Last year I think it was Cougar Fan who started this topic...it was fun for the few of us "unwashed" who are fans/alumni of schools outside of the BCS cartel. Anyone interested in doing it again this year?

I'll start:

1) BYU - Until proven otherwise, the Cougars are the presumptive favorite here. Impressive, workmanlike performance against a Div 1-AA team (sorry, if ESPN can't use the other names for the divisions, should we have to?) Max Hall is a stud!

Side commentary: As far as I'm concerned, it's an even bigger crock when the top Non-BCS teams play Div 1-AA schools than when BSC schools do. Why? Because BCS schools already get a good SOS from their conference foes (except the Big Least, of course). Non-BCS need all the help and exposure they can get, not to mention the SOS boost from playing top teams from top conferences. The rub is that not everybody wants to play a really good non-BCS team when Coastal Carolina is available. By the way, Utah is included in the above criticism (Weber State??? WTF???)

2) FSU - Now THIS is the attitude we should all be taking. Anyone...anywhere...and play smashmouth football to back it up. A more impressive win than BYU but I still don't think they're the best team out there.

3) Utah - This game actually shouldn't have been as close as it was, but the Utes fell prey to their usual game 1 jitters...loads of penalties and potentially game changing turnovers...but the D stiffened up just when it needed to. The Utes need to be able to punch it into the end zone on drives in order to truly put teams away. I don't want Louie Sakoda to be the MVP of every game this season.

4) ECU - What an exciting finish! This just goes to show you that in college FB, you just need to do everything you can to keep yourself in the game, and things will frequently bounce your way! Kudos, too, on the NC schedule: Va Tech, WVU, NC State, and Virginia. Well, NC State and UVA probably looked good on paper when the schedule was made...

5) Arkansas State - The temptation was to put Bowling Green here for the more high profile upset...honestly though Pitt is always overrated (and Wannstadt is EXTREMELY overrated). I can't believe this victory over Texas A&M...the Sun Belt's only NC win...was so ignored. I mean I never even saw a crawler for it until the game was over.

6) TCU - The only conference game in the MWC this week was a BIG surprise for me...on the road too. 26-3. Wow. I thought UNM was going to be good this year. Maybe they will be...but TCU is awesome.

7) Bowling Green - Like I said Pitt is a paper tiger...I mean Panther. But Bowling Green is certainly not. Does this make them the team to beat in the MAC? Maybe, but the MAC looks like it has some solid teams this year, not the least of which is:

8) Buffalo - HUH? What a shocker! UTEP is an up and coming CUSA program with a big ol' stadium (that will be packed with Longhorn fans this weekend) and a fertile recruiting ground in Texas. Buffalo is about two years removed from being the WORST team in Div 1-A. Wow. Nice job! I give them a even steven shot against Pitt this week. Mizzou down the road? Uh, no.

9) Boise State - I did this on purpose...I know there has to be a Boise State fan out there ready to shout me down. Idaho State? C'mon? I thought you guys wanted to get picked up by the MWC? Plenty of opportunity to prove themselves, though, with the next three games being with Bowling Green, Oregon, and...

10) La. Tech - I don't think Mississippi State is that great, but this is still impressive. This is another ranking based on this weeks performance on the field (which is how I think rankings should be based) the schedule doesn't get any easier with Kansas, Boise State, and FSU looming on the horizon.

Cougar Fan? The Other FSU? BCS guys? Who wants to disagree with me?

Ill RepUTE

I'm not sure I could do a ranking this early with only 1 game played. But based on what I saw last weekend, there is a group at the top: Fresno State, Utah, East Carolina. There is a group in the middle: Boise State, BYU (I know they're good but a bland win over Northern Iowa didn't tell us how good), Bowling Green, TCU. And then there are others where the jury is still out for me: Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada. I don't know if I'm ready to include Buffalo just yet because winning at UTEP is not close to winning at Rutgers or Michigan, or winning against Virginia Tech, Mississippi State or Texas A&M. Certainly winning in Ann Arbor is a great feat because that's never easy. The way Fresno State dominanted on the road at Rutgers in the second half was stunning too.

