While there were some bright spots, this was a disastrous weekend for much of the MWC. Utah and BYU both probably lost their chances for BCS glory, Wyoming got shut out by a previously dreadful Colorado team, and San Diego State continues to struggle, losing to Idaho. On the bright side, Colorado State advances to 3-0 with a win over Nevada, and UNLV knocked off Hawaii with a last minute touchdown. Let’s look more at the week that was in the West:
What we learned this week:
Utah isn’t as good as they were last year. The Fringe suspected this, but their disappointing loss to Oregon confirms that they probably weren’t top 10 material this year. They’re certainly equipped to be competitive in the MWC. Unfortunately, their loss means that Florida now has the nation’s longest winning streak, so we’re going to have to hear about that for who knows how long.
BYU has some figuring to do. Their schedule remains strong enough to stay in or around the top 15 if they get back to winning. BYU at 11-1 could still be attractive if none of the other non-BCS make it through undefeated, and the MWC title is still up for grabs.
UNLV looks like they are the sleeper everyone thought they might be (so are they still a sleeper?). They knocked off one of the best teams in the WAC in a middle of the night thriller that nobody saw. Life’s tough in the Pacific time zone.
Air Force isn’t going away either. 2-1 with a close loss to Minnesota while they opened a new stadium is certainly the start AFA wanted, so we’ll see how things go when they face the tougher parts of the conference.
MWC Power Ratings
- TCU
- Colorado State
- BYU
- UNLV
- Air Force
- Utah
- Wyoming
- San Diego State
- New Mexico