UNLV Rebels Top The Mountain West Power Rankings

With Week 4 in the books, the Mountain West Conference Power Rankings from various outlets are beginning to roll in again for the week. The UNLV Rebels are once again at the top of all of them. That includes the power rankings put out by Mountain West Connection and Nevada Sports Net. While both outlets still have questions about how long the Rebels can sustain their winning ways before their lack of discipline on defense catches up with them, they also can't deny that UNLV has earned their way to the top of the rankings.

Mountain West Connection's Take On The UNLV Rebels

"The Rebels are the only undefeated team in the Mountain West, which is why they can claim this spot currently. However, the record of their opponents is 1-13 and they struggled in at least two of those games. Wins need to count for something, but UNLV needs to find ways to fix its defense to complement their offense if they want to keep winning."

Nevada Sports Net's Take On The Rebels

"UNLV put itself in a precarious position at Miami (Ohio) after allowing a special teams touchdown and defensive score in a four-play stretch to fall behind by two touchdowns in the second half. But the Rebels avoided disaster by outscoring the RedHawks, 17-0, in the fourth quarter, winning on Ramon Villela’s 23-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to finish non-league play undefeated."

There is nothing to argue with here, however, if we can set the Rebels aside for a moment, there is one glaring difference in both of these power rankings. Mountain West Connection has the Utah State Aggies at No. 2, while Nevada Sports Net has them ranked at No. 6. That is a drastic difference. Being that they could end up being the Rebels' biggest competition in the Mountain West this season, and the two teams will face off in the final game of the regular season in Las Vegas, that is something worth taking notice of. The Aggies may be a team worth checking out because they could make some noise in the Mountain West and appear to be polarizing among the analysts. This was their take on the Aggies.

Mountain West Connection's Take On The Utah State Aggies

"The Aggies offense keeps rolling, scoring early and often in the last game. QB Bryson Barnes is a true dual threat who continues to thrive in this system. The defense was solid, at least for this week, which is hopefully a sign of things to come. Utah State will have tougher games coming up, but if they keep improving, they should be able to compete at the top of the Mountain West."

Nevada Sports Net's Take On The Aggies

"Bryson Barnes threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 128 yards and two scores in the rout of McNeese. The sixth-year quarterback has accounted for 14 touchdowns (eight passing, six rushing) in four games. The Aggies draw their second ranked team from the SEC in three weeks with Saturday’s matchup at Vanderbilt (Utah State lost to Texas A&M, 44-22, earlier this year)."