As we enter into week six of the college football season, the
Falcons of Air Force find themselves in the Top 25 for the first
time this year. They are currently ranked 25th in the USA
Today/ESPN poll with a record of 5-0.
Every Mountain West team except Wyoming plays this week, and the
BYU and San Diego State meeting is the only conference action of
the week, meaning the other five games involve non-conference
opponents.
Wyoming (1-4, 0-1 in the MWC)
Bye this week.
This week Wyoming has the week off, and then will turn its
attention to Utah State. That will be the final tune-up for the
Cowboys, before diving into the conference portion of their
schedule for the remainder of the season.
“I’d like to keep playing,” said head coach Joe Glenn. “But we
will use the time to focus on Utah State, and only Utah State. We
need a win.”
BYU (2-3, 1-1) at San Diego State (3-2, 0-0)
Saturday at 5 p.m.
Line: SDSU by1.5
The only conference showdown of the week takes place in San
Diego where the Aztecs host the Cougars this Saturday. This game
will be the Cougars third conference game of the season while
acting as SDSU’s first.
These two teams are known for lighting the sky with footballs,
but will bring two of the MWC’s stingiest defenses into their 28th
all-time meeting. BYU has won 11 of the last 13 games against San
Diego State, and seven of the last eight, including their 34-10
victory last year in Provo.
Utah (3-1, 1-0) vs. #22 Oregon (4-1)
Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Line: Oregon by 2.5
Utah is coming off a seesaw 28-21 conference victory over CSU,
and now must turn their focus towards the Ducks. The Ducks, who
graced the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated after their
impressive victory over then-No. 3 Michigan, fell flat on their
faces last week. Oregon lost 55-16 to No.15 Washington State, and
now must travel to Utah. The Utes are 2-0 at home this year under
first-year head coach Urban Meyer.
Air Force (5-0, 1-0) at Navy (2-2)
Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Line: Air Force by14
Air Force will take a break from conference play when it heads
to Navy in quest of its seventh consecutive Commander-in-Chief’s
Trophy in the teams’ 36th meeting. The Falcons have won 20 of the
last 22 contests with the Midshipmen.
“This is a big week for our football program,” said Fisher
DeBerry, Air Force head coach. “The number one goal for our
football program is to retain the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. When
you are at a Service Academy, you understand that.”
This game is sure to produce many rushing yards as both teams
bring the option attack with them to the field. The Falcons
dominated this game last year in Colorado Springs 48-7.
New Mexico (2-3, 0-1) vs. Utah State (1-3)
Saturday 6 p.m.
Line: New Mexico by 14
Leaving behind a record crowd of 44,075 fans who got to witness
New Mexico’s gut wrenching 24-17 victory over in-state rival New
Mexico State, the Lobos must focus on a Utah State team whose
record does this team no justice. Utah State has lost to Nebraska,
Arizona State and Utah.
“They, (Utah State), will play anyone at anytime,” said Rocky
Long, New Mexico head coach. “We have to be ready for a battle down
in Utah.”
New Mexico’s record does not do them any justice either. Two
weeks ago the Lobos held the high powered offense of Washington
State to 23 points, and played BYU down to the wire in a 10-7
loss.
UNLV (3-1, 0-0) at Nevada (3-1)
Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+Plus
Line: UNLV by 5.5
The Rebels, the only team without a MWC game under their belts,
come off their bye week to finish up the non-conference schedule
with a game against in-state rival Nevada. Nevada has won five of
the last eight against UNLV, but the Rebels bring a three-game
series win streak into the contest.
“This is a great intense rivalry,” said John Robinson, UNLV head
coach. “They have the best team that they have had since I’ve been
here.”
UNLV beat a Chris Kretschmer-less Nevada team last year 21-17 in
Vegas. Kretschmer led the nation in rushing two years ago as a
freshman, but was out with a knee injury all of last year.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.