2015 Mountain West Conference football season

2015 Mountain West Conference football season
League NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport Football
Duration August 2015–January 2016
Number of teams 12
TV partner(s) CBS Sports Network, ABC, FOX, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS
Regular Season
Mountain Division champions Air Force Falcons
  Mountain Division runners-up Boise State Broncos
West Division champions San Diego State Aztecs
  West Division runners-up Nevada Wolfpack
2015 Mountain West football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Mountain Division
Air Force x   6 – 2         8 – 6  
New Mexico   5 – 3         7 – 6  
Utah State   5 – 3         6 – 7  
Boise State   5 – 3         9 – 4  
Colorado State   5 – 3         7 – 6  
Wyoming   2 – 6         2 – 10  
West Division
San Diego State x$   8 – 0         11 – 3  
Nevada   4 – 4         7 – 6  
San Jose State   4 – 4         6 – 7  
Fresno State   2 – 6         3 – 9  
UNLV   2 – 6         3 – 9  
Hawaii   0 – 8         3 – 10  
Championship: San Diego State 27, Air Force 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Mountain West Conference football season was the 17th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). In the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the MW had 12 football members: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, and Wyoming.

Pre-season

Mountain West Media

2015 Mountain West Media Day will be held at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV on July 28, 2015.

Preseason polls

Place Mountain Division West Division
1 Boise State (28) 177 San Diego State (27) 177
2 Utah State (2) 150 Fresno State (3) 141
3 Colorado State 108 Nevada 113
4 Air Force 90 San Jose State 91
5 Wyoming 64 Hawai'i 70
6 New Mexico 41 UNLV 38

Preseason All-Mountain West Teams

Offense
Position Player Class Team
QB Chuckie Keeton SR Utah State
RB Donnel Pumphrey* JR San Diego State
RB Marteze Waller** SR Fresno State
WR Rashard Higgins* JR Colorado State
WR Devonte Boyd** SO UNLV
TE Steven Walker* SR Colorado State
OL Marcus Henry* SR Boise State
OL Rees Odhiambo** SR Boise State
OL Alex Fifita SR Fresno State
OL Ben Clarke SR Hawai'i
OL Pearce Slater SR San Diego State
Defense
Position Player Class Team
DL Alex Hansen** SR Air Force
DL Kamalei Correa* JR Boise State
DL Ian Seau** SR Nevada
DL Eddie Yarbrough* SR Wyoming
LB Tanner Vallejo** JR Boise State
LB Kyler Fackrell SR Utah State
LB Nick Vigil* JR Utah State
DB Weston Steelhammer* JR Air Force
DB Donte Deayon** SR Boise State
DB Darian Thompson* SR Boise State
DB Damontae Kazee** JR San Diego State
Specialists
Position Player Class Team
P Alex Boy** SR Nevada
PK Donny Hageman SR San Diego State
Ret. Carlos Wiggins SR New Mexico
Rashard Higgins, Jr., WR, Colorado State
Kyler Fackrell, Sr., LB, Utah State
Donny Hageman, Sr., PK, San Diego State

(* - member of the 2014 All-Mountain West first team)

(** - member of the 2014 All-Mountain West second team)

Award watch lists

The following Mountain West players were named to preseason award watch lists.

Maxwell Award:[1]

  • Rashard Higgins–Colorado State
  • Chuckie Keeton–Utah State
  • Donnel Pumphrey–San Diego State

Chuck Bednarik Award:[2]

  • Kamalei Correa–Boise State
  • Kyler Fackrell–Utah State
  • Darian Thompson–Boise State

John Mackey Award:[3]

  • Kivon Cartwright–Colorado State
  • Billy Freeman–San Jose State
  • Jarred Gipson–Nevada
  • Jake Phillips–UNLV
  • Steven Walker–Colorado State

Fred Biletnikoff Award:[4]

