Will the MWC place a team in the BCS for a 2nd time in the last 3 years?

With new BCS rules that are more inclusive,the MWC, Big West, and CUSA have a better opportunity of placing their conference champ into one of the 5 BCS games.

TCU looks like it should have another very good year coming off its 11-1 season. The Horn Frogs defense should be one of the best in college football.


After Utah dismantled ACC Georgia Tech in The SF Bowl, the Utes looks very strong after an exceptional 2nd half of the season last year.

Also, BYU looks to be back to its old ways of having a lethel passing game and should challenge as well.

Calling Cougar Fan.....CougarFan....hello? Hello??

I have to give credit to you raider, you are the greatest college football fan in America to stay loyal to your school! Good job! I guess this means I'm the Mountain West's resident poster?!? I swore I saw some Putes around here once!

Well I'm not sure about Mountaineer's reference to the "Big West" conference. Was that your reference to the WAC? There is no Big West D1-A conference. But I digress. wink

So to quote myself:

As a Mountain West fan, I see the schedules set up nicely for TCU, Utah and BYU to all make a run.

TCU returns most of its players from its 11-1 team last year. However, everyone in conference is looking to pay back the Frogs. TCU hosts Texas Tech and BYU and travels to Baylor and Army which should both be winnable games. They do have to play at Utah this year which could hurt them. And Baylor is no gimme.

Utah gets both TCU and BYU at home as well as a visit from Boise State. However, Utah's make or break game comes at the beginning of the season playing at UCLA. It will be interesting to see if Utah's momentum from the pasting of Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl last year can carry over or if UCLA will just run over the Utes.

Finally, BYU has a tough road game at Boston College as well as road games at both Arizona and TCU. A win over BC on the road should give the Cougars some national attention but that will be a rough game to win. Arizona is tougher this year and has an amazing secondary. BYU is returning almost all of its potent offense this year. As usual though, the defense has a lot of holes. A LOT of holes. But winning 63-60 is still a win.

I do believe that any team in the WAC, MAC or Conference USA that makes it through undefeated has a decent chance at getting an at large berth this season with the new rules in place. However, the Mountain West does generally have the higher Sagarin and computer ratings to help their at large cause, even with a one loss team.

<small>[ August 06, 2006, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: Cougar Fan ]</small>

I'm guessing that Buffy...ummm...GMeer was referring to the Sun Belt conference which at one time featured many teams from the Big West hoops conference. Of course there's always the WAC.....

Buffalo since joining D1A in '99: 10 wins total.

Who wouldn't be a fan?

My apologies on calling the WAC the Big West Conference.

Many of the current WAC teams played in the Big West Conference at some point during their football history. With the WAC being dominated by former Big West programs ( Fresno, Boise State, Nevada, and others) Its very easy to associate those programs with the conference where each made their inception onto the college football landscape.

Boise State in the 90's when it jumped from Div 1AA used the Big West to elevate its program. Ditto on Fresno State ( especially under former coach and offenseive guru Sweeney who won 221 games) which jumped from D1AA in the 70's to the Big West Conference.


http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/conferenc...ns.php?conid=23

UTEP at San Diego State - SDSU 28 UTEP 24
Utah State at Wyoming - Wyoming 35 Utah State 21
Weber State at Colorado State - CSU 42 Weber State 10
Utah at UCLA - Utah 21 UCLA 20
Portland State at New Mexico - New Mexico 36 Portland State 9
Idaho State at UNLV - UNLV 24 Idaho State 12
Brigham Young at Arizona - Arizona 37 BYU 35
TCU @ Baylor - TCU 28 Baylor 21

WOW! I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen a BYU fan predict a close win by the Utes and a close loss by the Cougars in the same week!!!

Just playin' with you, Coug!!

Ill RepUTE

Well I didn't want to seem like too much of a homer in my first predictions. I also hate Ben Olson and would love to see him get destroyed by Utah in their opener. Also, Utah has beaten every Pac-10 team it's played since 2002.

