"He's head and shoulders better," Collie said. "He's fantastic. He's a lot more relaxed back there in the pocket, and it is noticeable, and he's just that much smarter with the offense. He's always making the correct decisions, always making the right reads. And I think that's the key."

I've enlisted a panel of prognosticators to help guess the winners and losers each week.

Here's my picks:

Wyoming 24, Ohio 9: The Cowboys will play a series of home games and get off to a great start, but they've got to learn how to win on the road to be a contender.

Air Force 31, SUU 10: The Falcons are breaking in a new quarterback and need an answer for the departure of player of the year Chad Hall. They'll inch forward with those solutions today.

Michigan 7, Utah 6: I see this game as a toss-up and Louis Sakoda should be able to win it if it comes down to field goals. But as much as Michigan is a question mark on offense, its defense is one of the best in the country this year.

BYU 38, Northern Iowa 9: This is not the game the Cougars expected to have to open this season, but it will still be a sold-out home opener with plenty of fireworks.

TCU 24, New Mexico 21: The Lobos have to win this home game, but TCU might be on track to challenge for the title and it has enough firepower to leave Albuquerque with a win.

SDSU 17, Cal Poly 14: The Aztecs need to get something going and this should be the recipe for a good start for Chuck Long.

UNLV 21, Utah State 7: Frank Summers is not a guy the Aggies want to see crashing down on that defense play after play.

Colorado 27, CSU 10: The Rams have fought gallantly in this series, coming up with a lot of respect in the process, but the Buffs are operating at a different plane this year.

The rest of the panel:

Pat Kinahan, 1320 KFAN
Wyoming 28, Ohio 10
Air Force 35, SUU 7
Utah 17, Michigan 10
BYU 42, Northern Iowa 17
TCU 24, New Mexico 21
SDSU 24, Cal Poly 10
UNLV 20, Utah State 10
Colorado 35, CSU 17

Kevin Graham, 1280 KZNS
Wyoming 28, Ohio 14
Air Force 41, SUU 10
Michigan 17, Utah 14
BYU 45, Northern Iowa 10
New Mexico 24, TCU 21
SDSU 31, Cal Poly 13
UNLV 3, Utah State 0
Colorado 27, CSU 13

Hans Olsen, 1280 KZNS
Wyoming 28, Ohio 14
Air Force 17, SUU 14
Utah 28, Michigan 17
BYU 48, Northern Iowa 10
TCU 32, New Mexico 10
SDSU 21, Cal Poly 7
Utah State 21, UNLV 17
Colorado 32, CSU 3

Jeff Call, Deseret News
Air Force 45, SUU 10
Wyoming 27, Ohio 24
TCU 24, New Mexico 20
Utah 20, Michigan 16
Colorado 37, CSU 14
UNLV 24, Utah State 14
Cal Poly 28, San Diego State 21
BYU 38, Northern Iowa 17

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com