  • Devonte Boyd–UNLV
  • Rashard Higgins–Colorado State
  • Jalen Robinette–Air Force
  • Hunter Sharp–Utah State
  • Thomas Sperbeck–Boise State

Bronko Nagurski Trophy:[5]

  • Kamalei Correa–Boise State
  • Kyler Fackrell–Utah State
  • Ian Seau–Nevada
  • Darian Thompson–Boise State

Outland Trophy:[6]

  • Austin Corbett–Nevada
  • Marcus Henry–Boise State

Jim Thorpe Award:[7]

  • Donte Deayon–Boise State
  • Damontae Kazee–San Diego State
  • Trent Matthews–Colorado State
  • Weston Steelhammer–Air Force
  • Darian Thompson–Boise State
  • JJ Whitaker–San Diego State

Lombardi Award:[8]

  • Kamalei Correa–Boise State
  • Marcus Henry–Boise State
  • Rees Odhiambo–Boise State
  • Tanner Vallejo–Boise State
  • Ben Clarke–Hawai'i
  • Ian Seau–Nevada
  • Alex Barrett–San Diego State
  • Darrell Greene–San Diego State
  • Pearce Slater–San Diego State
  • Christian Tago–San Diego State
  • Nick Vigil–Utah State
  • Kyler Fackrell–Utah State
  • Eddie Yarbrough–Wyoming

Rimington Trophy:[9]

  • Bo Bonnheim–Fresno State
  • Austin Stephens–Utah State
  • Marcus Henry–Boise State

Davey O'Brien Award:[10]

  • Chuckie Keeton–Utah State

Doak Walker Award:[11]

  • Tyler Ervin–San Jose State
  • Brian Hill–Wyoming
  • Marteze Waller–Fresno State
  • Shaun Wick–Wyoming
  • LaJuan Hunt–Utah State
  • Don Jackson–Nevada
  • Donnel Pumphrey–San Diego State

Walter Camp Award:[12]

  • Rashard Higgins–Colorado State
  • Darian Thompson–Boise State

Lott Trophy:[13]

  • Calvin Munson–San Diego State
  • Weston Steelhammer–Air Force

Lou Groza Award:[14]

  • Donny Hageman–San Diego State

Coaches

NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team Head Coach Years at School Overall Record Record at School MW Record
Air Force Troy Calhoun 9 59–44 59–44 34–30
Boise State Bryan Harsin 2 19–7 12–2 7–1
Colorado State Mike Bobo 1 1–0 1–0 0-0
Fresno State Tim DeRuyter 4 27–14 26–14 19–5
Hawaiʻi Norm Chow 4 8-29 8-29 4-20
Nevada Brian Polian 3 11-14 11-14 7-9
New Mexico Bob Davie 4 46-51 11-26 4-20
San Diego State Rocky Long 4 97–89 32-20 22–9
San José State Ron Caragher 3 53-37 9-15 7-9
UNLV Tony Sanchez 1 0–1 0–1 0–0
Utah State Matt Wells 3 19-9 19-9 13-3
Wyoming Craig Bohl 2 108–40 4–8 2–6

*first year as conference member, ^achieved as head coach of New Mexico from 99–08

Rankings

Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Unranked the previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
  Pre Wk
2 		Wk
3 		Wk
4 		Wk
5 		Wk
6 		Wk
7 		Wk
8 		Wk
9 		Wk
10 		Wk
11 		Wk
12 		Wk
13 		Wk
14 		Wk
15 		Final
Air Force AP RV RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released
Boise State AP 23 20 RV RV RV 25 21 RV RV RV
C 24 22 RV RV RV 24 20 RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Colorado State AP
C
CFP Not released
Fresno State AP
C
CFP Not released
Hawaiʻi AP
C
CFP Not released
Nevada AP
C
CFP Not released
New Mexico AP
C
CFP Not released
San Diego State AP RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
San José State AP
C
CFP Not released
UNLV AP
C
CFP Not released
Utah State AP RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released
Wyoming AP
C
CFP Not released
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Unranked the previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

