2012 Mountain West Conference football season
The 2012 Mountain West Conference football season was the 14th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). In the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the MW had 10 football members: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, and Wyoming.
| 2012 Mountain West Conference football season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | August 30, 2012–January 2013 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | The Mtn., CBS Sports Network, Versus |
| 2013 NFL Draft | |
| Top draft pick | TE Gavin Escobar, San Diego State |
| Picked by | Dallas Cowboys, 47th overall |
| Regular season | |
| Co-champions | Fresno State, San Diego State, Boise State |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Boise State + | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State + | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State + | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNLV | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 1 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the second consecutive year in which the Mountain West saw changes in membership. After losing two of its charter members in 2011—BYU (WCC and football independent) and Utah (Pac-12)—the MW lost TCU, members since 2005, to the Big 12 in 2012. The conference reloaded with three new members—full conference members Fresno State and Nevada, and football-only Hawaiʻi.
This was originally intended to be the last season for Boise State and San Diego State in the MW. After the 2012–13 school year, both schools' football programs planned to join the Big East. Both schools also planned to join the Big West, a former conference home of both, for non-football sports. San Diego State, a charter member of the Big West, was set to return to that conference after a 35-year absence; Boise State was set to return after a 12-year absence. However, due to major instability in the Big East, culminating in the mass exodus of the conference's seven basketball-first schools in December 2012, Boise State chose to remain in the MW for 2013 and beyond.[1] San Diego State has since sought to remain in the MW, and as a part of Boise State's agreement to remain in the MW, the conference must offer an invitation to San Diego State to remain in the MW before it can invite any other school.[2]
In addition, San Jose State and Utah State will join the MW in 2013.
Previous season
Preseason
Award watch lists
The following Mountain West players were named to preseason award watch lists.
All–Conference Team
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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 | 6 | 34–18 | 34–18 | 21–11 |
| Boise State | Chris Petersen | 7 | 61–5 | 61–5 | 0–0* |
| Colorado State | Jim McElwain | 1 | |||
| Fresno State | Tim DeRuyter | 1 | |||
| Hawaiʻi | Norm Chow | 1 | |||
| Nevada | Chris Ault | 24 | 226–103–1 | 226–103–1 | |
| New Mexico | Bob Davie | 1 | |||
| San Diego State | Rocky Long | 2 | 65–69 | 0–0 | 40–34^ |
| UNLV | Bobby Hauck | 3 | 82–28 | 2–11 | 2–6 |
| Wyoming | Dave Christensen | 4 | 10–15 | 10–15 | 5–11 |
*first year as conference member, ^achieved as head coach of New Mexico from 99–08
Rankings
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| Boise State | AP | 24 | RV | RV | 24 | 24 | RV | 24 | 24 | 21 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | 18 |
| C | 22 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 14 | |
| Harris | Not released | 22 | 23 | 19 | 17 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 15 | |||||||
| BCS | Not released | 22 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 19 | ||||||||||
| Colorado State | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| Hawaiʻi | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| UNLV | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | AP | ||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||
| Harris | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
| BCS | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Bowl games
The Mountain West Conference will have agreements with the following bowls for 2012–13:
- The MW champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if they are the highest ranked non-automatic qualifying conference champion and either of the following:
- Ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Rankings. (Utah qualified under this criterion in 2004-05 and 2008–09, and TCU in 2009-10 and 2010–11.)
- Ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Rankings and its ranking is higher than that of an automatic qualifying conference champion.
| Pick | Name | Location | Opposing Conference | Opposing Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maaco Bowl Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada | Pac-12 | 5 |
| 2 | Poinsettia Bowl | San Diego, California | BYU (2012), Army (2013) | – |
| 3 | Armed Forces Bowl | Fort Worth, Texas | C-USA (2012), Navy (2013) | 3, – |
| 4 | New Mexico Bowl | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Pac-12 | 7 |
| 5 | Hawai'i Bowl | Honolulu, Hawaii | C-USA | 2 |
If Hawai‘i is bowl eligible and not MW champions or selected for a BCS bowl, they will receive a berth in the Hawai‘i Bowl.
Regular season
| Index to colors and formatting |
|---|
| Mountain West member won |
| Mountain West member lost |
| Mountain West teams in bold |
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.
The Mountain West has teams in 3 different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (Mountain—Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Wyoming; Pacific—Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, UNLV; Hawaii-Aleutian—Hawaiʻi). Conference games start times are that of the home team.
