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Business as usual for the Mountain West this week, with the only mildly surprising result being BYU’s win over San Diego State. Utah obliterated a Big 12 opponent while TCU, Air Force, and New Mexico did exactly what you would expect each team to do.
Air Force 49, Colorado State 27- A tidy seven touchdowns in three quarters meant the Falcons could coast through the 4th quarter, where CSU picked up two of their scores. CSU has had a better showing in the last three games compared to their first three, but they’re still only 1-5. Next Week: UNLV at Colorado State, Air Force at San Diego State
West Virginia 49, UNLV 10- UNLV wasn’t able to repeat or improve on Marshall taking WVU to overtime a few weeks ago, and found themselves simply overmatched on the East Coast. Next Week: UNLV at Colorado State
TCU 45, Wyoming 0- Read Post
Well, last night’s game went according to the script. Louisiana hung in for a while, but Oklahoma State pulled away late to win by a bunch. Makes my weeknight picks 2-1 this week, so that’s nice. Now on to the last bunch of today’s games:
2:00 PM, The Mtn- Colorado State at Air Force: Air Force is coming in off their first win over Navy and looking for more, while CSU appears to be in a portion of their schedule where they continue racking up big losses. Line: Air Force by 24. The Falcons haven’t been winning THAT big yet. This will be something more like 28-10.
3:30 PM- UNLV at West Virginia: UNLV’s nightmarish rebuilding year continues, and while WVU isn’t the threat they were once thought to be, they should have the talent to take care of their guests with ease. Line: West Virginia by 27.5. That’s a big line for a team that hasn’t scored over 31 this season. WV wins, but let’s not get carried away. 34-13.
3:30 PM, CBS College- Wyoming at #5 TCU: Wyoming is without their starting QB, which makes a tough matchup even worse. Read Post
Business as usual for the MWC this week- the good teams won and the bad teams lost. The best news of the weekend came from Air Force, who cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time in ages.
TCU 27, Colorado State 0- The Rams put up a fight for a while, trailing just 6-0 at the half, but TCU’s defense never relented and the offense got it going in the last two quarters. Next Week: Colorado State at Air Force, Wyoming at TCU
Air Force 14, Navy 6- Read Post
Just five games in the MWC today after BYU got curbstomped by Utah State last night.
2:00 PM, The Mtn- TCU at Colorado State: CSU got a big win over Idaho last week, but Idaho is no TCU. Line: TCU by 33.5. I actually think that line is a little bit steep and will need a near shutout (certainly possible) to cover. It’ll be in that range, but that’s too many points for a league road game right now. TCU 42-10.
2:30 PM, Versus- Navy at Air Force: Watch for AFA’s one-off Thunderbird uniforms today- the helmets are amazing. Read Post
The Mountain West had a productive weekend, with BYU being the only team to lose out of conference and getting a competitive conference game too (the one not involving New Mexico, naturally).
TCU 41, SMU 24- Good defensive play in the first half saw SMU take a 17-14 lead after an interception to start the third quarter, [...]
Week 3 decimated our list- East Carolina was done in by an angry Virginia Tech team, and Houston saw QB #1, QB #2, and any BCS hopes bite the dirt against UCLA. Air Force ran out of time against Oklahoma, and Missouri had just a bit too much time left against San Diego State. And then [...]
The weekend did not go well for the Mountain West. 0-3 against non-BCS leagues and 1-6 out of conference overall. The matchups weren’t in their favor, sending mid-level teams up against the likes of Boise State. TCU was the lone highlight, blowing out Baylor by 35.
Florida State 34, BYU 10- BYU had the game within reach, scoring 10 late in the second quarter to get to halftime down just 13-10. After that, though, it was all Seminoles, who have now beaten the Cougars in back to back seasons. Next Week: Nevada at BYU
Miami (OH) 31, Colorado State 10- CSU is really having a miserable run right now, but at least they scored a touchdown, coming 178 minutes into the season. Next Week: Idaho at Colorado State
Oklahoma 27, Air Force 24- Air Force gave the Sooners all they could handle, rallying back from a 27-10 deficit but simply running out of possessions after the momentum swung their way. Next Week: Air Force at Wyoming
TCU 45, Baylor 10- TCU went up 14-0 early and never looked back as they rolled the first of their two Texas opponents of the season/week. Next Week: SMU at TCU, Friday
Missouri 27, San Diego State 24- Read Post
It dawned on me as I was prepping for this post that Air Force, BYU, Oklahoma, and Florida State seemingly unwittingly turned week 2 and 3 into a mini-tournament, with the finals today in Norman. Air Force beat BYU, Oklahoma beat Florida State, and now Air Force takes on Oklahoma while BYU faces Florida State in the consolation round. I’ve seen this unintentional playoff happen in conference play, but never so perfectly in interleague matchups (of course, if BYU or FSU had won, this whole thing is silly. Or sillier).
3:30 PM, Fox Sports Net- Air Force at #9 Oklahoma: The Falcons have a tall task in front of them, taking on a Sooner team that blasted Florida State last week after Utah State gave them more of a game in week 1. The question becomes whether or not the Sooners come back to earth and give Air Force the chance to pull the upset. Oklahoma is 38th in run defense after facing two decent FBS teams so far, allowing just over 100 yards per game. FSU and USU are both better through the air, but Air Force is going to have to wreck Oklahoma’s average to win today. Line: Oklahoma by 17. This is probably my non-BCS bias coming out, but I think the Falcons can keep it closer. I’d love to see them win it, but it’s probably OU at 38-24.
3:30 PM, ESPNU- BYU at Florida State: Read Post
It’s been an uneven week on the Fringe, but we’re going full steam into the weekend now. Here’s your BCS Buster watch (down to just 10 unbeaten teams in the non-BCS universe), and the non-BCS top 25 will follow shortly, then into the weekend previews all afternoon.
Team
W
L
Last Week
This Week
Coaches Poll
Boise State
1
0
bye
at Wyoming
4
Boise [...]
This was supposed to run yesterday, but for reasons that are still unclear, the internet disappeared for a while. Luckily, it was saved about halfway through, because no way was I rewriting this whole thing. Anyhow, the Mountain West kept to themselves more than other leagues this week, with a pair of league games, some FCS competition, and some relatively quiet losses to big teams.
Utah 38, UNLV 10- Utah never trailed, despite sending in a backup QB to give Jordan Wynn’s sprained thumb a week off. UNLV is off to a rough start, but not an unexpected one. Next Week: Utah at New Mexico (0-2), UNLV at Idaho (1-1)
Air Force 35, BYU 14- Read Post
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