Schedule

Championship game

The championship game was played on December 5, 2015. It featured the Air Force Falcons, champions of the Mountain Division, and the San Diego State Aztecs, champions of the West Division. The game was played at Qualcomm Stadium in front of 20,959. San Diego State won the game 27-24 to claim their first outright conference championship since 1986, and their first ever outright Mountain West Conference championship.[15]

Bowl games

Bowl Game Date Stadium City Television Team Matchups Winning Team Score Losing Team Score
New Mexico Bowl December 19 University Stadium Albuquerque ESPN Arizona vs. New Mexico Arizona 45 New Mexico 37
Cure Bowl December 19 Orlando Citrus Bowl Orlando CBSSN San Jose State vs. Georgia State San Jose State 27 Georgia State 16
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 22 Albertsons Stadium Boise ESPN Akron vs. Utah State Akron 23 Utah State 21
Poinsettia Bowl December 23 Qualcomm Stadium San Diego ESPN Boise State vs. Northern Illinois Boise State 55 Northern Illinois 7
Hawai'i Bowl December 24 Aloha Stadium Honolulu ESPN San Diego State vs. Cincinnati San Diego State 42 Cincinnati 7
Armed Forces Bowl December 29 Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth ESPN California vs. Air Force California 55 Air Force 36
Arizona Bowl December 29 Arizona Stadium Tucson ASN Nevada vs. Colorado State Nevada 28 Colorado State 23

Mountain West vs Power Conference matchups

Records against other conferences

2015 records against non-conference foes:

Regular Season

Power 5 Conferences Record
ACC 1–0
Big Ten 0–6
Big 12 0–0
Pac 12 2–10
SEC 0–3
Notre Dame 0–0
Power 5 Total 3–19
Other FBS Conferences Record
American 0–2
C-USA 1–0
MAC 1–2
Sun Belt 1–2
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame) 1–2
Other FBS Total 5–10
FCS Opponents Record
Football Championship Subdivision 11–1
Total Non-Conference Record 19–30

Post Season

Power Conferences Record
Pac 12 0–2
Power 5 Total 0–2
Other FBS Conferences Record
American 1–0
MAC 1–1
Sun Belt 1–0
Total Bowl Record 4–4

Awards and honors

All Conference teams

[16]

Offense:

Pos. Name Yr. School Name Yr. School
First Team
Second Team
QB Brett Rypien FR. Boise State Nick Stevens SO. Colorado State
WR Thomas Sperbeck JR. Boise State Devonte Boyd** SO. UNLV
WR Rashard Higgins* JR. Colorado State Hunter Sharp SR. Utah State
RB Donnel Pumphrey* JR. San Diego State Jeremy McNichols SO. Boise State
RB Tyler Ervin SR. San Jose State Brian Hill SO. Wyoming
TE Billy Freeman JR. San Jose State Jake Roh SO. Boise State
OL Sevrin Remmo SR. Air Force A.J. Ruechel SR. Air Force
OL Marcus Henry SR. Boise State Fred Zerblis JR. Colorado State
OL Rees Odhiambo SR. Boise State Alex Fifita SR. Fresno State
OL Nico Siragusa JR. San Diego State Wes Schweitzer SR. San Jose State
OL Pearce Slater SR. San Diego State Chase Roullier JR. Wyoming
PK Tyler Rausa JR. Boise State Brent Zuzo JR. Nevada
PR/KR Rashaad Penny SO. San Diego State Carlos Wiggins SR. New Mexico

Defense:

