Takeaways from week 6 of the MWC

SALT LAKE CITY — Mountain West Conference action in week six only provided two games that came down to the fourth quarter to decide the outcome, but it also ended the season for one of the top three passers in the league.

Five teams remain unblemished in conference play and four of them put those undefeated marks on the line this week.

Air Force (1-5, 0-4): Lost to Navy 28-10

The game went on despite the shutdown of athletic competition at service academies around the country thanks to the fact that the contest was financed by non-appropriated funds. USAA paid for the Falcons to travel and play in Annapolis, who like the Midshipmen, are enduring the challenge of studying in professor-less classrooms because civilian status employees of the academies have been furloughed.

Air Force played well in the first half, leading 10-7 at the intermission, but again struggled defensively. The Falcons held Navy to 327 yards, their lowest total allowed since week one, however 207 of that total came in the second half. Quarterback Karson Pearson was unable to answer the Midshipmen’s 21-point second half, and was replaced. He finished the game 6 of 14 for 67 yards and an interception to go with 31 yards rushing, while backup Nate Romine went 1 of 2 for 15 yards and an interception with 25 yards on the ground.

• Committed three turnovers
• Failed to make it into the red zone after halftime
• Next: San Diego State (2-3) (25) Fresno State (5-0, 2-0): Beat Idaho 61-14Derek Carr continued his unheralded Heisman campaign by going 37 of 48 for 419 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. The impressive performance did come against Idaho, so it was somewhat expected. Davante Adams earned MWC offensive player of the week with 16 receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

The big news for the Bulldogs is that their defense held the opponent to 14 points, their lowest total given up this year. Their rushing game also set a team season-high by tallying 309 yards. Marteze Waller had 157 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and BYU transfer Josh Quezada picked up 63 yards on 11 carries. Fresno State will now experience its second bye week of the season as its postponed game at Colorado has been canceled.

• Gained 731 yards of offense
• Scored more than 40 points in each game this season
• Next: UNLV (3-2) Oct. 19 Hawaii (0-5, 0-3): Lost to San Jose State 37-27Norm Chow stuck with Sean Schroeder a week after he led the Rainbow Warriors back from a 39-point deficit to lose by only five. Schroeder ended up with 342 yards passing in the loss, but threw three interceptions, which slightly negated his three scores. Two of his picks came with his team in Spartan territory.

The Rainbow Warriors jumped out to an 11-point advantage in the first quarter, but followed it by giving up 31 unanswered points. Steven Lakalaka again was the workhorse of the rushing attack, picking up 77 yards on 16 carries.

• Committed four turnovers
• Converted 6 of 19 third downs
• Next: at UNLV (3-2) Nevada (3-3, 2-1): Lost to San Diego State 51-44Cody Fajardo maintained his superb form since returning from injury, but his 442 yards of offense weren’t enough to top a balanced Aztec attack. Fajardo went 33 of 51 for 393 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Kendall Brock helped shoulder some of the production by recording 112 yards and three touchdowns on 25 rushes.

The Wolf Pack are staring at numerous questions on defense. They have now given up their opponent’s season-high in points in back-to-back games. Brandon Wimberly caught 12 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, his second consecutive week with a double-digit reception total.

• Gained a season-low 58 yards rushing
• Converted 11 of 21 third downs and 3 of 6 fourth downs
• Next: at Boise State (3-2) Oct. 19 New Mexico (2-3, 0-1): Beat New Mexico State 66-17To say the Lobos ran wild would be an understatement. One week after amassing 497 yards via the run, New Mexico produced 541 yards on the ground. Four players tallied 50 yards rushing or more, quarterback Cole Gautsche finishing with 127 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and Kasey Carrier picking up 126 yards and three touchdowns on 14 tries.

Though the passing game remains nonexistent, the Lobo defense showed signs of life by forcing three turnovers while allowing only three second-half points.

• Averaged 9.7 yards per carry
• Brett Bowers earned MWC defensive player of the week by recording three sacks and a forced fumble
• Next: at Wyoming (3-2) San Diego State (2-3, 1-0): Beat Nevada 51-44Adam Muema quieted his doubters for the time being by piling up 134 yards and two touchdowns on 24 rushes. One of his carries did result in 50 of those yards, but the solid outing may be a response to his naysayers, who wanted to point to last season as a fluke.

Quinn Kaehler continued his efficient play by completing 23 of 32 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. The Aztecs still need to improve their secondary, which allowed 21 receptions to two Wolf Pack receivers, but the offensive output goes a long way in giving SDSU fans hope for a mid-level MWC result.

• Averaged 6.7 yards per play on offense
• Picked up 255 yards on the ground
• Next: at Air Force (1-5) San Jose State (2-3, 1-1): Beat Hawaii 37-27David Fales added to his high-caliber body of work by passing for 318 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Fales was just 16 of 35 (45.7 percent), but his heavy workload somewhat excuses his completion percentage. He also got help from the ground game this week. Converted wide receiver Tim Crawley had 93 yards on 21 rushes and Jarrod Jones racked up 89 yards on 12 carries.

Freshman Tyler Winston helped fill Noel Grigsby’s void by grabbing six balls for 159 yards and a touchdown.

• Won time of possession battle by nearly 13 minutes
• Mirrored Hawaii by converting 6 of 19 third downs
• Next: at Colorado State (2-3) Utah State (3-3, 2-0): Lost to BYU 31-14Team leader Chuckie Keeton has been lost for the season after tearing both his MCL and ACL in the defeat. Head coach Matt Wells assured fans postgame that his team has not lost its focus on an MWC championship, but the confidence of his team was obviously rattled following Keeton’s brutal injury.

The competition to replace the Aggie star now involves junior Craig Harrison and freshman Darrell Garretson. Harrison is the more polished passer, but Garretson brings the capability to run the read-option and also boasts a strong arm. Some are already calling for Garretson to take the reins. The Aggies did give up the most points they have all season but it was likely due in large part to fatigue setting in after their offense failed to move the ball. The announcement that Joe Hill has also been lost for the season certainly doesn’t help the diminishing morale.

• Joey DeMartino had 80 yards on 16 carries
• Held BYU to 5 of 18 on third-down conversions
• Next: Boise State (3-2) Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Wyoming all had a bye week.

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