Mountain West Conference (official thread)

[FCollinsBuckeye]

I 'won' a silent auction for tickets to the Colorado State vs. New Mexico game on 10/30. Should be a real barn burner!

At any rate, it's fun to over to Hughes Stadium for a game once a year or so. If the game sucks, at least they sell beer!

 

[Diego-Bucks]

I 'won' a silent auction for tickets to the Colorado State vs. New Mexico game on 10/30. Should be a real barn burner!

At any rate, it's fun to over to Hughes Stadium for a game once a year or so. If the game sucks, at least they sell beer!

Haha, at least Fort Collins is a wonderful town. You think the Rams are going to improve in the season(s) ahead? In the early 2000s they seemed to be a decent contender in the conference.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

TCU endured a bit of a challenge from SMU going down 17-14 in the early 3rd quarter. Still didn't sweat a lot, but Dalton looked shaky. They look vulnerable at times, but they have a stout defense. The Air Force Falcons look like serious contenders to knock them off.

 

[zwem]

TCU endured a bit of a challenge from SMU going down 17-14 in the early 3rd quarter. Still didn't sweat a lot, but Dalton looked shaky. They look vulnerable at times, but they have a stout defense. The Air Force Falcons look like serious contenders to knock them off.

I think so as well. Air Force gave Oklahoma a game and they have an impressive rushing attack.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

Top-heavy Mountain West

Per usual for a mid-major conference, the Mountain West is immensely top heavy this season. Although BYU seems to be fading (good riddance those fuckers) SDSU is storming up. This upcoming weekends clash between the Aztecs and Cougars should be intense (these two schools don't like each other one bit), I'll be rooting for my Aztecs. Lindley is a dynamic passer, Hillman an immensely talented rusher and the o-line is playing very well. If we win this, the ever elusive bowl game is going to be so very very close.

With Utah, TCU, Air Force and SDSU, the conference has a really solid top-4. Better than the Big East, possibly better than the ACC (though the ACC has 3 more schools to pick from). However, that leaves 5 teams to scrounge around the bottom. BYU has the history, but they are sucking it up like the good little Mormon girls they are.

My power rankings so far:

1. TCU
2. Utah
3. Air Force
4. San Diego State
5. BYU
6. Wyoming
7. UNLV
8. Colorado State
9. New Mexico

TCU, Utah and Air Force should fight for the conference title. I'm partial to Utah coming through in the end, I think that Andy Dalton can be shut down easier than Jordan Wynn (when healthy). However, TCU can bring the heat on defense and I am giving them the edge for now. Utah's running attack is probably the weakest among the top-4 teams which means that the Horned Frogs can blitz on a more frequent basis, and they are probably the best blitzing team in the country. Gary Patterson is like the Rex Ryan of the Mountain West. That head to head match-up is going to be nuts!

I'm really enjoying watching Air Force as well. They have the personnel and system in place to beat everyone in the conference, but TCU and Utah probably have more "talent", whatever that's worth. You look at TCU and Air Force and neither of them rely on one running back to carry the load. It speaks well about the quality of the line play which is why I give the Falcons the edge over my Aztecs. Jefferson (the AFA QB), is a tremendous decision maker and I actually think he is better than Andy Dalton, although the comparison is moot since they play two completely different systems.

At this stage of the season, I think that TCU and Utah are fighting for the BCS game, Air Force is fighting for the conference title, SDSU is probably not yet at the dark-horse stage but they are surprising me with their execution on both sides of the ball.

BYU is probably going to be lucky to go 6-6. Wyoming, Colorado State and UNLV are decent enough teams to possibly go for 6-6 and a bowl game, but with 1-3 starts for all of them I don't think any of them will. Of the three, Wyoming is probably the best and have the best chance to run the table against the other 4 schools at the bottom. They have a decent running attack with Alexander and an efficient passing game, but they will still probably lose 7 games and drop out. New Mexico is staring 0-12 in the face.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

MWC Game of the Week

With no doubt, the game of the week for the MWC teams is:

Navy Midshipmen at Air Force Falcons

These are two option teams that are very well coached at the moment, both are in the upper echelon of the non-BCS teams and, of course, they are two service academies fighting for the Commander-in-Chief trophy awarded to the best squad amongst the service academies.

