Top 5 Mountain West Conference games

Five intriguing Mountain West Conference games that should go a long way in determining a champion:

UTAH AT TCU,

Sept. 15: The conference newbie will get a crack at the two-time defending champion early in this made-for-ESPN Thursday night battle.

AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE,

Sept 29: Neither of the MWC's Colorado schools are supposed to be at their best this year, but the winner of this game could be the MWC sleeper.

BYU AT NEW MEXICO,

Oct. 8: Longtime Lobos coach Rocky Long is a former boss of a young coach named Bronco Mendenhall. Can the pupil beat the teacher?

BYU AT WYOMING,

Nov. 12: Laramie in mid-November? The forecast calls for snow and a wind-chill factor somewhere below John Beck's uniform number.

UTAH AT BYU,

Nov. 19: One of these two teams — if not both — should be playing the season finale with the league title on the line. Rumor has it this is also a bit of a rivalry game.