Click
on each team for game recaps, thoughts,
schedules and more and scroll down for
the games, results, players of the week
and the conference roundup.
Air Force
|
BYU
|
Colorado State
|
New Mexico
San
Diego State |
TCU
|
UNLV
|
Utah
|
Wyoming
Mountain West Game of
the Week
Utah 27 ... TCU 20
Utah picked off TCU's Andy Dalton four times, with Martel
Bennett returning one 55 yards for a score, Darrell Mack ran for a one-yard
score, and Marquis Wilson caught a 24-yard touchdown pass, but had to hold on
late as TCU got a late field goal to pull within seven, then couldn't convert
the onside kick. TCU got a blocked punt return for a score and converted a trick
play into a one-yard Marcus Brock rushing touchdown, but the turnovers proved
too costly.
Mountain
West
Player of
the Week
Air Force S
Bobby Giannini made 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, forced two
fumble, and took one 85 yards for a touchdown in the win over
Wyoming
Conference Roundup
Air
Force
…
The team keeps finding ways to make things happen.
Wyoming moved the ball well, but the Falcon defense
forced five turnovers, while the offense cranked out 256
rushing yards with Chad Hall continuing to go ballistic.
He's unstoppable running the ball, and it's taken all
the pressure off Shaun Carney. There might not be a more
confident team right now, and at this point, Troy
Calhoun deserves Coach of the Year respect.
BYU … BYU didn't exactly go through the motions
to beat Eastern Washington, but it didn't have to exert
itself. In interesting conditions late, the offense took
advantage of short fields to put the game away thanks to
turnovers and great field position. Now the Cougars have
to stay focused against Mountain West lightweights San
Diego State and Colorado State before the tough
finishing kick. As long as the O line keeps paving the
way for the grinding running game, everything should be
fine.
Colorado State … Finally, CSU busted its ugly
losing streak, and it took a strange game to do it.
Weather conditions, a green opposing quarterback, and
two defensive touchdowns made it happen, and now the
team has to build on it. Beating UNLV isn't any big
deal, but getting by Utah right now would be. It might
be this simple; when Caleb Hanie doesn't throw picks,
CSU is fine. Winning the turnover battle is a must for
this team.
New Mexico… Just win and move on. San Diego State
had New Mexico beaten, but a huge play from the defense,
a crisp drive, and a last-second Rodney Ferguson
touchdown run kept the Mountain West title hopes alive.
Now come the big tests against Air Force and on the road
to deal with TCU and Utah over the next month. The
running game has to kick in again. New Mexico can't keep
playing with fire, and it needs Ferguson to be a
100-yard back on a consistent basis.
San Diego State … Crushing. Kevin O'Connell was
having a strong game, the Aztecs had New Mexico beaten,
and then came the late fumble and a lack of a defensive
stop to lose for the third time in four games. There
still isn't much help for O'Connell, who had to be a
one-man gang at times. There isn't nearly enough pop to
the passing game, but at least this week, O'Connell was
relatively accurate and efficient. Now comes BYU, and to
have a shot, the run defense has to play as well as it
did in keeping Rodney Ferguson and the New Mexico ground
game in check.
TCU … TCU only allowed 227 yards to Utah, so it
might be tempting to blame the loss entirely on the
offense. While Andy Dalton's four interceptions didn't
help, and there wasn't any push for the running game,
the defense didn't exactly come through when Utah had
its chances to take advantage of mistakes. Inconsistency
on offense is going to be the problem the rest of the
way, and if the mistakes continue, the defense and
special teams are going to have to carry things. Even
so, don't expect Dalton to have another horrible game
like this again.
UNLV … Losing at home to a team like Colorado
State on a 13-game losing streak is hardly a positive,
but the play of QB Omar Clayton certainly gives reason
for future hope. He made a couple of back-breaking
mistakes, but he also accounted for 439 yards of total
offense taking over for an ineffective Travis Dixon. On
a four-game losing streak, the Rebels need more than
just signs of life over the next few weeks.
Utah … It's not like Utah moved the ball on TCU.
It was a two man show with Darrell Mack earning every
yard and Brian Johnson throwing efficiently, but the
fourth win in a row came from the defense. Steve Tate
and the Ute D stuffed the Horned Frogs time and again,
and snuffed out promising, momentum-changing moments
with picks. It still might be too late to win the
Mountain West, but now the Utes have to focus on being
No. 2.
Wyoming … The offense did its part, moving the
ball against Air Force, but it couldn't stop screwing up
with five turnovers. The defense gave up 256 rushing
yards and couldn't come up with a game-changing play
like the Falcons were able to, and now the Mountain West
title hopes are long gone. Wins over UNLV and San Diego
State over the next two weeks are a must to have any
hope of getting a bowl bid. To win those, there needs to
be more offensive pop. This is an effective offense, but
not an explosive one.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
| |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Air
Force |
5 |
1 |
142 |
107 |
6 |
2 |
196 |
141 |
W3 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
BYU |
3 |
0 |
86 |
44 |
5 |
2 |
212 |
140 |
W4 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
New
Mexico |
2 |
1 |
64 |
51 |
5 |
2 |
201 |
122 |
W2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
Utah |
2 |
2 |
62 |
74 |
5 |
3 |
191 |
157 |
W4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Wyoming |
1 |
2 |
39 |
61 |
4 |
3 |
142 |
139 |
L2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
TCU |
1 |
3 |
82 |
83 |
4 |
4 |
181 |
160 |
L1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
San
Diego State |
1 |
2 |
48 |
63 |
2 |
5 |
153 |
211 |
L2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
UNLV |
1 |
3 |
78 |
103 |
2 |
6 |
148 |
215 |
L4 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
Colorado
State |
1 |
3 |
101 |
116 |
1 |
6 |
184 |
219 |
W1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
|
Thursday,
October 18 |
| 8:00 PM |
Utah 27
... at TCU 20
CFN Prediction: TCU 27-21 TCU -2 |
|
Saturday,
October 20 |
| 2:00 PM |
at
Air Force
20 ... Wyoming 12
CFN Prediction: AF 24-16 AF -2.5 |
| 5:30 PM |
at BYU 42
...
Eastern Washington 7
CFN Prediction: BYU 41-17 |
| 8:30 PM |
New Mexico
20 ... at San Diego State
17
CFN Prediction: NM 28-13 NM -8 |
| 9:00 PM |
Colorado
State 48 ... at UNLV 23
CFN Prediction: UNLV 26-20 UNLV -2.5 |
Past
Mountain West Games of the
Week
Sept. 1 -
Colorado
31 ... Colorado State 28 OT
Sept. 8 -
New Mexico 44 ... New Mexico
State 34
Sept. 15 - Tulsa 55 ... BYU 47
Sept. 22 - Wyoming 34 ... at Ohio 33
Sept. 29 - BYU 31 ... at New Mexico
24
Oct. 6 - San Diego State
24 ... at Colorado
State 20
Oct. 13 - TCU 38 ... at Stanford
36
Oct. 20 - Utah 27
... at TCU 20
Past Mountain West Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Wyoming RB Devin Moore
Sept. 8 - New Mexico QB Donovan Porterie
Sept. 15 - New Mexico WR Marcus Smith
Sept. 22 - UNLV RB Frank Summers
Sept. 29 -
BYU LB
Bryan Kehl
Oct. 6 - San Diego State QB Kevin
O'Connell
Oct. 13 - TCU QB Andy Dalton
Oct. 20 -
Air Force S
Bobby Giannini