Arizona is going to be much improved and their secondary will be a challenge for even BYU's potent offense this year.

I have yet to see BYU's D-Line this year and if they can't get any pressure on Arizona's QB, it could be a very long game for BYU. I could easily see BYU winning this but since it's in Tucson, I'll give a slight edge to the Wildcats. For now.

Well, Arizona seems to surprise in years when they are overlooked and flop in years where they are highly regarded...see 1994 when they were the preseason # 1 team in the nation (SI) and ended the season losing to the Utes in the most excitingly worst played bowl game I've ever witnessed in (then) Anaheim stadium (of Anaheim). So the question is whether they are highly regarded or overlooked this year. A lot of polls have them at #4-5 in the PAC10. But compared to previous years this is an improvement, so I'm gonna say the Cougars roll in this one. Beck shines with 4 touchdown passes and the Cougars win 38-24. BYU fans immediately make reservations for the BCS Championship Game.

Ben Olson was named the starter for UCLA Monday, Brett Ratliff for the Utes yesterday. No surprises on either side here. Two whole starts between them, but boy did Ratliff look poised in those two. I'd say a mistake prone first game for the Utes but they pull it out 24-20.

Are you going to be at the Rose Bowl in September 2 Coug? After all I did attend BYU's last game at the Coliseum...

Ill RepUTE

If Utah beats UCLA and wins its other non- conference games, the Utes-TCU winner is almost a certainty to play in the BCS Bowl

TCU doesn't play a Big name OOC opponent and if the Horned Frogs don't slip up ( as they did to SMU last year), the UTAH- TCU game will a huge game that should not only garner MWC appeal, but national appeal.

Most of the Bowl predictions are failing to realize the BCS with the addition of one more game is now inclusive and the MWC will more times than not place a team.


As some BCS fans are up in arms over this, college football is the winner as now MWC and possibly WAC teams can at least now have a probable access that rewards exceptional teams from the "non bcs conferences".

I hope you're right about the Arizona preview. I will definitely be at the Utah / UCLA game. I can't root for Utah but I will definitely be rooting against Ben Olson. wink

Well TCU does play Texas Tech which should be a matchup of Top 25 teams.

I'm glad you see the positive in the BCS "trying" to include more teams. I still wish the BCS would just take the Top 10 teams regardless of conference affiliation if we can't have a playoff. But the ACC wouldn't like that much!

I've always taken interest in Utah, BYU, AF, and CSU and other programs that comprised of the old WAC conference from the 80's. Every year at bowl season I circled the date of the Holiday Bowl matchup with hopes ( it rarely disappointed) of a the customary offensive explosion typically because of the gunslinging pass happy offenses ( mostly BYU's) that squared off and dictated the flow of the game with high scoring. Big 10 teams typically realized they had to outscore their opponent if they hoped depart San Diego with a W.

I'm no fan of the BCS. Since its inception onto the college football landscape back in the late 90's, its leading force of programs, conferences, and the media to accept the arms race ( major athletic department revenue and spending) as the inevitable future of college football.

Fans of college football are suffering. Today's Bowl games are highly uninteresting compared to matchups the pre-conference bowl tie in. Bowls selected great matchups and it was very effective in providing outstanding matchups.

Now,Many teams are playing in the same bowl because of their predictible conference tie ins( sometimes 2 years in a row teams are playing in the same bowl or same team even).


Pundits who insist a playoff would endanger the modern "bowl tradition" are either way biased with ulterior motives that don't want to see the demise of the money hungry BCS or they have abandonment issues. All they need to do is reference back to the 1940's when the great debate was NIT or NCAA tourney for a postseason that determines the national championship. Change is good if its to better the product. THE BCS doesn't better the product.


