Odds to Win Mountain West: Utah State Not Favored to Repeat

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics
By Christopher Gharagozlo | Last updated 7/20/22

With all the attention on expansion conferences, the Mountain West is staying quiet. However, this silence is not due to a lack of excitement within the conference. The odds to win the Mountain West have the reigning Mountain West champions, Utah State, behind three other teams.

The Mountain West is poised to have another electric season. Early Mountain West football odds suggest that the race to the top of the conference will consist of five teams. According to Ceasar Sportsbook, the favorite to win the Mountain West is Boise State (+200).

Right behind Boise State is Fresno State (+250) and Air Force (+450), both of who finished 10-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Fresno State last won the conference in 2018, and Air Force has never won the conference in the 24-year history of the Mountain West.

One of the most surprising early odds is 2021 Mountain West champions, Utah State (+850), being the fifth favorite to win the conference. One of the reasons behind the low expectations for Utah State is that there has been a different Mountain West champion in the past four years.

Furthermore, Utah State is a young team with 40 freshmen on the roster with only five returning starters on offense. Not only is Utah State young, the Aggies face a fairly difficult schedule. The Mountain West champions will play BYU, Wyoming, and Boise State on the road, teams that were responsible for all three of their losses last season.

The Aggies will also play Air Force at home, and who can forget, Alabama Week Two, on the road.

The longest odds of winning the conference is New Mexico (+20000).

Here are all of the odds to win the Mountain West: