Mountain West – 2009 Football Betting Preview

2009 Mountain West Football Betting Preview

In 2008 the Mountain West finished the season with 3 top 25 teams, two of which were in the top 7. ’08 will be a year to remember as it produced the emergence of a clear cut top non-BCS conference. Some of the highlights included the MWC’s 3-2 bowl record and going 5-0 against the Pac-10 in the regular season. But undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the season was Utah’s dominant victory over Alabama the SEC power house in the Sugar Bowl. In the meantime TCU’s defeat Boise State who was previously unbeaten in the Poinsettia Bowl. While the Mountain West lacks some of the depth that the automatic BCS berth conferences have, it has been noted that there are some good teams in the MWC and it will once again be the top non-BCS conference this season.

During the ’08 season there was much discussion about the quality of the MWC vs the Big East and whether the Mountain West was perhaps more deserving of an automatic berth. We find that to be extremely shortsighted on their part as the Big East did produce W’s in 3 straight BCS bowls from 2005-2007 and the Mountain West needed to show that the league is more than simply BYU, TCU and Utah. In the past 5 seasons, those three teams are the only Mountain West teams to be ranked while the Big East has had every team but Syracuse ranked during that time span. See what we mean about a lack of depth.

This may be the year for some of the less known Mountain West teams to make a statement. The top 3 teams all return 12 starters or less and will attempt to reload instead of rebuild after their successful ’08 seasons. But we need to see another team aside from the Big 3 at least compete for the league’s championship before we can even consider the Mountain West deserving of an automatic BCS bowl bid. It has been 7 seasons since any other team won the conference championship and the entire decade of the conference’s existence has only featured 4 different programs as champions. As only Colorado State (the 4th champion) has experience time on the national stage in the last 10 years, we think it might take some Boise State related expansion plans and improvement from the league’s lower half for us to truly believe that the MWC is a BCS-caliber league.

OUR 2009 MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS PREDICTIONS

1. Brigham Young Cougars
2. TCU Horned Frogs
3. Air Force Falcons
4. Utah Utes
5. UNLV Rebels
6. San Diego State Aztecs
7. Wyoming Cowboys
8. Colorado State Rams
9. New Mexico Lobos

BYU Cougars

Heading into the ’08 season, it was the D that was a big question mark for the Cougars. BYU performed well, but with 8 returning starters, the defense may suddenly be the team’s strength rather then the offense. Many of the offensive skilled players are back as well, but the O line needs some retooling. With that said it may keep BYU a step behind Utah…once again this season.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 7-1)

BYU 2009 Season Preview – BYU 2009 Season Schedule

TCU Horned Frogs

The Horned Frogs dominated everyone on the defensive side of the football last season. TCU ranked 1st in the nation in rushing defense and total defense and 2nd in scoring defense, giving up a mere 11.31 ppg. Gary Patterson TCU’s head coach has some big holes to fill on that side of the ball, but the Horned Frogs are known for their tough D and that should not change this year.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 6-2)

TCU 2009 Season Preview – TCU 2009 Season Schedule

Air Force Falcons

The Falcons have reached 2 straight bowl games under Coach Troy Calhoun’s leadership. Although both bowls losses were close and undoubtedly painful, Air Force is headed in the right direction. Fans did not expected the Falcons to compete in the MWC last season, especially since the league was so strong, but they earned winning record in conference play. Now the achievable goal this year is to get to back to a bowl game and get a W.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 5-3)

Air Force 2009 Season Preview – Air Force 2009 Season Schedule

Utah Utes

Last year was a memorable one for Utah Utes. They finished up the regular season a perfect 12-0, but did not get an invite to the BCS National Championship game. Instead, they were demoted to the Sugar Bowl where they had to take on a strong SEC team Alabama. But to everyone’s disbelief the Utes put up 31 points and slapped the Crimson Tide with an embarrassing defeat. That was icing on the cake for a great season, but it also raised questions as to whether or not Utah should have been playing for a national title.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 5-3)

Utah 2009 Season Preview – Utah 2009 Season Schedule

UNLV Rebels

Nobody expected much of anything from the Rebels last season. They only won just 2 conference games, but UNLV pulled off some big wins over Arizona State and Iowa State. After 3 years of mediocre play under Coach Mike Sanford, it appears that sticking with the coach for another campaign was the right decision. A realistic goal for UNLV is to get to a bowl game, but they will have to play through a tough schedule in order to reach that goal.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 5-3)

UNLV 2009 Season Preview – UNLV 2009 Season Schedule

San Diego State Aztecs

Ball State’s Coach Brady Hoke was the man behind their impressive season last year. Then he parlayed that success into a new coaching job with the Aztecs. San Diego State had an horrible season last year, and ended up with just 2 wins, but they were a young team and Coach Hoke has a few weapons to work with at a bigger school and better conference to recruit in.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 3-5)

San Diego State 2009 Season Preview – San Diego State 2009 Season Schedule

Wyoming Cowboys

Coach Dave Christensen spent 8 seasons running the high scoring Mizzu offense and now he has his own team to develop. Putting into place the new spread offense is not going to be easy, but Christensen has a few weapons to work with. It will not happen overnight, but the Cowboy’s horrible offense that ranked last in the country in ppg, could be a dynamic unit in the future.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 3-5)

Wyoming 2009 Season Preview – Wyoming 2009 Season Schedule

Colorado State Rams

In his 1st season as Rams Coach Steve Fairchild turned a 3-9 program into a 7-6 team, which included victories over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Fairchild had some experienced players to coach, but now that the big names players are gone he has some major rebuilding to do. CSU can certainly make it back to a bowl game, but it will not be difficult in the MWC.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 1-7)

Colorado State 2009 Season Preview – Colorado State 2009 Season Schedule

New Mexico Lobos

With a disappointing 4-8 year, the Lobos went out and got new Coach Mike Locksley. Locksley started off by hiring some experienced coaches that will help turn the program around quickly. After such a promising ’07 campaign, New Mexico is not far off from getting back into the middle and top half of the MWC and that means a bowl game could come in the next year or so.

(Our Predicted 2009 Conference Record: 1-7)

New Mexico 2009 Season Preview – New Mexico 2009 Season Schedule

Mountain West – 2009 Football Season Overview

After such a great ’08 season, the major question is going to be how the MWC does this season. It is important for the conference’s high profile push for changes in the BCS that their teams remain competitive at a BCS caliber level as they can’t afford to be perceived as fluke. However, we think it is very likely that BYU and TCU will be able to carry the league on it’s shoulders and maintaining the MWC’s favorable national standing.

In the race for the Mountain West title, there are only two teams that we can see competing for the championship at the end of the year. Team #1 is BYU, with their high powered offense led by the conference’s best offensive player in QB Max Hall. Team #2 is TCU, with their strong defense led by the conference’s best defensive player in DE Jerry Hughes. Both programs will be very good on both sides of the field this season. But the Cougars have an easier schedule and fewer holes to fill when replacing non-returing starters. BYU’s seniors know how to win, as they are gunning for a third conference championship in 4 years while TCU has fallen short repeatedly during the same time frame.

While Utah, Air Force, UNLV and others will certainly make a major impact on the leagues race this season, we fully expect that the most important game all year will be on October 24th that will feature a match up between TCU and BYU in Provo and considering that BYU is unbeaten at home in each of the past 3 years, we are going to pick BYU to win that game and the conference title along with it.