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Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
The BYU Cougars had a successful but unusual 2009 campaign, ultimately going 11-2 but suffering those losses in unusual blowouts. Florida State surprised them after BYU had already beaten Oklahoma, and they proved no match whatsoever for surging TCU. They did edge rival Utah in overtime and had little trouble dispatching Oregon State in the Las Vegas bowl on the way to their fourth straight season of 10 or more wins.
2010 may be a telling year for the BYU program. They say goodbye to Max Hall, two year starter at QB, as well as both running backs. The (TBD as of this writing) new quarterback will have an experienced offensive line in front of him, as well as two returning wideouts. 6 players return on the defensive side of the ball.
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Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
The UNLV Rebels followed four straight 2 win seasons with a pair of 5 win seasons, but that wasn’t enough to keep Mike Sanford employed. UNLV was tabbed as a team that could surprise in 2009, but a string of blowout losses through the middle of the season doomed their bowl hopes.
And yet, UNLV will again be a team with a chance to improve their league status under new coach Bobby Hauck. The starting QB and RB are among 8 returning offensive starters, while 7 teammates return on the defensive side. That experience will be tested early and often, as the Rebels will have to get to 7 wins since they’re using the 13 game rule (teams that play at Hawaii are free to schedule a 13th game, but must win 7 to be bowl eligible).
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Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Ahh, we come to Utah. By now, it’s not news that Utah has joined the Pac-10, being the first non-BCS team to jump to the big 6 since the Big East raids. As such, this is the last year that Utah will get any attention from this blog, but we’ll be rooting for them once they get out there- if Utah makes a good showing, that’s good for the reputation of all our leagues. I don’t know for sure how MWC territory has responded to their departure, although I suppose it’s a little cheap that the logos of the Pac-10 teams appear in the Utah media guide long before the MWC schools.
But this is a 2010 season preview, so onward. 2009 would go down as a great season for at least 45 of the teams we cover here- 10-3 with wins over Louisville and California in the Poinsettia Bowl. They took BYU to overtime, but the loss meant they dropped to third in the Mountain West, the conference they won the year before.
2010 sees the Utes return with sophomore starting QB Jordan Wynn and 6 other offensive starters. The defensive side is more depleted, with only 4 starters returning. It helps that all four are considered All-Conference candidates.
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Last night, UAB upset Southern Mississippi at home, which is just throwing everything into confusion in CUSA East. USM had a chance to drive, down 6 inside the last 90 seconds, when UAB snagged a pick-6 to put the game away. UAB now moves to 2-1 in conference play, temporarily out in front.
Tonight, BYU hosts Utah State as they look to advance to 4-1 after beating CSU last week. They are, of course, heavily favored, and I do expect them to take care of the Aggies without much difficulty. And with that, let’s look at weeks 4 and 5 in the Mountain West: Read Post
Another eventful Saturday across the college football landscape. The top 25 got blown apart, but we had fewer upsets overall on the non-BCS side. A handful of quick hits on the day that was, with more thoughtful recaps to come this week: Read Post
The MWC jumps into conference play this weekend with some really big games, and the non-conference games see MWC teams facing some big names from back east. Let’s look at the final conference of the week before we settle in for a big weekend of games:
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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: Read Post
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