The 2022 Mountain West Conference football season was the 24th season of College football for the Mountain West Conference. It was part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. 12 teams competed in the conference during the season. The season began August 27 and concluded on December 3 with the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. The full schedule for the season was released on February 16, 2022
Preseason
Mountain West Media The Mountain West Media days was held at the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas on July 20 and 21.
Preseason Poll The Preseason Media Poll was released July 20, 2022. Boise State was picked to win the Mountain division, while Fresno State was picked to win the West division.
Mountain 1 Boise State 151 (14) 2 Air Force 136 (10) 3 Utah State 122 (3) 4 Colorado State 90 (1) 5 Wyoming 60 6 New Mexico 29 West 1 Fresno State 160 (20) 2 San Diego State 148 (8) 3 San Jose State 105 4 Nevada 66 5 UNLV 58 6 Hawaii 51
Preseason All-Conference Team The Preseason All-Conference Team was announced only July 21, 2022.
Offensive Player of the Year: Jake Haener (Senior, Fresno State quarterback) Defensive Players of the Year: Cade Hall (Senior, San Jose State defensive lineman) & Patrick McMorris (Senior, San Diego State defensive back) Special Teams Player of the Year: Jordan Byrd (Senior, San Diego State punt and kick returner)
Position Player Team Offense QB Jake Haener Fresno State WR Jalen Cropper Fresno State WR Jesse Matthews San Diego State RB Brad Roberts Air Force RB Jordan Mims Fresno State OL Isaac Cochran Air Force OL John Ojukwu Boise State OL Dontae Bull Fresno State OL Aaron Frost Nevada OL Alama Uluave San Diego State TE Tanner Arkin Colorado State Defense DL Scott Matlock Boise State DL Keshawn Banks San Diego State DL Jonah Tavai San Diego State DL Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DL Cade Hall San Jose State LB Vince Sanford Air Force LB Caden McDonald San Diego State LB Kyle Harmon San Jose State DB JL Skinner Boise State DB Evan Williams Fresno State DB Jerrick Reed II New Mexico DB Patrick McMorris San Diego State Special Teams P Aaron Rodriguez New Mexico PK Jonah Dalmas Boise State PR Jordan Byrd San Diego State KR Jordan Byrd San Diego State
Preseason individual awards The following list contains Mountain West players who were included on preseason watch lists for national awards.
Lott Trophy none Dodd Trophy noneMaxwell Award Brad Roberts Air Force RB George Holani Boise State RB Jake Haener Fresno State QB Logan Bonner Utah State QBDavey O'Brien Award Logan Bonner Utah State QB Jake Haener Fresno State QBDoak Walker Award George Holani Boise State RB Jordan Mims Fresno State RB Titus Swen Wyoming RB Calvin Tyler Jr. Utah State RBBiletnikoff Award Jalen Cropper Fresno State WR John Mackey Award Mark Redman San Diego State TE Sam Olson San Jose State TERimington Trophy Alama Uluave San Diego State CButkus Award Kyle Harmon San Jose State LBJim Thorpe Award JL Skinner Boise State S Evan Williams Fresno State S
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DE Kyle Harmon San Jose State LB Caden McDonald San Diego State LB Patrick McMorris San Diego State S Vince Sanford Air Force LB JL Skinner Boise State S Evan Williams Fresno State SOutland Trophy Alfred Edwards Utah State OT Aaron Frost Nevada OT Scott Matlock Boise State DT John Ojukwu Boise State OT Everett Smalley Air Force OT Alama Uluave San Diego State CLou Groza Award Cayden Camper Colorado State K Jonah Dalmas Boise State K Daniel Gutierrez UNLV K Matthew Shipley Hawaii K Brandon Talton Nevada KRay Guy Award Aaron Rodriguez New Mexico P Stephen Kotsanlee Utah State PPaul Hornung Award Jordan Byrd San Diego State RB Stefan Cobbs Boise State WR Nikko Remigio Fresno State WR Titus Swen Wyoming RB Luke Wysong New Mexico WRWuerffel Trophy John Ojukwu Boise State OT A'Jon Vivens Colorado State RB Jalen Cropper Fresno State WR Jonah Kalahawai-Welch Hawaii DL Christian Swint Nevada CB Luke Wysong New Mexico WR Michael Shawcroft San Diego State LB Chevan Cordeiro San Jose State QB Andre Grayson Utah State CB
Walter Camp Award Jake Haener Fresno State QB Brad Roberts Air Force RBBednarik Award Vince Sanford Air Force LB Scott Matlock Boise State DT Dequan Jackson Colorado State LB Evan Williams Fresno State S Dom Peterson Nevada DT Patrick McMorris San Diego State S Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DERotary Lombardi Award Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DE Caden McDonald San Diego State LB David Perales Fresno State DEPatrick Mannelly Award Rex Goossen UNLV LSEarl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Logan Bonner Utah State QB Trace Bruckler New Mexico TE Stefan Cobbs Boise State WR Tyrell Shavers San Diego State WR Titus Swen Wyoming RB Calvin Tyler Jr. Utah State RBManning Award Logan Bonner Utah State QB Jake Haener Fresno State QBPolynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Falepule Alo Utah State OL Chevan Cordeiro San Jose State QB Leif Fautanu UNLV OL Viliami Fehoko San Jose State DL George Holani Boise State RB Kekeaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez Boise State OL Jonah Kahahawai-Welch Hawaii DL Alii Matau San Jose State LB Hale Motu'apuaka Utah State DL Ezekiel Noa Boise State LB Jonah Panoke Hawaii WR Blessman Ta'ala Hawaii DL Toa Taua Nevada RB Jonah Tavai San Diego State DL Justus Tavai San Diego State DL Alama Uluave San Diego State OL Solo Vaipulu Hawaii OLJohnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Hank Bachmeier Boise State QB Logan Bonner Utah State QB Braxton Burmeister San Diego State QB Jake Haener Fresno State QB Ted Hendricks Award
Coaches Coaching changes On December 2, 2021 Colorado State announced that they had fired head coach Steve Addazio after two seasons. Jay Norvell, who had been at Nevada, was hired to take the position at Colorado State. On December 8, 2021, Fresno State announced that Jeff Tedford would rejoin the school as head coach to replace the departing Kalen DeBoer. Teford had previously been head coach at Fresno State from 2017–2019, but had left the school after 2019 due to health issues. On December 10, 2021, Nevada announced that Oregon defensive coordinator Ken Wilson would replace Jay Norvell as head coach. Wilson had been an assistant coach in various positions for Nevada from 1989–2012 prior to being hired as head coach. On January 14, Hawaii head coach Todd Graham resigned from his position amid controversy surrounding mistreatment of players. On January 22, Hawaii announced Nevada assistant coach Timmy Chang as the new head coach.
