MW rankings: Pack plummets to No. 11 after poor outing vs. Rams

Nevada Wolf Pack coach Jeff Choate isn't all that concerned, it seems, about winning games right now.

"What's delayed is not denied," Choate said after a 38-21 loss at Mackay Stadium to the Colorado State Rams (according to nevadawolfpack.com). "What we're doing here, what we're building here, it's going to be good."

The Wolf Pack, which fell to No. 11 in this week's Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, has not been good for a while. The Pack has now lost four of its last five games to guarantee its third consecutive losing season without a bowl invite. Choate, though, says his timeline for the Wolf Pack (3-7, 0-4) to become competitive is up to him.

"I know the Wolf Pack faithful and everybody who has skin in the game wants it to happen overnight," Choate said. "But this didn't fall apart overnight and it's not going to be rebuilt overnight. We're going to get this thing squared away. It may not be tomorrow but it's coming."

It was a comedy of errors (a fumble, penalty and a blunder on a kickoff return) by the Wolf Pack that led to 11 Colorado State points early in the second half. The No. 3 Rams (6-3, 4-0) scored touchdowns on its first two drive on runs by Avery Morrow and Justin Marshall to take a 14-0 lead and never let the Wolf Pack get any closer the rest of the game.

Colorado State became bowl eligible with the victory at Nevada for the first time since it lost to Marshall, 31-28, in the 2017 New Mexico Bowl. 

"I think our team has a lot in them," Rams' coach Jay Norvell told The Coloradoan. "We haven't even scratched the surface of how good we can be. (Qualifying for a bowl) is big. That's always a goal. So, we had bigger fish to fry than just this game (at Nevada). We have bigger goals."

The Rams are currently tied for first in the Mountain West at 4-0 with No. 1 Boise State (7-1, 4-0) with just three games to play. The top two teams will meet in the conference championship game. No. 2 UNLV (6-2, 2-1) is also clearly in the running for the conference title game despite its 29-24 loss to Boise State two weeks ago. Boise State and Colorado State will not meet in the regular season this year.

Boise State whipped San Diego State, 56-24, on Friday as quarterback Maddux Madsen was 24-of-32 for 307 yards and four touchdowns (three to Latrell Caples). No. 7 San Diego State (3-5, 2-1) concentrated on stopping Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and succeeded in the first half, holding the Heisman Trophy candidate to just 37 yards on 14 carries in the first 30 minutes. Jeanty, though, responded with 112 yards in the third quarter to finish with 149 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries before sitting out the fourth quarter.

"We were getting the kitchen sink thrown at us in terms of (San Diego State) stopping the run," Boise State coach Spencer Danielson told the Associated Press. "But the throws Maddux made was what we needed."

"We did a great job of putting multiple hats in the box early on," San Diego State coach Sean Lewis told the Associated Press. "Ashton Jeanty gets the lion's share of the ink and rightfully so. But because of the number of hats, you have to commit (to stopping Jeanty) it opens up and exposes you to other aspects like their throwing game."

No. 4 Hawaii (4-5, 2-2) stunned No. 5 Fresno State (5-4, 3-2) with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Schager to Nick Cenacle with 15 seconds left for a 21-20 victory on the road in front of a crowd of 41,575. Schager was 29-of-53 for 244 yards and three touchdowns as Cenacle caught 12 passes for 113 yards and two scores.

Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene was 25-of-31 for 157 yards and one touchdown but was sacked four times. Hawaii held Fresno State's ground game to a mere 19 yards on 21 carries and outgained the Bulldogs, 346-176 overall.

"The biggest takeaway for us was to finish," Fresno State coach Tim Skipper said to gobulldogs.com. "We had control for most of the game. We were doing what we wanted to do. But we have to finish."

Fresno's Phoenix Jackson returned an interception of a Schager pass for a 20-7 lead in the third quarter before Hawaii rallied to win on two Schager-to-Cenacle scores in the final nine minutes.

The wildest game in the Mountain West last weekend took place in front of just 15,046 fans in Albuquerque as Wyoming beat New Mexico, 49-45. The two teams combined for 1,180 total yards.

"It wasn't clean enough," New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall told golobos.com. "It wasn't precise enough and not effective enough to win the game."

No. 9 New Mexico (3-6, 2-3) ran for 412 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries. All 29 carries were shared by running back Eli Sanders (17 for 205 yards and two touchdowns) and quarterback Devon Dampier (12-207-3).

No. 8 Wyoming (2-7, 2-3) was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Kaden Anderson, who was making his first career start. Anderson was 20-of-29 for 342 yards and three touchdowns.

"It's almost like he's a natural," said Wyoming running back Harrison Waylee, who had 170 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season after recovering from a knee injury. "He's going to be something special, for sure."

No. 12 Air Force (1-7, 0-4) lost to Army, 20-3, for its seventh consecutive loss. Air Force has lost 11 of 13 games since starting last season 8-0.

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings for the week of Nov. 4:

1. BOISE STATE (7-1, 4-0): Last week: Boise State 56, San Diego State 24. This week: Nevada at Boise State (Saturday).

2. UNLV (6-2, 2-1): Last week: Bye. This week: UNLV at Hawaii (Saturday).

3. COLORADO STATE (6-3, 4-0): Last week: Colorado State 38, Nevada 21. This week: Bye.

4. HAWAII (4-5, 2-2): Last week: Hawaii 21, Fresno State 20. This week: UNLV at Hawaii (Saturday).

5. FRESNO STATE (5-4, 3-2): Last week: Hawaii 21, Fresno State 20. This week: Fresno State at Air Force (Saturday).

6. SAN JOSE STATE (5-3, 3-2): Last week: Bye. This week: San Jose State at Oregon State (Saturday).

7. SAN DIEGO STATE (3-5, 2-1): Last week: Boise State 56, San Diego State 24. This week: New Mexico at San Diego State (Saturday).

8. WYOMING (2-7, 2-3): Last week: Wyoming 49, New Mexico 45. This week: Bye.

9. NEW MEXICO (3-6, 2-3): Last week: Wyoming 49, New Mexico 45. This week: New Mexico at San Diego State (Friday).

10. UTAH STATE (2-6, 1-3): Last week: Bye. This week: Utah State at Washington State (Saturday).

11. NEVADA (3-7, 0-4): Last week: Colorado State 38, Nevada 21. This week: Nevada at Boise State (Saturday).

12. AIR FORCE (1-7, 0-4): Last week: Army 20, Air Force 3. This week: Fresno State at Air Force (Saturday).