Around the Mountain: Aztecs’ Stifling Defense Does it Again

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., -- Here's this weeks news and notes from around the Mountain West Conference.

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WEEK 6 ACTION
Ten of 12 Mountain West teams are in action in Week 6, with all six games set to appear on national television. New Mexico visits San José State on FS1 and San Diego State hosts Colorado State on CBSSN on Friday. On Saturday, Boise State visits No. 21/21 Notre Dame on NBC and Air Force visits Navy on CBS. Wyoming hosts UNLV and Fresno State welcomes Nevada in a pair of MW games on CBSSN to close action Saturday.

AZTECS' STIFLING DEFENSE
San Diego State is the only FBS team to hold an opponent to three or fewer points in three different games this season. The only season in which any MW team had more such games was when the Aztecs did so four times in 2016.

ROAD REBS
UNLV has eight road wins since the beginning of last season, the most by any FBS team. BYU, Oregon and Tulane are second with seven each. … The Rebels have also won six straight road games against non-MW teams, the longest such win streak by any Mountain West team in conference history. The only longer active such streaks in the FBS are 11 straight by Oklahoma and seven straight by Georgia.

MULTIPLE ROAD PICK-SIXES
Both Fresno State and UNLV had an interception return for a touchdown in a road game in Week 4. The Bulldogs and Rebels are joined by Louisiana Tech as the only FBS teams this season with multiple pick-sixes on the road.

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MW VS. THE TOP 25
This season, MW squads have a total of 12 nonconference games scheduled against teams ranked or receiving votes at the time of the contest or in the current US LBM Coaches and/or AP top-25 polls.

THE TOKYO TOE
Hawai‘i kicker Kansei Matsuzawa’s six straight games with multiple field-goal attempts and zero misses makes for the longest such streak in Mountain West history. The only FBS player to have a longer streak within a single season over the last 30 seasons was Tulane’s Cairo Santos in 2012 (seven straight). … Matsuzawa is currently 16-for-16 on field-goal attempts this year, setting program and MW records for consecutive made field goals to start a season. He has hit 17 in a row dating back to last season.

PLASCENCIA NEARING MW MARK
San Diego State kicker Gabe Plascencia is 6-for-6 on field goals this season and has hit 18 straight dating back to last season. That's tied for the fourth-longest streak in MW history, one back of second place and four back of Air Force's Luke Strebel's record of 22 from 2015-16.

EGET SLINGING IT
Since the beginning of last season, San José State quarterback Walker Eget has thrown for at least 375 yards in four different games. That ties him with Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson for second-most by any active FBS QB over the last two seasons (current Virginia QB Chandler Morris has five).

MW AGAINST THE A4 AT HOME
MW teams went 3-1 against A4 opponents at home this season. Hawai‘i earned the MW's first A4 win of the 2025 season with its 23-20 win over Stanford in Week 0. UNLV made it 2-0 with a 30-23 win over UCLA in Week 2. San Diego State picked up a third MW home win over an A4 when it throttled California 34-0 in Week 4.

MW AGAINST THE A4, PART II
New Mexico outscored UCLA, 21-0, in the fourth quarter of its 35-10 win in Week 3. The 21 points were the most scored by a Mountain West team in the fourth quarter of a win against an ACC/Big Ten/Big 12/SEC opponent since BYU scored 21 at Virginia in a 38-35 overtime win on Sept. 2, 2000. … San Diego State’s 34-0 victory over Cal in Week 4 was the second-largest shutout win ever by a MW team against an autonomous conference school. The only larger such win was BYU’s 59-0 win versus UCLA in 2008.

MW AGAINST THE A4, PART III
MW teams will play 16 autonomous conference opponents in 2025, including three of the four CFP semifinalists from last season (Nevada at Penn State on Aug. 30, San José State at Texas on Sept. 6 and Boise State at Notre Dame on Oct. 4). … Since 2018, the MW has the best winning percentage over Autonomous 5 teams (30.0) among its peer conferences. MW teams have collected 45 wins over such teams in that span, also the most among its peer conferences (the American is second with 39).

CENTURY-MARK STREAKS
The two longest active streaks for games with at least 100 rushing yards by an FBS team are both by Mountain West teams. Air Force has done so in 89 consecutive games and Boise State is on a 42-game run.

CONSISTENT RECEIVING CORPS
Both Hawai‘i and Utah State have had at least one player with five or more receptions in 22 consecutive games, dating back to November 2023. That's the longest active streak in the FBS.

NEW MEXICO SACKS ARCHRIVAL
New Mexico tied a Mountain West record with nine sacks in its win over New Mexico State (done nine previous times). It was the fourth time a MW team has had nine sacks without taking one of their own and three of those times have been by the Lobos (also Nov. 30, 2002 and Sept. 1, 2001).

FBS LEADERS
Wyoming paces the FBS with four blocked kicks, including two by Aneesh Vyas, who shares the national individual lead. … Air Force leads the nation with 21.55 passing yards per completion. … Hawai‘i's Kansei Matsuzawa and San Diego State's Gabe Plascencia are among 27 kickers still perfect on field goals this season with Matsuzawa leading the FBS with 16 field goals made and 2.67 per game. He also leads in points scored with 62… UNLV's Aamaris Brown shares first in the FBS with four interceptions and is alone at 1.0 per game. … San José State's Danny Scudero leads the FBS with 128.5 receiving yards per game. … Colorado State's Owen Long leads in tackles per game with 13.0. … San Diego State (13-for-13) is one of 13 FBS programs still perfect in the red zone and one of 18 without a fumble lost. … UNLV is one of 20 FBS programs without a loss.

BRONCOS LIGHTING UP SCOREBOARD
Boise State has scored at least 47 points in three straight games, tied for the longest streak ever within a single season by a MW team. The last FBS team to have four straight such games was LSU in 2023.

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UNLV PICKS
Since the beginning of 2022, UNLV’s defense has an FBS-best 57 interceptions. Texas has the next-highest total with 52. The Rebels have eight picks through four games this season, with Aamaris Brown nabbing a team-best four, with one in each game. … Fresno State is tied for third in the FBS in that span with 50 interceptions.

BROWN'S INT STREAK
With interceptions in all four UNLV games this season, Brown becomes the sixth player in MW history with interceptions in four straight team games and the first since Utah State's Frank Sutera in 2014. Boise State's Dont’e Deayon also had interceptions in four straight personal games in 2014 but missed a team game in that span.

KEEP IT OVER 20
UNLV has scored at least 20 points in each of its last 26 regular-season games (excluding MW championship games), marking the second-longest active such streak in the FBS, behind only Memphis (42 straight). The Rebels are 22-4 over that stretch.

PACKED HOUSES
New Mexico's crowd of 37,400 to witness its 38-20 win over rival New Mexico State in Week 5 was its first sellout since 2007 and the ninth-largest crowd in University Stadium history. … Boise State's crowd of 32,904 for its 47-14 dismantling of App State was its 10th straight home sellout.

PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORTS
The Mountain West has added player availability reporting for the 2025 season for all regular-season Conference games and the MW Championship Game. The policy standardizes the submission of student-athlete availability information for football contests to protect student-athlete privacy, reduce outside pressure on student-athletes for inside information, ensure transparency, and promote competitive integrity. This policy also addresses public confidence in fair play and the integrity risks associated with sports wagering. Availability reports will be posted publicly at TheMW.com/reports.