Boise State Looks Like the Team To Beat in the Mountain West

Incoming and Outgoing Transfer To Impact the 2024 Mountain West Race

Thanks to the destruction of the Pac-12 Conference and the new College Football Playoff format guaranteeing that the champion from the five highest rated conferences will be a part of the 12-team field, there is plenty for conferences like the Mountain West to be excited about.

Boise State leads the way at +125 in the 2024 Mountain West NCAAF Futures, with Fresno State (+410) and UNLV (+500) not far behind.

Boise State is priced at +40000 in the odds of winning the national title and that is the best number among the teams from the Group of Five conferences.

There is a new wrinkle in the Mountain West as longtime Pac-12 members Oregon State and Washington State will play a conference schedule after the end of the Pac-12 but will not be eligible for the 2024 Mountain West title game.

The season begins on Aug. 24 when Hawai’i faces Delaware State, New Mexico meets up with Montana State, and Nevada is the 20.5-point underdog against Southern Methodist. Colorado State faces national-title contender Texas on Aug. 31. On the same day, UNLV is at Houston, Fresno State plays reigning national champion Michigan, Hawai’i is back on the field to meet up with UCLA while New Mexico is at Arizona and Wyoming plays at Arizona State.

Those who love the underdogs in the NCAAF free picks will have plenty of options in the first couple of weeks of the season, with Mountain West programs scheduling teams from the four power conferences.

A Look At the Contenders

Boise State is an annual contender in the Mountain West. While there are plenty of returning players for the Broncos, they have also brought in plenty of former Pac-12 players through the transfer portal.

Southern California quarterback Malachi Nelson, California cornerback Jeremiah Earby, and Washington cornerback Davon Banks join Ball State edge rusher Tavion Woodard, LSU tight end Connor Gilbreath, and Villanova tight end Mitchell Bothwell as transfers to keep an eye on. It is no wonder that after winning the Mountain West title game in 2023, the 2024 Mountain West NCAAF Futures favor Boise State to win the championship once again.

Boise State looks to become the first team to win the Mountain West championship game in back-to-back years since San Diego State in 2014 and 2015.

Fresno State brought in edge rusher Korey Foreman and defensive lineman Deijon Laffitte, Missouri State receiver Raylen Sharpe, Arizona State cornerback RJ Regan, and San Jose State defensive lineman as the Bulldogs try to take the next step after finishing two games out of first place in the 2023 Mountain West race.

UNLV won the Mountain West regular-season title a season ago and looks to make it two titles in a row. The Rebels should be ready for conference play with non-league matchups with Houston, Kansas, and Syracuse.

Safety Jalen Catalon and receiver Casey Cain come in from Texas, cornerback Tony Grimes transferred in from Texas A&M, while former Yale star Clay Patterson could be a huge pickup.

Teams to Keep An Eye On

Colorado State is priced at +1000 to win the Mountain West and would probably be higher in the Mountain West pecking order if not for the departures of cornerback TJ Crandall and defensive lineman Grandy Kelly. Five of the top 18 tacklers in 2023 were freshmen, and the same was true of quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi.

Air Force and Wyoming are both at +1400 to win the conference according to the 2024 Mountain West NCAAF Futures odds.

Air Force was picked to finish second in the 2023 Mountain West preseason poll and ended up a game out of first place while Wyoming also finished 5-3 in conference play.

San Diego State and Utah State are both priced at +2000 to win the conference title while San Jose State, which finished in a three-way tie for first place in 2023, is tied with Hawaii for ninth +4500 in the Mountain West odds.

Finding A New Home

It will be interesting to see what happens with Oregon State and Washington State after they got left behind in the college realignment universe when the rest of the Pac-12 teams landed in the ACC, Big Ten, or Big 12.

They will be playing Mountain West teams rather than a Pac-12 schedule.

Oregon State is priced at +50000 in the NCAAF odds to win the national title with Washington State at +80000 in the championship odds.

The Beavers and Cougars aren’t eligible to play in the 2024 Mountain West football title game.

Both teams were hit hard by outgoing transfers. Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is now at Florida State with star running back Damien Martinez at Miami.

Washington State quarterback Cam Ward considered entering the NFL Draft before deciding to continue his college career at Miami while receiver Josh Key is now at Texas Tech. The NCAAF scoreboard updates for the Texas Tech-Washington State matchup in Week 2 of the college football season could be monitored a little closer because of Key’s move to Texas Tech.

There is plenty of work that needs to be done for both of these programs.

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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