Fresno State picked to win the West Division in Mountain West. Was it unanimous?
Fresno State was picked to win the West Division in the Mountain West Conference on Wednesday at the start of the conference media days, receiving more first-place votes in the preseason poll than any West team since 2017.
But with quarterback Jake Haener, wideout Jalen Cropper, running back Jordan Mims and a wealth of firepower back from a 10-3 team that won the New Mexico Bowl, the Bulldogs were not a unanimous pick.
Fresno State received 20 first-place votes, with San Diego State receiving eight.
Fresno State and the Aztecs were followed in the West Division by San Jose State, Nevada, UNLV and Hawaii.
Boise State was picked to win the Mountain Division, with 14 first-place votes. Air Force was second with 10 first-place votes, Utah State third with three, Colorado State fourth with one, and then Wyoming and New Mexico.
The division winners will meet in the Mountain West championship Dec. 3 at the home stadium of the division champion with the highest winning percentage in conference games. Since the Mountain West started divisional play in 2013, the poll has picked both the West and Mountain division winners just twice.
Haener, a sixth-year senior who transferred to Fresno State from Washington in 2019, ranked second in the conference in passing last season. He completed 67.1% of his passes, averaging 8.4 yards per attempt and 315.1 yards per game with 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The quarterback this week also was named to watch lists for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards, and Mims on Wednesday to the Doak Walker Award watch list.