Navy has a 7-game winning streak heading into the game, but its being played at Falcon Stadium and the Midshipmen haven't faced a Falcons team that's gelling this well in many moons.

I'd say the Falcons will be favored, but honestly its a pick-'em straight up in my books. Navy has the recent success favoring them, but Air Force has been running the ball far more proficiently at the moment.

I hope this game is televised at the bars here in Gainseville, cuz I'd love to watch the showdown. Might be able to catch it streaming online somewhere.

 

[BB73]

We have a game thread for Navy at Air Force - and it's being shown on Versus at 2:30 ET.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

MWC Week 5

Air Force continues the impressive running attack ranked #1 nationally. They took care of business against Navy. TCU is dominant on defense with the #3 nationally ranked total defense, and they are quite efficient on offense. Utah and SDSU had a bye week, so they cannot be judged newly.

The Falcons are a sweet team and could be a nightmare to the dreams of the BCS Title game for Utah and TCU. TCU isn't the best at passing the ball and Utah has the most inefficient offense of the top-4 in the conference. I cannot wait to see those match-ups. Maybe my Aztecs will pick off on of those three teams, but I cannot tell yet.

My power rankings:

1. TCU
2. Air Force
3. Utah
4. SDSU
5. UNLV- impressive showing against Nevada, though they obviously couldn't stop the run.
6. Wyoming
7. BYU- hahaha!
8. Colorado State
9. New Mexico- maybe they'll get a win this week!

My Game of the Week for the MWC teams is:

Utah at Iowa State

I think the Cyclones may win this one. Its hard to judge as Utah hasn't played in 2 weeks while ISU did extremely well against Texas Tech so I may just be riding the hot hand here. Utah took care of business early against Pitt, but that was at home in Salt Lake. Now they are on the road against a rising Big-12 North team... I'll stick with Utah but they won't cover the 7 point spread.

Of interest to me is the BYU-SDSU match-up. On statistics alone, the Aztecs should take care of business. They have a top-25 defense in both scoring and total, and a top-25 offense in rushing, passing, total and scoring. With the Cougars bringing in their freshmen QB, I like the Aztecs to win big. Of course, historically the Cougars have dominated this series. So... I'll be holding my breath that they don't pull something crazy out of the hat, after all... they are Mormons. :tongue2:

On an extra special note this week, the heated in-state rivalry between the two worst teams in Div-FBS takes place.

New Mexico vs. New Mexico State. Unfortunately, someone has to win this game.

Go Lobos! or was it Aggies...?

 

[Diego-Bucks]

MWC Week 7

Sorry, I skipped about a week or so in there...

SDSU lost to the Cougars, then beat Air Force. TCU continues their absolute defensive shut-down, and I love how they handled BYU (I hate them so very very much). Utah routed Iowa State, but the Cyclones put up some points, not sure how Utah will do against the Falcons, Aztecs and then of course their elite match-up against the Horned Frogs.

We've still got our top-4 and the bottom-5. I think that the Cougars might sneak into a bowl somewhere, but its not definitely happening as they have to face a fellow mediocre program in Colorado State and UNLV. They should finish 6-6.

Here is my power rankings (for whatever they are worth)

1. TCU- possible national title contender, but they have a few "bumps" in the road... are they headed for the Big East soon??

2. Utah- their defense is solid, but I think its inconsistent... they soon face some of the best nationally ranked offenses in Air Force, SDSU and TCU... and also a not-lousy Notre Dame, they won't go unbeaten

3. Air Force- I know they lost head-head against SDSU, but they lost by 2 pts and barely missed a 2 point conversion. I think "talent" wise, they are more capable of beating Utah or TCU than the Aztecs

4. San Diego State- Ronnie Hillman may be the MWC's player of the year, great job in beating Air Force. This team lost 2 games and those losses had 2 controversial decisions play a key factor... a phantom clipping call, and a fumble recovery that was blatantly ruled against them (3 officials were suspended and the conference had to change their rules IMMEDIATELY)... could easily be 6-0 this year!!

