TCU (1-1) at Air Force (2-0)
8:00 pm CSTV Why to Watch: What
appeared the off-season to be a
layup for a TCU team that was
picked by most to win the
Mountain West title has all of a
sudden gotten extremely
interesting. Air Force, under
new head coach Troy Calhoun, has
gone 2-0 after a stunning 20-12
win at Utah. With BYU ahead, a
home win over TCU could put the
Falcons in a position to all but
wrap up the league title. Of
course, TCU is still considered
the league’s star, but it has to
get over the emotional letdown
of last week’s 34-13 loss to
Texas, a game the program had
been gearing up for all
off-season. Air Force hasn’t
come close to beating the Horned
Frogs over the last two years,
but this is a new season and a
new team with some very, very
new ideas. Why TCU Might Win: Oh
sure, Air Force wants to spread
it out more and throw it, but
when push comes to shove, it
goes back to its old
bread-and-butter plays and runs
it. This is still a
one-dimensional Falcon team, no
matter how much it tries to be
otherwise, and that one
dimension will have major
problems against a TCU defensive
front that’s quick, active, and
very, very good. Air Force can
forget about running wide on the
TCU ends. Why Air Force Might Win:
Air Force was able to beat Utah
mainly because it didn’t have to
worry about getting scored on.
Without their starting running
back and top tailback, the Utes
were punchless. For TCU, QB Andy
Dalton has yet to show much,
while top RB Aaron Brown is
expected to miss his second
straight game with a knee
injury. If the Horned Frog
defense isn’t generating
turnovers and dictating the
action, the offense might not be
able to save the day. Who to Watch: New offense
schmew offense. Air Force might
be lining up a bit differently
and there might be a few
situations when it looks like
it’s going to throw, but this is
still the same old attack just
dressed up differently. That’s
not necessarily a bad thing. So
far, QB Shaun Carney has been
terrific running the ball with
113 yards coming against Utah
last week. He’s not going to hit
the century mark against this
defense, and he’s going to have
to open it up a little bit early
on. If he’s not efficient
throwing the ball, the Horned
Frogs will tee off into the
backfield. What Will Happen: Air
Force might be pumped up, but it
won’t matter. The TCU defense
will quickly get over last
week’s disappointment and keep
the Falcon offense under wraps.
The offense will do just enough
to get by. CFN Prediction:TCU
26 … Air Force 13
... Line: Air Force -10.5 Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 2.5
Mountain West Saturday, Sept. 15
UCLA (2-0) at Utah
(0-2)
5:00 PM Why to watch: One team
from the Beehive State down, and
one to go. After defeating BYU
in the Rose Bowl last Saturday,
UCLA turns its attention to Utah
and a 3-0 start, while
continuing to establish itself
as a rising contender for really
big things. The Bruins have
been sharp on both sides of the
ball, getting particularly good
efforts from their running game
and run defense, but would still
like to smooth out some wrinkles
before the schedule gets
markedly tougher. The Utes
haven’t gone in the tank since
QB Brian Johnson succumbed to a
shoulder injury early in the
opener, managing just two measly
touchdowns in consecutive losses
to Oregon State and Air Force.
With so much optimism heading
into the year, the Utes need to
stop the slide with a statement
win before the 2007 season
completely slips away. Why UCLA might win: From
Johnson and LT Jason Boone to RB
Matt Asiata and WR Brent
Casteel, the injuries to Utah’s
offensive personnel have been
devastating. And it’s only
mid-September. Tommy Grady
hasn’t been a life preserver
behind center, and will have
trouble escaping a feisty Bruin
pass rush that’s had four sacks
in each of the first two games.
Without any semblance of a
running game to support Grady,
the Utes will have a hard time
reaching double-digits against
one of the Pac-10’s best
defenses. Why Utah might win: If
there’s a weak link in the UCLA
armor, it’s a pass defense
that’s given up more than 300
yards passing to T.C. Ostrander
and Max Hall to open the
season. Figure the Utes to
abandon the run early, opting
instead to let the 6-7,
235-pound Grady test his arm
strength downfield. Even
without the services of Casteel,
Utah has a couple of fine
receivers in Derrek Richards and
Brian Hernandez that can
challenge the Bruin defensive
backs.
