This could be week for upsets

This is a week for reconciliation.

Utah can skate into the Top 10 rankings without playing a down, and BYU will find out if the loss to TCU inspired or exposed them.

This is a big week in college football because a lot of ranked teams venture on the road in conference play and upsets could play a part in how the Utes climb in the rankings come Sunday.

The big one is No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State. No. 7 Georgia plays at No. 13 LSU, one of the toughest places in the country. No. 8 Texas Tech is at No. 23 Kansas and No. 10 Florida, which lost at home to Mississippi, travels to Kentucky.

In the meantime, Bronco Mendenhall is trying to trigger a sense of urgency in the Cougars, who host UNLV today in LaVell Edwards Stadium, where they're defending a win streak that stretches over two seasons.

The Rebels sport a decent offense capable of big plays. Sophomore transfer quarterback Omar Clayton has been one of the biggest surprises in the league this year and ranks third among MWC quarterbacks with 218 yards per game passing.

Where UNLV ranked last in the MWC in red-zone scoring a year ago (73 percent, 26 scores in 37 trips, 15 TDS and 11 FGs), they are now tied for first in the NCAA, going a perfect 20 for 20 inside the 20, including 17 touchdowns and three field goals.

It's on the defensive side where UNLV has struggled. The Rebels have given up 500 yards in each of the last three games. The failure is in every area, including playing depth, injuries, coverage, tackling and failure to force turnovers.

The Cougars simply have to hold on to the ball for long drives and limit the work of Jaime Hill's defense. The Cougars have failed to convert third downs and score at the blistering rate of a month ago. Part of that is defenses are jumping on plays, the other part is failure to execute.

Clayton is more than capable of making big plays on the Cougars. If he doesn't, perhaps the experience at TCU will have enabled Hill to shore up the Cougar defense heading down the stretch in league play. Or not.

Cougar quarterback Max Hall confidently spoke about about changes with the Cougars this week since leaving Fort Worth.