5. BYU- They are the most inconsistent performers in the conference. This team is capable of beating Utah at the end of the year, but also going 1-3 down the stretch and missing a bowl game...

6. UNLV
7. Colorado State
8. Wyoming
9. New Mexico- the worst team in Div. 1 FBS... the Lobos are just looking forward to Basketball season to start.

The game of the week in the conference:

Air Force vs. TCU

The Falcons triple-option attack hasn't yet been slowed down (even against SDSU they put up 400+ yards)... the Horned Frogs face their hardest challenge yet. Its not quite a must-see match-up as I think TCU will win this one, something like 20-14, but its not going to be surprising if TCU gets knocked off.

Go Aztecs!!

 

[Diego-Bucks]

MWC Week 9

So here is the conference's game of the year (quite possibly the national game of the year being the only guaranteed match-up of top-5 teams):

Utah vs. TCU; #3 vs. #5

The game is in Salt Lake City where Utah is quite prolific in defending home-field advantage. Utah comes into the game off of a struggle against Air Force where they were really outplayed and, save for a few key fumbles by the Falcons, would have lost. Utah has played 3 competitive teams this season: Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Air Force and all of them have scored 23+ points which shows that the Utes defense #6 ranked defense (both Total and Scoring) is dominant against the bottom teams, but only average against the competent offenses nationally. The Utes offense is able to put up points with regularity but has seemed only above-average at times. They really aren't consistent, which is kind of what I say about their defense as well.

Jordan Wynn (QB) is the most efficient passer in the conference, and missed 2 games, so his stats might be a little lower than Dalton and Lindley's. That being said, I find him a bit more prone than Dalton to turn it over, especially when under pressure.

Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide form a dynamic running-back duo, though neither are dominant individually. Where I see the Utes having the advantage is with their athletes at reciever, DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks are quite good, Christopher is great at YAC situations.

On the Horned Frogs:

This defense is ranked #1 nationally in both scoring and total defense. They are stout. They held Baylor to 10 points, Air Force to 7, however both Oregon State and SMU did move the ball and scored 21 and 24 points respectively. Utah should be able to get into the 20's as well unless the pressure-defense the Horned Frogs run causes a number of turnovers.

Andy Dalton is efficient and a good runner. I doubt that he'll turnover the ball in this game unless its on a strip-sack (which is hard to fault QBs for). He has a stable of receivers to throw it to, but none of them seem "dominant" as an athlete.

The bread and butter of TCU is the running game that leads to the play-action or other big plays. Ed Wesley is a great runner, (6.8 ydc) but a little small to churn out the inside bruising yards, where they will rely on Matthew Tucker and probably Andy Dalton.

My prediction is TCU 31-Utah 21.

MWC Power Rankings:

1. TCU
2. Utah
3. SDSU
4. Air Force
5. BYU
6. Colorado State
7. UNLV
8. Wyoming
9. New Mexico

San Diego State will play Utah and TCU after this next week. I'm hoping to surprise one of them with a great conference win!

Other games of note:

SDSU vs. Colorado State:

The Aztecs have struggled defensively these last two games against the bottom of the conference (New Mexico and Wyoming). It will probably be a higher scoring game, but I just don't see many defenses slowing down Ryan Lindley and Ronnie Hillman.

Air Force vs. Army

The 2nd game of the Commander-in-Chief's cup. Air Force took the battle against Navy and should be able to claim the title this year with a victory against Army. However, the service academies are frequently competitive clashes and could be entertaining to watch.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

So TCU demolished Utah... so much for game of the year...

Now the newly minted Game of the Year is:

SDSU @ TCU!!

