by Scott Rickenbach
Monday, Aug 07, 2023College Football 2023: Mountain West Conference
It is early in the month of August 2023 and, as always at this time of year, excitement is building for the coming Football season. That includes NFL and College Football. Most every sports bettor is quite familiar with the NFL as it is certainly the most popular among sports betting markets. Additionally, when it comes to College Football, many sports bettors are quite familiar with the Power 5 Conferences.
The “Power 5” Conferences include the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Those major conferences in College Football along with the 32 teams in the NFL dominate the attention of most everyone this time of year and heading into the football season. That said, my focus heading into the new season is covering the “other 6” which is the “Group of 5” Conferences as well as the small group of Independents.
These less popular teams which comprise the “other” conferences absolutely deserve some attention and yet many sports bettors are the least familiar with these smaller conferences. That is even with the best value often being found where others just do not focus the attention. That said, I feel there is value in at least giving a “quick hitter” preview at these teams heading into the 2023 season.
Mountain West Conference:
Air Force – Disciplined team. Value on teamwork and it works for this program year in and year out almost without exception. Should challenge Boise State for the top spot in the conference and, if they get solid QB play, they could win the Mountain West!
Boise State – The outlook here is very similar to that of Air Force. Should be between these Broncos and the Falcons for the top spot. Boise so tough on the ground and it they can get the deep ball going in the aerial attack on offense they will be very tough to beat. Another play on team when the value is there with the line.
Colorado State – The Rams are young but dangerous so they could improve as the season goes on. However, this is still a bit of a transition year so they are likely to finish around .500 in MWC action for the year. Early on could struggle but as they jell as the season goes on they will likely be tough.
Fresno State – Well coached but lost a lot on offense. The Bulldogs could struggle but yet their defense could carry them. That should be enough to help them finish near the top 3 to 5 teams in the league but I just can not trust the Fresno State offense. Might be a good under team on a regular basis.
Hawaii – The Warriors will likely again be one of the worst teams in the conference. They just keep going through so much roster turnover and a lack of continuity. Is impossible to maintain a consistent program that way.
Nevada – Very young team. Like Hawaii, this Wolf Pack team likely to struggle this season. Just too much inexperience and absolutely in a rebuild. I will look to fade them in the right situations.
New Mexico – Lobos could be worst team in this conference. Their defense is actually respectable but the offense just does not seem to have anything going for it. Will have to look for unders involving this team when the line value is there. Solid defense but just a very plain vanilla pedestrian offense that will not be able to challenge any half-decent defense.
San Diego State – Solid defense so if they could put the offense completely together they could challenge for the top of the conference. But the Aztecs just can not seem to get the offense going. They have been trying to throw more and get away from just being such a run-heavy team but it has not worked out. Keep an eye on unders for this team as well.
San Jose State – Generally speaking, I like the Spartans for overs. They lost quite a bit on defense but have a solid looking offense and this team can put pressure on teams with the offense. The defense lost too much experience and just will take a while, and possibly another season even, to return to a solid level.
UNLV – Maybe an over team. Too much turmoil in coaching to trust this team to be much more than a .500 team but their offense could surprise some people as they added some key weapons on that side o the ball. The defensive line is a concern in my book though and this team could struggle to stop people.
Utah State – Lost quite a few players but did add some solid talent and size on the defensive side of the ball in particular. This looks like a middling season though for this team as losing both the offensive and defensive coordinators will challenge this team to say the least. The Aggies, overall, lost quite a few starters too on both sides of the ball.
Wyoming – The Cowboys are a scrappy and physical team. Playing in Wyoming is never easy for opponents either. However, the concern for the Cowboys is the passing attack on offense. This is a very solid team on defense and they can run the ball on offense but they must get stronger with the aerial attack to keep opposing defenses off balance. I will look for unders with this team as the D is deep and talented and experienced.
It is early in the month of August 2023 and, as always at this time of year, excitement is building for the coming Football season. That includes NFL and College Football. Most every sports bettor is quite familiar with the NFL as it is certainly the most popular among sports betting markets. Additionally, when it comes to College Football, many sports bettors are quite familiar with the Power 5 Conferences.
The “Power 5” Conferences include the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Those major conferences in College Football along with the 32 teams in the NFL dominate the attention of most everyone this time of year and heading into the football season. That said, my focus heading into the new season is covering the “other 6” which is the “Group of 5” Conferences as well as the small group of Independents.
These less popular teams which comprise the “other” conferences absolutely deserve some attention and yet many sports bettors are the least familiar with these smaller conferences. That is even with the best value often being found where others just do not focus the attention. That said, I feel there is value in at least giving a “quick hitter” preview at these teams heading into the 2023 season.
Mountain West Conference:
Air Force – Disciplined team. Value on teamwork and it works for this program year in and year out almost without exception. Should challenge Boise State for the top spot in the conference and, if they get solid QB play, they could win the Mountain West!
Boise State – The outlook here is very similar to that of Air Force. Should be between these Broncos and the Falcons for the top spot. Boise so tough on the ground and it they can get the deep ball going in the aerial attack on offense they will be very tough to beat. Another play on team when the value is there with the line.
Colorado State – The Rams are young but dangerous so they could improve as the season goes on. However, this is still a bit of a transition year so they are likely to finish around .500 in MWC action for the year. Early on could struggle but as they jell as the season goes on they will likely be tough.
Fresno State – Well coached but lost a lot on offense. The Bulldogs could struggle but yet their defense could carry them. That should be enough to help them finish near the top 3 to 5 teams in the league but I just can not trust the Fresno State offense. Might be a good under team on a regular basis.
Hawaii – The Warriors will likely again be one of the worst teams in the conference. They just keep going through so much roster turnover and a lack of continuity. Is impossible to maintain a consistent program that way.
Nevada – Very young team. Like Hawaii, this Wolf Pack team likely to struggle this season. Just too much inexperience and absolutely in a rebuild. I will look to fade them in the right situations.
New Mexico – Lobos could be worst team in this conference. Their defense is actually respectable but the offense just does not seem to have anything going for it. Will have to look for unders involving this team when the line value is there. Solid defense but just a very plain vanilla pedestrian offense that will not be able to challenge any half-decent defense.
San Diego State – Solid defense so if they could put the offense completely together they could challenge for the top of the conference. But the Aztecs just can not seem to get the offense going. They have been trying to throw more and get away from just being such a run-heavy team but it has not worked out. Keep an eye on unders for this team as well.
San Jose State – Generally speaking, I like the Spartans for overs. They lost quite a bit on defense but have a solid looking offense and this team can put pressure on teams with the offense. The defense lost too much experience and just will take a while, and possibly another season even, to return to a solid level.
UNLV – Maybe an over team. Too much turmoil in coaching to trust this team to be much more than a .500 team but their offense could surprise some people as they added some key weapons on that side o the ball. The defensive line is a concern in my book though and this team could struggle to stop people.
Utah State – Lost quite a few players but did add some solid talent and size on the defensive side of the ball in particular. This looks like a middling season though for this team as losing both the offensive and defensive coordinators will challenge this team to say the least. The Aggies, overall, lost quite a few starters too on both sides of the ball.
Wyoming – The Cowboys are a scrappy and physical team. Playing in Wyoming is never easy for opponents either. However, the concern for the Cowboys is the passing attack on offense. This is a very solid team on defense and they can run the ball on offense but they must get stronger with the aerial attack to keep opposing defenses off balance. I will look for unders with this team as the D is deep and talented and experienced.