Week One
| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 8:00 pm | Minnesota | UNLV | Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV | CBSSN | L Minn 30-27 | 16,013 | |
| August 31 | 6:00 pm | No. 24 Boise State | No. 13 Michigan State | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | ESPN | L MSU 17-13 | 78,709 | |
| September 1 | 12:00 pm | Idaho State | Air Force | Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO | W AF 49-21 | 35,282 | ||
| September 1 | 12:00 pm | Nevada | California | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA | P12N | W NV 31-24 | 63,186 | |
| September 1 | 1:30 pm | Hawaii | No. 1 USC | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FOX | L USC | 93,607 | |
| September 1 | 2:00 pm | Colorado State | Colorado | Sports Authority Field at Mile High • Denver, CO | FX | W CSU 22-17 | 58,607 | |
| September 1 | 3:00 pm | Southern | New Mexico | University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM | W NM 66-21 | 28,450 | ||
| September 1 | 6:00 pm | Wyoming | No. 15 Texas | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX | LHN | L UT 37-17 | 101,142 | |
| September 1 | 7:00 pm | Weber State | Fresno State | Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA | W FSU 37-10 | 27,663 | ||
| September 1 | 7:30 pm | San Diego | Washington | CenturyLink Field • Seattle, WA | P12N | L UW 21-12 | 53,742 | |
| #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. | ||||||||
Home 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 | 52,480 | 35,282 | 38,562 | 38,927 | 29,726 | 24,277 | 25,213 | — | 191,987 | 31,998 | 60.97% |
| Boise State | Bronco Stadium | 37,000 | 34,178 | 36,864 | 35,742 | 36,012 | 36,084 | 33,545 | — | 212,425 | 35,404 | 95.69% |
| Colorado State | Hughes Stadium | 34,400 | 23,567 | 23,374 | 25,814 | 16,573 | 13,887 | 12,286 | — | 115,501 | 19,250 | 55.96% |
| Fresno State | Bulldog Stadium | 41,031 | 27,663 | 27,513 | 33,894 | 29,423 | 30,755 | 36,240 | — | 185,488 | 30,915 | 75.35% |
| Hawaiʻi | Aloha Stadium | 50,000 | 31,442 | 31,417 | 31,632 | 29,471 | 28,359 | 27,865 | — | 180,186 | 30,031 | 60.06% |
| Nevada | Mackay Stadium | 29,993 | 22,804 | 19,399 | 24,025 | 22,242 | 22,104 | 30,017 | — | 140,591 | 23,432 | 78.12% |
| New Mexico | University Stadium | 38,634 | 28,450 | 28,270 | 22,135 | 19,856 | 17,839 | 17,290 | — | 133,840 | 22,307 | 57.74% |
| San Diego State | Qualcomm Stadium | 71,294 | 30,799 | 24,826 | 24,103 | 50,586 | 27,133 | 23,874 | 30,266 | 211,587 | 30,227 | 42.40% |
| UNLV | Sam Boyd Stadium | 36,800 | 16,013 | 15,257 | 17,015 | 14,054 | 20,565 | 12,835 | 10,717 | 106,456 | 15,208 | 41.33% |
| Wyoming | War Memorial Stadium | 34,000 | 21,688 | 21,728 | 22,627 | 17,855 | 20,055 | 13,374 | — | 117,327 | 19,555 | 57.51% |
References
- McMurphy, Brett (December 31, 2012). "Boise St. sticking with Mountain West". ESPN. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- Dodd, Dennis (January 2, 2013). "Boise State: San Diego State must be next invite to Mountain West". College Football Insider. CBS Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- "Football Club News". Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Football Club News". Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "John Mackey Award". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- "2011 Biletnikoff Award watch list | No 2 Minute Warning". No2minutewarning.com. July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "FWAA > News > Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List". Sportswriters.net. July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "FWAA > News > Outland Trophy Watch List". Sportswriters.net. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "2011 Thorpe Award Watch List Released | The Jim Thorpe Association and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame". Jimthorpeassoc.org. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "The 2011 Official Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List Released". Rotarylombardiaward.com. July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Rimington Trophy". Rimington Trophy. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "2011 DAVEY O'BRIEN WATCH LIST - Davey O'Brien". Blog.daveyobrien.org. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Doak Walker Award". Smu.edu. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Forty named to Walter Camp list". NCAA.com. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Watch List". Lott IMPACT Trophy. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- "Current Watch List | PB Sports Commission - Lou Groza". Lougrozaaward.com. September 19, 2009. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2012.