Hike's Peak: The Weekly Mountain West Podcast

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak Podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! The college football season is in full swing, and we have plenty of big time matchups to analyze. New Mexico fought hard, but ultimately lost a rock fight to Oklahoma, Texas State’s offense finally came to life for their first win against North Texas, and Fresno State outclassed San Jose State in the Battle for the Valley. We’ll go over all of the details you need to know from week 3, and we’ll follow that up with every Mountain West and PAC-12 team’s most impressive and disappointing player to start the 2026 season. To end the show, we’ll of course give you in-depth previews and predictions for both of our games of the week, featuring two Mountain West teams that are at a real tipping point in their journey, and a PAC-12 favorite taking on a squad with the exact same mascot. This is going to be a fun episode, let’s dive in!Show Notes:Week 3 Recaps + AnalysisNew Mexico loses rock fight to #24 Oklahoma, 14-6Texas State's offense comes alive for 49-35 win over North TexasFresno State outclasses San Jose State to hold onto the Battle for the Valley trophyEvery MW/PAC-12 team's most impressive & disappointing player so farMW/PAC-12 Game of the Week Preview + PredictionHawaii (1-2) @ Wyoming (1-2)Boise State (2-1) @ Western Michigan (2-1)That is it for this week’s episode of the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you so much for listening! We’re a quarter of the way through the regular season, I know it seems crazy but this year will be over before you know it so make sure to savor all of the epic moments we get to see in 2026! Make sure to explore the FREE depth chart tracker app, which provides starting lineup projections for every team in the Mountain West and PAC-12! If you like the show & enjoy our coverage, leave a rating on whatever platform you’re listening on, every single one of those helps us out immensely. Follow us on twitter at MWCConnection & find all of your Mountain West news at MWCConnection.com. Also make sure to check out our site’s brand new podcast, “The Pac-Mountain Pulse”, with Derek & Dom’s conversations airing on Thursdays! Thank you so much for listening, also look out for another radio appearance from myself on Bison 1660 coming soon! Until next time, I’m Jack Thompson, and thank you for coming back to the mountain!

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! Week two was a ton of fun to watch, with conference heavyweights Boise State and North Dakota State picking up massive wins, while other squads, cough cough UNLV, weren’t as lucky. We’ll kick the show off by diving into the three most interesting games from this past weekend, complete with analysis and answers to the questions those games left you with. Then, we’ll dive into a stock report for every team in the Mountain West and PAC-12, with some teams already way above or below their preseason expectations. Finally, we’ll end the show with our game of the week from both conferences, with important storylines and players to watch, along with my predictions. Alright, lots to get through this episode, let’s dive in!Show Notes:UNLV drops the ball against North Texas. What's going wrong in Vegas?North Dakota State bests Air Force for 1st Mountain West win. Are the Bison now the MW favorites?Boise State outclasses Memphis to take top spot in G6 Power RankingsStock Up/Down Report for ALL Mountain West/PAC-12 schoolsMountain West + PAC-12 Games of the Week w/ previews & predictionsThat is it for this week’s episode of the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you so much for listening! With Rutgers football in complete disaster mode, the Mountain West and PAC-12 now have my undivided attention! Make sure to explore the FREE depth chart tracker app, which provides starting lineup projections for every team in the Mountain West and PAC-12! If you like the show & enjoy our coverage, leave a rating on whatever platform you’re listening on, every single one of those helps us out immensely. Follow us on twitter at MWCConnection & find all of your Mountain West news at MWCConnection.com. Also make sure to check out our site’s brand new podcast, “The Pac-Mountain Pulse”, with Derek & Dom’s conversations airing on Thursdays! Thank you so much for listening, come back every Tuesday to talk about whatever college football craziness is up next! Until next time, I’m Jack Thompson, and thank you for coming back to the mountain!

