MWest Fearless Predictions Sept.
8 |
Sept. 15 | Sept.
22 |
Sept. 29 Oct.
6 | Oct.
13 |
Oct. 20 | Oct.
27 |
Nov. 3 | Nov.
10 |
Nov. 17 | Nov.
24 | Dec.
1
Mountain West Game of
the Week
Arizona at BYU
5:30 PM Versus
Why to watch:
After winning 11 games and a
Mountain West title last year,
BYU is determined to raise the
bar in 2007. Arizona’s Mike
Stoops, on the other hand, might
be looking for a job if he can’t
lead the program to the
post-season in his fourth year.
The Wildcat head coach took a
page out of the BYU blueprint in
the off-season, looking to
Lubbock and hiring a Mike Leach
disciple to run his feeble
offense. It’s worked so far for
the Cougars, who hired Robert
Anae away from Texas Tech three
years ago, and Stoops is hoping
Sonny Dykes can be just as
successful in Tucson. It won’t
happen overnight, but the
healthy return of strong-armed
Willie Tuitama will help with
the transition. It’s a tall
order, but BYU will be right
back in the conference title
hunt if it can solve its
backfield issues, specifically
at quarterback, where John Beck
has graduated. The heir
apparent is Max Hall, who shares
some of Beck’s cerebral
qualities and actually prepped
at the same high school, yet
will be taking his first college
snaps Saturday night. He didn’t
stick around Arizona State long
enough to play for a Territorial
Cup, but beating Arizona in his
debut won’t be any less
satisfying. Why Arizona might win:
Hall’s first live action in four
years will come against one of
the Pac-10 best all-around
defenses. That’s a recipe for
short drives and turnovers. The
Wildcats are especially strong
in the back seven, led by
all-league LB Spencer Larsen and
Antoine Cason, an elite corner
capable of completing walling
off half the field. If Hall
doesn’t get help from a rebuilt
running game, he’ll have a hard
time moving the ball through the
air. This isn’t the team you
want to start your career
against. Why BYU might win: It’s
going to take a while before
Arizona feels truly comfortable
in an offense that’s a stark
contrast from last season and
doesn’t quite fit the team’s
personnel. Until Tuitama and
his young receivers are on the
same page, expect lots of
miscommunication and a fair
amount of turnovers. BYU has
the experience and opportunistic
tendencies, especially at
linebacker, to turn those
mistakes into points. Don’t
underestimate how tough it is to
win in Provo, where head coach
Bronco Mendenhall has made a
special point of making sure the
Cougars play up to their
potential. Who to watch: With BYU
star tight end Jonny Harline
gone, Hall needs to find a go-to
receiver this weekend and
beyond. Now that he’s returned
from a two-year Church mission,
WR Austin Collie is more than
capable of filling the void if
he can be consistent. Now a
solid 6-2 and 210 pounds with
deep skills, he was a find as a
true freshman in 2004, hauling
in 53 passes for 771 yards and
eight touchdowns. On the other
side, this is when Tuitama has
to shine. Everyone has been
waiting for him to become the
superstar he appeared to be
growing into two years ago, and
a win here in the new offense
would go a long way to setting
the tone for the season. What will happen: Both
defenses will be noticeably
ahead of the offenses, resulting
in a low-scoring game for the
second straight year. If won’t
be a heart-stopper like last
season, when the Wildcats pulled
out a tough one with a bomb of a
field goal, but it’ll be tight.
