Expect more of the same in the Mountain West Conference.
That was the message from the Group of Five football conference’s annual media poll released Tuesday morning at MWC media days in Henderson, Nevada.
Boise State and Fresno State were picked to win their divisions in the poll — the same two programs that won the Mountain and West divisions, respectively, in 2018 and ’17.
The pollsters weren’t quite as bullish on Colorado’s two MWC representatives, with Air Force picked to finish third in the Mountain and Colorado State fifth. Wyoming was picked fourth in the Mountain.
The Rams are coming off their first losing season in six years, having finished 3-9 and fifth in the Mountain, while Air Force went 5-7 and missed out on bowl season for the second consecutive year.
Boise State has been predicted to win its division each of the past six seasons and has done so the past three years. The Broncos received 15 of the 21 first-place votes for the Mountain, while Utah State received five.
Fresno State is an even bigger favorite in the West, with the Bulldogs receiving 17 first-place votes. San Diego State had three first-place votes and Hawaii one.
The two divisional winners meet in the conference championship game Dec. 7, 2019 at the home of the divisional champion with the highest winning percentage in conference.
Mountain Division
| Rank | Team (first-place) | Points |
|
|
||
| 1 | Boise State (15) | 120 |
| 2 | Utah State (6) | 108 |
| 3 | Air Force | 73 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 66 |
| 5 | Colorado State | 52 |
| 6 | New Mexico | 22 |
West Division
| Rank | Team (first-place) | Points |
|
|
||
| 1 | Fresno State (17) | 122 |
| 2 | San Diego State (3) | 106 |
| 3 | Nevada | 74 |
| 4 | Hawai’i (1) | 67 |
| 5 | UNLV | 51 |
| 6 | San Jose State | 21 |
MWC preseason all-conference footballl team
| Offense | |||
|
|
|||
| QB | Jordan Love** | Jr. | Utah State |
| WR | John Hightower | Sr. | Boise State |
| WR | Cedric Byrd II | Sr. | Hawai’i |
| RB | Juwan Washington | Sr. | San Diego State |
| RB | Toa Taua | So. | Nevada |
| OL | Ezra Cleveland* | Jr. | Boise State |
| OL | John Molchon* | Sr. | Boise State |
| OL | Jake Nelson | Sr. | Nevada |
| OL | Keith Ismael* | Jr. | San Diego State |
| OL | Justin Polu | Sr. | UNLV |
| TE | Jared Rice** | Sr. | Fresno State |
|
|
|||
| Defense | |||
|
|
|||
| DL | Jordan Jackson** | Jr. | Air Force |
| DL | David Moa | Sr. | Boise State |
| DL | Curtis Weaver* | Jr. | Boise State |
| DL | Tipa Galeai** | Sr. | Utah State |
| LB | Mykal Walker* | Sr. | Fresno State |
| LB | Kyahva Tezino* | Sr. | San Diego State |
| LB | David Woodward ** | Jr. | Utah State |
| DB | Jeremy Fejedelem | Sr. | Air Force |
| DB | Juju Hughes** | Sr. | Fresno State |
| DB | Tariq Thompson** | Jr. | San Diego State |
| DB | DJ Williams | So. | Utah State |
|
|
|||
| Specialists | |||
|
|
|||
| P | Ryan Stonehouse* | Jr. | Colorado State |
| PK | Cooper Rothe* | Sr. | Wyoming |
| KR/PR | Savon Scarver* | Jr. | Utah State |
* – member of the 2018 All-Mountain West first team
** – member of the 2018 All-Mountain West second team
Offensive Player of the Year: Jordan Love, Jr., QB, Utah State
Defensive Player of the Year: Curtis Weaver, Jr., DL, Boise State
Special Teams Player of the Year: Cooper Rothe, Sr., PK, Wyoming