Mountain West preseason football poll released during media days at Circa

UNLV was picked second in the Mountain West’s preseason football media poll released Wednesday as part of the conference’s media days at Circa.

The Rebels received four of 39 first-place votes and 415 points.

Boise State, the two-time defending conference champion, was picked first with 35 first-place votes and 464 points.

The Rebels feature first-year coach Dan Mullen and a slew of new faces via the transfer portal.

“I think (being picked second) is more motivation than anything,” UNLV defensive back Jake Pope said. “Just to have anybody ranked above you or you get told someone is going to make the championship over you, it just forces our team to work harder.

“I think we’re going to come out on top. There is no one who can stop us with the talent we have and, under Coach Mullen, it’s going to be even better.”

UNLV, which has won a combined 20 games the past two seasons, has lost to Boise State in two consecutive conference title games.

The Rebels also placed two players on the preseason all-conference team: junior running back Jai’Den Thomas and senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie.

UNR was picked last in the 12-team league.

Conference move

As expected, the conference will move its entire base of operations from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Las Vegas in July 2026, when the new-look Mountain West officially takes hold.

The move was part of an agreement the conference made when UNLV and six other schools chose to remain in the Mountain West following the defection of five schools to the Pac-12.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.