Mountain West Conference Championship Predictions, Sleeper Teams and Busts – 2023 College Football Season

2023 Mountain West Conference Championship Preview

WagerTalk college football contributor Kyle Kargel gives his Mountain West Conference Championship betting preview heading into the 2023 college football season! Which MAC team could surprise some, disappoint and who is the best bet to win the conference championship come December? Read up on MAC Championship predictions, sleeper teams and busts now!

Stay on top of the latest free college football picks direct from WagerTalk!

Mountain West Teams	Odds to Win Mountain West Conference Championship
Boise State	+180
Fresno State	+380
Air Force	+400
San Diego State	+700
Wyoming	+1200
San Jose State	+1400
UNLV	+1800
Colorado State	+2000
Utah State	+3500
Nevada	+5500
New Mexico	+15000
Hawaii	+15000

 

Past Mountain West Conference Championship Winners

2022: Fresno State Bulldogs
2021: Utah State Aggies
2020: San Jose State Spartans
2019: Boise State Broncos
2018: Fresno State Bulldogs
2017: Boise State Broncos
2016: San Diego State Aztecs
2015: San Diego State Aztecs
2014: Boise State Broncos
2013: Fresno State Bulldogs

FREE WagerTalk 2023 College Football Guide!

Click the image below to download your FREE WagerTalk 2023 College Football Guide with 175 pages breaking down each and every FBS team including all Mountain West Conference teams! Two of the best in Ralph Michaels and Jeff Michaels put this comprehensive guide together so get prepped for the 2023 College Football season with WagerTalk!

 

Mountain West Conference Championship Sleeper – Colorado State (+2000)

With how wide open the Mountain West Conference should be this season, there are various reasons to consider Colorado State this year’s version of Utah State in 2021 who went from 1-5 in a shortened 2020 season to 11-3 in 2021 winning the Mountain West Championship.

The Rams will work tirelessly during the offseason to revamp an offensive line that allowed the most sacks of any FBS team in 2022.

They do return six starters on the offensive side of the ball including QB Clay Millen, RB Avery Morrow and WR Troy Horton. In addition Colorado State signed one of the highest recruits in school history in RB Damian Henderson.

Although this offensive line was one of the worst in the country Millen still completed 72% of his passes which was tops in the nation. That’s mostly due to the intense pressure he always received leading to mostly screens and short passes.

They NEED more production on offense though as they only scored 13.2 points per game! Their passing offense was bottom 25 in the nation and rushing offense bottom five.

We have to believe these stats will improve this season to go along with a defense returning 15 of their top 20 tacklers as they allowed less than 20 points per game during conference play.

They avoid playing Fresno State and close the season with games against Nevada and Hawaii. As long as this Rams team can go 3-3 or 4-2 heading into those last games, Colorado State should have an outside shot at winning the Mountain West Conference Championship.

Mountain West Conference Championship Bust – Fresno State (+380)

Fresno State rides nine straight wins into the 2023 season including a LA Bowl win over Washington State.

They started last season 1-4 en route to a Mountain West Championship which was won mostly due to QB Jake Haener getting healthy and returning after missing four games in the first part of the 2022 season. He’s off to the NFL now as well as RB Jordan Mims.

They also lost their top three receivers and offensive coordinator which will be a lot to make up if they want to repeat as Mountain West Conference Champions. Arguably their two best defensive players are gone as well in David Perales and Evan Williams.

This year’s QB battle will be between Logan Fife and UCF transfer Mikey Keene. Haener filled in for Haener last season throwing for only two touchdowns and six interceptions with Keene throwing for six touchdowns and one interception in four games played for the Golden Knights in 2022.

With so many changes on both sides of the ball for Fresno State we can’t see them repeating as Mountain West Conference Champions.

Mountain West Conference Championship Expert Prediction – Air Force (+400)

Junior Jensen Jones looks to be taking over at quarterback for the Falcons who rolled out the #1 total defense in the nation allowing only 256.4 total yards per game.

They were 3rd in scoring defense at just 13.3 ppg allowed and returning eight of 11 starters on that side of the ball. Jones will heavily lean on this defense as he takes over for former Falcons QB Haaziq Daniels.

All three losses in 2022 were one-score games en route to an Armed Forces Bowl win over Baylor 30-15. They return four starters on the offensive line that will be heavily relied upon as well as the top rusher (Brad Roberts) and top receiver (David Cormier) won’t be returning for Air Force.

That shouldn’t be a problem for this triple option offense that produced over 4,200 yards on the ground last season. They do return running back John Lee Eldridge III who compiled 99 rushing attempts at 7.7 yards per carry.

If you don’t include the shortened 2020 season this Air Force team has won 10 games in three straight seasons and plays the easiest schedule in the Mountain West Conference.

They avoid playing Fresno State this season and get Utah State and Wyoming both at home, who were two of the three losses for the Falcons in 2022.

As long as Jones can avoid making mistakes in the backfield and drain clock on the offensive side of the ball, look for this Falcons team to seriously compete for a Mountain West Championship come December.

College Football and NFL Week 1 Betting

Steve Merril and Teddy Covers run through betting tips and advice when it comes to betting the first week of college football and NFL action. Which type of approach should you be taking and how should you be betting? Listen to their insightful betting knowledge now!

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the run spreads, totals and betting percentages for all games across the Mountain West Conference and other sports leagues from your desktop or phone.

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

• Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
• Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
• Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.

Make sure to bookmark all the above!