Its far from being our mom and dad's Bowl. The tradition was not already compromised, but sold to the highest bidder ( corporate sponsers. Bowls did what they had to stay competitive in the arms race of big time athletics, thus have contributed to their own demise by seeing their survival and success stipulated through conference tie in bowl selections.

The sooner a playoff system is administered ( by the NCAA), the sooner college football will become a lot more enjoyable to college football fans. With a 16 team playoff, non-bcs bowls will still be a major part of college football in placing very good teams that didn't place in the Sweet 16 playoff. Fans will once again just sit back and root for teams they once did in the pre BCS divisive days without focusing on polls, BCS rankings, Multiple BCS conference pay outs, BCS at large bids, "non-BCS", and possibly the most appealing part would be media who have vested interests on what teams and conferences are selected by the BCS and will redirect focus back to the players, coaches, and matchups that appeal to every college football program and its fans instead of bickering over the quest of securing 17 million dollars ( similar to the search for Fredo's ring ( Lord of the Rings)- the precious) every week.

[ August 24, 2006, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: GymMountainEER ]

Actually Fox Sports currently has Utah as its preseason selection for the Fiesta Bowl, vs. Tex-ass. Ah, Tempe at New Years, the memories...umm I mean Glendale. Well, that just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I didn't see that one.

ESPN seems to be missing ( hard to believe, huh?) the boat that the MWC should place a team into the BCS most years.

since I live close to both Pac-10 schools and WAC schools, I'd love to see the WAC schools make some noise

of course, we're going to see at least one WAC school drop down to I-AA if the NCAA actually enforces its own rules about attendence, but that won't necessarily be a bad thing though

Letter Grades (and analysis) after three weeks:

Air Force (0-1): B

I'm not big on "moral victories" but losing 31-30 at Tennessee ain't that bad. They jump right into conference play this week. I could see them winning the next four. Prognosis: middle of the pack.

BYU (1-2): B+

OK, so no moral victories here, but they impressed me vs. BC...and especially Tulsa. Plusses: Beck, the wide receivers. Minuses: Kicking (obviously) and execution. Gotta punch it in and not leave it up a last second kick. This is one of the top two teams in the conference. Prognosis: Second place.

Colorado State (2-1): D+

Ugh. I suppose Ram fans are saying "At least we beat Colorado" but that is the only thing they are going to be able to hang their hat on. Nevada is middle of the pack WAC. Prognosis: Seventh (tie).

New Mexico (1-2): D-

I almost gave them an F. But they did win one game, New Mexico State by 6. Keep in mind NMSU is the team that Utah State looks forward to on their schedule as the "winnable" game. Meaning New Mexico doesn't have much to look forward to now. Prognosis: Ninth.

San Diego State (0-2): C

Pluses: Defense at Wisconsin. Minuses: 115 TOTAL YARDS and 12 punts against Wisconsin. This said, however, since the conference is so down this year, I think the game vs. Utah this Saturday could be for the conference's final bowl game. Prognosis: Fourth or Fifth.

TCU (3-0): A

Holding Texas Tech to 3 points is very impressive. BTW, how much fun could it have been to attend a game with no touchdowns...geez. This is one of the top two teams in the conference, and if the game vs. BYU was in Provo I would predict the reverse, but I'm saying Prognosis: First.

UNLV (1-2): C-

Maybe Hawaii's really really good. Maybe Iowa State is down this year. Maybe UNLV sucks. Prognosis: Seventh (tie).

Utah (2-1): C-

Nothing whatsoever proven yet. It's been a long time since I've seen a Utes team lay down like the second half at UCLA. Then two 1-AA teams (no seriously!) This Saturday's SDSU game will be a much better measure of this team. The only thing that plays into the Utes' favor is that Boise, TCU, and BYU go to Salt Lake. Prognosis: Middle of the pack.

Wyoming (1-2): B-

At first I was impressed with how well they played at Virginia, but it turns out that UVA super sucks. Boise was more impressive. They will surprise somebody in Laramie. Prognosis: Middle of the pack.

