MWC at midseason: Who can catch TCU?

By Saturday afternoon the 11-game college football regular season will be more than halfway done for most schools, believe it or not. Seven of the nine Mountain West Conference teams will play their sixth contests Saturday, with BYU and Colorado State playing their fifth games of the year.

With the majority of the non-league games complete and relatively few conference contests in the books, there are still six of the MWC schools with realistic chances of winning the conference title. Even BYU or UNLV — both with two losses already in league play — could conceivably tie for the championship if one of them wins out. Only Air Force, with three league losses, appears completely out of the running.

After a year of dominance by Utah, parity has returned to the MWC. Having little difference between the top team in the league and the No. 9 team makes for interesting games but ensures that no conference team will make a splash in the national scene like the BCS-busting Utes of a year ago.

Here's a midseason look at some of the best and worst in the MWC this seasonL

MOST IMPRESSIVE NON-LEAGUE WIN: League newcomer TCU, in its first game as an MWC member, shocked then-No. 7 Oklahoma in Norman, 17-10. The Sooners have subsequently shown they weren't worthy of the preseason ranking. Still, it is one of the best wins in MWC history.

Runners-up: Wyoming winning 24-14 at Ole Miss; New Mexico beating Missouri on the road, 45-35.

WORST NON-LEAGUE LOSS: One week after shocking the college football world with the win over Oklahoma, the then-No. 22-ranked Horned Frogs gave their newfound national stature back with a uninspiring performance and a 21-10 loss at SMU. What if TCU would have taken care of business in week 2? It would be 5-0 right now, probably ranked in the Top 15 and would be considered a possible BCS buster. Instead, the 4-1 Frogs are relegated to "others receiving votes" status. SMU, meanwhile, hasn't won since.

Runners-up: UNLV's back-to-back losses to WAC opponents Nevada and Utah State.

TOP QUARTERBACK: Justin Holland, Colorado State. The senior quarterback leads the league in passing efficiency (151.8) and is 19th in the nation in that category. He has tossed a league-high six interceptions (tied with BYU's John Beck and New Mexico's Cole McKamey in that dubious category), but he has passed for an MWC-best 10 scores. The Rams are atop the MWC in both scoring offense and total offense, thanks in large part to Holland's play.

Runners-up: San Diego State's Kevin O'Connell, Wyoming's Corey Bramlett.