Mountain West Conference E-mail
Written by Jason Brubaker   
Sunday, 12 July 2009 19:12

Mountain West Conference

Utah handled 'Bama easily in the Sugar Bowl, but lost too many key players to expect another 13-0 season.

Perhaps the Mountain West should be known as the Equal Rights Conference this year, seeing as how they resorted to using Congress to try to sort out the BCS mess...apparently feeling that the enormous recession and ridiculous unemployment rates were not enough for our representatives to tackle. More than six months after Utah surprisngly dismantled Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, those loveable little Utes just won't quit yapping about a fair system and level playing ground for everyone.

Click Read More below.



While I'm in agreement that the BCS system needs some adjustments, I'm not ready to declare that the MWC winners deserve the same chances as the SEC or Big 12 champions. However, there's no question the MWC has some very good teams, with BYU and TCU set to challenge the Utes for the conference crown this year.

However, all three teams will face some difficult tests this year, meaning another repeat of Utah's 13-0 season might be a pipe dream. The Utes visit Oregon in Week 3, while TCU will make two ACC road trips, opening the season at Virginia and then heading to Clemson two weeks later. However, BYU might have the steepest hill to climb, as they open the season in Norman as they'll try to slow down Sam Bradford and the powerful Oklahoma offense. Two weeks later, they host Florida State, who figures to be much improved this year. Elsewhere, Colorado State, Air Force and UNLV should challenge for bowl berths, while Wyoming fans will at least get to enjoy one good game this year when Texas visits in Week 2.

Here are some other things to keep an eye on this year:

BYU QB Max Hall: Hall is unquestionably the best QB in the conference, and could be one of the best in the country. He doesn't have prototypical size, but he has a strong arm and makes good decisions. Despite the loss of top receiver Austin Collie, look for him to put up similar numbers to 2008, when he tossed for 3957 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Defensive dynamos: Despite being a "mid-major conference", there's nothing mid-major about the defensive talent in the MWC. Texas Christian DE Jerry Hughes, Utah LB Stevenson Sylvester, BYU DE Jan Jorgensen and Utah DE Koa Misi are future pros, while UNLV LB Jason Beauchamp, Air Force LB Ken Lamendola and Wyoming DT John Fletcher will be forces each week.

Big holes to fill: The difference between the best programs and the one-hit wonders are how they replace talent. To be considered a truly elite program, Utah will need to show they can replace QB Brian Johnson, DE Paul Kruger, and K Louie Sakoda, while BYU needs to find a replacement for the aforementioned Collie.

Jerry Hughes passed up the NFL to return for his senior season.
Predicted order of finish
1). BYU- Bowl
2). Utah - Bowl
3). TCU - Bowl
4). Air Force - Bowl
5). UNLV - Bowl
6). Colorado State
7). New Mexico
8). San Diego State
9). Wyoming

BallHype: hype it up!
Comments (2)Add Comment
...
written by Grubb, July 13, 2009
Why do I feel like Oregon is on 18 team's schedule this year?
...
written by Bru, July 13, 2009
They're playing one game for every uniform combination they'll have this year

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busy
Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 July 2009 13:40
 

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