The San Jose State Spartans Rank Ahead of The UNLV Rebels In Another 2025 Preseason Mountain West Power Rankings

The UNLV Rebels football team has high expectations this season after coming off a second straight Mountain West Conference Championship game appearance. However, because of the regime change from head coach Barry Odom to Dan Mullen, along with a mostly rebuilt roster through the transfer portal, experts and analysts have been hesitant to go all in on the Rebels for the 2025 season. While it's understandable that doesn't make it a smart decision, and it certainly isn't a brave choice.

A team that has gained a lot of momentum is the San Jose State Spartans. We saw earlier in the week in the Mountain West Connection's 2025 Mountain West Preseason Power Rankings that the Spartans ranked No. 2 ahead of UNLV. The Nevada Sports Net has now released their preseason rankings for the Mountain West and we once again see San Jose State pushing the Reb els down to the No. 3 spot. This is what they had to say on both teams and why the Spartans are ranked ahead of the Rebels.

Nevada Sports Net On Their No. 2 Ranked San Jose State Spartans

San Jose State lost five All-MW players in the offseason but returns starting quarterback Walker Eget and has continuity on the coaching side entering Ken Niumatalolo’s second season. Wide receiver and secondary were major strengths last season, but are largely being rebuilt. The Spartans don’t play Boise State or UNLV in league play, which is a huge plus (CSU had that advantage last year).

Nevada Sports Net On Their No. 3 Ranked UNLV Rebels

UNLV made one of the nation’s splashiest head-coaching hires this offseason, luring Dan Mullen away from ESPN. Mullen won at SEC schools Mississippi State and Florida, so he should be able to win in the MW. Year one in Sin City features a massive roster turnover after the Rebels lost 10 of their 11 all-league honorees, but the talent base remains high after UNLV had a ton of transfer portal success.

We can't agree with NSN here. The Spartans just don't have close to the talent that UNLV has and the Rebels have the superior coaching staff led by Mullen. Not only do we have the Rebels ranked at No. 2 in the Mountain West, but we have them closer to the Boise State Broncos at No. 1 than San Jose State at No. 3.