The MWC and WAC need to get rid of their dead weight at the bottom and form one 10-team league. It would instantly gain BCS conference status and become a national power ... with 3 teams currently ranked (Utah, Fresno State, BYU) and two others knocking on the Top 25 door (Boise State, TCU). That league would also own the only 3 non-BCS teams to ever play in a BCS bowl.

I am amazed at how far Colorado State has fallen, and not just in football, but in virtually every men's sport.

1. ECU

2. BYU

3. Utah

4. Fresno

5. Boise

6. TCU

7. Arkansas State

8. Tulsa

9. Temple ( yes, the owls)

10. MTSU

After Week 2:

1) ECU - No explanation or commentary needed. WOW!

2) BYU - This was kind of a hiccup for them...never mind the penalty and my opinion of it (OK it SUCKED!) but I can't drop them below the next two teams just yet. This weeks game with UCLA will be a good measuring stick.

3) FSU - Again, can't drop them during an idle week. Other teams were impressive but not enough to leapfrog the Bulldogs.

4) Utah - One impressive half...one woeful half. The Utes are damn lucky it was UNLV.

5) Arkansas State - For the second week in a row it seems crazy to have them this high, but they really piled up the offense this week, and maybe their first opponent (TAMU) isn't so bad...they beat New Mexico after all.

6) TCU - This may be the best team in the MWC when all is said and done.

7) Tulsa - And this may be ECU's opponent in the CUSA conference championship.

8) Boise State - Haven't proven anything yet...we'll wait a couple weeks for the Oregon game.

9) Air Force - Quietly just winning games.

10) Ball State - I don't mean to shaft the MAC...but it seems like the teams that impressed me last week laid an egg this week. I almost put Temple here but to move into the rankings with a loss? That sells the non-BCS crowd a little short.

Here's how ESPN ranks the non-BCS teams this week:

1. East Carolina
2. Fresno State
3. BYU
4. Tulsa
5. Utah
6. Ball State
7. Arkansas State
8. Boise State
9. TCU
10. Rice

GO FRESNO!

After week 3:

1) BYU - You know how this pains me. They are the best team, and have the inside track to the BCS.

2) ECU - I don't think they overlooked a conference foe...but I really thought they were going to lose this one. Conference USA will probably give them a few good challenges, but I notice that they don't play Tulsa...at least until the conference championship.

3) Utah - Kind of on cruise control right now. Lotsa penalties still. Keep that up this weekend against Air Force and the Utes will go down.

4) FSU - Nice showing against Wisconsin. Fresno's a tough place to play; I've been there, their fans are crazy. Since Wisconsin appears to be the best team in the (not so) Big Ten, the Bulldogs don't drop too far. May not have a chance at the BCS though.

5) TCU - One of four MWC teams to beat the PAC 10 this week: BYU over UCLA, TCU over Stanford, New Mexico over Arizona, and UNLV over ASU!! Who's the best conference out west????

6) Tulsa - Had a bye this week, but looks really strong.

7) Boise State - Offense scored on first three posessions of the game then napped the rest of the game. Won't get away with that vs. Oregon

8) Air Force - Utah comes to Colorado Springs...AFA should be a slight favorite.

9) Ball State - The cream of the MAC West (they should be grateful they aren't in the East, a much tougher division this year). Schedule looks to be in their favor.

10 (Tie) - Buffalo - Nice showing against Temple. I see them in the MAC Championship.

10 (Tie) - Arkansas State - Close but no cigar against Southern Miss. This is exactly the type of game they need to win to keep a spot in the upper levels of this poll.

