The 2016 Mountain West Conference football season was the 18th season of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

(MW). In the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on Dec ...

, the MW had 12 football members:

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

Pre-season

Mountain West Media

2016 Mountain West Football Media Days were held on July 26 & 27 at the

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

Preseason polls

Reference: *First place votes in parenthesis

Preseason All-Mountain West Teams

Reference: *Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: ;Donnel Pumphrey, SR., RB, San Diego State *Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: ;Damontae Kazee, SR., DB, San Diego State *Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: ;Rashaad Penny, JR., KR, San Diego State (* - member of the 2015 All-Mountain West first team) (** - member of the 2015 All-Mountain West second team)

Award watch lists

The following Mountain West players were named to preseason award watch lists.

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

: *Jacobi Owens–Air Force *Jeremy McNichols–Boise State *Brett Rypien–Boise State *Donnel Pumphrey–San Diego State *Brian Hill–Wyoming

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ame ...

: *Damontae Kazee–San Diego State *Calvin Munson–San Diego State

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

: *Jake Roh–Boise State *Jarred Gipson–Nevada *Billy Freeman–San Jose State *Wyatt Houston–Utah State

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

: *Jake Bennett–Colorado State * Asotui Eli–Hawai'i *Nathan Goltry–Nevada *Arthur Flores–San Diego State *Will Kreitler–UNLV *Austin Stephens–Utah State

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

: *Tyler Rausa–Boise State *Brent Zuzo–Nevada

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

: *Hayden Hunt–Colorado State *Alex Boy–Nevada *Michael Carrizosa–San Jose State *Ethan Wood–Wyoming

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

: *Weston Steelhammer–Air Force *Tanner Vallejo–Boise State *Calvin Munson–San Diego State

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

: *Fred Zerblis–Colorado State * Austin Corbett–Nevada *Nico Siragusa–San Diego State *Chase Roullier–Wyoming

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...

: *Roland Ladipo–Air Force *Weston Steelhammer–Air Force *Damontae Kazee–San Diego State *Andrew Wingard–Wyoming

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

: *Tanner Vallejo–Boise State *Kevin Davis–Colorado State *Calvin Munson–San Diego State

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

: *Thomas Sperbeck–Boise State *Hasaan Henderson–Nevada *Jerico Richardson–Nevada *Devonte Boyd–UNLV

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Universi ...

: *Zack Golditch–Colorado State *Jeremy Maculey–Nevada *

Daniel Brunskill Daniel Zachary Brunskill (born January 27, 1994) is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego State. Early years Brunskill played as a tight end for V ...

–San Diego State *Tim Crawley–San Jose State *Travis Seefeldt–Utah State

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

: *Brett Rypien–Boise State

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League ...

: *Jacobi Owens–Air Force *Paul Harris–Hawai'i *James Butler–Nevada *Donnel Pumphrey–San Diego State *

Devante Mays Devante Roshard Mays (born May 26, 1994) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Utah State and Blinn College. Early years Mays was born to Mark and Elwanda Mays in Livingston, Texas and ...

–Utah State *Brian Hill–Wyoming

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

: *Brett Rypien–Boise State *Donnel Pumphrey–San Diego State

Paul Hornung Award The Paul Hornung Award is a college football award that was created in January 2010 by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) with the support of Paul Hornung, a native and resident of Louisville, Kentucky and member of the College Football Hall o ...

: *Rashaad Penny–San Diego State *Tim Crawley–San Jose State

Coaches

''NOTE:'' Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Rankings

Championship game

The

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

was played between the San Diego State Aztecs, champions of the West Division, and the Wyoming Cowboys, champions of the Mountain Division, on December 3, 2016, at

War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium may refer to: * Ada War Memorial Stadium, in Ada, Ohio, also known as ''War Memorial Stadium'' * War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas), Little Rock, Arkansas * War Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) (former official name 1924–1947), ...

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern ...

. The Aztecs won 27–24, repeating as champions.

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Rashaad Penny of San Diego State was the offensive MVP, and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Damontae Kazee of San Diego State was the defensive MVP.

Bowl games

Mountain West vs Power Conference matchups

Records against other conferences

2016 records against non-conference foes: Regular season Post Season

Awards and honors

All Conference teams

*Offensive Player of the Year:

Donnel Pumphrey Donnel Laray Pumphrey Jr. (born December 6, 1994) is a former American football running back. He played college football at San Diego State Aztecs football, San Diego State. Pumphrey is the official all-time leader in rushing yards in NCAA Divis ...

, SR., RB,

*Defensive Player of the Year:

Damontae Kazee Damontae Tyron Kazee (born June 5, 1993) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He played college footb ...

, SR., DB, San Diego State *Special Teams Player of the Year:

Rashaad Penny Rashaad Armein Penny (born February 2, 1996) is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego State, where, in 2017, he led the nation with 2,248 rushing ...

, JR., KR, San Diego State *Freshman of the Year: Logan Wilson, LB,

*Coach of the Year:

Craig Bohl Craig Philip Bohl (born July 27, 1958) is an American college football coach and former player, currently the head football coach at the University of Wyoming. He was previously the head coach at North Dakota State University in Fargo from 2003 ...

, Wyoming Offense: Defense: (* – Two-Time First-Team Selection)
(** – Three-Time First-Team Selection)
(*** – Two-Time Second-Team Selection) Honorable Mentions: *Air Force: Haji Dunn, Sr., LB; Tim McVey, Jr., KR; Colin Sandor, Sr., OL; Dylan Vail, Sr., OL. *Boise State: Steven Baggett, Sr., OL; Mason Hampton, Jr., OL; Tanner Vallejo, Sr., LB; Cedrick Wilson, Jr., WR. *Colorado State: Nick Callender, Sr., OL; Nick Stevens, Jr., QB; Paul Thurston, Sr., OL. *Fresno State: Stratton Brown, Sr., DB; KeeSean Johnson, So., WR; Kody Kroening, Jr., P. *Hawai'i: Trayvon Henderson, Jr., DB; Marcus Kemp, Sr., WR; Leo Koloamatangi, Sr., OL; Meffy Koloamatangi, Jr., DL; Jalen Rogers, Sr., DB;

Rigoberto Sanchez Rigoberto Jovany Sanchez (born September 8, 1994) is an American football punter for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Hawaii and was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in ...

, Sr., PK/P. *Nevada: James Butler, Jr., RB; Wyatt Demps, Jr., WR; Asauni Rufus, So., DB. *New Mexico: Dakota Cox, Sr., LB; Daniel Henry, Sr., DB; Aaron Jenkins, So., OL;

Jason Sanders Jason Thomas Sanders (born November 16, 1995) is an American football kicker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at New Mexico. Early years Sanders attended and played high school football at ...

, Jr., PK. *San Diego State: Kyle Kelley, Sr., DL; Quest Truxton, Jr., PR. *San Jose State: Michael Carrizosa, Jr., P; Isaiah Irving, Sr., DL; Jeremiah Kolone, Jr., OL; Maurice McKnight, Jr., DB; Christian Tago, Sr., LB. *UNLV: Troy Hawthorne, Sr., DB; Mike Hughes, Jr., DL; Nathan Jacobson, So., OL; Will Kreitler, Sr., OL; Torry McTyer, Sr., DB. *Utah State: Austin Albrecht, Sr., OL; Ricky Ali'ifua, Sr., DL; Wyatt Houston, Sr., TE; Jake Simonich, Sr., OL; Austin Stephens, Sr., OL. *Wyoming: Lucas Wacha, Sr., LB

Home game attendance

Bold – Exceed capacity
†Season High

References

{{2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season navbox