College Football’s 2025 Week 0 is just about here. Don’t fret, though. There is still time to get your NCAA College Football futures placed! As the teams get ready to take the field, let’s get ready to hit the books! Boise State has won the last two years. However, teams like Fresno State, Utah State, and San Jose State have all won in the last five years. Who will win it this year? Let’s take a look at the Mountain West Preview and Best Bets!
College Football 2025: Mountain West Preview and Best Bets
Odds to Win the Mountain West in 2025
Boise State -150
UNLV +700
San Jose State +700
Fresno State +1000
Colorado State +1600
Air Force +1600
Hawaii +2000
San Diego State +3000
Wyoming +4000
Utah State +8000
New Mexico +15000
Nevada +15000
UNLV Under 8.5 Regular Season Wins
UNLV had an excellent season last year, finishing 11-3 overall. In fact, two of their losses were to Mountain West champs, Boise State. It was a great season for a team that had undergone a huge roster turnover under its former head coach.
However, this year is almost a completely different team. They are only returning 30 starts total. That’s 34% on the offense and only 29% of the defense. It’s one of the lowest-returning productions in college football. Therefore, I’m not ready to risk putting any positive College Football futures. However, the negative, I’ll take.
Out of 136 teams, UNLV is tied for 105th in easier schedules. However, the roster turnover will be tough to overcome, especially for first-year head coach Dan Mullen. Not to mention, UNLV overachieved greatly last year. When a team over-achieves one year, you expect some natural regression. Out of all the Mountain West bets on the board, I like UNLV under 8.5 regular-season wins as one of my top bets.
San Jose State Over 7.5 Wins (-105)
Another Mountain West bet that I like when looking at college football futures is San Jose State over 7.5 wins. San Jose State went 7-6 overall, while finishing 3-5 in the conference. This feels like the second-best team in the Mountain West. In fact, some may even want to sprinkle a little on them to win the conference.
Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo enters his second year, ready to improve on a decent first year. He exceeded the expectations that were left to him. There were all sorts of controversies over the hire because he’s a career triple-option coach. In fact, he had to promise he would not run the triple option at San Jose.
Surprisingly, the offense did quite well, considering. While they only won three conference games last year, this year they’re projected to win closer to five of them, based on odds. If they can win five conference games, they’ll exceed their win total.
San Jose State returns 52% of their offensive snaps and 55% of their defense snaps. They also have 10 redshirt freshmen ready to suit up who will be familiar with the schemes. This should be an improved team from last year and they will only need one win to exceed their projected win total this year. Book it.
Boise State Mountain West Champions (-150)
Can the Boise State Broncos win their third straight Mountain West? There will definitely be challenges, given they’ve lost star running back Ashton Jeanty. Last year, they won all twelve games against non-CFP teams. However, despite losing Jeanty, they do return a lot of players.
Boise State is returning 201 starts. 75% of the offensive production is returning, and 59% of the defense. Maddux Madsen was named the starter last year. He should be more polished and ready to roll this year. The depth at Boise State has been solid the past couple of years as well. Last year, they survived multiple offensive linemen injuries, and this year, they’ll continue to prove they have the depth.
Head coach Spencer Danielson is entering his second full year as Boise State’s head coach. He has a 15-3 overall record and should be even more comfortable in his game-planning this year. One of the best offseason moves by Boise State and Danielson is perhaps adding Fresno State running back Malik Sherrod. As long as the pass catchers can help support Madsen, this should still be Boise State’s conference. Picking them to win is my top Mountain West bet, despite being juiced to -150.
