Upcoming Conference Games Schedule

This week's games feature MWC teams against 4 BCS teams, including #2 Texas heading into Laramie to play the Wyoming Cowboys. TCU's game against ACC opponent Virginia was supposed to be a marquee game for the Frogs, but Virginia suffered an embarrassing loss to FCS William and Mary 26-14 causing this weekend's game to lose its luster. Air Force will play Minnesota of the Big 10 in brand new TCF Bank Stadium's inaugural game. Oregon State travels to Vegas where the Rebels look to maintain their winning ways after last week's win.

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State of the Conference

It was a great weekend for the conference with a pair of big upsets, wins in games that were supposed to be wins, and only a couple losses. Overall the conference went 6-2, and 2-2 vs. BCS teams. Here are the weekend's conference scores and analysis:




Air Force (1-0) - 72
Nicholls State (0-1) - 0



Easy win for the falcons. As usual, they did the bulk of their damage on the ground, racking up 474 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. The defense held Nicholls State to only 151 total yards as compared to Air Force's 576. If anything, the huge score itself turned some heads.



#20 BYU (1-0) - 14
#3 Oklahoma (0-1) - 13



A lot has been said about this game already. Bottom line is BYU pulled out the win and Oklahoma is left reeling without Sam Bradford and a loss. Overall this was a very sloppy win for the Cougars and both teams didn't play exceptionally well. A combined 22 penalties for 180 yards and 6 turnovers dominated the game, but BYU made just enough plays and avoided just enough mistakes to come out on top.





Colorado State (1-0) - 23
Colorado (0-1) - 17





Outside of the BYU win, this was the biggest shocker for the conference. The game was not as close as the score indicated. Colorado State jumped out to an early 20-3 halftime lead. The story of the game was the Ram's run defense, holding the Buffaloes to only 29 yards. Undoubtedly this is a huge confidence booster for the Rams and another big win for the conference over a Big 12 foe.





UNLV (1-0) - 38
Sacramento St. (0-1) - 3






This could be the year the Rebels make a move up the conference ladder. They got the year started off right with a victory against FCS opponent Sacramento State. Rebel RB Channing Trotter rushed for 3 scores and the Rebel defense held the Hornets to only 228 total yards.





Wyoming (1-0) - 29
Weber State (0-1) - 22






The Cowboys pulled out a win before next weeks showdown with #2 Texas in Laramie. Colt McCoy must be salivating, figuring Wyoming gave up 322 passing yards to the FCS Wildcats. Wyoming did pile up 246 rushing yards and 434 yards of total offense. There is a lot to work on for the Cowboys this week to make next weekend's game respectable.




Texas A&M (1-0) - 41
New Mexico (0-1) - 6



The 77,887 fans at Kyle Field in College Station provided new Lobo coach Mike Locksley and his team with a rude awakening. The Aggies compiled 606 yard of offense and only allowed 2 Lobo field goals. There weren't a whole lot of positives for New Mexico to take from this game. They only committed 3 penalties in a hostile environment and did gain some quality experience for a team with only 17 seniors and 42 freshman on its roster.



UCLA (1-0) - 33
San Diego State (0-1) - 14



The Aztecs were unable to capitalize on a wildfire-like hot start that had them leading 14-3 near the end of the first quarter of this game which was nearly postponed due to local wildfires. The Bruins closed the game with 30 unanswered points and left new Aztec coach Brady Hoke with some unanswered questions of his own. A rushing attack that only tallied 39 yards and 3 interceptions doomed San Diego.

BYU Win's Implications on the Utes and the Mountain West

We get it. Sam Bradford didn't play the second half and the game might have ended differently had Oklahoma had their Heisman winning quarterback in there, but that's not the point. The point is BYU won the game and this is another large dent in the BCS machine. No matter which way you spin it, #20 BYU's shocking 14-13 win over #3 Oklahoma was huge. Obviously this game's outcome has massive implications on a national level, but what are the implications regarding the Mountain West and the Utes?

1. They proved that there is legitimate football played in the Mountain West Conference. With Utah, TCU, and BYU all in the preseason Top 20, the pieces were put into place for these teams to make some serious noise. This game was supposed to be an example that the MWC didn't belong. Give BYU the credit they deserve. Even with Bradford in the game for pretty much the entire first half, they only trailed by 3, and could have been leading if not for some costly turnovers. Max Hall arguably outplayed Bradford before he was injured and BYU's defense was surprisingly very stifling. BYU looked like they not only belonged playing with Oklahoma, but arguably looked like the better team.

2. They validated Utah's Sugar Bowl win. Utah ended last season knocking off Alabama and BYU started this season knocking off Oklahoma. If anyone thought Utah's win was a fluke, they now have to answer to BYU's win. That's two Top 5 teams falling to the Mountain West in a row. In fact Bob Stoops is 0-3 all time against the Mountain West. If BYU can handle Oklahoma and Utah can handle Alabama, how can you justify Utah not being in the National Championship Game last year and what they have accomplished? It will be harder and harder for the BCS elite to ignore the facts.

3. If a Mountain West team goes undefeated, they have a solid case to be considered for this year's National Championship Game, especially after the Utes got snubbed last year. If such a team accomplishes the feat, they will have had to beat both other ranked teams in conference (TCU, BYU, or Utah), and both wins would be against potential Top 10 teams. Utah paved the way last year and we may very well see a team from the MWC sneak in the back door if #2 Texas or #1 Florida loses this year.

4. With the ACC's and Big East's lack of competitiveness, the Mountain West may very well be the 4th best conference in the country this season, and a case could be made the PAC-10 as a whole is beneath the MWC as well. We could actually see a 1 loss Mountain West team accepted to a BCS Bowl. And if Boise State at least shows up for the rest of the season and goes undefeated, we may see two non-BCS teams play in BCS bowls, in the same season, for the first time.

The national media will likely blame this loss on Bradford's injury (It's already a bigger story then Oklahoma losing) and ignore the fact BYU won. In fact, BYU might not even jump that high in the polls since the game was so sloppy and both teams didn't play exceptionally well. But this win was huge for the conference and should raise awareness about the quality of football played in the mountains.


Photos: Deseret News