MWC squanders shot at national respect

The Mountain West Conference is still looking for that signature win, something that will buy it some football respect around the country.

This past week was the Big One, a chance to really haul in a catch.

Instead, the league's teams snapped the line on the pole, let the bait sink and royally got skunked.

TCU led Texas into the fourth quarter, then folded. BYU beat up on UCLA, sending half a dozen Bruins to the sidelines with everything from a concussion to broken teeth. But after spotting the 13th-ranked team in the country 20 points, the Cougars fumbled away an upset. UNLV scared the cocktails out of Wisconsin before folding. Wyoming needed some late-game magic to hold off lowly Utah State.

So, what do we know about the league's football teams so far?

Well, Colorado State, at 0-2, may be the biggest surprise of them all, aside from 2-0 Air Force. The Rams sport the league's top passing quarterback in Caleb Haney (162.6 pass efficiency) and one of the top rushers in Kyle Bell. CSU appears to have the whole package on offense. If the Rams learn how to place an exclamation point at the end of a battle, they could be 2-0 with wins over Colorado and nationally ranked Cal, whom they lit up for 14 points in 53 seconds. Of course, it came too late.

Let's see, the best 0-2 teams in the land? Notre Dame, Michigan and CSU.

Through the first two weeks of the 2007 season, five MWC defenses have not allowed a 100-yard rusher (Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico and Wyoming). San Diego State has only played one game thus far but also hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher.

Utah receives the Snake-Bit Award. Check that, Anaconda-Munch Medal. At this rate of injuries to stars, the U. medical school might need to line the sidelines with interns Saturday when UCLA breezes by this weekend.

The absence of preseason offensive player of the year Brian Johnson has thrown the postseason honor wide open, with Haney and BYU rookie Max Hall holding the edge over New Mexico running back Rodney Ferguson.

And what about the Cougars? Are the toughest tests — until TCU visits Provo on Nov. 8 — in Bronco Mendenhall's rear-view mirror? Is there any defense left on the schedule that can keep BYU's offensive line off balance for four quarters? Hall came out of the Arizona and UCLA battles as the MWC's total offense leader, 11th nationally, essentially replacing the Utah QB.