Week 1 a make or break for MWC?

Just looking over the opening week schedule for the MWC and see a lot opportunities for the MWC to come out of the gates firing. Obviously we are going to need better years from almost everyone in the conference if we are going to make up ground on the other BCS conferences. Could we get that start on week 1 in a big way?



Game 1: Utah vs. Pitt, The popular view of most cougar fans it seems is to see the Utes lose every game this season. Personally, I think that would be a bad thing when it comes to out of conference games. I would like to see Utah win all the out of conference games and therefore have a higher ranking, which would help the MWC's have a stronger SOS. I think Utah will beat Pitt, they play extremely well when they are given a lot of time to prepare for games. I think they can win this one 28-21



Game 2: Colorado vs. Colorado St. I feel like this would be a big win for the MWC, a good win from the bottom dweller against the bottom dweller of the Big XII (and future Pac-10 member) Colorado State gets them at home, and I think they will get off to a strong start again this year before hitting conference games. Colorado St. 17-14



Game 3: Northwestern St. vs. Air Force. I am really not concerned about this one. It would hurt really bad to have air force choke this one, but not going to happen. Air force will win big 48-10.



Game 4: New Mexico vs. Oregon. Its always tough to play in Eugene, and I don't think New Mexico is going to have the guts to pull it out.. but how big of a win would this be for the MWC if they can somehow surprise Oregon, get some lucky turn overs, and frustrate them like they seem to do to the utes every year. Probably the least likely game for us to get a win.



Game 5: Washington at BYU. Theres been enough speculation on this one, I am just going to assume we win.



Game 6: Oregon St. vs. TCU. In Dallas with TCU coming back as strong as they are? Hats off to Oregon St for actually scheduling some decent teams but they are going to get whipped. TCU will win by at least 14.



Game 7: San Deigo St. vs. Nicholls St. I think San Diego will be the MWC surprise team of the year. They are going to be better, and they will win this one easy, and save us the embarrassment.



Game 8: SUU at Wyoming. "SUU is the best kept secret in utah" for a reason, they aren't much good. Wyoming will slaughter the thunderbirds. A mostly meaningless win, but it will be another W in the column for MWC.



Game 9: Wisconsin at UNLV. Does anyone think that UNLV can pull of the upset here? Wisconsin is coming into the season ranked high, and I have even read some reports that have them as the darkhorse to win the Big 10. This would be another huge upset for the MWC. I don't think it will happen but pair this with an upset by New Mexico and the MWC could look extremely good the first week.



Game 10: BSU vs. Virginia Tech. Man I cannot wait to watch this game. I really think that BSU is going to come out on jump all over Virginia Tech, and there will be many disappointed fans at the "Neutral stadium" . For the MWC to have a legitimate shot, I think we need an undefeated season out of the Broncos again. This is the only real game Boise will have to help them and us out. I think they can win it by around 10.





So there are a lot opportunity up there. Going 10-0 would be a miracle, but I really think the MWC can go 8-2 in the first week, and get a huge start on a "Statement" season. However, many of those games are tough and we could go as bad as 4-6 which would be a crushing start to the season and would hurt our AQ chances. Less then a month to go.

yes, new mexico and unlv all but sure losses. then in all likelihood one other teams drops a game.



i would go with 7-3 after the first week.



One thing I agree with is that san diego state is going to suprise this year. Last year's game was way too close for comfort against our experienced squad. They are definitely getting better.

UNLV almost beat Oregon State last year. In 2008 they beat ASU in Tempe and Iowa State. And in 2007 they lost by one late 4th quarter score to....



Wisconsin.



http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272512439



Has Appy State taught us nothing?! ;)

Utah can go 0-12 this year for all I care.

I don't consider "week 1" make or break necessarily but the season as a whole definitely must be considered so. We have to take it up a notch this year. We definitely can not lose anymore to the likes of Idaho or Portland State like some of the teams have done in the past. And while we don't necessarily have to beat Texas or OU, we have to beat any mid- and lower-tier BCS teams. Basically the conference coaches just need to put everything else on hold and focus on beating their 4 non-con opponents. If they drop a couple of games in conference, so what. The ADs should also understand this and give their coaches a pass (not fire them) as long as they can beat the non-con they should and be competitive in the games against the top-10 type programs. The schools really need to focus and do what's best for the conference in order to get this AQ inclusion. And then in-conference, we really need to keep our top teams looking pretty. That means BYU needs to lose to TCU (I have no doubt that TCU will win with or without our help this year) and everyone else needs to absolutely pummel the Pukes and lose to the Cougars. And really, we need to get another team like AFA in to the top 25 this year. But nothing Utah does will help the MWC one iota so they need to drop every game possible.



Getting back to week 1 though, I really think the MWC could and should do quite well.



Game 1: Utah vs. Pitt - I can see your point about the SOS benefitting the MWC if the Pukes beat Pitt, but frankly I just don't care and ultimately, I want the Pac-10 to look really bad and regret their decision and attempts to screw over college football (superconferences). I've pulled for them out of conference for the past few years because I wanted their success to benefit the league but I'm now glad to say that I never EVER have to do that again.