BYU will win a battle of
turnovers and field position, as
Arizona shows serious growing
pains with Dykes’ new offense. CFN Prediction:
BYU
23 … Arizona 16
... Line: BYU -6 Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 3 Final Score:
Mountain West Thursday, August 30
UNLV at
Utah State
8:00 PM
Why to watch:
O.K. UNLV, here's your chance to
get off to a good start and
finally, finally start to
turn things around in the Mike
Sanford era. The schedule gets
way nasty over the next month,
so a loss, or a bad performance,
against Utah State could be a
big problem early on. For the
Aggies, just getting a win of
any sort is vital to finally,
finally turning around the
program under head coach Brent
Guy. They have to take advantage
of everyone home opportunity
they can get, and after a year
of being among the worst teams
in college football, they have
to show right away that this is
a new team and a new year. Why UNLV might win: Does
Utah State have any offense to
keep up if UNLV gets any points
on the board? The experience is
there, but the playmakers
aren't, as the Aggies lack the
difference makers who can take a
game by the horns. The offensive
backfield is mediocre at best,
and it won't have the
consistency to give the average
defense a break if UNLV's
offense starts to click. The
Aggie secondary shouldn't be
able to handle the Rebel
receivers. Why Utah State might win:
It's not like the Rebel offense
has blown up under Sanford, and
it'll likely take a few games
before it gets going this year
thanks to all the issues at
quarterback. Utah State is
loaded with veteran players
who've been through all the lean
times. Talent might be an issue,
but all 11 starters are back on
defense with a ton of depth
waiting in the wings. This isn't
a big defense, but it's just
quick enough to potentially be
disruptive if the Rebels aren't
sharp. Who to watch: UNLV QB
Rocky Hinds gutted it out on a
gimpy knee throughout last
season, and unfortunately, it
still seems to be giving him
problems. While Hinds is still
the team's best quarterback,
it'll be up to redshirt freshman
Travis Dixon to lead the way
after a good off-season. Not the
passer Hinds is, Dixon is a good
runner who fits the spread
offense a little bit better. He
was an ultra-efficient high
school passer who should grow
into the face of the program
over the next few years if Hinds
isn't able to come back healthy
this season. What will happen: Dixon
will be impressive, the Rebel
offense will move like it wasn't
able to throughout last year,
and Utah State will start the
season with a rough loss after a
good first half.
CFN Prediction:
UNLV
31 ... Utah State 16
...
Line: UNLV -7.5 Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1.5
Utah at Oregon State 10:00
PM FSN Regional
Why to watch:
While Utah welcomes back its
franchise passer after a
21-month hiatus, Oregon State
spent the entire off-season
trying to decide on its
quarterback of the future.
Brian Johnson makes his
long-awaited return to the Utes
from a serious ACL tear that
prematurely ended his 2005
season. At the time, he was
ripping through the Mountain
West en route to becoming one of
the nation’s premier
dual-threats. Flanked by the
league’s best receiving corps, a
bigger and stronger Johnson is
ready to pick up where he left
off two years ago and become the
star of the Mountain West. The
Beavers, on the other hand, are
still working on finding its
leader. Sophomore Sean Canfield
gets the nod to start, but he
struggled to get separation from
unheralded Lyle Moevao, who’ll
get his audition in the second
quarter . Both will spend
plenty of time getting the ball
to multi-dimensional RB Yvenson
Bernard, who’s been
ultra-productive as a runner and
a receiver throughout his
career. Oregon State’s longshot
bid of storming the Pac-10 gates
in 2007 will suffer a major blow
if last weekend’s return of
Sammie Stroughter from a
mysterious absence winds up
being just a tease. Why Utah might win: The
Utes’ strength on offense, the
passing game, is sure to attack
a Beaver secondary that’s rife
with question marks. Yeah,
three starters return, but
Oregon State allows too many big
plays through the air and no
longer has Sabby Piscitelli to
cover for some of the mistakes
by the cornerbacks. Johnson
will have a ton of viable
options when he drops back,
including Derrek Richards and
Brent Casteel, who combined for
99 receptions and 16 touchdown
catches a year ago. Why Oregon State might win:
The best way to keep the Utah
offense quiet is to not allow it
on the field. With the Ute
defense looking to replace three
all-league performers, and
noticeably average on the
interior, the Beavers will
control the clock with Bernard
and one of the nastiest
offensive lines in America.