Pos. Name Yr. School Name Yr. School
First Team
Second Team
DL Alex Hansen SR. Air Force Kamalei Correa JR. Boise State
DL Kennedy Tulimasealii JR. Hawai'i Cory James SR. Colorado State
DL Ian Seau SR. Nevada Lenny Jones SR. Nevada
DL Alex Barrett JR. San Diego State Eddie Yarbrough SR. Wyoming
LB Calvin Munson JR. San Diego State Ejiro Ederaine** SR. Fresno State
LB Kyler Fackrell SR. Utah State Jake Fely** SR. San Diego State
LB Nick Vigil* JR. Utah State Christian Tago JR. San Jose State
DB Roland Ladipo JR. Air Force Donte Deayon*** SR. Boise State
DB Weston Steelhammer* JR. Air Force Dameon Baber FR. Nevada
DB Darian Thompson* SR. Boise State J.J. Whittaker** SR. San Diego State
DB Damontae Kazee JR. San Diego State Andrew Wingard FR. Wyoming
P Michael Carrizosa SO. San Jose State Hayden Hunt JR. Colorado State

(* - Two-Time First-Team Selection)
(** - Two-Time Second-Team Selection)
(*** - Three-Time Second-Team Selection)

All-Academic

[17]

Home game attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Total Average % of Capacity
Air Force Falcon Stadium 46,692 33,734 22,389 22,023 20,213 37,716 20,083 — 156,158 26,026 55.7%
Boise State Bronco Stadium 36,387 36,836 33,868 35,907 31,946 32,780 30,332 — 201,669 33,611 92.4%
Colorado State Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium 32,500 24,571 32,500 26,117 32,546 18,125 15,641 — 149,500 24,916 76.7%
Fresno State Bulldog Stadium 41,031 32,547 33,675 30,540 25,604 25,476 26,375 — 174,217 29,036 70.8%
Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium 50,000 24,255 25,714 28,543 22,430 21,485 20,320 21,284 164,031 23,433 46.9%
Nevada Mackay Stadium 30,000 21,483 24,355 29,551 20,426 19,992 17,215 — 133,022 22,170 73.9%
New Mexico University Stadium 39,224 21,930 24,167 30,900 20,541 19,886 21,643 18,868 157,935 22,562 57.5%
San José State Spartan Stadium 30,456 15,198 17,264 16,339 11,646 15,652 15,770 — 91,869 15,311 50.3%
San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium 54,000 48,785† 18,194 29,996 25,898 36,688 22,939 20,959 203,459 29,065 53.8%
Utah State Maverik Stadium 25,513 21,209 22,059 22,509 20,964 18,922 22,509 — 128,172 21,362 83.7%
UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium 35,500 31,262 16,717 19,190 14,315 20,006 14,738 — 116,228 19,371 54.6%
Wyoming War Memorial Stadium 29,181 23,669 19,112 18,723 17,026 18,682 11,149 — 108,361 18,060 61.9%

Bold – Exceed capacity
†Season High

References

  1. ↑ "Football Club News". Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  2. ↑ "Football Club News". Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  3. ↑ http://www.johnmackeyaward.org/
  4. ↑ "2015 Biletnikoff Award watch list". Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  5. ↑ "2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list announced". NCAA. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  6. ↑ "2015 Outland Trophy preseason watch list released". NCAA. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  7. ↑ "Jim Thorpe Award Watch List Announced". Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  8. ↑ "2015 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List Announced". Rotarylombardiaward.com. 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  9. ↑ "Rimington Trophy Official Website: Trophy Watchlist". Rimington Trophy. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  10. ↑ "2015 Davey O’Brien Award watch list for nation's top quarterback released". NCAA. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  11. ↑ "2015 Doak Walker Award Candidates". Smu.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  12. ↑ Video Headline: (2015-07-17). "2015 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List Announced". Walter Camp Football Foundation. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  13. ↑ "Watch List". Lott IMPACT Trophy. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  14. ↑ "Current Watch List PB Sports Commission - Lou Groza". Lougrozaaward.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  15. ↑ themw.com
  16. ↑ "All-MW Conference Football Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. December 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Fall 2015 Academic All-Mountain West Team Announced, Mountain West Conference, February 11, 2016
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