As I said before, the Mountain West can make a great case for being a top 6 conference. The league has sent two teams to the BCS in its history (Utah 2004, Utah 2008), and has perennial powers in BYU and TCU. Last year, TCU defeated undefeated Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. Unfortunately, the bottom of the conference can at times (as in most) be weak, but the overall amount of talent is as high as some BCS conferences.
The best thing Wyoming has going for them is their uniforms. I love their white helmets, brown jerseys, and yellow pants, just something you dont see very often. Before I sound like too much of a woman, lets get back to the football. Wyoming struggled last year, going 4-8 (1-7), with their lone conference win against San Diego State. They averaged, are you sitting down....12.7 pts a game, good for last placein the nation. Their turnover margin was -22, good for, 2nd to last in the nation. Wyoming brings new head coach Dave Christensen, who is Mizzou's former Offensive Coordinator. Will we see an as successful spread attack as Mizzou had in 2008? Doubt it, but at least theyre trying something new. The defense that ranked 38th in the nation in yards allowed last year returns eight starters. They also play Texas and Colorado non-conference, so a bowl game still seems to be a couple years away.
San Diego State probably played their best game last year against Notre Dame, which they lost. They finished 2-10 (1-7), with their lone win against UNLV. The administration felt that Chuck Long was not the answer, so they bring in first year coach Brady Hoke, coach of the 12-0 Ball State team of 2008. The Aztecs only did a little better than Wyoming in scoring points, averaging 19.3 per game. This no doubt is a result of the team averaging 73 yds rushing a game, 3rd worst in the nation. The team returns 7 starters on each side of the ball, including Sophomore QB Ryan Lindley. Could be better, but dont expect much out of SDSU.
As always, New Mexico posted a solid rushing attack and a decent defense, but was unable to produce a winning season like Lobos' teams of the past. They finished 4-8 (2-6), with a win over Arizona. In comes new head coach (yea another one...tons of fresh faces in the MWC this year) Mike Locksley, former offensive coordinator at Illinois. It will be interesting how long it will take Locksley to implement the shotgun option attack that led the Illini to a Rose Bowl in 2007. There were growing pains for Juice Williams through the years, and expect a similar learning curve at New Mexico. Senior QB Donovan Proterie is slotted as the starter, a 3,000 yard passer in 2007 who injured himself early in 2008. Freshman QB Emmanuel Yeager is billed as being very athletic, and could eventually find himself in the option attack. The defense returns only 3 starters. Gone is defensive coordinator Rocky Long (to SDSU), and gone is his 3-3-5 scheme. Although they will now be running a 4-3, Locksley wanted to maintain a tough persona on defense, and hired former LSU defensive coordinator Doug Mallory. Expect some growing pains and a missed bowl this year, but potential a few years down the road.
The biggest of UNLV's 5 wins came at Arizona State last year, winning 23-20 in overtime. The next week the Rebels beat Iowa State in overtime and improved to 3-1 on the year. Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction before they went 2-5 down the stretch, finishing 5-7. Their defense should shoulder a lot of the blame; they gave up 32.6 pts per game last year. Head coach Mike Sanford (not in his first year) is excited about his passing game, one that ranked 49th in the nation last year. The offensive line and the running back needs to be replaced. The defense returns 5/7 starters up front, but is that a good thing; they ranked 110th in rush defense last year. With all the negatives, the Rebels were still just 1 win away from a bowl game. Compound that with a 1 pt loss to Air Force, and a touchdown loss/blown game to BYU, and UNLV was very close to being in a bowl. They should be right there again, playing a lot of high scoring games.
Colorado State posted a nice campaign in 2008, which culminated with a win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Gone, however, are their two star players: QB Billy Farris, and RB Gartrell Johnson. Fortunately for whoever steps in, all of the WRs return, and 4/5 linemen return. The pressure will be on the defense. They return only 4 starters, only 2 from the front 7. Combine this with the fact that they were 102nd against the rush last year, and several MWC teams could be trying to jam it right down the Rams throat. The team starts with their traditional game against Colorado, hosts Nevada and Utah, and must travel to TCU and BYU. Returning to a bowl game is possible with some of the talent they have on offense, but will still be difficult.
Air Force posted a nice 8-5 record, with all of their losses coming to bowl teams (Utah, TCU, BYU, Navy, & Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl, who they also beat earlier in the season). As expected, Air Force did it on the ground, finishing 6th in the nation in rushing. They only return 5 starters on offense, but they return QB Tim Jefferson and RB Asher Clark. Better news for Falcons fans is that they are both sophomores. The receiving corps returns no starters and is thin, and Air Force had trouble moving the ball through the air last year, (ironic?) Nevertheless, dont expect the team to have trouble running the ball. The defense posted pretty solid numbers last year. They finished 43rd in scoring, and 50th in passing yards. Five of the back eight players return on defense (they run a 3-4), but they may be thin up front. Their success hinges on the ability to slow down the big 3 in the conference, and they will not make the leap to the top of the conference until they do that. If the front eight of the defense steps up big, they can make that leap this year.
BYU could be labeled as a dissapointment last year. They narrowly escaped Washington, UNLV, and Colorado State, winning those three games by a combined 11 pts. They were blown out by TCU and Utah, and lost to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl. They only return four starters this year on offense, but that includes QB Max Hall and RB Harvey Unga. The offensive line needs to be rebuilt if they hope to win the MWC. WR Austin Collie left for the NFL. The defense returns eight starters. Although they shut out Wyoming and UCLA, they gave up big numbers to Colorado State, Utah, TCU, UNLV, and Arizona. In a league that has defensive powerhouses in Utah and TCU, that just simply needs to stop. We all know that defense wins championships, and that is why BYU came up lame against both Utah and TCU. Perhaps they were pressured by the early season hype they received. Many believed they would go undefeated and be a BCS buster, but those dreams were dashed pretty early. No one expects that to happen this year, especially with Oklahoma and Florida State on the schedule.
Look for previews of TCU and Utah later on!
Final Predictions:
1. TCU
2. Utah
3. BYU
4. Air Force
5. UNLV
6. Colorado State
7. New Mexico
8. Wyoming
9. San Diego State
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