The Mountain West has regularly been among the top of the Group of Five pecking order, and this year is no different.
With the likes of Boise State and Fresno State appearing at the top of the oddsboard, its business as usual in the Mountain West as those two teams have won the prior two conference titles.
However, in 2024, there is added incentive to winning this league, as a strong season can lead to an invitation to the new 12 team College Football Playoff with one spot going to the highest rated G5 team.
Can it come from this conference? First, let’s see the odds to win the conference title.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Boise State fired head coach Andy Avalos in the middle of last season, and proceeded to catch fire down the back half of the season en route to a conference title. Interim coach Spencer Danielson shed his interim tag and now is poised to lead the Broncos to back-to-back conference titles in the eyes of oddsmakers.
In the expanded College Football Playoff, the winner of this conference can be in line for the Group of Five automatic bid. Even more is on the line in the Mountain West this season.
Boise State will have a new quarterback, likely USC transfer Malachi Nelson, to join with star running back Ashton Jeanty, who totaled more than 1,900 yards from scrimmage with 19 touchdowns.
However, there are several contenders in the mix, including the champs from two years ago Fresno State, who will hope for a healthy season from Mikey Keane to keep the Bulldogs in the title mix.
While neither of the top two contenders for the league crown will meet in the regular season, both teams will face last year’s conference title runners up UNLV during the season. The Rebels do need to replace quarterback Jayden Maiava, but return both top receivers in Ricky White (1,483 receiving yards) and Jacob De Jesus (606).
As for dark horses, Jay Norvell will hope that year three is the one where Colorado State can contend for Mountain West hardware while Wyoming will transition from longtime head coach Craig Bohl to defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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