Ill RepUTE

Actually it wasn't a nice showing against Wisconsin. Sitting there in the stadium was gut wrenching because the Bulldogs played poorly on offense and were a disaster on special teams. Normally, special teams is our strong suit but we were miserable. Fresno State kept trying to give the game away time after time, and finally ended up doing just that. We lost by 3 points and our freshman kicker missed 3 field goals! Two of them weren't even close, including a 35-yarder that would've tied it in the 4th qtr. And Pat Hill -- as he often does in the biggest games -- had a brain freeze and decided to punt on 4th and 15 at midfield with under 2 minutes left in the game! We only had two timeouts left so the odds of us getting the ball back were slim and none. At that point, go for it on 4th down because you have nothing to lose. Wisconsin scored 10 of its 13 points on Bulldog turnovers (one was an interception on a pass that was tipped and then flew about 25 feet straight up in the air and was caught by a Badger; the other was when Wisconsin was punting and the ball hit one of our defenders in the back on a bounce when he was trying to block a guy, and Wisconsin pounced on it for a fumble). It was one of those nights where nothing seemed to bounce right.

The Mountain West had a great weekend. Most surprising was UNLV's stunner at ASU. No one could've predicted that. Oh, and BYU's pasting of UCLA was more than a little shocking. Fresno State has to travel to the Rose Bowl a week from Saturday and I'm guessing UCLA at home will not be nearly as generous as it was Saturday against the Cougs. Some big games this week with AFA hosting Utah, and Boise State traveling to Oregon. Fresno St. faces potential trouble by traveling to Toledo. I'm not sure the Rockets are a great team, but I see they're 4-0 all-time against Top 25 teams at home, and I know the Bulldogs have a pattern of following up a tough loss with another loss a lot of times. Yikes.

I was hoping for a better showing for Fresno St but oh well. We had that game so bad and couldn't come away with the win! SHUCKS!

ARGH I changed my pick to ECU at the last minute. Oh well.

Gotta keep talking about the WAC/MWC possible realignment again, combining the top teams from those two leagues into one 10- or 12-team league. For the first time in the history of the national rankings, the WAC and MWC combine for FIVE teams ranked in the Top 25 of the major polls this week. BYU, Utah, Fresno State, Boise State and TCU are all ranked in both the USA Today and AP Top 25 polls. Quite an accomplishment.

Rankings are so unfair to teams from non-BCS conferences. East Carolina dropped all the way out of the coaches' poll this week. Ridiculous! They're 3-1 with wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Meanwhile, you have a team like Texas Tech that is ranked in the Top 10 of both polls and is 4-0 with wins over Division I-AA teams UMass and Eastern Washington, along with Nevada and SMU. East Carolina's resume is far better than that.

MWC is looking good with BYU, Utah, and TCU all ranked...but TCU's ranking will be short lived cause OU will not lose to them at home like they did like 2006 i believe??

I'm just hoping ECU has a hangover after getting upset by NC State and my Cougars can sneak up on them... but then again with the way this year has gone

My rankings for the week:

1) BYU - I don't think anybody can dispute this ranking. The only thing playing against the Cougars is the fact that the toughest MWC games all come on the road: TCU, Air Force, and Utah.

2) Utah - Pulled out a mistake-plagued win at Air Force, always a tough place to play. Turnovers will catch up with the Utes, and soon, if they don't get them out of their system.

3) Boise State - A marquee win was very slightly impacted by the fact that it came against Oregon's fourth string QB. Nothing wrong with the Broncos' offense though!!

4) TCU - Fine, my MWC bias comes out. As everyone has pointed out, Oklahoma looms this weekend, but the Horny Toads haven't been exactly unimpressive vs. New Mexico, Stanford, and cross-metro rival SMU.

5) ECU - The Pirates are still one of the best non- BCS teams out there. They'll stay close to the top of these rankings all year.

6) Tulsa - Look to be the class of the CUSA West. Absolutely annihilated a mid-pack MWC team (New Mexico).

7) Fresno State - Thanks for the comments, The Other FSU. It's frustrating when you have so many chances to beat a highly ranked team. And maybe the Toledo game was just a hangover. We'll see. I plan on seeing the Bulldogs live this weekend at the Rose Bowl. UCLA shouldn't prove to be too much problem. I see the last game of the year is at Boise State...that might be the only upcoming roadblock for FSU.

8) Ball State - With the MWC, WAC, and CUSA solid this year, I'm trying not to overlook the MAC. Ball State looks like the class here, and any Big Ten win...especially one by 22...is impressive.

9) Arkansas State - Very impressive vs. MTSU. Could win 9 games this year easily.