In summary, there are two good teams, three truly awful teams, and four in the middle. The middle will be where it gets shaken out.

What sayest thou? Cougar Fan? The Other FSU? Bring on the smack!!

Ill RepUTE

No real smack here from me. But the Mountain West is really, really down this year. The Mountain West went head-to-head in 3 games against the WAC last week, and the WAC went 3-0 (winning the games by a combined 87-33). I was particularly shocked by how an 0-2 Nevada team easily beat a 2-0 Colorado State team. I know CSU is without its best running back, but to only score one TD against Nevada isn't good at all. I still think that Utah has a chance to beat Boise State when the teams collide in Salt Lake City in two weeks. If the game was being played on the blue turf in Boise, I'd expect the Broncos to win by at least 4 touchdowns... but since the game is at Utah, I expect a close one. I'm still not convinced that TCU is a great team either and I expect TCU to lose at Utah for sure.

After four weeks, I see the conference rankings as follows:

1. TCU - HUGE game against the Cougars this week. Of course the favorable scheduling gives TCU twelve days to prepare and BYU the short turn around. TCU is too strong at home.

2. BYU / Utah - Maybe this is cheating but both teams are such an enigma. BYU should have beaten an average Arizona team and should have won at Boston College. The win over Tulsa was impressive. Utah has lost the only game they played against a decent team. However, they have looked solid in their other wins and the way they throttled San Diego State in San Diego looked like their team at full potential. Both teams are playing Top 25 opponents this week and should give us a better indication of how to separate them.

4. Air Force - Loses by one at Weyland and then beats a decent Cowboy team in Laramie. Could be for real until their November slump.

5. Wyoming - The Cowboys looked very solid against Boise State and Virginia. But Virginia isn't very good this year. Then they lost to Air Force. Beating syracuse at the Carrier Dome is a MUST.

6. Colorado State - Who are these guys? Sure anyone can beat Colorado. But you have to beat Nevada too. No idea how they will finish in conference play. The Nevada loss has them sixth.

7. New Mexico - You have no idea how hard it is to put a team that lost to a Division 1-AA school anywhere but at the bottom. However, New Mexico's offense has started to gel and the win over UTEP last week was nice.

8. UNLV - Oh Rebels. You would think a place like Las Vegas would be able to rally behind their team and get some recruits. Holding Wisconsin to 14 points in Madison was nice. Getting whipped on the islands was not. Maybe you can beat Nevada.

9. San Diego State - The school of broken dreams. Every year we hear about the potential at SDSU. And every year nothing happens. An 0-4 start means no bowl game for the Aztecs. Again.


Well this week the WAC will probably be favored in all four of its games against the Mountain West:

San Diego State vs. San Jose State
Colorado State vs. Fresno State
Utah vs. Boise State
UNLV vs. Nevada

Thank goodness for the Aggies or the Mountain West might not have beaten the WAC at all this year!

Wow, nice win for BYU vs. TCU last night. I didn't see the game live but apparently they led the whole way, and boy was John Beck impressive. On a short week too. They did precisely what they seemed unable to do against BC...finish the job. They're the team to beat...just hope the Utes can keep pace with a win at home vs. Boise, then TCU coming up.

Where is Cougar Fan? I thought he would be here for sure today!!

I was shocked at how well BYU played down the stretch in that game. I was only able to see the second half but came away very impressed. The Cougars were playing their hearts out, making diving catches and over-the-shoulder grabs in traffic look routine. I really can't remember the last time I've seen a team make so many amazing plays in one half. On the flip side, TCU looked remarkably bad. The Frogs were playing like they were sleepwalking. It was weird. I haven't seen them play that bad in a looooong time.

Two thoughts from yesterday's game:

1) Wow, the Mountain West TV contract sucks. A 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon Pacific time start for BYU-TCU on CSTV? I think the MWC lost a lot when it ended its deal with ESPN. Really, you have to search and search for games on CSTV, Versus, and the mtn. (the 3 networks tied to the MWC now). No one is really going to watch those games except for MWC fans so it's not going to help the league in visibility at all.

