2011 Mountain West College Football Preview

[Freddy Wills]

1. TCU
2. Boise State
3. Air Force
4. San Diego State
5. Colorado State
6. New Mexico
7. UNLV
8. Wyoming

Mountain West has shrunk a bit, but we have the in conference rival that will last one short year as Boise State takes a step up in talent to play along side TCU before they leave for the Big East. In recent years the Mountain West has been on the rise and it was due to TCU and Utah. Utah now playing in the Pac-12, a conference the Mountain West dominated the last couple of years before last year. Either way this conference will be full of excitement and this is how I see it finishing. Don’t forget to check out our entire this year as well as all of our league previews which you can find by clicking article titles below:

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1. TCU
2. Boise State
3. Air Force
4. San Diego State
5. Colorado State
6. New Mexico
7. UNLV
8. Wyoming


Obviously when we talk offense we will have to refer to Boise State in this conference. They finished second in the nation in yards and scoring a year ago albeit in a much weaker conference. They lose their offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin to Texas, but they hire within with Brent Pease so I do not believe they’ll miss a beat. The departure of Austin Pettis and Titus Young leaves room for new stars to emerge along side returning Heisman caliber QB Kellen Moore. Moore had an insane 182.6 QB rating, 71.3 % completion rate and just 6 interceptions to his 35 touchdowns thrown. He’s improved each and every year and he’ll have a strong running game to keep things balanced with the return of Doug Martin. The Next Five: TCU, Air Force, San Diego State, Colorado State & New Mexico.


Boise State has the best and we told you why. Though he lost his top two receivers we have seen teams with great QB’s rebound easily. The main challenge will be the step up in competition for Boise playing in a some what major conference. One thing for sure is Moore will continue to be super accurate and will continue to move the chains. The Next Three: Ryan Lindley (San Diego State), Tim Jefferson (Air Force), Pete Thomas (Colorado State).


TCU always has the strength in their running game. It may be because Ladanian Tomlinson once went here, but this team always has a deep recruiting class at running back and in 2011 it’s no different. They ran for 3,415 yards a year ago with 41 touchdown. They’ll have strong returning core with Ed Wesley, Matthew Tucker and Waymon James who will certainly combine for more than 2,000 yards as the heavy lifters on offense with Andy Dalton gone at QB. The Next Three: Boise State, Air Force, and New Mexico.


TCU still will have the strength here in the conference despite the loss of Jeremy Kerley, now playing with the New York Jets. Josh Boyce can be that explosive deep threat while the veteran leadership is there with Antoine Hicks and Skye Dawson. With the strong running game I expect many teams to not take the passing game seriously especially early in the season and that should lead to some big plays. The Next Three: UNLV, San Diego State, Boise State.


Boise State obviously has the NFL talent that many other teams do not. They allowed just 11 sacks in the last two years combined while supporting a very strong running game. OT Nate Potter will be a top 50 NFL pick in next year’s draft and they have a rock at center in Thomas Byrd. Those are two strong parts that will be key in breaking in the rest. Like we said Moore never gets hit and the blocking is always top notch even against strong defenses so we expect it to remain the same in 2011. The Next Three: TCU, San Diego State, and Air Force.


1. LB Jordan Waiwaiole, Senior Air Force
2. QB Pete Thomas, Sophmore Colorado State
3. CB Quinton Pointer, Senior UNLV
4. DE Josh Biezuns, Senior Wyoming
5. CB Leon McFadden, Junior San Diego State


TCU obviously has an edge in this department as year after year they have been in the top 5 in the nation in total defense. They lost NFL players in Jerry Huges and Daryl Washington last year and still remained the same dominant defense from the year before as they finished 1st in points allowed and yards allowed. Linebackers are the strength of this defense as they’ll play a 4-2-5 most of the time anchored by Tank Carder and Tanner Brock which just sound like football names. Their secondary could be the weakness, but they have Greg McCoy and very athletic safeties who won’t miss many tackles. The Next Five: Boise State, Air Force, Colorado State, San Diego State, New Mexico.


Boise State wins this one over TCU as they had a dominant season a year ago even stuffing Virginia Tech for just 128 total in the season opener. They return a bunch of talent with Billy Winn, Tyrone Crawford, Shae McClellin and Chase Baker all who could be all conference in 2011. The Next Three: TCU, San Diego State, and Air Force.


TCU was the #1 pass defense a year ago in yards allowed and pass efficiency defense so they know a thing or two about stopping passing games. Do note that a couple of decent QB’s in Ryan Lindley and Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin) had some solid games when they played TCU, but they still remained in tact as the #1 pass defense. They have enough talent returning to be in the mix as a top 10 pass defense as they are very athletic fast and will create turnovers. The Next Three: Air Force, Boise State, and San Diego State.


TCU clearly has the advantage here and we already mentioned the two doing the damage in Brock and Tank Carder two of the best most intimidating football names you’ll here at linebacker. Tank Carder is the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and he’ll be back with some good depth behind the two stars. The Next Three: Air Force, Boise State, and San Diego State.


1. Boise State @ Toledo 9/17
2. San Diego State @ Army 9/10
3. Tulsa @ Boise State 9/24
4. SMU @ TCU 10/1
5. Colorado State @ Utah State 9/24


TCU even without Kerley back should be among the best in the nation in special teams. The coverage teamsa re one of the best and the kicking game is terrific with Ross Evans being automatic on anything inside 45 yards and Punter Anson Kelton who specializes in getting the ball inside the 20. The Next Three: Colorado State, Air Force, and Boise State.


TCU @ Boise State 11/12. I believe TCU has the better team despite the only Heisman hopeful in the Mountain West residing at Boise in Kellen Moore, but the fact that this game will be on the blue turf where Boise State has not lost at home in over 30 games. TCU will match up well with their style of defense and it should be a low scoring game as TCU has a strong secondary and Boise has a strong defensive line to limit the strength of TCU’s offense. Either way it may come down to home field advantage and the best QB.