10) Air Force - Even steven with Utah right down to the end. An easier part of the schedule comes now (my UNLV friends might disagree) before the final two games with TCU and BYU.

Ill RepUTE

#23 ECU goes down to who?

Thats right my Houston Cougars!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ill RepUTE, so were you at the Rose Bowl yesterday? Damn it was hot there in that sun. That was a great game. Unfortunately UCLA decided to bring its "A" game for much of the afternoon and played its best game of the season. The Bruins are a much different team with Khalil Bell back from his injury after missing both the BYU and Arizona games. It's no coincidence that UCLA looked good against both Tennessee and Fresno State when he was in there. The Bulldogs' road crowd was amazing. The AP story on the game said Fresno State fans made up "at least a third" of the season-high crowd of 74,000 there, and I'd have to agree. Not only was the entire north end zone red, but there were large sections of the south end zone red as well, along with pockets here and there throughout the UCLA sections.





The Bulldogs became the first non-BCS team to win against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in 25 years.

I was shocked by ECU losing at home to Houston, and by how easily Nevada was able to blow away UNLV in Las Vegas. There were a ton of surprises yesterday though.

Fresno State is clearly legit. I dont care how 'down' UCLA is, beating them in the Rose Bowl is always a HUGE win.

Houston outgained ECU 625 to 270 yesterday. By most ECU fans' admissions it shouldn't have been nearly as close as 41-24.

TOFSU, yes I was at the Rose Bowl Saturday, and yes, my ba**s were damp by the time I left that game. Oh, you mean the temperature??? Anyway...

My UCLA fans all commented "Fresno sure travels well"... of course most of those fans that showed up live in the LA/OC area!!

My top ten this week:

1) BYU - Damn their fans are getting really insufferable on their message board.

2) Utah - I held the line here even though Boise, Tulsa, and Fresno are surging. USC killer Oregon State heads to Salt Lake on Thursday so we can all see whether the Utes are for real. The Utes are currently # 5 nationally in total defense.

3) Boise State - Didn't jump Utah because they had a bye.

4) Tulsa - Had a solid, workmanlike performance against a lower division opponent. Looks like the weaker part of the conference schedule is coming up the next few weeks.

5) Fresno State - Lotsa snaps for beating UCLA at the Rose Bowl...great turnout was a major help. There was red sprinkled in virtually every part of the stadium. Where's the Boise game this year? (Looks on espn.com) Oooh, it's in Boise, and it's the last game of the year. We'll have to wait a while for that one.

6) Ball State - Has anybody else noticed that they score virtually the same amount of points each game??

7) TCU - Sorry, not a great showing vs. Oklahoma. I admit I switched over to some more interesting games even though this was supposed to be my primary game at the time. I believe the Bama/UGA game was on at the same time, and...well you know.

8) ECU - Ummm...I dunno. They are still one of the top ten Non-BCS teams in my mind. I'm gonna chalk this week up to a hiccup. They'll still win the CUSA East

9) Air Force - Bye this week. The upcoming schedule looks painfully easy, with UNLV being the only team in the next six weeks to have a chance.

10) W. Michigan - I don't know much about them but they did beat Temple and are 4-1.

Ill RepUTE

One could make the argument that Utah deserves to be ranked higher than BYU. The Utes certainly have the higher profile non-league wins (Oregon State and Michigan). BYU's two best wins are over Washington and UCLA. The Bruins are very average, and the Huskies are downright awful (UW is one of only two Division I-A teams still winless). It should be interesting to see if TCU can pull out a win against either BYU or Utah.

