Dark horse contenders for every college football conference in 2019

Mountain West Conference

Favorites: Boise State, Utah State
Liked by some: Fresno State
Dark-horse:

It’s been a minute since the Rainbow Warriors garnered some national attention, but last year’s 8-6 record — their first winning season since 2010 — was a step in the right direction.

This is a team to watch simply because they are returning so many players from what was a pretty good team in 2018. Eight starters on offense are returning, which means the 30.8 points per game Hawai’i averaged last season probably won’t see much of a dropoff and may actually get better.

The key to that offense, quarterback Cole McDonald, has a shot at an All-American season and could be the first Hawai’i QB to spin the ball to some Heisman consideration since Colt Brennan.

What will be the deciding factor on whether or not the Rainbow Warriors make some progress in the MWC will be the defense. Nine starters are returning from last year’s squad, however, that’s a group that gave up over 35 points per game. There will need to be some marked improvement on that side of the ball, and in particular from the secondary.

Hawai’i’s home schedule is set up nicely this year, which could lead to a shift of power atop the MWC West.