LAS VEGAS – Boise State has been selected as the preseason favorite to claim the 2024 Mountain West football regular-season title, as selected by a media panel and announced by the Conference at its annual media days, being held at Circa Casino & Resort.
The Broncos, who claimed a share of the 2023 regular-season MW title and won last year’s Mountain West Football Championship game, earned 38 of 46 first-place votes and 543 total points to lead the preseason poll for the 14th straight season. Spencer Danielson, who coached Boise State’s final four games of the 2023 campaign in an interim role, was named the permanent head coach after the season.
Led by reigning MW Coach of the Year Barry Odom, UNLV, which also earned a share of the 2023 regular-season MW crown and competed in its first MW Football Championship game, is second in the preseason poll with 471 points and four first-place votes.
Fresno State follows in third with 460 points and the remaining four first-place votes, followed by Air Force in fourth with 384 points. Colorado State is fifth with 337 points, followed by Wyoming (296), Utah State (285), San Diego State (251), Hawai‘i (214) and defending 2023 MW regular-season tri-champion San José State (185). New Mexico (85) and Nevada (77) round out the poll.
In addition to Boise State, six other MW programs are under the leadership of new head coaches this season, as Jeff Choate (Nevada), Bronco Mendenhall (New Mexico), Sean Lewis (San Diego State), Ken Niumatalolo (San José State), Nate Dreiling (Utah State, interim) and Jay Sawvel (Wyoming) enter their first seasons at the helms of their respective programs. Mendenhall was a head coach in the MW at BYU from 2005-10.
The two MW programs with the best Conference records this season will square off in the 2024 Old Trapper Mountain West Football Championship, which will kick off Friday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT/3 p.m. HT at the site of the Conference team with the best winning percentage in MW play. The contest will be nationally televised on FOX for the fifth consecutive year.
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