Fresno State played its worst game in years Saturday, losing in OT to Hawaii. (Glad I didn't go to see it in person. Watching on TV was bad enough.) Six turnovers (3 fumbles, 3 INTs) and 3 missed field goals. That shows how bad Hawaii is this year... Fresno State played awful but was still in position to win in the end. The Bulldogs' freshman kicker missed 3 field goals in the game's final 51 seconds (and overtime). He could've won the game with a 35-yarder with :51 to go in regulation but had it blocked. Then in OT, he missed a 40-yarder wide left, but got another chance when Hawaii was called for running into the kicker. Given new life and a shorter FG (35 yds again), it went wide right. This was the 2nd time he's missed 3 FGs in a game this season (the other being the 3-point loss to Wisconsin in which he missed the game-tying FG late in the 4th). You hate to pin the season on one guy, but he's been nothing short of awful. I think Fresno State must be the only team in the nation that is 3-0 on the road, yet 0-2 at home. The Bulldogs handed UCLA its first home loss to a non-BCS team in 25 years, and then follow it up the next week by handing Hawaii its first road win EVER over a Top 25 team. (Of course the Top 25 ranking didn't last.)

Boise State continues to look great. A 38-3 win over Louisiana Tech is kind of impressive when you consider that LTU beat Mississippi State earlier this year. I would not be shocked to see the Broncos finish 12-0 though they do have a risky game at Southern Miss coming up. Southern Miss may not be as good as usual but it's always dicey playing so far from home.

I don't know about Ball State. I'm not sold. Yes they're 6-0 but when the best win is over Indiana? I'm not sure there wouldn't be a whole lot of teams who would be unbeaten with this slate: Indiana, Northeastern of Boston, Akron, Navy, Kent State and Toledo. I'm surprised they are in the AP Top 25 this week.

UNLV has gone in the tank after opening up strong, but the MWC with BYU and Utah looks to be the best non-BCS conference overall this year. Colorado State seems to be improving a little.

Hmm. I guess I may have spoken too soon. Utah's win at Michigan isn't looking nearly as good anymore. The Wolverines lost at home today to Toledo (a team Fresno State beat on the road). That's a surprising result, though I did think Toledo looked very good against the Bulldogs. The Rockets seem to get up for the big games at least.

Boise State at Southern Miss should be interesting later today. Utah looks to be dominating a bad Wyoming team right now. And poor East Carolina has now lost 3 in a row.

So finally a little shakeup in the Non-BCS conferences...I couldn't be happier about Thursday's result!

1) Boise State - This ranking ultimately comes down to who has the more impressive victory this year among the top teams...right now BSU's best victim (Oregon) looks better than Utah's best victim (Oregon State). Boise appears to have the clearer path to an undefeated season, as well.

2) Utah - The Utes played their most complete game of the season on Saturday, especially on offense. After a week off, the Utes will face New Mexico in ABQ, then TCU and BYU at home (sandwiched around a scrimmage with San Diego State High School). Stay tuned.

3) Tulsa - OK so you got my attention! Wow! Now I know what you need to do to get prominent mention on Sports Center...you just score 77 in a game. Well why didn't you tell us?

4) TCU - For now. They could easily be the best team in the non-BCS conferences. OK, I'll admit I had the baseball game on...I was afraid BYU was going to roll in this game...but once I saw the TCU lead I switched over to channel 2,000 or whatever VS is on in my area...then back and forth...I can't record in the bedroom and my bf was watching HGTV or something in the living room...wait, where was I...oh yeah, THANKS TCU!!!

5) BYU - Started to read their own press clippings. They had a bunch of tshirts printed reading "Pursuit of Perfection" and sold them for $5 each (which is a lot of money for a tshirt for some people in Provo). Still, they are a scary good team most of the time and could easily run the table, including @ Utah.

6) Ball State - To be honest I think there's a pretty big drop off here. Call it my West Coast Bias, if you want. They could easily lose a couple games down the stretch to Directional Michigan.

7) Central Michigan - Beats Western and takes over their spot.

8) Fresno State - I still think they're the next best team in the WAC, and have the best chance of knocking off Boise State.

9) Troy - An even tougher schedule than Fresno State...and the OSU and OSU games look better all the time (couldn't they play Oregon State this year too??) I'd love to see them give LSU a run for its money.

10) San Jose State - Lotsa teams could have ended up here...I was tempted to put Air Force but they barely beat UNLV. Western Michigan still looks pretty good too...but the Spartans lead the WAC right now.

By the way, THANKS AGAIN TCU!!

