MWC Football: Week 2 Helmet Sticker Awards
Now that we have two weeks under our belt for the college football season - for some, three - we are beginning to get a clearer picture of who these teams are. The contenders are starting to rise to the top, while some teams are starting to see their pre-season potential dwindle.
Over the weekend, UNLV beat Big Ten foe UCLA, 30-23, which solidifies them amongst the alphas in the league.
MWC favorite Boise State rebounded and beat Eastern Washington, 51-14, in its home opener on the Smurf-turf.
New Mexico earned its first win under first-year head coach Jason Eck, with a 32-22 over Idaho State.
San Jose State lost to No. 7-ranked Texas, 38-7, and No. 19 Texas A&M beat Utah State, 44-22.
Wyoming and Nevada took down FCS Northern Iowa and Sac State, respectively, and Colorado State escaped a last-second touchdown call reversal against upstart Northern Colorado at home.
Fresno State beat soon-to-be PAC-12 partner Oregon State in Corvallis, while San Diego State fell to Washington State.
Hawaii used a backup quarterback to beat Sam Houston to round off the weekend.
Let’s look at who the Mountain West’s top performers were.
QB Anthony Colandrea - UNLV
This is the third straight week Colandrea has received a helmet sticker award and is more than likely the clear leader for MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Against UCLA, Colandrea completed 15 of 21 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns for a QBR of 84.4. Now that backup quarterback Alex Orji is out for the season, the Rebels' future is squarely on Colandrea’s shoulders.
QB Maddux Madsen - Boise State
Madsen helped the Broncos bounce back from a season-opener loss at South Florida by throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns against Eastern Washington. The Broncos secured their 13th straight home opener win, which also featured five different BSU running backs rush for a touchdown. Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines combined for 221 of the team's 328 total rushing yards and two touchdowns.
QB Luke Weaver - Hawaii
The junior backup quarterback made his first career start in place of an injured Micah Alejado. Weaver completed 27 of 43 throws for an average of 6.8 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns were to WR Pofele Ashlock (7 catches for 125 yards).
RB Scottre Humphrey - New Mexico
New Mexico saw its first win under first-year head coach Jason Eck. The rebuilt squad (75 new players) took down Idaho State 32-22 at University Stadium, led by a solid day from Humphrey. He carried the ball 18 times for 141 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. His second-quarter TD run of 61 yards put the Lobos up 14-3 early on, but the Bengals came back in the second half. It was Humphrey’s second touchdown in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Lobos.
LB Jaxton Eck - New Mexico
The son of head coach Jason Eck, anchored a Lobo defense with 15 total tackles and eight solo. With team co-captain safety Austin Brawley sidelined for the foreseeable future, it’s Eck who will have to lead the Lobos defense.
LB Jadon Pearson - Fresno State
The senior linebacker from Gilbert, Ariz. had a career high 16 total tackles and nine solo. In just three games this season, he’s recorded 34 total tackles and 21 solo tackles.
