Mountain West Preview Part I
Lots of changes in the Mountain West. BYU has left and Utah has gone to the Pac-12. Meanwhile, Boise State joins the conference after arriving from the WAC conference. Currently, there are 8 teams in the conference, but that will change next year with some more additions of three more WAC Teams although TCU will go to the Big East next year. Newcomer Boise State has to be the projected winner here and they even get Air Force and TCU on the SmurfTurf.
They do play AT San Diego State, but the Aztecs are replacing their coach who took the job as the head man at Michigan.
Conference Games to Note...
September 3rd New Mexico vs Colorado State-----The Lobos start the season with 5 Home Games. However, after this game they have to play Arkansas and Texas Tech. They got destroyed by Colorado State last year 38-14. This is Locksley's third year and this overly optimistic writer here says this is a huge game for New Mexico, especially with those two non-conference games on deck. After that, they have winnable games against Sam Houston State and rival New Mexico State both in Albuquerque. Last year New Mexico lost their season opener 72-0 to Oregon and never recovered. A competitive showing here or even a big upset would give them some confidence. Another blowout to start the season could damage their psyche (it recovered slightly from last year since they haven't played a game in a long time) and have themselves saying "Here We Go Again"
September 10th TCU at Air Force---------------this game here could very well determine who gets 2nd Place in the Mountain West this year since both teams visit the SMURF TURF in Boise. TCU should be solid, but this game is early in the season and they are replacing good players on both sides along with QB Andy Dalton while going on the ROAD.