Utes slighted in all-MWC voting?

Utah's first outright conference crown in 46 years earned the Utes a Liberty Bowl berth. It also netted Coach-of-the-Year honors for Urban Meyer.

What it didn't do, however, was lead to much representation on the All-Mountain West Conference teams.

Of the 25 first-team honorees, only three are Utes. Wide receiver Paris Warren (league-leading 7.1 catches per game), tight end Ben Moa (14.4 yards per catch) and defensive lineman Josh Savage (team-high five pass breakups) are the lone representatives from the league champions. Second-place New Mexico had seven first-teamers, while third-place Colorado State had six.

The disparity bothers Meyer, who acknowledged there always seems to be glitches in the system.

"There's a lot of guys who I thought would get more recognition," Meyer said. "But you control what you can control."

The all-conference team is determined by a vote of all eight head football coaches, as well as a league-wide media panel of 25. Bob Burda, assistant commissioner of communications for the MWC, said every team is equally represented in the process and that everybody voted. Citing policy, specific ballots will not be made public.

Despite finishing with five fewer wins, BYU matched Utah with three first-team honorees — punter Matt Payne (MWC-best 44.0 yards per kick), defensive lineman Brady Poppinga (five quarterback sacks) and defensive back Aaron Francisco (116 tackles). Running back Reynaldo Brathwaite made the second team.

"It's nice for our guys to be recognized by the league coaches and media like this," BYU coach Gary Crowton said. "As a coaching staff, we know what guys like Brady, Aaron, Matt and Rey do for our program."

San Diego State, which also failed to have a winning season, also garnered three spots on the first team. Headlining the cast is junior linebacker Kirk Morrison, who was named the MWC's Defensive Player of the Year.

Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors went to Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt for the second consecutive season. Burda confirmed that the senior had a close battle with Utah's Alex Smith.