Game 2: Colorado vs. Colorado St. - CSU should win this one. CU is a lousy program plain and simple and I really like what Fairchild is doing up in Fort Collins. I thought he was a good hire for the conference.



Game 3: Northwestern St. vs. Air Force. - Yeah, no worries at all in this game.



Game 4: New Mexico vs. Oregon. - This would be a huge win for the MWC and while I think the odds are slim the Lobos walk out with a W, I really think they could surprise some people and shock the college football world. Oregon is still kind of a mess after all the offseason crap that went on and the Lobos really improved their team in this last recruiting class plus hopefully the team will do better now knowing Locks system and not having to deal with the whole coaching drama that went on last year. Plus the Ducks have a game AT Tennessee the next week so I'm guessing they'll be looking past the nearly winless Lobos from last year.



Game 5: Washington at BYU. -



Game 6: Oregon St. vs. TCU. - It's no surprise that I like TCU in this one. But I really hope they put the hurt on them and make it ugly too. The conference needs as big a PR boost as we can get.



Game 7: San Deigo St. vs. Nicholls St. - I think SDSU stands to be the most improved team in the MWC this year too.



Game 8: SUU at Wyoming. - I really like the Christensen hire and actually think he'll keep the Cowboys competitive as long as he's there.



Game 9: Wisconsin at UNLV. - I just don't see UNLV doing much this year with a new coach with no D1 experience. In fact, I really think they'll come in last in the conference this year. A win over the Badgers would be huge for the conference but I just don't see it.



Game 10: BSU vs. Virginia Tech. - AQ inclusion almost hinges on this game. BSU has to win for the MWC to even have a chance. Fortunately, I think they will but they cannot lose focus for one minute during fall camp if they are going to pull this off. How big would it be if both TCU and BSU are in the NC discussion at the end of the year and one of them ends up making it in? The BCS would seal their fate if they didn't give us AQ status then. In fact, what if Florida drops 2 games (which I think is definitely possible, especially with a new QB; i.e. Bama and FSU) and Bama drops a couple (maybe less likely but still). I just don't see any other teams that would be absolute locks over BSU and TCU without having an undefeated season themselves.





Realistically, I think the conference could go 7-3 in week 1 but I hope for even better.

I thought that CSU and CU played neutral field games in Denver each year. No? It's at Invesco right? And basically, it is always an away crowd for CSU just because CU has a much larger following. CSU was dreadful last year and still beat CU. If CSU can find a QB, they will be more like the 2008 Rams.

In the mwcboard pickem, I have the mwc Going 6-4. Losses go to unlv, bsu, unm, and csu

fifthqb wrote:
Game 1: Utah vs. Pitt, The popular view of most cougar fans it seems is to see the Utes lose every game this season. Personally, I think that would be a bad thing when it comes to out of conference games. I would like to see Utah win all the out of conference games and therefore have a higher ranking, which would help the MWC's have a stronger SOS. I think Utah will beat Pitt, they play extremely well when they are given a lot of time to prepare for games. I think they can win this one 28-21

I am almost certain that Utah's record moving forward does nothing to help the Mountain West...rather, Utah's rankings will now be analyzed under the Pac 12 conference. The Mountain West, likewise, gets to count Boise State's 2008 and 2009 seasons to the Mountain West analysis (rather the WAC's).



The ONLY reason that I would be able to live with a Ute win in Week 1 is that a Pitt loss hurts the Big East, which in turn helps the Mountain West....But, I don't think that is enough to pull for a Utah win, IN THE SLIGHTEST, therefore, a Utah loss by three touchdowns is my desire!



[On a Week 2 through 14 note....we should be cheering harder than ever to see EVERY SINGLE MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM beat Utah this year...as that could be a big way to increase the overall apparent strength of the conference...hopefully Jordon Whiny and whoever else the Utes have on their team this year all get injured against Pitt]

kitic77 wrote:
Utah can go 0-12 this year for all I care.

I agree. Utah's record goes to the PAC so why should I care?

Could look good for MWC. But each year it seems we lose a few bad ones and win a few good ones. Make or break what?

My point about Utah winning its out of conference games is that they will be ranked higher, so when the Mountain West Teams beat Utah their SOS and ranking will be higher then it would be against a winless Utah. I am fully aware that Utah's wins will not count for the MWC AQ, I just think the conference could still use the tiny boost of beating a 4-8 Utah team rather than an 0-12. Makes sense.



Well can you see the Mountain West getting an AQ going 2-8 on any given week? I just don't think its going to happen. We are going to need strong showings every week. Therefore the OOC schedule this year is very important that we win, and I don't see a bigger week for the conference besides the first one over all. So I believe that week one will ultimately play a large role in our chances to go AQ or not.



The Colorado, Colorado state game could very well be a neutral field, I was just going off the fact that Colorado State is listed as the "home team".



I give us a 10% chance to win either the New Mexico or Oregon games week one.

This week won't be the reason for or against the MWC getting AQ status. I do agree, with the 10% chance to beat Oregon (UNM) or Wisconsin (UNLV). If we could pull off either upset, that would be almost as big as TCU beating Oregon St or Boise beating Virginia Tech.