Mountain West Week 11 Power Rankings

Heading into Week 11, I rank the Mountain West teams in the following order:

Rank	Team	Comment
1	TCU	After beating Utah 47-7, The Horned Frogs earned this spot.
2	Utah	While the Utes lost to TCU, they're still the second best team in the conference.
3	San Diego State	SDSU controls its own destiny, and can earn the title with wins over TCU and Utah.
4	Air Force	The Falcons won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy by defeating Army.
5	BYU	A solid second half, has the Cougars moving up in the standings.
6	Colorado State	The Rams should contend for the title next season.
7	UNLV	At least they beat New Mexico!
8	New Mexico	The Lobos won their first game of the season, by defeating Wyoming.
9	Wyoming	Come on, 'Pokes. Did you really lose to New Mexico?

Mountain West Week 10 Preview

Week 10 of the college football season brings the most excitement yet. The Mountain West features several crucial contests this weekend. What will happen?

TCU at Utah
#3 TCU (9-0, 5-0) squares off against #5 Utah (8-0, 5-0) in the Mountain West Conference game of the week. The winner of this game ends up with a BCS berth. The loser will end up in the Las Vegas Bowl.

This matchup might be the best game in conference history. Both teams enter the game ranked in the Top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Utah's underrated defense will make the difference in this game. After turning in its worst performance of the season last week, the Utes will stuff the run, and force TCU QB Andy Dalton to beat them. While Dalton is the best QB in the Mountain West, he will not make enough plays, to defeat Utah's wide-open offense. The Utes win at home, and earn a much- deserved apology from ESPN Radio!

Air Force at Army
While the TCU - Utah will get the most publicity, the Air Force - Army game means even more to these academies. Air Force (5-4, 3-3) can break Navy's eight-year stranglehold on the Commander-in-Chief trophy with a win. Army (5-3) needs to defeat the Falcons, and then defeat Navy on December 11th.

This matchup features two triple-option attacks. While both teams rank in the Top 10 nationally in rushing, the team that passes the ball with the greatest success will win the game. While Air Force has the better secondary, Army has a much better pass rush, recording 20 sacks in 8 games. The Falcons win a tight game on the road, with QB Tim Jefferson making the difference.

UNLV at BYU
The UNLV - BYU contest features two teams going in opposite directions. UNLV (1-7. 1-3) has struggled all season, with its only win coming against winless New Mexico. After starting out 1-4, BYU (3-5, 2-2) has won 2 of its last 3, and can qualify for a bowl with a strong finish to the season.

Both offenses have scored points when they ran the ball successfully. BYU will establish the ground game early, controlling the clock, and keep the Rebel defense off the field. The Rebel offense will not fare well against an improving Cougar defense. BYU wins this game, and keeps its bowl hopes alive.

Colorado State at San Diego State
Colorado State plays at San Diego State this week in an important game for both teams. With a win, CSU (3-6, 2-3) will remain bowl eligible. The Aztecs (6-2, 3-1) still control their own destiny in conference play, and need to win out to take the conference crown.

This game will be a shootout. QB's Pete Bell and Ryan Lindley will have big games against suspect secondaries. The Aztecs will make more plays on defense, and keep pace with the Utah - TCU winner in the Mountain West race.

Wyoming at New Mexico
Wyoming travels to New Mexico to round out the conference schedule. A Wyoming (2-7, 0-5) win offers a chance to escape the Mountain West cellar. New Mexico (0-8, 0-4) comes into the game still seeking its first win of the season.

While New Mexico continues to improve each week, they do not have the talent to beat Wyoming. Cowboy QB Austyn Carta-Samuels has a big day, as Wyoming records its 3rd win of the season.

Utah - Air Force Lessons Learned

For those that missed it, Utah defeated Air Force 28-23 in Colorado Springs on Saturday. With this win, the Utes set up a battle of unbeatens, as they face 9-0 TCU in Salt Lake City this weekend. ESPN and the College Gameday crew will be on location for this showdown.

Saturday’s game demonstrated the following things about this year’s Utah team:

• The Utes can force turnovers - All season long, Utah has been on the negative side in turnover margin. This weekend, the Utes forced 3 fumbles, and 2 interceptions. The first two fumbles occurred deep in Utah territory where the Falcons would have certainly scored.


• Utah can run the football when they need to - Saturday's offensive game plan resembled Vince Dooley's "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense. The Utes ran the ball a season-high 51 times, taking advantage of the smaller Falcon defenders. In addition, by running the ball so frequently, the Utes ran a very "vanilla" offense, giving TCU very little to glean from this weekend's game.


• The Utah D comes up huge in the clutch - While the defense did not have outstanding numbers, they played very well when it counted. The Utah defense stopped the Falcons on 4th down twice in the 4th quarter when the game was still in doubt. In addition, they forced turnovers in the 1st quarter, which prevented Air Force from taking an early lead.


• Utah has yet to open the full playbook. - While the Utes played conservatively on offense, they did sneak in an additional wrinkle this weekend. Utah ran a fake field goal in the third quarter with kicker Joe Phillips picking up the first down. After picking up the first down, the Utes scored their final TD, which ended up as the deciding score.

Utah - Air Force Preview

The Utes face their toughest challenge of the season, traveling to Colorado Springs to play the Air Force Falcons. How will Utah fare against a team in the top half of the conference? Here are four things to look for in this week's game:

Utah stops the option
Air Force runs the triple option to perfection, ranking first in the nation in rushing offense. Despite these gaudy numbers, the Falcons have struggled offensively ever since they lost FB Jared Tew. With Tew out of the lineup, Utah will focus on containing QB Tim Jefferson and HB Asher Allen, and rely on the defensive tackles to take away the FB dive.

Big day on the ground
The Falcons have struggled with the run in conference play, allowing a minimum of 175 yards per contest. The Ute offensive line will take advantage of the smaller Air Force defense, and open huge holes for RB's Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide.

Minimal turnovers
The Utes fumbled the ball 8 times in last season's overtime win against the Falcons. These turnovers killed several drives, and almost cost the Utes the game. Coach Kyle Whittingham has not forgotten about this, and has coached the Utes to secure the football.

Offense opens up the playbook
Given the magnitude of this game, the Utah offense will open things up to prevent the Falcons from putting eight on nine defenders in the box to stop the run. Look for offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick to involve many different receivers in the game plan, and use some "trickeration".

Mountain West Week 9 Preview

Week 9 will answer many questions that remain about the Mountain West Conference. How will Utah play against the top half of the conference? Can San Diego State win a tough conference game on the road? Which teams toward the bottom of the conference will step forward, and claim a bowl? Here is what to expect this week:

Utah at Air Force - The top game of the week pits Utah (7-0, 4-0) against Air Force (5-3, 3-2). The Utes want to win this game to dispel the notion that they can only beat weak teams. For Air Force, this game presents a chance to snap a two game losing streak, and earn a better bowl game.

Utah averages 47.7 points per game, ranking third in the nation. The Utes will start out running the ball, looking to capitalize on the size differential between the offensive line, and the smaller Falcon defenders. Air Force has struggled against the run all season, and will move more defenders into the box. The Falcons will slow down the run with the extra defenders, and limit the Ute passing game with stellar play from CB's Reggie Rembert and Anthony Wright.

Air Force ranks first in the nation in rushing, and will continue to use its vaunted triple-option attack. Despite the outstanding numbers, the Falcon offense has struggled since losing FB Jared Tew to injury. Without Tew, teams do not respect FB dive, and concentrate on shutting down the outside threat posed QB Tim Jefferson, and HB Asher Allen. Utah's front seven will stop the option, and force the Falcons to the air. QB Tim Jefferson will struggle against the aggressive play of the Ute secondary.

While the Falcons will play well, they do not have enough talent to play with the Utes. Utah will pull away late in the game, adding an impressive road win to an otherwise weak BCS resume.

TCU at UNLV - TCU (8-0, 4-0) travels to Las Vegas to face the UNLV Rebels (1-6, 1-2). The Horned Frogs enter the game ranked #4 in the BCS, and need an impressive victory to remain in that slot. A win over TCU would provide the Rebels with some much-needed confidence, and could turnaround a miserable season.

TCU has one of the most explosive offenses in the country, averaging almost 40 points per game. RB's Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker will lead the ground attack against a UNLV defense that allows 5.3 yards per carry. QB Andy Dalton will also take a few shots down the field, looking to get the ball to one of his big-play wide receivers. While UNLV will make adjustments, they do not have the talent to stop the powerful Horned Frog attack.

