2020 College Football Top 25 Rankings: Where Are Mountain West Teams?
Boise State is the only Mountain West team ranked ahead of 2020.
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A look at the way too early rankings.
The 2019 college football season is just barely in the review mirror and that means there are going to be a lot of super early preseason rankings that are likely to be very wrong.
However, taking an early look is really fun and we did the same in our first 2020 Mountain West football power rankings. We will go through the lists that have and do not have Mountain West teams ranked, and to the shock of very, very few people it is a whole lot of Boise State getting consideration. Based on history the Broncos will not be the only team ranked throughout the year.
Below are what teams are ranked, or not ranked, and some blurbs.
The Athletic: A team to be considered
USA TODAY: No. 20 Boise State
Getting back there is possible given the youth of this year’s offense, including freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier, though the Broncos do need to develop a new top target at receiver. The defense will be heavy on seniors but will miss the production of star pass rusher Curtis Weaver.
ESPN: No. 18 Boise State
The Broncos will have to rebuild both lines of scrimmage heading into 2020, with four starting offensive linemen and four defensive linemen departing. Hatada, Lui, Moa and Weaver combined for 180 tackles and 25 sacks this past season. The Broncos return a strong group of linebackers and defensive backs, but they’ll have to find replacements up front. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier won seven of his eight starts as a freshman but was plagued by injuries.
CBS Sports: No. 20 Boise State
You know how I know the Broncos will be good? Twenty-one straight senior classes have left with at least one conference title. Little known fact: At the end of the season, Boise very quietly became the current active winningest program (.7305).
Athlon Sports: No. 18 Boise State
The Broncos have a few major question marks to address this offseason, but this team will once again push to be the top Group of 5 squad in 2020. The quarterback position is in good hands with Hank Bachmeier back after a promising freshman season, and there’s a strong collection of skill players in place with George Holani and Robert Mahone heading up the ground game, and Khalil Shakir, CT Thomas, and Octavius Evans back at receiver.
Sporting News: No. 25 Boise State
The Broncos are still the class of the Mountain West, and despite a humbling loss to Washington in their bowl game, there’s enough back for coach Bryan Harsin to make another run at a possible New Year’s Day 6 bowl. Hank Bachmeier needs to take control of the starting quarterback job after an uneven freshman year.
Yahoo: No. 22 Boise State
Now with so much talent returning, including quarterback Hank Bachmeier, the Broncos should be the clear favorite to win the conference again and even get back to a New Year’s Six bowl game. The position group dealing with the most losses is the defensive line, including All-American Curtis Weaver. Weaver had 19.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in 2019.
Bleacher Report: No. 17 Boise State
WatchStadium:Not Ranked
Washington Post: No. 19 Boise State
The season-ending loss to Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl was a disappointment. With yet another bellcow back in rising sophomore George Holani and a defense that got better over the course of the season, Boise State should again be the class of the Mountain West.
AL.com: No. 25 Boise State
Bryan Harsin’s Broncos reached double-digit victories for the fifth time in six years in 2019, and get Florida State and BYU both in Boise in 2020. Hank Bachmeier takes over as starting quarterback after splitting time as a freshman this past season.
Here is the consensus from Matt Hinton who went through all of the preseason polls to date and he has Boise State No. 18. In this composite he gives five points for every team that appears in a poll and then 25 points for first-place counting down to one point for a 25th vote.
