Week 10 Mountain West football roundup

San Diego State has taken control of the Mountain West standings in Sean Lewis’ second season at the helm.

The Aztecs (7-1, 4-0) turned in their latest defensive masterpiece on Saturday, holding Wyoming (4-5, 2-3) to 185 yards of total offense in a 24-7 home victory. The Cowboys scored a touchdown on their opening possession but gained just 110 yards on their final 14 drives.

“Another dominant performance by the defense, aside from that opening drive,” Lewis said after the win. “I think it was 49 yards in the second half, which is outstanding. Another great (job) by them. The other two phases of the game, there’s moments of greatness, but far too much inconsistency that we need to clean up.”

San Diego State, which sits alone atop the MWC standings, has won its four conference games by an average of nearly 24 points. The Aztecs rank second nationally in scoring defense behind Ohio State at 10 points allowed per game.

The next two games will be pivotal for the Aztecs, who travel to Hawaii (6-3, 3-2) next Saturday followed by a home matchup with reeling Boise State (6-3, 4-1).

The Broncos tumbled out of first place on Saturday with a stunning 30-7 home loss to Fresno State (6-3, 3-2). Boise State had won 16 straight games at Albertsons Stadium and 16 in a row against MWC foes.

Boise State Broncos quarterback Max Cutforth (14). | Boise State Athletics

Fresno State limited the Broncos to 193 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.

“It was a gutsy performance by our players,” first-year Bulldogs coach Matt Entz said. “Had a great week of practice, elevated focus, elevated attention to detail. I just challenged them.

“I hope they remember what they felt like. It wasn’t that we had to put forth this much extra effort because it's Boise, we just did what we’re supposed to do. That’s what it’s supposed to look like.”

Boise State, which has a bye before the showdown with San Diego State, lost starting quarterback Maddux Madsen to a lower leg injury in the opening quarter. After the game, Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said Madsen could be out “a while.”

Coming off a bye of its own, UNLV’s (6-2, 2-2) defense remained an issue in a 40-35 home loss to New Mexico (6-3, 3-2). The Lobos torched the Rebels for 532 total yards and took the lead for good on a 13-yard D.J. McKinney run late in the fourth quarter.

The Lobos sit in a three-way tie for third place in the MWC standings with Fresno State and Hawaii (6-3, 3-2), which suffered a 45-38 loss at San Jose State (3-5, 2-2). Spartans quarterback Walker Eget threw for 458 yards in the win.

Air Force (2-6, 1-4) suffered a 20-17 non-conference loss to Army (4-4) on a last-second field goal.

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