Finally we come to the end of a stacked list of weekend previews. Whether intentionally or because of crappy tv deals, 8 of the 9 MWC teams play on Saturday (Utah was last night, obviously). We have a mix of games where MWC teams should dominate, competitive games, and at least one that probably will not go well.
2:00 PM, the Mtn- Colorado “at” Colorado State (Denver): CSU did beat Colorado on their turf last year, but that turned out to be a) a fluke and b) against a CU team that was awful for the first half of the year. Of course, history suggests that Colorado probably won’t get any better until Dan Hawkins exits the building, so who knows how this one will go. Line: Colorado by 12. That’s way too many, even if CSU did collapse down the stretch last year. Colorado probably does win, on the order of 24-17, but don’t be surprised if CSU pulls the upset again.
2:00 PM- Northwestern State at Air Force: Northwestern State went 0-11 last year. Air Force should be able to name the score. It will probably be a lot. No line.
3:30 PM- New Mexico at #11 Oregon: New Mexico is a bad football team. Oregon should be a good football team. What more analysis do you want? Line: Oregon by 34. Hard to say for sure what Oregon will do against an overmatched opponent- last year their only non-BCS opponents were Boise State & Utah. They did beat Cal by 39 and Washington State by 46, but that was a little later on in the season too. Still, I think they should roll through this one, 52-3.
7:00 PM, CBS College- Washington at BYU: This is a quality game for BYU, even though it’s not getting as much national attention as a couple other games are. Jake Locker comes to Provo looking to start a Heisman campaign, while on the other side the Cougars are looking to establish a new starting quarterback and address some other openings. Line: BYU by 2.5. This line surprises me, but I gather that Washington doesn’t have the oddsmakers convinced yet. Neither team has me convinced, but I hesitatingly like the mild upset, Washington 31-20.
7:45 PM, ESPN- #22 Oregon State at #7 TCU (Cowboy Stadium): This is the big one for Saturday, the second of the three BCS vs. non-BCS games where both teams are in one or both polls. TCU comes back loaded and will be right in the thick of the championship chase, while Oregon State heads into the season with a sophomore QB making his first start. Line: TCU by 13. That seems like a lot to me, although TCU’s offense could break the game wide open. I’ll cautiously say TCU wins 34-24.
8:00 PM- Nicholls State at San Diego State: Last year Nicholls State lost to Air Force 72-0 on week one and went 3-8 overall. SDSU may not hang 72, but they should still win comfortably. No line.
9:00 PM- Southern Utah at Wyoming: Southern Utah went 5-6 a year ago, losing to Utah State and SDSU along the way. Wyoming should handle the Thunderbirds easily. No line.
11:00 PM, Versus- #12 Wisconsin at UNLV: UNLV has been improving in recent years, but are replacing a coach this season and look like they’re probably outmatched by the Badgers. Line: Wisconsin by 20.5. This is the first of four games before they get to Big 10 play, so I’m just not sure that they’ll leave the starters in long enough to ring up that many points. I think they’ll be happy to leave a long road trip with a win in the neighborhood of 35-21.