TCU, BYU, Utah loom large in MWC football, but challengers ready to contend
Besides the ongoing fight against the Bowl Championship Series, the hottest topic of conversation at the Mountain West Conference media days in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday was which team might challenge “The Big Three” of TCU, BYU and Utah.
Those three teams finished in the top three in 2008 and were predicted to do so again in 2009 — by a substantial margin.
“You look since 2005, those three have been the top three almost every year,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said.
The Falcons disrupted the TCU-BYU-Utah triumvirate in 2007. And they’re considered the top prospect to do it again.
If not the Falcons, perhaps a UNLV squad that just missed qualifying for a bowl in 2008. Linebacker Jason Beauchamp said he feels like “the stage has been set” for the Rebels and that “everything is in place more so than in the past.”
And don’t forget about Colorado State. Yes, the Rams have to replace star running back Gartrell Johnson and find a quarterback. But coach Steve Fairchild, who runs an offense based on power running, can’t ask for a better group up front. The Rams have all five starters back on the offensive line, and those players have combined to make 125 starts — the most of any offensive line in the country heading into 2009.
“We figure that will help develop some of the other areas that need to be developed,” Fairchild said.