Who to watch: With the Pac-10
about to resume for UCLA, the
secondary must begin tightening
up in coverage and preventing
long gainers. That shouldn’t be
an issue for senior Trey Brown,
the Bruins’ most reliable cover
corner. In last week’s win over
BYU, Brown delivered five
tackles, five passes broken up,
a 56-yard pick for a touchdown,
and a 21-yard fumble return
before Hall gave up looking his
way. What will happen: Utah is
sinking fast, and facing the
wrong opponent to make a
surprise rebound. UCLA will
pound away with backs Kahlil
Bell and Chris Markey until the
Ute defense runs out of gas in
the second half. CFN Prediction:
UCLA
31 … Utah 13
... Line: UCLA -13.5 Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 2.5
Hawaii
(2-0) at UNLV (1-1)
9:30 PM Why to Watch: There is
always something to see when the
Warriors crank it up, and last
week proved it. Despite being
favored by four touchdowns,
Hawaii needed a late surge to
gain a come-from-behind win over
host Louisiana Tech, casting
major doubt over whether or not
this top 25 team could really
play with the better teams away
from Aloha Stadium. After
camping out in Houston this
week, Hawaii heads to Vegas for
its second straight mainland
game, with a chance to prove
that this isn’t some gimmick
team that needs teams to make
the long journey. If Hawaii is
legitimate, it wins this game in
a walk. Hawaii is trying to keep
alive its BCS bowl hopes, while
UNLV is trying to rebound after
last week’s 20-13 heartbreaking
late loss against Wisconsin. The
program is still searching for a
signature win in the Mike
Sanford era, and this would be
it. Why Hawaii Might Win: If
Colt Brennan has a little bit of
time and some blood flowing in
his arm, the Warriors have a
shot to hang 50 on a quick, but
mediocre UNLV secondary that
played over its head against the
Badgers. In just two games,
Brennan has thrown for 964 yards
and completed a ridiculous 76.2%
of his passes with ten touchdown
throws and one interception. His
passing rating of 187.1 is
ridiculous, as are his 9.54
yards/attempt. Simply put, he is
the Hawaii offense, and he has
five receivers with
double-figure catch totals
already. Yes, the Warriors are
going to give up some yards and
points, as they did last
Saturday against Louisiana Tech,
but in the end, Brennan is
likely going to outscore ‘em
all. UNLV doesn’t have the
firepower to keep up the pace. Why UNLV Might Win: Maybe
those cheese-fed Wisconsin boys
were dazzled by the Strip, but
they needed a late TD to get out
with a win. The Rebels are
playing solid defense, allowing
just 291 yards a game, and just
137.5 through the air. Granted,
they haven’t seen anything like
Hawaii yet, but the defense, as
a whole has improved. The Rebel
spread attack has gotten a jolt
of energy from redshirt freshman
Travis Dixon, who has shown
himself capable of throwing and
running well – just not in the
same game. If he puts it
together, UNLV should be able to
hang for a while if this gets
into a shootout. Who to Watch: Even though
Dixon is just the second
freshman to start a
season-opener under center for
the Rebels, he wasn’t completely
unprepared, having taken most of
the first-team snaps while Rocky
Hinds recovered slower than
expected from knee surgery.
Dixon ran for 108 yards and two
scores in the win over Utah
State and completed 23-of-36
passes for 258 yards and a score
against Wisconsin. He is a solid
6-1, 190-pounder with good
instincts and the ability to get
the ball downfield. If he limits
the mistakes, the Rebels should
score some points against
Hawaii. What Will Happen: A
shootout, what else? Hawaii has
too many weapons, most notably
the man under center, in this
one. The long road trip could be
a problem, but Brennan is too
good to get rusty. CFN Prediction: Hawaii 48
… UNLV
38...
Line: Hawaii -17.5 Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 3
BYU (1-1) at Tulsa (1-0)
9:00 PM CSTV
Why to watch:
While Tulsa hasn’t played in two
weeks, BYU enters this game
battle-tested, having beaten
Arizona and lost a close one to
UCLA that ended the school’s
11-game winning streak.
There’ll be no time to sulk for
the Cougars, who must go on the
road this Saturday to play a
Hurricane team that remembers
how badly it was beaten in Provo
last year. Tulsa has had two
weeks to continue fine-tuning
Gus Malzahn’s hurry-up,
no-huddle offense. Although
progress was seen throughout the
opening day win over
Louisiana-Monroe, the Hurricane
will have to turn things up a
notch or two this Saturday
against a BYU defense that’s
only allowed 34 points in a pair
of games with Pac-10 teams. Why BYU might win: The
Cougars are going to run the
ball until Tulsa proves it can
stop them, the same formula that
worked so well last September.
The Hurricane couldn’t stop
Monroe’s Calvin Dawson earlier
this month, and will have even
more problems with a massive BYU
front wall that’ll create
daylight for Manase Tonga,
Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna.
If Tulsa attempts to stack the
line, QB Max Hall, who leads the
Mountain West in total offense,
will make it pay through the
air. Why Tulsa might win:
Sure, BYU can move the ball, but
can it turn yards into enough
points to out score an improving
Tulsa offense? The Cougars are
49th nationally in
total offense, but only 93rd
in scoring offense because of
breakdowns and silly penalties
in opposing territory.
Hurricane QB Paul Smith is a
heady game manager who’ll spread
the ball around to his backs and
receivers, while limiting costly
mistakes and turnovers. Who to watch: Coming off
a seven-catch, two-touchdown
effort against a really good
UCLA defense, BYU’s Austin
Collie is beginning to play like
the receiver he was before
leaving for a Mormon mission.
He’s going to be Hall’s
preferred target again on
Saturday night, and might even
pitch in on a Cougar special
teams unit that had way too many
gaffes last weekend. What will happen: The
balance of the BYU offense is
going to be too much for a Tulsa
defense that’s rock solid at
linebacker, yet questionable
elsewhere. While the
Hurricane’s hurry-up attack has
a bright future, it’ll take a
step backwards against a
fundamentally sound Cougar
defense. CFN Prediction:
BYU 27 … Tulsa 17
... Line: BYU -6.5 Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 2.5
