Mountain West Conference Adds Two Teams After Losing Members to New Pac-12

The Mountain West Conference underwent another round of membership changes after several teams departed for the new Pac-12.

UNLV enters the season with a head coach in his second year and an overall record of 10-4. Projections place the team at 59th in SP+ with an average of 8.7 wins, including 5.8 conference wins. The program recorded three nine-win seasons in the last three years after posting only two such seasons in its first 45 years in FBS.

Last season the team ranked in the bottom 10 nationally in returning production yet still won 11 games. Several key contributors from the prior roster have departed, including the starting quarterback, leading receiver, a linebacker, seven of the top eight offensive linemen, and four of the top five defensive backs.

The team added transfers at quarterback and other positions to address the turnover.

Mexico enters the season with a head coach in his second year and an overall record of 9-4. Projections place the team at 68th in SP+ with an average of 8.0 wins, including 5.3 conference wins. The program won its final six regular-season games to finish 9-3 and share the conference title.

The team posted the second-highest returning production among Group of 6 programs. The offense returns its quarterback and four starting offensive linemen. The defense must replace two players who combined for 16.5 sacks, though the linebacking group includes a player with 128 tackles last season.