2) TCU doesn't draw very well at home. Why is that? That crowd was pathetic. I read that TCU had only sold out one home game in the last 20 years (and their stadium only seats like 44,000 I think).

I am off to see Colorado State-Fresno State tomorrow in person tomorrow. CSU and the 'Dogs always play each other tough. Should be a good one. Prediction: Fresno State 31, Colorado State 23.

I really wanna watch Boise State-Utah tomorrow but I'll be driving. Damn. I have a feeling that Utah will pull off the 'W' since the game is in Salt Lake City. It could even be a blowout. I'm pulling for Boise, but my prediction is: Utah 34, Boise State 27.

It was great to watch the Cougars execute well and rout TCU. Yes the kick off time was crap. Announced attendance was 32,000 something. That's what they get for a four o'clock kick off on a Thursday. Luckily, that's the only bad kickoff time this year for the Cougars. If the Mountain West was still on ESPN, I'm sure they would have had a 1 pm tuesday kickoff!

I knew I shouldn't have bet against Boise State! Damn.

Not only did Boise State beat Utah, it was complete dominance on the Utes' home field.... Utah's worst loss at home in 17 years! This Broncos team is for real. I don't think a lot of teams in the country -- even those at the very top -- could beat the Utes by 33 points in Salt Lake City and hold them to only 8 first downs and 170 total yards. Amazing.

The Utes got manhandled. It's hard to tell how bad Utah really is but one thing is for sure, Boise State is for real. Fresno will probably be Boise's only test here on out.

I wish the Mountain West would just add Boise and Fresno already and creat a strong western conference.

And for an even 12 teams, take your pick of Nevada or Hawaii.

Or even UTEP if Mike Price keeps building that program. UTEP has great fan support. UTEP brings in another Texas school to compliment TCU. UTEP is a natural rival for New Mexico. Adding Fresno, Boise and UTEP would really solidify the Mountain West as "the best of the rest" if you will.

Hey RepUte - sorry for your loss .... man Boise looked good ... what happened to Ratliff. Looked like a scared puppy out there.

I don't think Fresno will be anyone's test -- let alone Boise's big test -- if the Bulldogs play like they did tonight.

It was absolutely the worst Fresno State performance I've seen since Pat Hill took over 10 years ago. Colorado State won 35-23 but the Bulldogs gave this game away. It was embarrassing. Pathetic QB play (though 2 of the top 3 receivers are injured) and a horrendous secondary for the 'Dogs. The WAC goes 3-1 against the Mountain West today, with <shockingly> Fresno State being the biggest favorite, yet the only one to lose. Congrats to San Jose State, which romped over San Diego State.... and also to Nevada, which steamrolled UNLV on the road.

It seems like Fresno did its normal get up for the big games (Oregon / LSU) and get throttled by a team they should beat. The WAC steamrolled the shitty Mountain West teams though. Props!

Actually I never expected a pasting like that...but really Utah is not that good. We were at the SDSU game in San Diego last week and we were complaining how poor the offense seemed...it turns out that the defense is just as bad.

Congrats though, Coug, BYU looked really good. They've already passed their biggest test in the conference.

Ill RepUTE

Congrats Ute on your own pasting of the Frogs. The Holy War is going to be a great one this year!!

Yeah, I was alternating between cheering for the Utes and pouting about the Dodgers game....

Seriously, notwithstanding this win, the Utes' offense just doesn't look that sharp. A good defense (i.e. BYU) can really disrupt them. BYU is still far and away the team to beat here.

But I've said it before and I'll say it again...Eric Weddle is the MAN! MWC Defensive Player of the Year, and first team All American.

Weddle is a stud and a half. The Mets can all die. I am being way to agreeable with a Ute!!