Ill RepUTE

That Top 10 looks pretty good. I think I'd rate TCU higher than Tulsa though. I am definitely not sold on Tulsa because of the Golden Hurricane's awful schedule. Not only doesn't TU play a single Top 25 opponent, it doesn't really face anyone who comes close to making the Top 25. So far they've beaten UAB, Central Arkansas, Rice, New Mexico, SMU, North Texas and UTEP. They barely squeaked by a 1-7 SMU team by 6 points. Their toughest opponent will be Arkansas on November 1, but even the Razorbacks are not great this year. Still it will be a test.

Boise State continues its impressive run. The Broncos are basically a team that should be ranked each season. They're one of those teams that reloads rather than rebuilds. I think BSU-San Jose State this Friday is a game to watch, however. The Spartans are tough at home, and are better than people forecast in the preseason. I wouldn't be shocked to see SJSU pull off the upset. The Broncos' defense has been outstanding this season, allowing just 7, 7, 3, 7 and 7 points in all their non-Oregon wins. Against the Ducks, they gave up 32 points but 19 of those were in the waning minutes after building up a 37-13 lead thru the first 3 quarters.

Utah looks good. I can't see the Utes losing until possibly the season finale. I doubt TCU will win in Salt Lake City. But the BYU-Utah game should be one for the ages if Utah goes into that one at 11-0 and BYU is 10-1. That one would have major BCS bowl implications. I almost wonder if BYU could win that one and become the first one-loss non-BCS team to make a BCS bowl. I also think this could be the first time 2 non-BCS teams make BCS bowls. An unbeaten Utah and an unbeaten Boise State could each go, though one would have to be taken as an at-large. It's a possibility.

Ill RepUTE, I think I noticed that you and I were tied for first place prior to last week in the Outsports Yahoo College Pick'em. :-)

1. Boise State they have the big road win at Oregon, but still have 4 road games left
2. Utah should be 11-0 going into the season finale
3. TCU the dismantling of BYU was impressive and would likely be unbeaten if they hadn't faced Oklahoma
4. Ball State well, they're unbeaten but the best win is against Indiana so it's hard to get much of a read here
5. BYU dominant at home but got blown out at TCU and narrowly squeaked by winless Washington on a technicality
6. Fresno State just 6 points from being unbeaten, and are 3-0 on the road after winning at Rutgers, UCLA and Toledo
7. Tulsa weak schedule and they would not be unbeaten if they'd played a slate like some of these others
8. Navy beat both Wake Forest and Air Force on the road, and have played a good schedule
9. East Carolina still hanging in there because of wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia
10. San Jose State best start in more than a decade; possible upset looming over Boise State this week

Just for fun, I went to the College Football Ranking Comparison (which just averages a whole bunch of polls and computer rankings for their top 10 non-BCS teams):

1. Utah
2. Boise St
3. Texas Christian
4. Ball St
5. Tulsa
6. Brigham Young
7. Troy
8. Air Force
9. Navy
10. Central Michigan

It does look like the computers think you're overrating the west (particularly Fresno St--wins over UCLA & Wisconsin have lost their luster--which checks in at #16 on their list), a bit vs the east, but the list is similar. Navy (4-3) came as a bit of a surprise to me, but it does have wins over Air Force & Wake Forest and the losses aren't terrible (Pitt, Duke and Ball St). Duke isn't that bad a loss this year, I suppose.

I assume you are TheOtherBulldogs on there? You're in first place all on your lonesome now!!

Ill RepUTE

Not too much upheaval at the top, but what the heck has happened to Fresno State? The Other FSU, any comments?

1) Boise State - Clearly has the easiest path to the BCS. The remaining conference foes don't appear to be so strong any more. I wish their fans would get off the MWC message boards, though...

2) Utah - Didn't help themselves at New Mexico, but didn't hurt themselves either. ABQ is a tough place to play. Play like that Thursday, though, and they'll fall hard to:

3) TCU - I wish I could be in Salt Lake on Thursday. It should be an terrific football environment. Apparently they are trying to black out the stadium for the game. We'll see if it helps...it didn't help Georgia

4) BYU - Suddenly it's like their defense went on vacation. Colorado State is NOT a good team, and BYU had to score in the final minute to pull it out.

