Saturday’s Mountain West football games: Keeton back for Utah State
UNLV at Wyoming, noon, ROOT
The Cowboys will honor eight seniors before the game — the smallest class Craig Bohl has ever had, the coach said. They need a victory to avoid the program’s first one-win season since 1970. The Rebels, who have lost five of six, haven’t won in Laramie since 2003.
BYU at Utah St., 1:30 p.m., CBSSN
Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton is back in the starting lineup as the Aggies look for their seventh win and a guaranteed bowl spot against their in-state rivals. Keeton, an injury-plagued sixth-year senior, replaced Kent Myers after he suffered a shoulder injury against Nevada last week. BYU (9-3) has won six of their last seven games and are 3-0 against the Mountain West this season (Boise State, San Jose State and Fresno State). The Cougars, who are headed to a bowl game in Las Vegas or Hawaii regardless of the outcome, lead the all-time series 46-35-3.
Colorado St. at Fresno St., 7 p.m., CBSSN
The Rams have won three in a row to become bowl eligible, thanks in part to their rushing game (774 yards and eight TDs in those three games). Embattled Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said this week: “You need to re-evaluate everything. ... Bottom line as coaches, we’re in a production business and we haven’t produced well enough.”
Air Force at New Mexico, 8:15 p.m., ESPNU
The Falcons have won five in a row (outscoring opponents 192-82) and are headed to the Mountain West title game next week. They could host with a victory over New Mexico. The Lobos, who send off 14 seniors, could be headed to their hometown bowl game.
Nevada at San Diego St., 8:45 p.m., ESPN2
Like Air Force, the red-hot Aztecs have landed a spot in next week’s MW title game. San Diego State has won seven straight and is 7-0 in league play, but could travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., next week based on computer rankings. “I don’t understand any of it, and I don’t care to learn,’’ coach Rocky Long said. This will be the final game at Nevada for offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich, a former Hawaii quarterback who is set to become the Rainbow Warriors’ next head coach.
Louisiana-Monroe at Hawaii, 9 p.m.
Last week’s game against San Jose State attracted 11,625 fans to Aloha Stadium, the smallest for a Hawaii home game in 40 years. Louisiana-Monroe has one win and fired its coach this month. A new record-low crowd?
This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Saturday’s Mountain West football games: Keeton back for Utah State."