Hey The Other FSU, since there isn't a WAC thread and I know you visit this thread pretty often....

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

Ill RepUTE

Yes, Fresno State has gone to the dogs (so to speak). The problems are many, but none can be explained better than Pat Hill's stubbornness. He has forever been known as a guy who picks a QB and stays with him no matter what. Remember, Hill is a guy who had David Carr sitting on the bench for two years!!! Carr didn't play at all at Fresno State until he was a junior. That says it all right there.

This season, Hill chose to go with sophomore Tom Brandstater at QB. In high school, Brandstater earned all-conference honors at defensive back. In his one season playing QB in high school, he threw for 900 yards. Fresno State fans are extremely mad at Hill right now because the Bulldogs have a Parade All-American QB sitting on the bench. He's a sophomore and has not played a single down during his entire career so far. His name is Sean Norton and he is the first and only First Team Parade All-American to ever sign with Fresno State. He threw for more than 8,000 yards in two years at Hart HS in Southern California. They are traditionally one of the best HS teams in the nation and known as a QB factory (Kyle Boller and others went there). He owns all sorts of California HS records and led his team to the Southern Section CIF championship (which, for those who know high school sports, is an amazing accomplishment... much more impressive than most teams winning a state championship because the competition level is top-notch).

So anyway, Norton rides the bench and doesn't even get a chance to take a snap. Many think the reason is that he's short by traditional QB standards (he's 5'11" compared to 6'5" for Brandstater). But in my opinion, talent should outweigh height. Brandstater in the spring and in fall scrimmages was never close to being as accurate as Norton in games. And after 5 games so far this year, Brandstater has thrown more INTs than TDs. The offense is horrendous. The Bulldogs have a great RB in Dwayne Wright (Oregon's Bellotti even said he was more impressed with Wright than Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and he saw them back-to-back). With opponents knowing that Wright is the only weapon on offense, they are stacking the box to stop the run. With no passing game at all, if you stop Wright, you beat Fresno State.

Utah State is a horrendous team. I watched Saturday night and could not believe how bad both teams looked. I've truly never seen a worse performance by a Bulldog team. They were lifeless. They appear completely demoralized like they have lost all faith in Hill as a coach. I also think Hill's great demise has been caused by his "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mantra. Sure, Fresno State schedules the big boys and generally either wins or plays them very close. But when the Bulldogs lose to a big BCS power, the team (and Hill) act like there is no reason to continue playing the rest of the games. They fall apart. The goal is always to reach a BCS bowl game. Some applaud that. I used to. But as a team in the WAC or Mountain West knows, you must go unbeaten to even think of a BCS bowl. So you need to concentrate EVERY GAME... not just get up for the big names on the schedule.

Whew. So... bottom line... Fresno State sucks. The Bulldogs have gotten progressively worse and I don't foresee it getting much better. Hawaii comes to Bulldog Stadium this week and then the 'Dogs travel to face LSU and Boise State. Those games are going to be very scary. I could easily see either of those teams winning by 40 points. A lot of fans think it's time for Hill to leave and I'm very close to that way of thinking myself. He's done a lot for the program but Fresno State has really reached rock bottom at this point.

I didn't think I would ever see the day when Fresno fans would begin to clamor for Hill's dismissal. But wow that Utah State game was ugly. Fresno needs to get back to its winning ways so it can join the Mountain West already!!

I told you the Bulldogs were horrendous. I had to sit thru that debacle against Hawaii today. Hawaii is good, but certainly not 68 points good. Today was the first time Fresno State's defense looked truly awful all season. That had been the lone *somewhat* bright spot.

Coach Hill finally gave into public pressure and allowed our backup QB to play for the first time. As mentioned above, he (Sean Norton) was a First-Team Parade All-American in high school and California HS Player of the Year. All he did today was come in and throw for 225 yards and 3 TDs in his first ever college game. Trouble is that he was only inserted after Hawaii got a 4-TD lead!

