2022 Mountain West preview: Boise State — yawn — tabbed Mountain favorites once again

LAS VEGAS — Colorado State received one first-place vote in the annual preseason media poll, which was released on Wednesday morning by the Mountain West Conference. 

The Rams were tabbed to finish fourth in the Mountain division overall, just ahead of Wyoming and right behind the reigning conference champions (Utah State). 

Unsurprisingly, boring, picked to finish atop the Mountain was Boise State, despite the fact that Air Force returns QB Haziq Daniels and RB Brad Roberts, and also get to play the Broncos at home. 

In the other half of the conference, Fresno State was tabbed the frontrunner in the West division. Behind FSU was San Diego State, the only other team in the West to receive a first-place vote. 

Mountain 

1. Boise State (14)
2. Air Force (10)
3. Utah State (3)
4. Colorado State (1)
5. Wyoming
6. New Mexico

West

1. Fresno State (20)
2. San Diego State (8)
3. San Jose State
4. Nevada
5. UNLV
6. Hawaii 

Honestly, the results of the media poll, which I do not contribute to, were predictable but monotonous. Boise State has certainly been the premiere team in the Mountain division since they joined the conference, and they undoubtedly have a track record of success, but for a second year in a row it could be argued that they were picked based on brand recognition more than anything else. 

The talent gap that used to separate Boise State from the rest of the league does not exist anymore. It’s not to say that the Broncos are not still a damn good team, because they absolutely are. They should be one of the teams that ends up being in contention when it’s all said and done. 

Considering the preseason poll counts for absolutely nothing though, is it really necessary to pencil in the Broncos every single year? Did folks even look up the schedule and see that the Broncos have to play arguably every competitive team in the MWC? At one point the Broncos will face Fresno State and San Diego State in back-to-back weeks. After that they have to travel to Air Force. And that’s not even factoring in a late-November trip to Wyoming, or a season finale against the 2021 MWC conference champions. 

Air Force, on the other hand, does have to travel to Wyoming, however, the matchup is in mid September. The Falcons also get Boise State and CSU at home. So, if they can build off of last year’s 10-2 campaign, the opportunity to potentially face SDSU with a spot in the top 25 on the line is certainly realistic; assuming of course that both teams live up to preseason expectations. 

The point here is not to bash the folks that voted for Boise State, historically it’s been a fairly safe bet and that’s why they always get the benefit of the doubt. But when you factor in the schedule and the amount of experience the Falcons return on both sides of the football, I’m not sure why Air Force was not a more popular selection to take the Mountain division. 

Maybe it’s the fact that Air Force has only won the division once, maybe it’s people questioning how high of a ceiling a squad that runs the triple-option has, or maybe it was simply a matter of Utah State and CSU stealing a couple of their potential votes. Nevertheless, we ended up with the same projection at the top as last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. (*Yawns aggressively*) 

Although surprising, I applaud whatever individual gave CSU a first-place vote, not because I’m trying to be a homer and cheer on the alma mater but because someone was actually brave enough to be bold and have some fun with the process. 

Utah State shocked the world when they won the league in 2021 with a roster largely patched together with transfers. Maybe the Rams can do the same this time around. Or shoot, maybe the Aggies will run it back, like the three people that voted for them predicted. It would just be fun to see a little bit more creative thinking when it comes to the preseason awards.