Mountain West Power Rankings 2010 going into 2011

This may be the last time this blog writes anything about Mountain West Football, unless they invite Utah State.  2011 will be a transition year for the MWC as BYU and Utah are gone, TCU is going; Boise State is here with Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii on the way.  But some things will stay the same.  The top half of the conference will be good, but the bottom half of the conference will stink.

1. TCU Horned Frogs.  Andy Dalton was consistent and was the on-the-field leader that TCU needed him to be.  He will make someone a good NFL team, even if he has a Steve DeBerg-type career and is also certain to be a successful head coach someday.  Ed Wesley will be back next season and will take a lot of pressure off of Dalton's replacement.  And the defense has been and will continue to be good as long as Gary Patterson is in Fort Worth.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Replacing Dalton.

2. Boise State Broncos.  Kellen Moore and other key offensive players will be back, but others are gone.  They have been consistent at recruiting and reloading and will be almost as good next season as they were this season.  The difference is that they have competition in this conference and may end up with four losses if the schedule does not work in their favor.  But they need to learn to consider 8-4 a successful season.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Dealing with real competition in their conference.

3. San Diego State Aztecs.  I am resisting the temptation to put the Aztecs ahead of Boise State.  They return their big guns on offense and have been good on defense with Rocky Long as the defensive coordinator.  I believe that they will be good as long as Brady Hoke stays in San Diego, which may only be one more season.  Aztec fans should learn to enjoy this while it lasts.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Remaining healthy.

Update: Brady Hoke is leaving San Diego State for Michigan.  San Diego State has hired former New Mexico Coach Rocky Long as their new head coach.  The tools are in place for the Aztecs to continue to win consistently.

4.  Air Force Falcons.  Air Force will be good early and struggle late.  They had a favorable schedule in 2010 and if they end up with TCU, Boise State and San Diego State at the right time of the season, they have a good chance at a conference championship.  Tim Jefferson and Asher Clark will be back for one more season.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Playing through the middle of the season when they will have Navy, Notre Dame, Army and at least one favorites in the Mountain West. 

5. Colorado State Rams.  The Rams were a young team in 2010, and Pete Thomas had a very good year for a Freshman with a 124.53 rating.  They also have a relatively weak non-conference schedule in 2011 which should work to their favor and perhaps give them a .500 or better record.  But they have to improve one of the nations worst defenses.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Defense

6. UNLV Rebels.  If you are a UNLV fan, you hope that Bobby Hauck has learned the parts of the Montana Offense that simply will not work at the FBS level.  Caleb Herring has had a year to learn it and will no longer have to play behind Omar Clayton.  Getting a consistent running attack will be one of the primary goals in 2011.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle:  Running game.

7. Wyoming Cowboys.  The Cowboys turned a bowl season in 2009 into a 2010 what-the-heck-was-that season.  Every aspect of the game took a turn for the worse in 2010.  The Cowboys were one of the worst teams in the country in both offense and defense and failed to catch the little bit of magic that they had.  They will need to find that spark again in 2011.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Consistency.

Update: QB Austyn Carta-Samuels has left the Wyoming football program and transferring to a Junior College.  Dave Christensen has also made some staffing changes.

8. New Mexico Lobos.  As of today, Mike Locksley still has a job in Albuquerque, believe it or not.  The Lobos won once in 2010 and once in 2009.  They may not win at all in 2011 looking at the schedule.  Biggest potential 2011 obstacle: Dealing with rumors of coaching changes.