With LSU and Boise State up next, Fresno State is in deep trouble.

I was shocked at the Wyoming-Utah score. I didn't see any of the game but was very surprised that the Cowboys won, especially by that much. I don't think anyone could've predicted the MWC title would come down to Air Force and BYU. Those are the last two unbeatens, right?

Yep - BYU and Air Force are the last two unbeatens in Mountain West play. Utah is imploding. BYU is two field goals away from an undefeated season Hopefully the Cougars can keep the momentum going. Air Force is a hard read because they lost to Navy but almost beat Tennessee in Knoxville. BYU has to play at AFA and at Utah so not an easy road. The whole Mountain West just sucks this year and all 9 teams have under performed.

I feel for you and your bulldogs man ... but trust me - I know what it's like to see your team get blown out at the islands. Stupid ex rainbows!!

I actually don't think the whole MWC has sucked this year. The league is down, yes, but I think BYU is playing better than in recent years.

The WAC seems to be on the rise a bit. Dennis Erickson at Idaho and Dick Tomey at San Jose State have really turned those programs around pretty quickly. It's possible that one -- or even both -- of them could go bowling this year and that's shocking.

Today, Pat Hill named Sean Norton as the starting QB for Saturday's game at LSU. This is the first time in Hill's 10-year career that he's switched QBs mid-season but it's a great choice. Against Hawaii, Norton was a big step up from the 'Dogs previous QB (Tom Brandstater). Norton is only listed at 5'11" but on the field I swear he's no bigger than 5'8" or possibly 5'9"... but he's very accurate and a scrappy runner too. Brandstater had only 6 TDs in 5 1/2 games, while Norton had 3 in one half.

Correct. BYU has played well, the rest of the conference...not so much.

BTW I'm slitting my wrists today if you all are wondering.

Ill RepUTE

I feel your pain, RepUTE.

Well I have to admit it's refreshing to see BYU pasting opponents again. I wish the BC and Arizona games were at this point in the season instead of earlier.

Don't worry Ute, once you play SDSU and UNLV, you will feel better. And you know the Holy War will be close regardless.

I wish UNLV was on the Bulldogs' schedule this year.

Don't forget... Fresno State at LSU... ESPN2... 6 p.m. Pacific time tonight. That should be, um, painful. It looked like a good matchup back in August though.

Redshirt freshman Sean Norton (pictured below) makes his first career start for the 'Dogs against the nation's top-ranked defense. Ouch.

14-0 Early. LSU isn't a recipe for getting better, unfortunately. I would agree with you about the UNLV game but I don't think any game is more of a gimme than Utah State. Hang in there - it's just one bad year.

Dude, we already played SDSU!!!

Any thoughts on San Diego State beating Air Force and New Mexico beating Utah in the same week?

SDSU has always had the potential to start winning. I am glad BYU has already played them. Utah is crumbling. It seems like they don't expect to win any more - even with their 21 point lead. Those losses opened the door for BYU to blow this thing wide open. Now BYU can't lay an egg at the academy this week.


Oh yeah! Sorry! Well just wait until you play Utah State!!

Can we please not have any more Utah State references on this board until at least next season?

Virginia Tech's win tonight over Clemson was a big help to Boise State's chances of reaching a BCS bowl. The new rules dictate that a non-BCS team is guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl if it finishes in the Top 12... or if it finishes in the Top 16 and is ahead of any BCS league champion. This week, Boise State was 15th in the BCS standings and Clemson (the ACC leader) was 12th.

By the way, representatives from the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls will be on hand next Wednesday when Boise State hosts Fresno State (and they obviously will not be there to watch the Bulldogs).

Yes indeed! Things are looking good for Boise unless they majorly stumble at San Jose State or Nevada. Which would be ridiculous. But I am rooting for Boise or any non AQ team. Of course I wish it was BYU ... but oh well.

By the way, congrats to my Cougars for clinching their first Mountain West title in five years!!