Mountain West Predictions

1. Boise State Broncos, 12-0 (7-0)
Even though they are moving into a tougher conference, the Boise State Broncos should find themselves as conference champions again. On offense they do loose their top two receivers in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, but 4 year starting QB Kellen Moore is the key to the offense and they should miss a beat. Defensively they return seven starters and should be solid in all three levels. If Boise State can get by Georgia in the opener and TCU at home they should have no problem running the table.

2. TCU Horned Frogs, 9-3 (6-1)

Under Gary Patterson the Horned Frogs have turned themselves into one of the primer non-BCS teams in all of college football. This year shouldn't be any different. Just like every other year their defense will be ranked in the top 5 nationally. They are lead by LB Tank Carder who is all over the field. However offensively they could have some struggles. Gone are Andy Dalton and Jeremy Kerley who were so crucial to their success. Casey Pachall will take over for Dalton at QB and he does have experience. But its going to be hard to replicate Dalton's success. Look for the Horned Frogs to be good this year, but they won't be challenging for any BCS games.

3. Air Force Falcons, 9-3 (5-2)

Troy Calhoun is one of the best coaches in the country and the problem is a lot of people don't really know that. This year the Falcons return 14 starters and should challenge for a top spot in the conference. A big game to watch is when TCU comes to Colorado Springs 2nd week of the season. They could catch the Horned Frogs still transitioning on offense and take a win. If they do that they could be in place to challenge Boise State for the conference title. If not they'll be right back in 3rd place in the conference.

4. San Diego State Aztecs, 8-4 (4-3)

In only two years Brady Hoke turned San Diego State around and had them pointed in the right direction. However Brady Hoke is the new HC at Michigan. Rocky Long who was the DC is now the HC. He is very familiar with the Mountain West when he had some success as the HC at New Mexico. SDSU is lead on offense by talented QB Ryan Lindley. He has to find some new targets on offense, but much like Kellen Moore at Boise State he'll be fine. However they have to replace a lot of starters on defense and could run into some issues there. But if Long can keep SDSU on the upswing, this could be a sleeping giant in my opinion.

5. Colorado State Rams, 7-5 (3-4)

After three mediorce seasons, HC Steve Fairchild has to be on the hot seat. After going 7-6 in his first season he has had two 3-9 seasons in a row. However this might be Fairchild's best team yet. They return 14 starters and for the first time in Fairchild's tenure a returning quarterback in Pete Thomas. The Rams also get both Air Force and San Diego State at home, so if they can pull off wins against those two teams they could have their best season in a while.

6. Wyoming Cowboys, 5-7 (2-5)

When former Missouri OC Dave Christensen was hired I thought it was a great move. His high octane spread offense could do wonders for the Cowboys. He took them to the New Mexico Bowl in his first season, but they fell back to a 3-9 record last year. But they were a lot better than their record indicated. This year they return 14 starters and have some of the best defenders back. But they will probably be starting a true freshman at quarterback and that alone could cause them struggle. Once Christensen can get a quality quarterback in they could really take off. But until then I don't see them improving much.

7. UNLV Rebels, 4-8 (1-6)

I did like the hiring of Bobby Hauck who was very successful while the HC at Montana. However the UNLV team he inherited is short on talent that won only 2 games last year. This year they should improve their overall record, but fall back in conference play. Last year they were able to beat both New Mexico and Wyoming, but this year they have to face both of those teams on the road. Look for the Rebels to endure another long season.

8. New Mexico Lobos, 2-10 (0-7)

Being a highly regarded recruiter and a good offensive mind would think that he'd have better success than they have. But this year is the crucial year for the Lobos. They return 15 starters including 9 on defense. Add in some highly regarded transfers and they could have some improved success. However don't expect much. New Mexico will be looking for a new coach for the 2012 season.

Offensive Player of the Year: Kellen Moore QB Boise State

Defensive Player of the Year: Tank Carter LB TCU
Freshman of the Year: LaDarius Brown WR TCU
Coach of the Year: Chris Peterson, Boise State


QB: Kellen Moore, Boise State
RB: Ronnie Hillman, San Diego State
RB: Doug Martin, Boise State
TE: Lucas Reed, New Mexico
WR: Josh Boyce, TCU
WR: Phillip Payne, UNLV
T: Nate Potter, Boise State
G: Kyle Dooley, TCU
C: Weston Richburg, Colorado State
G: AJ Wallerstein, Air Force
T: Paul Madsen, Colorado State

DE: Stansly Maponga, TCU
DT: Billy Winn, Boise State
DT: Jerome Long, San Diego State
DE: Josh Biezuns, Wyoming
LB: Tank Carter, TCU
LB: Carmen Messina, New Mexico
LB: Mychal Sisson, Colorado State
CB: Leon McFadden, San Diego State
S: Jon Davis, Air Force
S: George Iloka, Boise State
CB: Tashaun Gipson, Wyoming

K: Ross Evans, TCU
P: Pete Kontodiakos, Colorado State
KR/PR: Jonathan Warzeka, Air Force