 58–58 1–3 1–3Fresno State Kalen DeBoer 2 3–3 3–3 3–3Hawaii Todd Graham 2 100–65 4–4 4–4Nevada Jay Norvell 5 25–22 18–14 18–14New Mexico Danny Gonzales 2 2–5 2–5 2–5San Diego State Brady Hoke 4 17–16 11–11 11–11San Jose State Brent Brennan 5 15–30 11–20 11–20UNLV Marcus Arroyo 2 0–6 0–6 0–6Utah State Blake Anderson 1 51–37 0–0 0–0Wyoming Craig Bohl 8 152–76 38–44 25–29
Post-season changes On November 29, Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer announced that he would become the new head coach of Washington in the Pac-12 Conference beginning in 2022. Assistant head coach and running backs coach Lee Marks was named interim head coach for the team's bowl game. On December 8, the school announced that Jeff Tedford had been rehired as head coach after taking two years off for health issues. On December 2, Colorado State announced that they had fired head coach Steve Addazio after two seasons. On December 6, Nevada head coach Jay Norvell left the school to take the vacant head coach position at Colorado State.
Schedule The season began on August 28, 2021, and concluded on November 27, 2021.
Regular season Index to colors and formattingMountain West Member wonMountain West Member lostMountain West teams in bold
Week zero
Week one
Week two
Date Bye Week September 11 San Jose State
Week three
Week four
Date Bye Week September 25 Nevada
Week five
Date Bye Week October 2 Colorado State San Diego State Wyoming
Week six
Date Bye Week October 9 Fresno State Hawaii UNLV Utah State
Week seven
Week eight
Date Bye Week October 23 Boise State
Week nine
Date Bye Week October 30 Air Force New Mexico
Week ten
Week eleven
Week twelve
Date Bye Week November 20 Fresno State San Jose State
Week thirteen
Week fourteen
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend Mountain West win Mountain West loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (MST)Mountain West teamOpponentScoreAttendance 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. 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.
Mountain West records vs other conferences 2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season
Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC0–0Big Ten0–1Big 120–3Pac-125–5BYU/Notre Dame1–1SEC0–2Power 5 Total6–12Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican1–1C–USA1–2Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame)8–1MAC3–1Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total13–5FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision9–2Total Non-Conference Record28–19
Post Season
Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC0–0Big Ten0–0Big 120–0Pac-120–0BYU/Notre Dame0–0SEC0–0Power 5 Total0–0Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican0–0C–USA0–0Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame)0–0MAC0–0Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total0–0Total Bowl Record0–0
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