MWC
For the Mountain West Conference, it was a bad weekend. Well, that is an understatement. There is no way to describe what has happened this week. The statements that needed to be made were not. One reason you recruit Junior College players is because they have the experience. Cain was not riding the pine behind Brian Johnson for two years. He was playing real games against real opponents. So, he should have known what to do with the football when the game is on the line. He blew it with not one, not two, but three chances to make the difference in the fourth quarter.
Max Hall pitched a good game today, but did not have any "run support" from the defense. A baseball pitcher needs good bats to win, and a quarterback needs his defense to help him out. FSU just ran right through the Cougar D. You don't take anything for granted when Bobby Bowden is the coach on the other sideline, even when he is having a down year. His team was prepared. So if this game was lost for the Cougars, it was lost in the preparation on the defensive side of the ball. Sure, there were turnovers, but BYU never had a chance in this one. It was over before you could sing "home of the brave." It is the coaching staff that has the responsibility to have their players prepared. No opponent should ever expose a weakness. And if it is the case that the players were not listening to the coaches, then there is not much anyone can do. Last year, when TCU clobbered them, BYU was not able to bounce back. They had three close games against teams they should have blown away. They won all three of them, but got lucky three weeks in a row. If BYU has improved over last season, we will truley find out when they play Colorado State next Saturday.
Here is a differnece between the Mountain West and the power conferences. Florida State is ready to play every single week because they have to. Next week, FSU has to travel to Boston College. As good as they played this week, they have to put this game behind them and play another tough one next week. If anything needs to improve in the MWC, it is getting consistency not just from BYU, Utah and TCU; but from Air Force, UNLV and Colorado State. The middle 3 need to push the top 3 to be better.
The most improved team in the MWC is UNLV. Beating the run and shoot means keeping the offense off the field. UNLV did that in the second half. Hawaii only ran four plays in the third quarter, and that is where the game changed.
WAC
If any team from the Beehive State was impressive this week, it was Utah State. I don't believe in moral victories. But the Utah Aggies did very well in a very intimidating environment. Dealing with the student section in College Station is not an easy thing to do, especially if you are used to playing in front of 12,000. Getting to within a touchdown was an accomplishment. They will suprise someone this year. If you are an MWC fan this year, you hope that it will be Boise State!
Speaking of improvement, Utah State has some competition in that department. Idaho really looks better this year. They took it to San Diego State at home. They have a winning record. Meanwhile, Nevada looks as bad as they did on TV against Notre Dame. And who is the best team in the Land of Enchantment? Looks like New Mexico Highlands to me. Both the Lobos and the Aggies look terrible. They play each other, so one of them will not be winless.
Big Sky
Trevyn Smith and Cameron Higgins looked like FCS All Americans. 3 TD passes for Higgins and 177 rushing yards for Smith. The 'Cats did get off to a slow start, but once the shook off the rattling they had in Fort Collins last week and dominated for the last three quarters. The Bengals once again come away from Ogden empty. The shortest bus trip in the Big Sky Conference took a long two hours.
There could be a QB controversy brewing in Missoula. PSU took an early 14-0 lead, but Andrew Selle came off the bench and from there the Grizzlies cruised past the Vikings. Montana can turn the game on you quickly, and they did that today.
I said that Northern Colorado had the opportunity to show improvement in Cheney against the Eagles. But Eastern Washington shut those Bears down and won 16 to 0. There was not much offense from EWU either-the stats were very similar-they just managed to get the ball into the end zone where NCU could not.
In Flagstaff, there was shootout worthy of the scenery as Southern Utah's comeback falls short at the Skydome. SUU nearly capped off a comeback. Down 34-14 early in the third, the Thunderbirds loose by only 3.
MWC
Offensive Player of the week: UNLV QB Omar Clayton
Defensive team of the week: Air Force
Game of the week: UNLV 24 Hawaii 23
Power Rankings
1. TCU
2. Air Force
3. Colorado State
4. BYU
5. UNLV
6. Utah
7. San Diego State
8. Wyoming
9. New Mexico
WAC
Offensive Player of the week: Utah State QB Diondre Borrell
Defensive team of the week: Idaho
Game of the Week: UNLV 34 Hawaii 33
Power Rankings
1. Boise State
2. Fresno State
3. Louisiana Tech
4. Hawaii
5. Idaho
6. San Jose State
7. Utah State
8. Nevada
9. New Mexico State
Big Sky
Offensive Player of the week: Weber State QB Cameron Higgins, Weber State RB Trevyn Smith
Defensive team of the week: Eastern Washington
Game of the week: Northern Arizona 42 Southern Utah 39
Power Rankings
1. Montana
2. Weber State
3. Eastern Washington
4. Montana State
5. Sacramento State
6. Northern Arizona
7. Portland State
8. Idaho State
9. Northern Colorado
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