5) Ball State - BYE

6) Tulsa - Had a pretty good opportunity to make a statement against an SEC team. But let's be honest. Arkansas is not that great of a team. Looks like there's a pretty sizable gap between the top five and the Golden Hurricanes.

7) C. Michigan - Now that's the way to beat a BCS team! No Indiana is not that good, but are they any worse than Arkansas?

8) Air Force - Has emerged from the pack as the fourth MWC team, but finishes with BYU and TCU.

9) W. Michigan - Eastern proved to be no match, but some formidable foes loom...in fact Western could lose all three.

10) San Jose State - Second place in the WAC, whoda thunk!!

And One More Thing:

VOTE NO ON PROP 8!!!

Ill RepUTE

The Bulldogs apparently packed it in and called it a season in mid-October. But seriously, they've been decimated by injuries of late. I know you were at the Bulldogs game vs. UCLA at the end of September, right? Remember Ryan Mathews, our #1 RB, who ran for something like 160 yards and 3 TDs? He got injured in the 4th quarter of that game, didn't play the next couple of games, and has had only like 9 carries total in the last month. Our second best RB got injured 3 weeks ago and both were out last week and won't play this week against Nevada. I've heard rumors that both will be out for the rest of the year. Now we've got our 3rd string in there, and the whole offense is built around the running game unfortunately. Our QB has been woefully inconsistent. Our starting center, best offensive lineman, starting TE, best WR, and several key starters on defense have either been out the last month or are now out for the season. We're currently missing 8 starters from the season opener. Our defensive coordinator got a brain cancer diagnosis last season and has been in and out of the hospital and has been undergoing chemotherapy but is still coaching. It's obviously taken a huge toll. The team currently on the field for the 'Dogs is nowhere close to the team that began the year winning 24-7 at Rutgers.

Plus the schedule -- as usual for Fresno State -- has been ridiculous. How many teams in the country have still only played 3 home games at this point of the year? I bet there aren't any. Pat Hill takes his "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mantra way too far if you ask me. It's the same situation next year. The Bulldogs' schedule includes road games at Wisconsin, Illinois, Cincinnati and Hawaii, giving them 7 road games for the second straight year. That's crazy. We've played games in 4 different time zones this season and will play in all 5 U.S. time zones next year.

By the way, remember what I said earlier about Tulsa? Weak schedule and they'd have a bad record if they played anyone decent. They lost to the only somewhat average team (Arkansas) on their entire schedule. Tulsa is good but nowhere near the likes of Utah or Boise State.

I caught Utah-TCU tonight. Good game. TCU looked horrendous in the 4th quarter with that kicker missing two easy field goals that would've made a huge difference. I'm looking forward to Utah-BYU in the finale. The Cougars seem to be falling apart a bit of late despite the glossy record.

Actually due to Hurricane Ike, my Houston Cougars are playing only their THIRD home game of the season this afternoon against Tulane.

Top Ten for the week ending November 23:

1- Utah - I've kept Boise State at this spot until this week. But comparing the two teams resumes--the only thing you can do, since they have not played each other and have not lost this season--Utah has a much stronger SOS and boasts victories over three Top 25 teams (Oregon State, TCU, and BYU) compared to one for BSU (Oregon). And it's always sweet to beat BYU!!

2- Boise State - Didn't really help their cause too much by having a close game with a mediocre team (Nevada) while Utah was smoking BYU. Yeah, Nevada is one of the better teams in the WAC...which speaks more to my point of the mediocrity of BSU's schedule.

3- TCU - I think TCU would slaughter Ball State. Their only losses were to Top Ten teams, they beat BYU easily and Air Force by much more than Utah or BYU did.

4 - Ball State - The real question is Ball State or BYU at # 4. Ball State seems to be surging at this time of the year, whereas teams seem to have figured BYU out. Ball State's impressive victories over CMU and WMU don't hurt

5 - BYU - The defense wasn't really that bad on Saturday--five interceptions were more to blame for the lopsided loss--but it seems like the MWC has improved over the course of the season whereas the Cougars have not. What happened to the team that beat UCLA 59-0? Just think though...BYU was a 2-point conversion away from being Washington's only victory of the season.

