ESPN GameDay's third visit to Mountain West country either signals football in these parts is producing great storylines or the all-sports channel is courting the league for when the TV contract comes up.

Or, it could be ESPN is fishing for some hair-pull video.

Regardless, the MWC's run the past two years with three ranked teams has provided tons of drama, capped by Utah's win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and BYU's season-opener win over Oklahoma in which the Sooners lost a Heisman Trophy winner to injury.

Plot-Lines-R-Us.

Today's showdown between the Utes and Frogs is the latest made-for-TV script and it's this one is for some big marbles. Utah pulls off the upset and

Boise State is celebrating more than potato harvest and BYU gets back in the title picture. TCU wins and they'll gladly accept an all-but punched ticket to their first BCS game.

A Frog win would mean $450,000 for each MWC school, provided TCU beats New Mexico and Wyoming and gains that BCS bowl.

Kyle Whittingham is remarkable in these kinds of games. But he comes in with an average offense riding the back of another hard-hitting defense.

(Wasn't that how the Utes appeared last fall before somebody started calling two-minute drills for Brian Johnson and suddenly Utah was unstoppable?)

Today's game hinges on the play of Andy Dalton, the sensational QB for the Frogs. If he's on, the Utes cannot chase TCU in a contest of points. If he's off, it will be a game.

A key will be how Ute freshman Jordan Wynn handles his newfound role as playmaker. If he floats passes, is indecisive or puts the ball on the ground, TCU will make him pay instantly and it could get ugly.

Utah does fumble. Do that today in Fort Worth and that will be the trigger Dalton putting on a show as TCU grabs the momentum and turns it into a sprint in which they've got head start.

Utah's had great success against the Frogs. Before the last two seasons, so had the Cougars.

But those days came during an era of TCU having a predictable, up-and-down, sometimes impotent offense, a unit that struggled with its identity behind a solid defense.

Dalton has evolved as a QB and he's injected confidence and firepower into Patterson's offense. As long as Dalton is a Frog, playing half a team is no longer the case when going up against TCU.

Utah finds that out today.

This week's picks:

BYU 38, New Mexico 10: Harvey Unga limped around this week and if he is limited, the big story will be if Max Hall can Ty Detmer for the most wins in school history (29). Soon to be 0-10, it aches to see the Lobos crash this hard after Rocky Long abandoned ship.

Air Force 24, UNLV 17: The Falcons are cruising for a showdown in Provo with the Cougars and the Rebels are a speed bump on the road to that game next week. AFA's defense is way too good for the Rebels' mistake-prone team.

SDSU 38, Wyoming 9: Brady Hoke left Fort Collins with a road win and he should be able to lasso the downtrodden Cowboys in Navytown. Look for some big, long pass plays on the Cowboy defenders.

TCU 28, Utah 9: Gary Patterson's team left Salt Lake City a year ago turned upside down after out-playing the Utes for all but one final drive. Revenge is the Frogs on the GameDay stage.

Last week: 5-0 Overall 52-9 (.852)