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak Podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! I hope everyone enjoyed their first full weekend of college football, I’m certainly excited because we have a lot of storylines to discuss. We’re going over everything from Colorado State reclaiming the Bronze Boot against Wyoming, to Boise State nearly upsetting #2 Oregon, as well as several other results that we have to talk about, like what’s going on with Hawaii and Micah Alejado? After breaking down week one’s most intriguing contests and discoveries from them, we’ll get you ready for week 2, with a preview of our Mountain West and PAC-12 games of the week. Strap in for a fun episode, let’s dive in!Show Notes:Colorado State dominates the Border War, reclaims Bronze Boot from Wyoming, 35-13Hauss Hejny, Jim Mora have injected new life into the Rams football programIs it already time to hit the panic button on Wyoming & Tyler Hughes?Boise State goes toe-to-toe w/ #2 Oregon, falls 34-27, stakes claim as top suitor for the G6 CFP spotUNLV shuts down Hawaii's offense, cruises to uncontested 21-6 winIs the Rebels' defense legit?What's going wrong for Micah Alejado & the Run N' Shoot offense?San Jose State grabs first win of 2026 against Eastern Michigan, 27-21Nevada finally puts it all together, blow out Western Kentucky 49-13 for biggest season opening win since 2018Utah State loses to FCS Idaho State, 29-17. What went wrong, and how scared should Aggies fans now be for 2026?Mountain West Game of the Week: FCS Defending National Champion Montana State @ NevadaPAC-12 Game of the Week: Battle for top spot in G6 CFP race, Memphis @ Boise StateThat is it for this week’s episode of the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you so much for listening! I’m so excited to see how the 2026 college football season unfolds, and I’ll be here every Tuesday so we can talk about the latest! Make sure to explore the FREE depth chart tracker app, which provides starting lineup projections for every team in the Mountain West and PAC-12! If you like the show & enjoy our coverage, leave a rating on whatever platform you’re listening on, every single one of those helps us out immensely. Follow us on twitter at MWCConnection & find all of your Mountain West news at MWCConnection.com. Also make sure to check out our site’s brand new podcast, “The Pac-Mountain Pulse”, with Derek & Dom’s conversations airing on Thursdays! Thank you so much for listening, Western Michigan should’ve won! Until next time, I’m Jack Thompson, and thank you for coming back to the mountain!

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak Podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! The 2026 college football season is officially underway, with the big story being North Dakota State steamrolling their way to their first win as an FBS program, as well as disappointing losses from Hawaii & UNLV. We’ll break down all four week 0 games from the Mountain West, & then we’ll dive straight into your week 1 preview, where I’ll let you know the most important storyline to watch for all 13 PAC-12 & Mountain West teams that are playing in their season opener. Lots of games to get through this week, let’s dive in!Show Notes:Week 0 RecapNorth Dakota State steamroll Jacksonville State for 1st win as an FBS programUNLV loses steam in second half, falls to MemphisHawaii's late comeback against Stanford thwarted by slow start, controversial finishNew San Jose State QB Luke Weaver shines in debut @ USCTop storyline for all 13 Mountain West/PAC-12 teams' season opener:Fresno State: New QB Jayden MandalBoise State: Can the Broncos hang with top-tier Oregon?Border War showdown between Wyoming & Colorado State: Which transfer QB will seize the day?New Mexico: Jack Layne update, state of the QB roomThat is it for this week’s episode of the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you so much for listening! Find all 21 of our full length interviews from Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas here, as well as our Media Days episodes spotlighting the attending players, every head coach, & MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez & college sports business expert KC Smurthwaite! Make sure to explore the FREE depth chart tracker app, which provides starting lineup projections for every team in the Mountain West & PAC-12! If you like the show & enjoy our coverage, leave a rating on whatever platform you’re listening on, every single one of those helps us out immensely. Follow us on twitter at MWCConnection & find all of your Mountain West news at MWCConnection.com. Also make sure to check out our site’s brand new podcast, “The Pac-Mountain Pulse”, with Derek & Dom’s conversations airing on Thursdays! Thank you so much for listening, hopefully, your favorite team gets off on the right track this weekend! Until next time, I’m Jack Thompson, & thank you for coming back to the mountain!

Welcome back everyone to the Hike’s Peak Podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! Start popping bottles, because we’ve officially made it through the offseason! College football kicks off for four Mountain West teams this Saturday, so we have full previews ready for all of those! From North Dakota State’s first ever home game in the FBS, to big opportunities for Hawaii and UNLV, I cannot wait to see what these teams are made of. Without further ado, let’s dive in!Show Notes:San Jose State @ #14 USCJacksonville State @ North Dakota StateHawaii @ StanfordMemphis @ UNLVEach game features an in-depth preview of both teams, players to watch, and a predicted final score.That is it for this week’s episode of the Hike’s Peak podcast, thank you so much for listening! The end of the offseason is finally upon us, let’s enjoy what will certainly be a one-of-a-kind year of college sports! Find all 21 of our full length interviews from Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas here, as well as our Media Days episodes spotlighting the attending players, every head coach, and MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez and college sports business expert KC Smurthwaite! Make sure to explore the FREE depth chart tracker app, which provides starting lineup projections for every team in the Mountain West and PAC-12! If you like the show & enjoy our coverage, leave a rating on whatever platform you’re listening on, every single one of those helps us out immensely. Follow us on twitter at MWCConnection & find all of your Mountain West news at MWCConnection.com. Also make sure to check out our site’s brand new podcast, “The Pac-Mountain Pulse”, with Derek & Dom’s conversations airing on Thursdays! Thank you so much for listening, we’ve finally reached the start of the football season, congrats everyone! Until next time, I’m Jack Thompson, and thank you for coming back to the mountain!