Caleb Wilfinger
It’s been a long and eventful offseason, and the 2025 college football season is nearly upon us. The battle for a spot in the newly revamped 12-team College Football Playoff begins on August 23 and won’t stop until we crown a champion in January. Last season’s National Championship game saw Ohio State take down Notre Dame to claim its first championship in a decade. Who will reach the pinnacle of the sport in this updated playoff format this season? It’s almost time to find out.
With the offseason chaos in the rearview mirror, it’s time to delve into the futures market for each conference, and here we’re taking a look at the always entertaining Mountain West Conference. This is a league with a clear favorite at the top, but it also feels like a conference where an unlikely contender could emerge if things break right. Let’s look at the latest college football odds for the Sun Belt, along with our NCAAF picks to win the Mountain West Conference, which you can fade or follow at any of the best NCAAF betting sites this season.
Find out ALL of our college football futures predictions for the upcoming season by checking out our betting guide
Mountain West Championship odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook and available at time of publishing.
- Boise State (-145)
- UNLV (+700)
- San Jose State (+900)
- Fresno State (+1200)
- Air Force (+1400)
- Colorado State (+1700)
- Hawaii (+1700)
- Wyoming (+2700)
- San Diego State (+3000)
- Utah State (+6000)
- Nevada (+8000)
- New Mexico (+22500)
Don’t miss our NCAAF National Championship best bets for the upcoming season, including a +4000 longshot!
Mountain West contenders and Mountain West Conference predictions
Boise State (-145)
2024 was something of a dream season for Boise State, as the Broncos finished with an 11-1 record in the regular season before claiming another Mountain West conference title with a victory over UNLV on the blue turf last December. And while Boise State lost Ashton Jeany — arguably the best player in program history — the Broncos still return plenty of production from last season’s offense, including 4 starters on the offensive line, plus quarterback Maddux Madsen and his top receiving targets Latrell Caples and Matt Lauter. The ground game won’t be the same without a generational talent like Jeanty, but the Broncos will still have a 2-headed monster in the backfield with Malik Sherrod (Fresno State) and Sire Gaines (7.8 yards per carry in 2024) leading the charge. I suspect this offense will be just fine in 2025.
On the other side of the ball, Boise State will return 6 starters, including its entire secondary, to go along with a host of Power 4 transfers from the likes of Notre Dame, Arizona and BYU that should make an instant impact. Lastly, this is a schedule that is very favorable within league play, with the Broncos getting their most difficult games all at home, so I’d fully expect Boise State to end up in the conference title game once again.
Now read our expert’s Big Ten best bets if you want additional picks outside our Mountain West predictions
UNLV (+700)
The 2024 season might’ve been the best chance for UNLV to make the College Football Playoff. After all, the Rebels were loaded on offense and had the advantage of hosting Boise State in the regular season. However, UNLV lost that game and looked a bit overmatched in the rematch on the road in December. Now, the Rebels are undergoing a complete reset across the roster and coaching staff, as Dan Mullen steps in as the head coach and will look to lead a roster full of transfers to another double-digit win season. With a deceptively tricky schedule and both sides of the ball breaking in entirely new schemes, I can’t help but be skeptical of this UNLV team, especially at the current price in the market. I’m a lot more bullish on a few teams further down the odds board.
See our 2025 Heisman Trophy winner predictions, with our expert picking a longshot at 60/1 odds!
San Jose State (+900)
On the surface, San Jose State is a team that might’ve also had its best chance to make the Mountain West title game a season ago. However, even after losing all-world wide receiver Nick Nash following a historic season, the Spartans are in a great position to make a run at a conference title this fall. It all starts with quarterback Walker Eget running an offense that took noticeable strides forward with him at the controls after he was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the campaign. Eget will benefit from having Floyd Chalk in the backfield, to go along with a trio of Power 4 wide receiver transfers and an offensive line that returns 4 starters.
Defensively, the Spartans are set to bring back 6 starters, including its entire linebacking corps. Transfers from Utah, USC and Washington should also help matters, particularly in the run game, which was a weakness for this team a season ago. But the real star of this year’s San Jose State team is the schedule, as the Spartans have the fortune of avoiding Boise State and UNLV, while also getting to host Air Force, Hawaii and Fresno State. There is some difference of opinion in the market on San Jose State, but I firmly believe this team can win 8+ games and make the Mountain West title game. With that in mind, I grabbed Over 7.5 regular seasons wins at +105 odds at DraftKings.
If you’re looking for a new sportsbook for the 2025 college football season, we recommend checking out DraftKings Sportsbook. They’ve got an amazing new-user offer where you can click here to sign up now and secure $200 in bonus bets instantly AND $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket!
Air Force (+1400)
For the majority of the 2024 campaign, things went about as bad as they could possibly go for this Air Force team. Troy Calhoun’s side dealt with a myriad of injuries and had to fight their way through a difficult schedule, before ultimately ending the season on a 4-game winning streak to close with a respectable 5-7 record. One year later, and I’m expecting Calhoun’s side to outperform expectations and potentially contend for a spot in the Mountain West title game. After all, the Falcons return 8 starters on offense and 6 more from a defense that was a top 40 unit a season ago. Air Force will also get to host Boise State early in the season, and it catches Fresno State, while catching rival Colorado State in a good spot to end the year. This is a team that might not win the conference, but I’ve got Air Force getting back to a bowl with ease.
Read our full Big 12 preview and predictions, including a best bet at +800 odds!
Mountain West football predictions and best bet: Boise State to make the College Football Playoff (+195)
Odds available at bet365 Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +150.
Even without Jeanty and this number taking some steam in the market over the summer, I have a hard time ignoring just how much better Boise State is compared to the rest of the Mountain West. In fact, the Broncos only difficult road game within conference play is at Air Force, while they will get to host UNLV, Colorado State and Fresno State. As long as Boise State is able to split its nonconference road games (USF and Notre Dame), the Broncos should be in the driver’s seat to make the College Football Playoff once again, provided that they win the Mountain West for a third consecutive season. With that in mind, I’d rather back the Broncos to make the playoff at nearly 2-1 odds, compared to a conference winner wager at -140 odds by comparison. Let’s trust Boise State to find its way back to the sport’s biggest stage.
Read our full Sun Belt preview and predictions, including a best bet at +300 odds!