San Diego State is going to take care of those Horned Frogs.

Did you know, that in the pre-Columbian era the mighty Aztec warriors in the plateaus of modern-day Northern Mexico used to smoke the Horned Frogs? However, they also used to revere the animals for their symbolism to medicinal qualities (possibly due to their association with toad-stools and other herbs and mushrooms), but they were also guardians of the dead or in someways held mystical powers on the cycle of death. Aztecs often drank the frogs (alive) in wine.

Additionally, the Aztec goddess Tlaltecuhtli was a toad-woman who was often depicted as drunk. She symbolized the transformation and cycle from life to death; as the tadpole becomes the toad in time, so too do our lives become lifeless.

After my Aztecs upset the Frogs, I hope that the Aztec death whistle comes to play and haunts their nights forever.

(Death whistle plays at 19 second mark)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVinnWp1Pck"]YouTube - Ancient Aztec - Recreated Sounds[/ame]

(More Aztec Death Whistle plays at 34 second mark)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqtVQwCC3WM&feature=related"]YouTube - Death Whistle A+1[/ame]

 

[Diego-Bucks]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-sdstate-long

San Diego State is going to hire Rocky Long as head coach, their defensive coordinator under Brady Hoke.

Great hire. He needs to bring in a substantial offensive mind however. Possibly promote Jeff Hecklinski from assistant coach/recruiting coordinator to the OC. It'd be great to use the rise of the program under Hoke to attract some other coaching talent to the Aztecs (i.e. bring in some grad assistant from USC or somebody to take over the WR coach etc.). We gotta stay with the pro-style under Al Borges who is leaving to be the OC at Michigan with Brady Hoke.

 

[Diego-Bucks]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=td-newsflash012411

San Diego State Aztecs are bringing in Andy Ludwig from California to be the new Offensive Coordinator and Jeff Horton to be assistant head coach and running backs coach.

These are hires that have me excited from their past positions (Cal is typically viewed as a decent place to coach; Horton was interim HC for Minnesota and has coached in the NFL), but unfortunately I know very little about either of them specifically.

 

[808 Buck]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=td-newsflash012411

San Diego State Aztecs are bringing in Andy Ludwig from California to be the new Offensive Coordinator and Jeff Horton to be assistant head coach and running backs coach.

These are hires that have me excited from their past positions (Cal is typically viewed as a decent place to coach; Horton was interim HC for Minnesota and has coached in the NFL), but unfortunately I know very little about either of them specifically.

Horton was the head coach at UNLV in the mid-90's, and coached QB's for Wisconsin for a while. Solid recruiter (used to recruit Hawaii pretty heavily) who should fit in nicely with Long.

 

[Muck]

Somehow the MWC manages to do the impossible & come up with an even lamer logo than the Big Ten...

Mountain West Unveils New Brand Identity, Logo and Initiatives

[IMGR]http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mwc/sports/genrel/auto_action/6579061.jpeg[/IMGR]The Mountain West Conference Board of Directors (BOD) and Commissioner Craig Thompson today unveiled the league's new brand direction and conference identity at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, site of the annual BOD spring meeting.

Thompson, joined by Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, BOD chair and superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy; Dr. Stephen Weber, president at San Diego State University; and Dr. Neal Smatresk, incoming BOD chair and president at UNLV, ushered in a new era in the 13-year history of the Mountain West with a new logo nicknamed "The Rock" and the tagline "This is our time."

In addition to presenting a new Mountain West (MW) logo and theme, Thompson outlined the most comprehensive branding effort in the history of the Conference. As the basis for this major re-branding initiative, the Conference solicited the opinions of more than 8,000 constituents including members of the Mountain West Board of Directors, athletic administrators, coaches, fans and members of the media.

"This initiative is emblematic of the evolution of our league," Thompson stated. "The overwhelming majority of the people we spoke to said the Mountain West is bold, feisty and highly competitive, and we strongly believe these qualities are reflected in our new brand identity and our new logo."

.../cont/...