Week Eight: Around the Mountain West Conference

* Mountain West Conference press release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., -- Boise State is the lone unbeaten team in the Mountain Division. This Saturday, the Broncos will travel to Falcon Stadium to take on an Air Force squad that is fighting for its conference title hopes.

The Fly Boys win, they are very much alive. They don't, it's all over but the crying.

Get our free mobile app

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.

Here's some other news and notes from around the Mountain West Conference:

• Dating back to the 2019 season, the Mountain West has won 19 games against autonomous-5 opponents, including 16 against the Pac-12. This is the most wins in that time span amongst all non-autonomous-5 conferences.

• In the past 18 years, the Mountain West has been the top non-autonomous-5 conference 10 times and second five times.

• The Mountain West produced the first non-automatic-qualifying FBS team into a BCS bowl game (Utah - 2005 Fiesta Bowl) and into the College Football Playoff (Boise State - 2014 Fiesta Bowl).

• After Wyoming’s double-overtime victory over Tulsa on Sept. 3, and Air Force’s win against Navy on Oct. 1, the Mountain West now has a 17-11 record against opponents from the American Athletic Conference.

• San José State senior linebacker Kyle Harmon has racked up 390 total tackles in his career, just 13 tackles behind fifth-most all time in MW history, currently held by New Mexico’s Dakota Cox (403; 2013-16).

• Nevada senior running back Toa Taua has rushed for 3,536 yards in his career, the fourth-most among active FBS players. Taua is just 257 yards shy of tying for fifth-most all-time in league history.

• Fresno State senior QB Jake Haener has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 22 consecutive games, beginning on Oct. 24, 2019. This is tied as the third-longest stretch in Conference history. Carson Strong (Nevada) and Derek Carr (Fresno State) hold the league record with a touchdown pass in 26 straight games, while Haener is tied with Andy Dalton (TCU).

• Over the last 18 seasons, the MW has captured the Bowl Challenge Cup five times and owns the third-best win percentage in bowl games among the 10 FBS conferences (.583), trailing only the SEC (.621) and Sun Belt (.593).

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BRAD ROBERTS, AIR FORCE
Senior, Running Back, Arvada, Colorado / Ralston Valley HS

• Led Air Force to a road victory over UNLV, rushing for 144 yards on 29 carries and a career-best four touchdowns.
• The four rushing touchdowns are the most by a MW player this season and tied for fourth-most nationally in 2022.
• The four rushing scores are the most by a Falcon since 2017.
• Of the 29 rushing attempts, 14 went for a first down or touchdown.
• Only played two quarters and one drive into the third quarter.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DAVID PERALES, FRESNO STATE
Senior, Defensive End, Merced, California / Merced HS

• Anchored Fresno State’s defense in a 17-10 victory over San José State.
• Recorded five tackles in the win, including five tackles for loss and four sacks.
• The four sacks are tied for the second-most in a single game nationally this season. Furthermore, no MW player has recorded at least four sacks in a game since the 2019 season.
• It is the most sacks in a contest by a Bulldog since at least 2000.
• The five tackles for loss are also the most in a game by a MW defender in 2022, and is tied for the second-most all-time in league history.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STEPHEN KOTSANLEE, UTAH STATE
Junior, Punter, Melbourne, Australia / Box Hill HS

• In the win at Colorado State, averaged 47.2 yards per punt with one punt downed inside the Rams 20-yard line.
• Had three punts of at least 50 yards (58, 55, 59).

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
BISHOP DAVENPORT, UTAH STATE
True Freshman, Quarterback, Spring, Texas / Spring HS

• After injuries to quarterbacks Cooper Legas and Levi Williams, came off the bench to rally Utah State to a 17-13 road win at Colorado State.
• Scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard run midway through the third quarter.
• In first career collegiate game, completed three passes for 41 yards and rushed for 29 yards.

- Just The Facts: Size Doesn't Matter For Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium