Week 7 College Football on Thursday

Rutgers at Louisville 6:30 p.m. ESPN (HD) - Big AAC game for two teams exiting the conference, after this season!

San Diego State at Air Force 8:00 p.m. CBSSN (HD) - A Thursday showdown in the Mountain West.

Arizona at USC 9:30 p.m. FS1 (HD) - The Wildcats are first up for Trojans in the post-Lane Kiffin era in the Pac 12.

Friday Night in MWC

Friday, September 13th

Air Force at Boise State 7:00 p.m. ESPN (HD) - as Broncos face the Falcons in Mountain West play on Friday night!

Friday Night College Football Week 9

Friday, October 26th

Cincinnati at LOUISVILLE
7:00 p.m. on ESPN (HD) / espn3 - Big East showdown!

NEVADA at Air Force
7:00 p.m. on CBSSN (HD) - MWC showdown!

College Football '09: A look at the Mountain West Conference

Does the Mountain West Conference make BCS noise again in '09? Who is the candidate for '09? How does the conference breakdown in '09 for MWC?

• The MWC is ranked #10 by Jeff Sagarin among the FBS conferences



• No non-BCS conference team has ever played in the BCS Title Game and not likely anytime soon

• The MWC in '08 put into question a little the viewpoint: Why does the Big East have automatic BCS bowl slot compared to the MWC this year?

• Will there be another BCS bid in '09 for the WAC?

Ranked teams in the AP and Coaches' preseason polls:

• TCU at #17
• Utah at #19 and #18, respectively
• BYU at #20 and #24, respectively

Preseason magazines like other MWC teams in the Top 25 preseason:

none, but the 3 Top 25 are well liked by most magazines too

Teams rebuilding in the MWC in '09

• Colorado State

Teams in the MWC not ready for prime time in 2009?

• San Diego State
• Wyoming
• New Mexico

Will the MWC finish this way in 2009??

1. Utah * (8-0 in '08) (11-3 in bowls)
2. TCU (7-1) (11-13-1)
3. BYU (6-2) (9-17-1)
4. Air Force (5-3) (8-10-1)
5. UNLV (2-6) (3-0)
6. Colorado State (4-4) (5-7)
7. New Mexico (2-6) (3-7-1)
8. San Diego State (1-7) (1-4)
9. Wyoming (1-7) (5-6)

denotes 2008 MWC champs (source for above list)

Last BCS bowl participant

• Utah went 12-0 during the 2008 regular season (W, Sugar over Alabama 31-17)

Kickoff Game of the Season

Thursday, September 3rd

Utah State @ Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah at 9:00 PM CT

TV: Mountain

Final Look at the MWC teams, using the preseason Jeff Sagarin NCAA football ratings:

1. Utah (#12 in Sagarin ratings) - Coach Kyle Whittingham lead the Utes to their first BCS bowl, since the '04 season under former coach Urban Meyer. Whittingham is entering his 5Th season in '09 after finishing 13-0 last season. The Utes return 54 letterwinners, with 5 OFF and 7 DEF from last year's team that beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar. Utah opens the '09 season vs. Utah State, @ San Jose State, @ Oregon and vs. Louisville before a bye week and opening MWC play @ Colorado State.
2. TCU (#16) - Coach Gary Patterson is entering his 9Th season at the helm for the Horned Frogs after finishing 11-2 last year. The Horned Frogs return 46 letterwinners, including 6 OFF and 4 DEF plus both kickers from last year's team that beat Boise State 17-16 in the Poinsettia. The Horned Frogs don't open until week 2 of the season when they open @ Virginia, vs. Texas State, @ Clemson and vs. SMU before opening MWC play @ Air Force.
3. BYU (#23) - Coach Bronco Mendenhall enters his 5Th year at the helm for the Cougars after finishing 10-3 last season. The Cougars return 45 letterwinners, with 4 OFF and 8 DEF plus PK from a club that lost 21-31 to Arizona in the Las Vegas. The Cougars open '09 with a big game vs. Oklahoma in Arlington (Dallas Cowboy's new stadium), @ Tulane, vs. Florida State, vs. Colorado State to open MWC play, then close OOC play vs. Utah State.
4. Air Force (#55) - Coach Troy Calhoun enters his 3rd season at the helm for the Falcons after finishing 8-5 last year. The Falcons return 44 letterwinners, with 6 OFF and 6 DEF from the squad last year that lost to Houston 28-34 in the Houston. The Falcons open the '09 season vs. Nicholls State, @ Minnesota, @ New Mexico and vs. New Mexico to open MWC play, returning to OOC play @ Navy. Air Force concludes OOC play vs. Army in November.
5. New Mexico (#74) - The Lobos welcome new coach Mike Locksley to Albuquerque. Locksley is the former OC from Illinois. The Lobos return 44 letterwinners, with 6 OFF and 3 DEF plus both kickers from a squad last season that finished 4-8. The Lobos open '09 play in the OOC @ Texas A&M, vs. Tulsa, then open MWC play vs. Air Force, then back in OOC play vs. New Mexico State and @ Texas Tech.
6. Colorado State (#79) - Coach Steve Fairchild enters his 2nd season at the helm for the Rams. The Rams finished 7-6 last year and return 45 letterwinners, with 7 OFF and 5 DEF from a squad that beat Fresno State 40-35 in the New Mexico. The Rams open '09 season in the OOC @ in-state rival Colorado, vs. Weber State, vs. Nevada, then open MWC play @ BYU, before finishing OOC play @ Idaho.
7. Wyoming (#98) - First year coach Dave Christensen enters Laramie after holding the OC position at Missouri. The Cowboys return 43 letterwinners, with 8 OFF and 8 DEF plus both kickers from a squad that finished 4-8 last year. The Cowboys open '09 play in the OOC vs. Weber State, vs. Texas, @ Colorado, before opening MWC play vs. UNLV. Wyoming closes in the OOC @ Florida Atlantic.
8. UNLV (#104) - Coach Mike Sanford enters his 5Th season at the helm for the Rebels. The Rebels return 46 letterwinners, with 7 OFF and 7 DEF plus PK from a squad that finished the season 5-7 last year. The Rebels open the '09 season in the OOC vs. Sacramento State, vs. Oregon State, vs. Hawaii before opening MWC play @ Wyoming. UNLV is @ Nevada to finish OOC play in '09.
9. San Diego State (#110) - New coach Brady Hoke moves over from leading Ball State for '09. Hoke replaces Chuck Long for the Aztecs. The Aztecs return 48 letterwinners, including 8 OFF and 7 DEF plus both kickers from a team that finished last year at 2-10. The Aztecs open the '09 season in the OOC @ UCLA, vs. Southern Utah, @ Idaho, before opening MWC play @ Air Force. They finish OOC play vs. New Mexico State followed by a bye week before resuming the heart of the MWC schedule.

A look back at last year's statistics in the MWC.

peace

Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5)

The 2008 Armed Forces Bowl will welcome the Air Force Falcons (8-4, 4Th in the MWC) vs. the Houston Cougars (7-5, 3Rd in the C-USA West Division) in Fort Worth.

Last year, the Falcons lost to California 36-42 in the Armed Services Bowl. The Cougars are set for their fourth straight bowl game, but in search for a win, after losing 13-20 to TCU in the Texas Bowl last year.

The twist in this bowl game is that both teams faced one another in game three of the regular season. Air Force beat Houston on the road 31-28. Air Force's four losses were to Utah, Navy, BYU and at TCU. The Falcons lost their final two games, after running off a five game win streak. Houston's other four losses were at Oklahoma State and at Colorado State sandwiched around the game with Air Force, then road losses at Marshall in the middle of the conference season and at Rice in the season finale.

Air Force's last win was vs. Colorado State 38-17. A team that Houston lost 28-25. Conventional wisdom in a rematch says take the Houston Cougars, but it is called the Armed Forces Bowl for a reason... Right?

Cidsports' prediction

Air Force 38

Houston 35

cidsports

peace

Iowa State to play Service Academies in the future...

Iowa State will host Nebraska this weekend in a Big 12 football game, but in the future, the OOC schedule will include Army, Air Force and Navy.

peace

Is the MWC home of the non-BCS big Hope in '08?

Who will make the BCS bowls in 2008? A lot of discussion about Georgia and Ohio State these days. What conference outside the Big Six will carry the non-BCS conference banner this season?

Will one among the Mountain West Conference be one of the BCS bowl participants in 2008?

The Mountain West Conference carried the banner in 2004, with Utah, who beat Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. The Western Athletic Conference has carried the banner the past two seasons. This year's popular choice this year could lead the the MWC back in line as the top non-BCS flag carrier.

Brigham Young is a preseason consensus Top 25 member. They are the most popular candidate among the non-BCS programs to crash the BCS party in '08. While not a consensus pick, Utah is a candidate for the Top 25, as well, from the MWC.

Top 15 OOC MWC games:

1. Utah at Michigan in season opener
2. Brigham Young at Washington
3. Oregon State at Utah
4. UCLA at Brigham Young
5. Stanford at TCU
6. Colorado State vs. Colorado in season opener (in Denver)
7. Iowa State at UNLV
8. Arizona at New Mexico
9. Texas A&M at New Mexico
10. TCU at Oklahoma
11. UNLV at Arizona State
12. Wyoming at Tennessee
13. San Diego State at Notre Dame
14. Colorado State at California
15. Northern Iowa at Brigham Young in season opener

The MWC looks to grab the flag over the WAC and all others among the non-BCS to carrier the banner in '08. Will the MWC grab it again? Will have to see the season unfold to find out.

So, who do I like in the MWC race in '08?

1. Brigham Young Cougars (8-0 in '07) enter their fourth year under coach Bronco Mendenhall and will have to weather having a target on their backs in '08 to prevail.
2. Utah Utes (6-2 in '07) enter their fourth year under Kyle Whittingham and will look to win their first MWC title, since '04 and Urban Meyer's final team in Salt Lake City that saw the Utes earn and win a BCS bowl game.
3. TCU Horned Frogs (4-4 in '07) will welcome their eighth season under coach Gary Patterson, who is best known for his defense and should have one of the better units in the MWC.
4. New Mexico Lobos (5-3 in '07) host the dean of the MWC with coach Rocky Long, who will build off last year's success and a 23-0 win over Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl.
5. Wyoming Cowboys (2-6 in '07) are lead by coach Joe Glenn, entering his sixth season... with junior QB Karsten Sween and senior RB Devin Moore leading the offense!
6. San Diego State Aztecs (3-5 in '07) look for better play in coach Chuck Long's thrid campaign as the Aztecs head man!
7. UNLV Rebels (1-7 in '07) begin year four under coach Mike Sanford and look to get out of the cellar after four straight seasons there in the MWC.
8. Air Force Falcons (6-2 in '07) may have a tougher second year with coach Troy Calhoun at the helm in Colorado Springs.
9. Colorado State Rams (2-6 in '07) welcome the new coach in the MWC with Steve Fairchild replacing long-time coach Sonny Lubick.

• Biggest Game and Rivalry: Nov. 22 - BYU at Utah in "The Holy War" rivalry game
• Next Best Game: TCU at New Mexico in season opener
• Coach of the Year: Bronco Mendenhall, BYU

So, the MWC hopes to garner a BCS game or bust, in '08!

peace