UNLV Rebels Continue To Top The Mountain West Power Rankings

The UNLV Rebels are 5 - 0 and remain atop the Mountain West Conference Power Rankings. They are also now 1 - 0 in Mountain West play after knocking off the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday night. Their defense and special teams stepped up this week, which could be huge for the Rebels' long-term goals if they can continue to play this way. Mountain West Connection has once again released their power rankings, and these are the most interesting takes.

Mountain West Connection On The UNLV Rebels

"The Rebels won with their usual brand of leading convincingly on the scoreboard while underperforming on some other important stats, like total yards and penalty yards. Their play seems unsustainable, as two touchdowns were scored on special teams, but things haven’t caught up with them yet. Overall, UNLV is 5-0, and that is the stat that matters the most."

Mountain West Connection On The No. 2 Ranked Fresno State Bulldogs

"The Bulldogs didn’t have their best win of the season, but they found a way to hold on to the victory and notch their fifth win of the season. The running game seems to have taken a step back in the last game or two, after carrying the load in the early going. While the passing game is now holding its own a bit, it’s hard to say they are leading the charge. However, for Fresno State, all of this may be an experiment in the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, because they keep winning."

Mountain West Connection On The Rebels' Upcoming Opponent The No. 9 Ranked Air Force Falcons

"The Falcons fell just short against one of their arch-rivals in a high-scoring passing matchup. The good news for this team is that they have found their quarterback, their offense is able to score a lot of points consistently, and most of their recent losses have been close and competitive. The bad news is they continue to lose, and their defense, specifically their secondary, is not getting better and is primarily the reason for their current record looking like it does."

We agree with the Rebels being at the top of the rankings. How could they not be when they were a favorite to be in the Mountain West Championship game and are the last remaining undefeated team in the conference? Fresno State also deserves their spot, even if we do expect the Boise State Broncos to eventually take over that spot at some point this season. As for Air Force, they looked could this week against Navy. They had a much better showing than expected, so the Rebels need to be careful not to overlook them with the Broncos coming up in Week 8.

More UNLV Rebels On SI News