Welcome back college football fans to the episode detailing the 9th most challenged conference in college football 2025. Although JoJo and I aren’t trying to spend too much time in the future, but we have to talk about one of my biggest pet peeves: making an easy solution difficult. A couple of years ago when ten of the Pac-12 left for the Big Ten, Big 12, or ACC thus leaving Oregon St and Washington St in a league of 2, the easiest thing to do would have been for the Pac-2 to join the 12-team Mountain West (MWC), renaming it something new like The Old West Conference or the Oregon Trail Conference or the New Wacky Western Alliance or who cares? The Pac-2 did not want to follow that path because they still think they belong in the Core 4 (used to be Power 5 before the Pac-12 diaspora) – ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Notre Dame, and SEC. They wanted to rebuild the Pac-pick a number (let’s say x for now) to its previous glory. The first two seasons as a two-team league was and will be filled with games against the MWC, but ignore the obvious Group of 5 (American, C-USA, MAC, MWC, Sun Belt, and UCONN) level schedule. It’s temporary until we can rebuild the conference. OK. The MWC would have accepted them if they simply asked. Because they did not want to, they have to increase to eight teams by 2026 to remain a viable FBS conference, Core 4 or Group of 5.
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Let me back up, this post is not about the Pac-x (they are still using the Pac-12 moniker which is not any more ridiculous than the 18-team Big Ten or the 16-team Big 12, but it’s different) and we will talk about them and how they are getting to eight teams when it is their turn, but the craziness coming up is directly related to them. With all of the craziness around conference realignment, both the MAC and the MWC have remained the same 12-team conferences they have always been. Last episode, we talked about the MAC adding UMASS this season in anticipation of both Ohio (Sun Belt) and N Illinois (MWC for football only, Horizon for other sports) leaving in 2026. But the MWC, the subject of this episode, will have the same 12 teams this season, but in 2026 Boise St, Colorado St, Fresno St, San Diego St, and Utah St (combined 33-31 in 2024) will move to the Pac-x. That move is significant because it drops the MWC to seven teams, one short of the requirement. The first change was Hawaii, who was already a football-only school, will join the MWC in all sports, but that doesn’t add a team. Grand Canyon and UC Davis will join in all sports except football – same issue. UTEP will leave C-USA to join as a full member which satisfies the minimum. N Illinois will leave the MAC and join as a football only school in the MWC as well.
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If they are looking for additional expansion, I like Montana and Montana St as potential adds that should be able to compete quickly. For 2025 though, I’m wondering how much bad blood their will be between the transitioning schools and the stay-behinds. Boise St is always a contender and I think Colorado St or Fresno St could join for the leavers. The stayers are led by UNLV and maybe a resurgent Wyoming (they tend to yo-yo seasons – good/bad/good/bad). However it plays out, there’s an extra chip on the shoulder this year that will add some drama.
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In the table below, (F) indicates a game against an FCS team, (G) indicates a non-conference game against a Group of 5 opponent, and (4) indicates a game against a Core 4 foe. There are no neutral site games scheduled. JoJo and I are proud to present the final time this lineup of the Mountain West Conference will be together:
| Team | Home | 2024 Record (Rank) | 2025 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games |
| Air Force Falcons (1) | Colorado Springs, CO | 5-7 (123) | 9.00 (18) | Bucknell (F), Boise St, Hawaii, Wyoming, Army (G), New Mexico | Utah St, Navy (G), UNLV, San Jose St, UCONN (G), Colorado St |
| Nevada Wolf Pack (2) | Reno, NV | 3-10 (107) | 7.69 (74) | Sacramento St (F), Middle Tennessee (G), San Diego St, Boise St, San Jose St, UNLV | Penn St (4), W Kentucky (G), Fresno St, New Mexico, Utah St, Wyoming |
| New Mexico Lobos (3) | Albuquerque, NM | 5-7 (142) | 7.65 (76) | Idaho St (F), New Mexico St (G), Nevada, Utah St, Colorado St, San Diego St | Michigan (4), UCLA (4), San Jose St, Boise St, UNLV, Air Force |
| Utah St Aggies (4) | Logan, UT | 4-8 (126) | 7.61 (80) | UTEP (G), Air Force, McNeese (F), San Jose St, Nevada, Boise St | Texas A&M (4), Vanderbilt (4), Hawaii, New Mexico, UNLV, Fresno St |
| UNLV Rebels (5) | Las Vegas, NV | 11-3 (29) | 7.47 (86) | UCLA (4), Idaho St (F), Air Force, New Mexico, Utah St, Hawaii | Sam Houston (G), Miami OH (G), Wyoming, Boise St, Colorado St, Nevada |
| Boise St Broncos (6) | Boise, ID | 12-2 (13) | 7.45 (87) | E Washington (F), App St (G), New Mexico, UNLV, Fresno St, Colorado St | South Florida (G), Air Force, Notre Dame (4), Nevada, San Diego St, Utah St |
| San Diego St Aztecs (7) | San Diego, CA | 3-9 (134) | 7.41 (89) | Stony Brook (F), California (4), Colorado St, Wyoming, Boise St, San Jose St | Washington St (G), N Illinois (G), Nevada, Fresno St, Hawaii, New Mexico |
| Fresno St Bulldogs (8) | Fresno, CA | 6-7 (117) | 7.08 (108) | Ga Southern (G), Southern (F), Nevada, San Diego St, Wyoming, Utah St | Kansas (4), Oregon St (G), Hawaii, Colorado St, Boise St, San Jose St |
| Colorado St Rams (9) | Fort Collins, CO | 8-5 (92) | 6.68 (114) | N Colorado (F), UTSA (G), Washington St (G), Fresno St, Hawaii, UNLV, Air Force | Washington (4), San Diego St, Wyoming, New Mexico, Boise St |
| Wyoming Cowboys (10) | Laramie, WY | 3-9 (108) | 6.69 (120) | N Iowa (F), Utah (4), UNLV, San Jose St, Colorado St, Nevada | Akron (G), Colorado (4), Air Force, San Diego St, Fresno St, Hawaii |
| Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (11) | Honolulu, HI | 5-7 (128) | 6.61 (123) | Stanford (4), Sam Houston (G), Portland St (F), Fresno St, Utah St, San Diego St, Wyoming | Arizona (4), Air Force, Colorado St, San Jose St, UNLV |
| San Jose St Spartans (12) | San Jose, CA | 7-6 (105) | 5.79 (134) | C Michigan (G), Idaho (F), New Mexico, Hawaii, Air Force, Fresno St | Texas (4), Stanford (4), Wyoming, Utah St, Nevada, San Diego St |
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That’s it for this week. JoJo and I thank you for the feedback first and foremost. We also are thankful for your readership and especially sharing with others. See you next time, JoJo and G
