2016 Mountain West Conference football season

Sports season

The 2016 Mountain West Conference football season was the 18th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). In the 2016 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

2016 Mountain West Football Media Days were held on July 26 & 27 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip.^[1]

Preseason polls

Reference:^[2]

• First place votes in parentheses

Preseason All-Mountain West Teams

Reference:^[3]

• Preseason Offensive Player of the Year:

Donnel Pumphrey, SR., RB, San Diego State

• Preseason Defensive Player of the Year:

Damontae Kazee, SR., DB, San Diego State

• Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year:

Rashaad Penny, JR., KR, San Diego State

(* - member of the 2015 All-Mountain West first team)

(** - member of the 2015 All-Mountain West second team)

Award watch lists

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

Coaches

NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Rankings

Championship game

The Championship Game was played between the San Diego State Aztecs, champions of the West Division, and the Wyoming Cowboys, champions of the Mountain Division, on December 3, 2016, at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming. The Aztecs won 27–24, repeating as champions. Running back Rashaad Penny of San Diego State was the offensive MVP, and defensive back Damontae Kazee of San Diego State was the defensive MVP.

Bowl games

Mountain West vs Power Conference matchups

Records against other conferences

2016 records against non-conference foes:

Awards and honors

All Conference teams

^[19]

• Offensive Player of the Year: Donnel Pumphrey, SR., RB, San Diego State
• Defensive Player of the Year: Damontae Kazee, SR., DB, San Diego State
• Special Teams Player of the Year: Rashaad Penny, JR., KR, San Diego State
• Freshman of the Year: Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming
• Coach of the Year: Craig Bohl, Wyoming

Offense:

Defense:

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Air Force: Haji Dunn, Sr., LB; Tim McVey, Jr., KR; Colin Sandor, Sr., OL; Dylan Vail, Sr., OL.
• Boise State: Steven Baggett, Sr., OL; Mason Hampton, Jr., OL; Tanner Vallejo, Sr., LB; Cedrick Wilson, Jr., WR.
• Colorado State: Nick Callender, Sr., OL; Nick Stevens, Jr., QB; Paul Thurston, Sr., OL.
• Fresno State: Stratton Brown, Sr., DB; KeeSean Johnson, So., WR; Kody Kroening, Jr., P.
• Hawai'i: Trayvon Henderson, Jr., DB; Marcus Kemp, Sr., WR; Leo Koloamatangi, Sr., OL; Meffy Koloamatangi, Jr., DL; Jalen Rogers, Sr., DB; Rigoberto Sanchez, Sr., PK/P.
• Nevada: James Butler, Jr., RB; Wyatt Demps, Jr., WR; Asauni Rufus, So., DB.
• New Mexico: Dakota Cox, Sr., LB; Daniel Henry, Sr., DB; Aaron Jenkins, So., OL; Jason Sanders, Jr., PK.
• San Diego State: Kyle Kelley, Sr., DL; Quest Truxton, Jr., PR.
• San Jose State: Michael Carrizosa, Jr., P; Isaiah Irving, Sr., DL; Jeremiah Kolone, Jr., OL; Maurice McKnight, Jr., DB; Christian Tago, Sr., LB.
• UNLV: Troy Hawthorne, Sr., DB; Mike Hughes, Jr., DL; Nathan Jacobson, So., OL; Will Kreitler, Sr., OL; Torry McTyer, Sr., DB.
• Utah State: Austin Albrecht, Sr., OL; Ricky Ali'ifua, Sr., DL; Wyatt Houston, Sr., TE; Jake Simonich, Sr., OL; Austin Stephens, Sr., OL.
• Wyoming: Lucas Wacha, Sr., LB

Home game attendance

Bold – Exceed capacity
†Season High

References

1. "2016 Mountain West Football Media Days". Mountain West Conference. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
2. "Boise State, San Diego State, Picked to Win 2016 Mountain West Football Divisional Titles". Mountain West Conference. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
3. "2016 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team". Mountain West Conference. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
4. "Maxwell Football Club Announces Maxwell And Bednarik Watch Lists for 2016". July 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
5. "2016 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List" (PDF). July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
6. "Rimington Trophy Official Website:Trophy Watchlist". July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
7. "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2016 Preseason Watch List". July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
8. "2016 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List Announced". July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
9. "College football: 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list announced". FWAA. July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
10. "2016 Outland Trophy Watch List Unveiled". July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
11. "2016 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List". July 11, 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
12. "The Butkus Award 2016 Collegiate Watchlist". July 12, 2016. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
13. "2016 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
14. "College football: Wuerffel Trophy unveils record 2016 watch list". July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
15. "Davey O'Brien Award announces 30 players on Watch List". July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
16. "2016 Doak Walker Award Candidates Announced". July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
17. Al Carbone (July 15, 2016). "2016 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List". Retrieved July 28, 2016.
18. "43 Players Named to 2016 Paul Hornung Award Watch List". July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
19. "Mountain West Announces 2016 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016.