By: Rich Douglas
With the additions of San Jose State and Utah State, the Mountain West will now be a 12 team conference that consists of 2 divisions, The Mountain, and The West Divisions. I see what they did there. This conference is stacked on the offensive side of the ball and should provide plenty of action for those who decide to bet on their games.
Mountain Division
Boise State - Perennial powerhouse Boise State sits atop our rankings this year. While only 5 starters on offense are returning, senior QB Joe Southwick and WR Matt Miller should lead the way in will be a solid offense. Head coach Chris Petersen is usually unbeatable when he returns his starting QB and this season should follow suit as Southwick improved dramatically as the season went on. Boise State always boasts an excellent defense which always gets them near the top of the country in Turnover Ratio. DE Demarcus Lawrence recorded 9.5 sacks last year, and will lead a defense that allowed just 15.8 points a game while having a +20 in TO ratio.
Utah State - The Aggies should make an immediate impact this season as first year head coach Matt Wells will look to continue the growing success his school has had in recent years. Chuckie Keeton started all 13 games last season in his Sophomore year and should build off of what became a breakthrough season under center. The dual threat QB racked up 3.373 yards passing while rushing for 619 yards. He found the end zone a total of 35 times (27 passing, 8 rushing). All five offensive linemen will be returning in what will be an excellent offense to watch. The Aggies had an excellent defense last year finishing 7th in the country in points allowed and 14th in yards allowed per game. Unfortunately, much of there team graduated and/or is not with the team anymore so those gaudy numbers from last year will be hard to replicate.
Wyoming - For a couple years now, the Cowboys have seemed like they were just on the verge of a program changing season, but it hasn't yet come to fruition for them. They have some excellent athletes on both sides of the ball, and could surprise some people this year. Junior QB Brett Smith returns after having an excellent season where he threw for 2,832 yards with 27 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. There wasn't much of a running game last year, which is what led to a sometimes stagnant offense. RB D.J May will need to have a big Sophomore season in order to change that. The defense was not great last season, and they may actually be worse this year as there was plenty turnover. Sophomore Eddie Yarborough returned at DE and will look to lead the team in sacks again.
Air Force - The Falcons are always an interesting team to look at with Troy Calhoun calling the shots and continuing their long standing triple option tradition. Calhoun had his first losing season at the Academy, but was still able to rally his team to their sixth straight bowl game. It will be tough for them to make another one this year as they'll be in a fairly deep rebuild. They lose their two leading rushers in QB Dietz and RB Getz, but as always have plenty of guys in line to run the ball.
New Mexico - Bob Davie might be turning things around in Albuquerque as the Lobos had plenty of positives during their 4-9 season. While many consider last season a failure, I believe it was just a product of having expectations that were far too lofty. The Lobos will still struggle this year under first year QB Cole Gautsche who will attempt to lead their run first offense. Kasey Carrier will be back for his senior season after turning some heads last year with 1,498 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. Sophomore Jhurrell Pressley ran for 468 yards and 6 scores last season as well. The Lobos should really struggle on defense as they only have 2 starters returning. So again, the expectations will probably be too high, but I think Coach Davie is slowly turning things around in New Mexico.
Colorado State - What has happened to football in the state of Colorado? With Air Force getting progressively worse, and Colorado being absolutely horrendous, Colorado State might actually be the worst of the bunch. Jim McElwain started off his first year on a high note with a victory over instate rival Colorado, but it was downhill after that. The Rams simply don't have a clear cut starting QB as they started 3 different players last season. Senior Chris Nwoke remains a threat at RB and will share time with Donnell Alexander. Both sides of the line are depleted and undersized. It's going to be a long season in Fort Collins, but the one strong point of the team is at linebacker where all three starters are returning after decent seasons. Aaron Davis will look to build off of his team best 84 tackles.
West Division
Fresno State - Derek Carr returns at QB (yes he's David's little brother) and should lead his Bulldogs to greatness this season. I'm really high on this squad, and it starts with Carr. He's matching the numbers put up by his older brother and should be considered as an early Heisman Candidate. Robbie Rouse is gone at RB, but Sophomore Marteze Waller has plenty of talent and should be able to fill the void. WR Davante Adams is destined for the NFL after having an incredible Freshman season with 102 catches for 1,312 yards and 14 TDs. The Bulldogs are easily a good team, but they'll be a great team depending on their defense. MWC defensive player of the year and All American safety Phillip Thomas is gone, but Derron Smith and corner Sean Alston will lead a very opportunistic defense. Expect great things.
San Jose State - Another new coming team and another impressive second place finish. The Spartans will be without coach Mike McIntryre who turned this program from a 1 win team to an 11 win team in 4 short years. He's not in Colorado, but his old team remains well in tact. 15 starters return including 7 on offense. QB David Fales is a legitimate NFL prospect and should wreak havoc on defenses in this conference. He makes great use of his WRs and spreads the ball very well. His favorite target Noel Grisby will be back after an 82 catch 1,307 season. Six starters return on defense including a DL that boasts Anthony Larceval and junior Travis Raciti. They'll look to beef up their game as WAC Defensive Player of the Year Travis Johnson was lost to graduation.
San Diego State - This conference and primarily this division is very deep. The Aztecs come in just behind the Bulldogs and Spartans as they return 17 players from their 9-4 season. Junior QB Adam Dingwell struggled at times last year when he filled in for Ryan Katz and will have to have a great season to get his team to keep pace with the rest of this division. RB Adam Muema was excellent last season rushing for 1,458 yards and 16 scores and should make the transition easier on Dingwell. The defense will be the strong suit of the team as 9 talented players return from last season. LBs Jake Fely and Derek Largent return as juniors along with senior leader Nick Tenhaeff. The Line will be anchored by junior Sam Meredith.
Nevada - In a conference that has the likes of Derek Carr, David Fales, Chuckie Keeton and Joe Southwick, the Wolfpack may be the luckiest of all as they have QB Cody Fajardo signal calling for them. I'm not very high on Nevada as a whole, but Fajardo was made for their pistol offense and will continue to flourish under it for first year coach Brian Polian after Chris Ault (maker of the pistol offense) stepped down after last season. There isn't a RB on the roster that has had any game action ever, but Devin Combs projects as a possible fill in until they get a full time starter. What the Wolfpack will struggle with most is their defense. They were horrendous last year and could actually be worse. We're talking about a team that allowed 33.8 points per game and 442.5 yards per game.
UNLV - It's going to be another tough season for Coach Bobby Hauck. It isn't necessarily because the Rebels are going to be worse than last year, because they shouldn't be, but their conference schedule is quite difficult. QB Nick Sherry showed flashes of excellence last season and will need to step it up a bit more in order for his team to have a shot in some of these games. The DL returns three seniors in Gaston, Garrick, and Klorman and should have some success in a pass heavy league. Seniors Hasson and Hodge return in the secondary and must play well in order for their units to succeed.
Hawaii - The one positive for the Warriors is that they're returning 19 starters. Unfortunately for Coach Norm Chow, those players made up one of the worst squads Hawaii has ever fielded. QB Sean Schroeder returns after a rough junior season where he passed for 1,889 yards with 11 TDs an 12 INTs. The offense just never clicked as they were ranked 101st or worse in Points Per Game, Yards Per Game, and TO Margin.
Conference Championship Game: Fresno State over Boise State
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