Rams on bye: Mountain West match-ups to watch today

Colorado State Rams football is on their bye week, but there’s still plenty of mouth-watering Mountain West match-ups to watch today.

To set the tone, catch up on your CSU football news:

• Rams players had a feel for Mike Bobo early, say he’s a “loving, genuine, competitive” man
• Bobo was impressed with receivers Wednesday, using bye week to get healthy and get better
• Get to know “Super Joe” Hansley in this interview (personal details)
• Kevin Pierre-Louis continues to prove importance to CSU defense

Now, onto the MW games:

Fresno State Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3 MW) @ Air Force Falcons (3-3, 2-1 MW), 12 p.m. MDT ESPN3

The Falcons look to bounce back after their first conference loss of the season last Saturday to the Rams in Hughes Stadium. Air Force will look to continue to use that triple-option offense to run the ball and create misdirection against a Bulldogs team that gives up an alarming 40.1 points per game. Fresno State won last week 31-28 over UNLV after losing five straight. Running back Marteze Waller will be a key for the Bulldogs to have a chance today in Colorado Springs.

Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (2-5, 0-3 MW) @ Nevada Wolfpack (3-4, 1-2 MW), 2 p.m. MDT, themwc.com

Hawai’i is hungry for a win, fresh off four straight losses including their 27-28 defeat at the hands of New Mexico. The Rainbow Warriors passing game is subpar to say the least; they have only six passing touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions thrown through seven games. On the other hand, Tyler Stewart of Nevada is a stud quarterback, tossing for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns on the Wolfpack’s season thus far. His favorite receiver is Jerico Richardson, a junior with 43 catches for 470 yards and four touchdowns.

New Mexico Lobos (4-3, 2-1 MW) @ San Jose State Spartans (3-4, 2-2 MW), 5 p.m. MDT, ROOT Sports

In the match-up of the day, the Lobos head to San Jose to face the Spartans who have gone through a roller coaster type season. San Jose State lost to San Diego State 7-30 last Saturday and they’ll look to rebound in front of their home crowd this evening. The Spartans’ running back Tyler Ervin boasts 896 yards on the ground — with a 5.7 YPC average — and 11 touchdowns. For New Mexico, a win today would represent their second straight and second conference road victory as they beat Wyoming in Week 4. The Lobos excel at running the ball; their 254.6 yards per game rank 12th nationally. Three running backs have gained more than 400 yards on the season and seven different backs have scored.

Wyoming Cowboys (1-6, 1-2 MW) @ Boise State Broncos (5-2, 2-1 MW)

Nothing was going right for the Cowpokes this year until they finally found a way to a win last Saturday, beating Nevada 28-21. This week doesn’t look as bright for Wyoming as they face the Broncos in Boise, Idaho, where nearly no one wins. On top of that, Boise State will be hungry for a win following their loss to Utah State last Saturday. The Broncos’ 38 points per game are tied for 14th in the NCAA and Brett Rypien has been impressive as a freshman.

Finally, last night the San Diego State Aztecs (5-3, 4-0 MW) blew out Utah State (4-3, 3-1 MW) 48-14. The Aztecs were led by the running of Donne Pumphrey, who gained 181 yards with two touchdowns, and Chase Price, who ran for 97 yards with one score.

Colorado State hosts the white hot Aztecs next Saturday, kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 MDT.