6 - W. Michigan - As of the weekend they were the only team in the way of a Ball State undefeated regular season (I know they lost last night).

7 - Houston - CUSA seems like the ACC of the non-BCS conferences: Everybody beating up on each other with no one team standing out. By virtue of its trashing of Tulsa a couple of weeks ago, Houston gets my nod of the best of the lot.

8- C. Michigan - Solid non-conference schedule helps their SOS...on the other hand who have they beaten?

9 - Tulsa - The BYU of CUSA. Came out charging at the beginning of the season, then cooled off towards the end. Took out their frustrations this week on hapless Tulane.

10 - Troy - Nice showing against LSU (but lets be honest, LSU is not that great this year) and U La La. Arkansas State should prove to be a good test.

Prediction: Utes go to the Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama...Utes outnumbered 8-1 in the stadium. I'll be there.

Ill RepUTE

Hey, Nevada mediocre? Hmm. I'd say the Wolf Pack qualifies as "good" rather than "mediocre." Nevada's 6-5 record is skewed because they played a tremendous non-conference schedule with games that included Texas Tech and Missouri (along with UNLV of the MWC). In comparing scores, Nevada crushed UNLV on the road 49-27. Yes, the same UNLV team that was tied 35-35 on the road at BYU until the Cougars scored in the final moments to win by a touchdown. Utah won at home against UNLV by 21 points... and Nevada won on the road against UNLV by 22 points. Not much difference there, except Nevada won by more and did it away from home. Nevada's excellent sophomore QB Colin Kaepernick (2,000+ yds passing, 1,000+ yds rushing) is one of the best unknown players in the country. And the Wolf Pack was respectable against an outstanding Texas Tech team, losing 35-19. Nevada held Texas Tech to fewer points than anyone on the Red Raiders' schedule except Oklahoma. Not only that, the Wolf Pack lost its all-league 1,000-yard rusher from a year ago in that game, and has been playing every game since Sept. 6 without him.

I'm fearful of Fresno State being slaughtered today (Friday) on the blue turf in Boise. The Bulldogs have just been destroyed by injuries this year, particularly on both the offensive and defensive line. One of the 9 injured starters came back last week against SJSU and got injured again and is out for good now. The 3rd-string RB gets a start for the 3rd game in a row. Still though, the 'Dogs will go for their sixth road win of the year. We've only won 6 games on the road once before in school history. If I had to predict today, I'd go with Boise St. 49, Fresno St. 13. Game time: 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET on espn2.

Oh and was I right about Tulsa or what?! When they play a decent team, they get shellacked. Giving up 70 points to Houston!? Oh my. The Golden Hurricane's best win this year is over Rice. C-USA seems to be down this year.

I'm also not sold on Troy. I watched the final quarter against LSU and it was embarrassing. Troy gave that game away. You really have to try hard to lose a 4-touchdown lead in the final 17 minutes of a game. I agree about LSU... not one of their better teams by a long shot.

Re: Nevada...

Losing to Texas Tech by 16 is pretty impressive...beating UNLV by any score (home or away) is not. UNLV might have the smallest home field advantage in the country, or at least second worst behind San Diego State.

What really makes me consider Nevada mediocre is the losses to New Mexico State and Hawaii (who lost to Utah State for pete's sake)...

re: FSU/Boise...

I'll be cheering for the Bulldogs big time today!! Not because I think Boise has any chance to pass the Utes, but because Boise's fans are the most obnoxious I know! More than BYU fans (which says a lot). All they do is talk about how weak the MWC is out of one side of their mouth and beg to be picked up out of the other side. Whatever bee-yotches...get off the MWC message board!

Here's a photo of a new incoming freshman quarterback at Fresno State. He is rated as the nation's 16th-best high school QB and becomes the first Bulldogs QB recruit ever to get a 4-star rating from Rivals. The previous highest-rated QB recruit at Fresno State was former No. 1 NFL draft pick David Carr, who entered college with a 3-star rating. This new hotshot? David Carr's younger brother, Derek.