Comments on: Conference Preview: Mountain West

By: sroufe

sroufe — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:31:13 +0000

I’m not going to argue with these predictions.

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:08:28 +0000

Gene,

BYU has a brand new OL, and their only returning starter broke his hand. Plus another starter is out for a year with a shoulder injury and one of the backups is out for the year as well. It won’t matter how good Max Hall is if Utah, OU and TCU are camped out in his backfield. BYU will be lucky to finish 3rd.

By: Gene

Gene — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:45:40 +0000

BYU is almost a no brainer. I know the media that covers the conf picked TCU, but their batting average is well below the Mendoza line. Also, BYU returning senior QBs win conference titles. And of course they get TCU, AFA, and Utah at home.

Picking Utah to finish 2nd is a very big miss. There is no way they will win at TCU. Their QB situation is less than desireable, and their best player on D is struggling with back issues. They will be battling with AFA for third place this year.

IMO, TCU will go 11-1 with their sole loss coming to BYU. Gary Patterson is as good a coach as most of those in the BCS conf.

AFA will be right there fighting for third place. I will be absolutely floored if they do any worse than 8-4.

UNLV just might be bowl elgible this year. They have everything in place to get to 6 wins. Omar Clayton might be one of the most unheralded QBs in college football.

Colorado St lost a lot from last years team. If they are down this year, it won’t be for long.

UNM, is a real wild card. They only have 9 returning starters. People forget about Porterie. The big question is, how good can Porterie be this year?

SDSU has a phenomenal coaching staff in place. I am expecting big things in the future. I would not be surprised if they give UCLA all they can handle in their opener. They could even pull out a W if they win the TO battle. Unfortunately that staff needs a couple years to get the right pieces in place.

Wyo should be very solid on D. They return 8 starters and typically play very good D. Their problems all lie on the other side of the ball. WIll the they be able to score with any consistency this year?

BTW, there are 3 new Head Coaches in the MWC this year; Mike Locksley at UNM, Dave Christensen at Wyoming, and Hoke which you already mentioned.

By: Dan Paystrup

Dan Paystrup — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:19:10 +0000

I am true blue BYU, but TCU will win the conference. BYU could have a chance, they have talent, but have too many injuries at key positions.

By: Rick B

Rick B — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:15:53 +0000

Picking Air Force fifth is an indication that beyond the top three in the MWC you have no clue. Air Force finished second two years ago and fourth last year. Last year they were very young and have many of their capable starters returning, including the MWC Freshman player of the year in Tim Jefferson. Air Force will be a big factor in the MWC this year and in the future as its young talent matures.

By: RudyC

RudyC — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:30:41 +0000

I think that the picks are obvious and conservative. One thing no one is picking is UNM. I am telling you now that UNM will have a say in who rules the MWC. Rocky Long taking his D to SDSU is not going to affect UNM. In fact, it could be the catalyst to put UNM in a bowl situation. UNM only lacked a credible offense in the 11 years under Rocky. Now enter Mike Lokcsley who is an offensive mastermind. He hired Tee Martin (yea, that Tee of the Tennessee Volunteers) to coach the QB’s. He hired former LSU D cooridinator Doug Mallory to keep the D hot. In my opinion, the only reason UNM was not picked in the top 4 (which is the lowest finbish in the Rocky Long era) is coaching change. Ask Georiga Tech if a first year coach can win!