Strange but true: 'Boys could earn bowl berth

Scattershooting around the college football scene while wondering when celebrations in Laramie will die down this week.

THUMBS UP: To Wyoming coach Joe Glenn and every player on the Cowboys' travel roster for going into Knoxville and defeating Tennessee, even in what has been a crummy year for the Vols. Such a win, staged in sacred SEC country, should certainly warm things up in Laramie after a disappointing season. Now Wyoming, winner of just one MWC game, could go bowling with two more wins.

THUMBS DOWN: USA Today calls them the "Pink Slip Five." They include Tennessee, Toledo, Kansas State, Washington and Clemson, who are a combined 13-34, all lost last week, and all have axed their head coach.

THEY SAID IT: Air Force coach Troy Calhoun: "We don't have a guy, we don't have a guru, we don't have a superstar, we don't have a sensational, all-world candidate. We're a team school."

BYU quarterback Max Hall, speaking of AFA players: "They play hard; I always thought they had the type of kids we have here."

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: If Air Force freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson qualified with more attempts, his 189.24 pass efficiency (23-of-39 for 456 yards, 5 TDs, 2 picks) would be ahead of the MWC's top three signal-callers — No. 1 Hall of BYU (170.11), No. 2 Omar Clayton of UNLV (140) and No. 3 Brian Johnson of Utah (139.30).

AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: Colorado State, UNLV and Wyoming are still alive for bowl bids. The Cowboys play at UNLV Thursday night, and the loser is dead. With Wyoming's win over Tennessee, the MWC has a 9-5 mark against automatic-qualifying BCS conference opponents, including Notre Dame. Utah and TCU are an impressive 11-3 in their last 14 games against that genre.

MY MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Utah's Brian Johnson. The Utes' offense couldn't score a touchdown against TCU until it absolutely counted, and Johnson's last-gasp drive for the winning touchdown was reminiscent of Air Force and Oregon State: Clutch.

THEY WROTE IT: Colorado Springs Gazette columnist David Ramsey: On the surface, BYU looks terrifying. The Cougars will prowl into Colorado Springs with only one loss, a powerful passing attack and four straight wins over Air Force. That's the bad news. Here's the good news: BYU might be the most overrated No. 17 team in American football history.