Just when Utah begins to
overcommit to the run, Canfield
and Moevao will play-action
their way to big chunks of real
estate against a secondary
playing its first game without
all-timer Eric Weddle. Who to watch: Utah’s Zane
Beadles will be a marked man
Thursday night. The sophomore
is shifting from left guard to
left tackle to replace the
injured Jason Boone, the Utes’
best blocker. Johnson’s
blindside will be protected by a
novice, which will be a huge
concern against Oregon State’s
seasoned ends, Jeff Van Orsow
and Dorian Smith. What will happen: In an
entertaining opener, the Utes
will move the ball and flirt for
a while with the upset before
running out of steam in the
second half. Playing with
something to prove, Bernard will
be the catalyst in Corvallis,
wearing out the Utah defense,
while racking up 150 total yards
and two scores.
CFN Prediction:
Oregon
State 33 … Utah 24
... Line: Oregon State -7 Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 3.5 Final Score:
Mountain West Saturday, September 1
Colorado State at Colorado
12:00 PM Why to watch:
A pair of intense rivals coming
off awful seasons would like
nothing more than a fast start
and to add to the other
program’s misery. This is
supposed to be a bounce-back
year for each team, but that’ll
end with a crashing thud for the
loser. After Colorado reached
bedrock with a 2-10 record last
year, it’ll slowly begin the
climb back toward prominence
with head coach Dan Hawkins
leading the way. While the
defense will carry the team in
the early going, the biggest
strides will be seen with an
offense that couldn’t get out of
its way in 2006. The coach’s
son, Cody, will be behind
center, and despite being young
and just 5-11, will prove to be
a much better fit for the attack
than Bernard Jackson was last
year. Colorado won’t be a
favorite often this year, so
this is close to a must-win
situation. Over the last 40
games, Colorado State has gone
16-24, and been a shell of the
program that rocked from
1994-2003. Optimism for a
return to prosperity comes in
the form of 18 returning
starters and the re-emergence of
RB Kyle Bell, who missed all of
last year with a knee injury. A
6-2, 230-pound hammer, he’ll be
looking to regain the form that
led to 1,288 yards rushing and
ten touchdowns in 2005. Why Colorado might win:
Lost in the Buffs’ implosion a
year ago was the fact that
defensive coordinator Ron
Collins laid the foundation of a
solid unit that stopped the run
and created takeaways with its
aggressive style. Much of that
group returns, including tackles
George Hypolite and Brandon
Nicolas, outside backers Jordon
Dizon and Brad Jones, and
Terrence Wheatley is a true
shutdown corner. Colorado will
corral Bell in his return to
action, turning mistake-prone QB
Caleb Hanie into the focal point
of the Ram offense. Why Colorado State might win:
Can the Buffaloes score enough
to win this game? Hawkins will
eventually be an upgrade at
quarterback, but not this early
in his career, or in front of
75,000 insane fans at Invesco
Field. Like Colorado, Colorado
State can play a little D as
well. The Rams welcome back
nine defensive starters and
crackerjack punter Jimmie Kaylor,
who’ll give the Buffs a long
field to navigate all
afternoon. Even if Bell doesn’t
crank out huge numbers, his
presence alone is going to an
emotional jolt to Colorado
State. Who to watch: Bell’s
return from a serious knee
injury will make headlines, but
the main storyline will be
Hawkins’ debut as Colorado’s
starting quarterback. He’ll
have his baptism under fire in
front of a rabid audience and in
the face of a hostile opponent.
Hawkins has been running this
offense since he was in diapers,
but will need help from an
average line and a vanilla set
of receivers. What will happen: As
always, the intensity in Denver
will be a mile high. Offensive
execution, however, will not.
In a nip-and-tuck defensive
struggle, Colorado will make a
late stop to preserve an
emotional and poignant victory.
CFN Prediction:
Colorado 23 … Colorado State 19
... Line: Colorado -3 Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 3