UNLV scores points when they run the ball effectively. They will run the ball from the outset, and look to take the pressure off QB Omar Clayton. TCU will dominate the line of scrimmage, forcing the Rebels to the air. The Rebels will move the pocket to avoid the speedy TCU pass rush.

TCU wins this game big, and heads into next week's showdown with Utah undefeated.

San Diego State at Wyoming - San Diego State (5-2, 2-1) plays Wyoming (2-6, 0-4) in a critical conference game for each team. The Aztecs still control their own destiny in conference play, and must win this game to keep their title hopes alive. If the Cowboys want to return to a bowl for the second consecutive season, they need to win out for the rest of the season.

San Diego State relies on a balanced offense, with a 50-50 run/pass ratio. The Aztecs may turn to the passing game early with standout RB Ronnie Hillman slowed by a hip pointer. QB Ryan Lindley will throw deep to DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown. Wyoming will play "bend but don't break defense", giving up yards, but not surrendering points.

The Wyoming offense has struggled to find its rhythm all season long, averaging just over 200 yards per game. The Cowboys will mix it on up on offense, trying to score some points. Much like the Wyoming defense, SDSU does not play flashy defense, but gets the job done. The Aztec D will take away the run, and force Wyoming to beat them deep.

San Diego State has struggled on the road this season, with its only victories coming over New Mexico (0-7), and New Mexico State (1-7). On the other hand, Wyoming has played well at home, despite the brutal schedule that they have played. The Cowboys pull off the upset at home, and remain in contention for a bowl game.

New Mexico at Colorado State - New Mexico plays Colorado State to round out the Mountain West schedule for Week 9. The Lobos (0-7, 0-3) have played better in recent weeks, and have their best chance for a win this season. Colorado State (2-6, 1-3) looks to avenge last season's loss to the Lobos, and remain in the hunt for a bowl bid.

New Mexico played much better on offense last week with QB BR Holbrook returning from injury. The Lobos will play without leading rusher Demond Dennis, dismissed from the team on Tuesday. Despite the loss of Dennis, New Mexico will attempt to remain balanced against an attacking CSU defense. The Rams have 16 QB sacks this season, and will blitz Holbrook frequently.

Colorado State will run the ball to set up the passing game. While head coach Steve Fairchild has yet to announce this week's starter, the Rams have three tailbacks capable of gaining yards against the Lobo defense. New Mexico will contain Colorado State's ground game, but they will not have an answer for QB Pete Bell, who will toast the Lobo secondary.

Colorado State wins big, keeping its bowl hopes alive.

College Football Power Rankings

Here is how I rank the Top 10 teams in the country, based on what they have done so far:

Rank	Team	Comment
1	Auburn	After beating LSU, Auburn has justified the #1 ranking this week.
2	Michigan State	The Spartans have beaten Wisconsin, Michigan, and a better-than-advertised Illinois team.
3	Oregon	The Ducks are at #3 this week, but a win over USC could move them up.
4	Boise	Strength of schedule hurts the Broncos.
5	TCU	The Horned Frogs have dominated their Mountain West Conference brethren.
6	Missouri	Which is the real Missouri; The team that defeated Oklahoma this weekend, or the team that nearly lost to San Diego State?
7	Utah	The Utes continue to dominate lesser competition, but defeated Iowa State 68-27.
8	LSU	The Tigers get the nod by playing a tougher schedule than Alabama to date.
9	Alabama	The Tide might be the best one-loss team in the country.
10	Wisconsin	The Badgers have beaten back-to-back ranked teams, and should end up in a BCS bowl.

Mountain West Power Rankings

Heading into Week 9, I rank the Mountain West teams in the following order:

Rank	Team	Comment
1	TCU	TCU dominated Air Force this weekend, remaining the conference favorite.
2	Utah	The Utes continue to roll against lesser competition.
3	San Diego State	Despite a lackluster performance against New Mexico, SDSU controls its own destiny.
4	Air Force	The Falcons look to rebound against Utah this weekend.
5	BYU	The Cougars remain in the hunt for a bowl by edging Wyoming.
6	Wyoming	Has anyone played a more brutal schedule than the Cowboys?
7	Colorado State	The Rams should contend for the title next season.
8	UNLV	At least they beat New Mexico!
9	New Mexico	The Lobos showed signs of life against San Diego State, but will finish the season winless.