Head coaches Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MW recordAir Force Troy Calhoun 16 111–75 111–75 67–48Boise State Andy Avalos 2 7–5 7–5 5–3Colorado State Jay Norvell 1 33–26 0–0 23–17Fresno State Jeff Tedford 4 108–71 26–14 16–8Hawaii Timmy Chang 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Nevada Ken Wilson 1 0–0 0–0 0–0New Mexico Danny Gonzales 3 5–14 5–14 3–12San Diego State Brady Hoke 5 94–78 29–18 18–12San Jose State Brent Brennan 6 20–37 20–37 14–25UNLV Marcus Arroyo 3 2–16 2–16 2–12Utah State Blake Anderson 2 62–40 11–3 6–2Wyoming Craig Bohl 9 149–82 45–50 27–35
Post-season changes On November 28, UNLV announced that they had fired head coach Marcus Arroyo. Arroyo posted a 7–23 record with the school over three years. UNLV announced on December 6 that former Missouri head coach Barry Odom would become the new head coach for the 2023 season.
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Air Force AP RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Boise State AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Colorado State AP C CFP Not released Fresno State AP RV RV RV RV RV 24C RV RV RV RV 24 CFP Not released Hawaii AP C CFP Not released Nevada AP C CFP Not released New Mexico AP C CFP Not released San Diego State AP RV C RV CFP Not released San Jose State AP RV RV C RV CFP Not released UNLV AP C CFP Not released Utah State AP RV C RV RV CFP Not released Wyoming AP C 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
Schedule The schedule for the 2022 Mountain West football season was announced on February 16, 2022.
Index to colors and formattingMW member wonMW member lostMW teams in bold All times Mountain time.
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14 – Mountain West Conference Championship Game
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend Mountain West win Mountain West loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (MST)Mountain West teamOpponentScoreAttendance LA Bowl December 17 SoFi Stadium • Inglewood, CA ABC 1:30 p.m. Fresno State Washington State W 29–6 32,405 Frisco Bowl December 17 Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ESPN 7:15 p.m. Boise State North Texas W 35–32 12,211 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 20 Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID ESPN 1:30 p.m. San Jose State Eastern Michigan L 27–41 10,122 Armed Forces Bowl December 22 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ESPN 6:30 p.m. Air Force Baylor W 30–15 Hawaii Bowl December 24 Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI ESPN 6:00 p.m San Diego State Middle Tennessee L 23–25 6,605 First Responder Bowl December 27 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPN 12:15 p.m. Utah State Memphis L 10–38 Arizona Bowl December 30 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ Barstool Sports 2:30 p.m. Wyoming Ohio L 27–30 OT
Selection of teams Bowl eligible (7): Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah State, Wyoming Bowl ineligible (5): Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV
Mountain West records vs. other conferences 2022–2023 records against non-conference foes:
Regular Season Power Five ConferencesRecordACC0–0 Big 12 0–0Big Ten 0–4BYU/Notre Dame 0–4Pac-12 1–7SEC 0–4Power 5 Total1–19Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 2–0C–USA 2–3Independents (Excluding BYU/Notre Dame) 3–3MAC 2–0Sun Belt 1–0Other FBS Total 11–5FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision 9–3Total Non-Conference Record 21–27
Postseason
Power Five ConferencesRecordACC0–0 Big 12 0–0Big Ten0–0BYU/Notre Dame0–0Pac-12 0–0SEC 0–0Power 5 Total0–0Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 0–0C–USA 0–0Independents (Excluding BYU/Notre Dame) 0–0MAC 0–0Sun Belt 0–0Other FBS Total 0–0Total Bowl Record0–0
Mountain West vs Power 5 matchups This is a list of games the Mountain West has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, BYU, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.