We are receiving 12 votes, which is good enough for the 38th slot in the initial coaches poll this year.
https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/p ... ches-poll/
Some notes:
- Bama ranked 1st
- Utah at 8th
- Two G5 teams (Cincy at 22nd, Houston at 25th)
- BYU at 29th
- SDSU at 34th
- Fresno State at 35th
- Utah State tied with Air Force at 38th
- Boise State at 41st
I don't personally remember a time when five Mountain West schools were receiving preseason votes in either major poll. Since there hasn't traditionally been an update after Week 0, we won't get any sort of bump from whooping UConn (assuming we whoop UConn).
For fun, here are the Mountain West teams that COULD be ranked after Week 1 if they win:
- Utah State (if we were to somehow beat #1 Alabama, we are 100% looking at a Top 25 ranking)
- Colorado State (ditto for beating #6 Michigan, albeit a little less certain)
- Air Force (assuming that at least 13 teams in front of them lose and they look GREAT against Northern Iowa; not likely)
- San Diego State (gotta pummel Arizona by 3+ touchdowns, but yeah this is certainly possible with some help)
- Boise State (would need a ton of help after beating Oregon State, but they have the best brand in the MW so maybe?)
- Fresno State (let's say they beat Cal Poly by triple digits and 12 teams in front of them lose in Week 1...then maybe)
For the remaining schools that didn't have preseason votes, I don't think beating New Mexico State and Texas State (Nevada), Idaho State (UNLV), Illinois and Tulsa (Wyoming), Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky (Hawaii), Portland State (SJSU), and Maine (UNM) is going to move the needle. They may have to wait until Week 2.
Hey speaking of Week 2...here are the teams that could be undefeated after Week 2 and could be ranked:
- Boise State, 2-0 against Oregon State and New Mexico. Would still need some help from other teams in front of them.
- San Diego State, 2-0 against Arizona and Idaho State. Possibly our most-likely Top 25 team early on.
- Fresno State, 2-0 against Cal Poly and Oregon State. I guess this could get them in the Top 25?
- Air Force, 2-0 against Northern Iowa and Colorado. Definitely a good start, MAYBE enough to get them to 25th?
Realistically, Utah State and Colorado State just won't be undefeated at this point. If they are, they'll be Top 10 or 15 teams. Hawaii would also be 3-0 with wins against Vandy, WKU, and Michigan. They will probably be 0-3 though.
Okay, so what about Post-Week 3 semi-realistic chances of Top 25 rankings? GLAD YOU ASKED:
- Air Force, 3-0 after a win at Wyoming. Just keep winning, Zoomies.
- Boise State, 3-0 after surviving against (checks notes) UT Martin. I think the Donks are definitely ranked if they're 3-0.
- San Diego State, 3-0 after shocking Utah. Probably won't happen, but the Aztecs would be Top 10-15 if they pull it off.
- Fresno State, 3-0 after upsetting USC in the Coliseum. Another Top 10-15 team for the Mountain West, but probably not.
Alright, we've almost definitely eliminated SDSU and Fresno...BUT HERE COMES WEEK 4:
- Air Force, 4-0 after beating Nevada. I'm saying they are definitely ranked at this point; 26th/27th at worst.
- Boise State, 4-0 after a win at UTEP. This is the opposite of how Boise usually gets ranked, but it'll probably work for them.
BTW, if Utah State is still undefeated it'll be after a win against UNLV and we'll probably drop a spot or two down to 7th/8th.
Are you really going to do this week-by-week? NOPE, but here's where I think Boise and Air Force might finally lose a game:
- Air Force will, in my opinion, roll into Logan as a 5-0 team and be ranked in the mid 20's. Utah State will likely be 3-2 with an outside shot at 4-1 if we can beat BYU. Would be pretty great to knock off the ranked Falcons and almost certainly take their ranking as a 5-1 team with a single loss to #1 Alabama!
- Boise State will be 4-0 when they play SDSU and Fresno in consecutive home games in late September/early October. I think they'll drop at least one of these games...but if they don't they'll have an away game at Air Force and a home game against BYU in two of the next three weeks. Given this round-robin sort of scheduling, I think we have a real shot of one of Boise/SDSU/Fresno/AFA being ranked at the end of October. Possibly two of them, depending on how it goes.
Then Utah State beats Boise and the MW West champs in consecutive weeks, pumping our record up to 12-1. Top 10. Cotton Bowl, here we come. LET'S GO AGGIES.