SB Nation - Robert Johnson

Way Too Early College Football Top 25 for 2010

Jeremy Mauss — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:30:12 -0000

The bowl season is not even here yet and the only players to declare for the NFL are on non-bowl teams and most likely not on this list. National Champs has put together a top 25 list with another list of others to be considered for the 2010 season.

The biggest shocker is that Boise State is put second in their rankings while TCU comes in at sixth as the highest Mountain West team. That spot could be swapped depending who wins the Fiesta Bowl, but both of those schools return the majority of their offense. 2010 could be the year that a non-BCS school makes a n even closer run at that national title game appearance.

Neither Utah or BYU are on the list, which is understandable yet a little shocking as well. Utah returns their starting quarterback in Jordan Wynn, RB Eddie Wide, RB Sausan Shakerin, and possibly RB Matt Asiata if he wants to return. The Utes lose most of their receivers but they do have depth there, and they lose a few key offensive lineman. Defensively the Utes lose their top two big play defenders in DB Robert Johnson, LB Stevenson Sylvester, and DT Koa Misi. However the Utes, finally get to bring in the number one JUCO recruit in defensive end James Aiona to go along with the Kruger brothers.

BYU has a question mark if Harvey Unga goes pro, but they automatically lose QB Max Hall and TE Dennis Pitta which will hurt. The Cougars could be starting either true freshman Jake Heaps who is the number one quarterback recruit, or Riley Nelson who has not played significant snaps since his days as the starter at Utah State back in 2005.

Keep on reading to see who is on the very, very early top 25 list for 2010.

2010 Early Bird
Top 25 Preview
Click on each team for breakdown

1. Alabama
2. Boise State
3. Oregon
4. Florida
5. Ohio State
6. TCU
7. Texas
8. Georgia Tech
9. Iowa
10. Miami FL
11. Penn State
12. Nebraska
13. Southern California
14. Cincinnati
15. North Carolina
16. Oklahoma
17. Oregon State
18. Virginia Tech
19. West Virginia
20. Houston
21. Louisiana State
22. Wisconsin
23. Georgia
24. Arkansas
25. Missouri

Others Receiving Consideration
depth charts included

Arizona
Auburn
Boston College
Brigham Young
California
Clemson
Connecticut
Florida State
Michigan
Mississippi
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
South Carolina
South Florida
Stanford
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
UCLA
Utah

Poll

Will the winner of the Fiesta Bowl be ranked inside the top 3 in the pre season poll?

Golden Nuggets: Best Will Miss the Poinsettia Bowl

Berkelium97 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:00:17 -0000

You're all familiar with the sections on the left of the page, right? Some of you aren't? Well, they are a handy way to look at posts according to various topics. You can sort posts by "football," "recruiting," "basketball," and so forth. Now there is a section called "Golden Nuggets" where the GN posts will be stored. If you need to catch up on several day's worth of news just click that section and you'll see all the most recent posts.

Tedford has announced that Jahvid Best will miss the Poinsettia Bowl. He said he is progressing well, but that it would be too soon for him to play in the bowl game. I'll post more details when they're made available.

Here's what Daily Cal had to say:

Tedford said that Best is "doing excellent" in rehabbing from the head and back pain that have kept him out of football since he suffered a scary concussion on the field during the Bears' loss to Oregon State on Nov. 7. But with Cal returning to practice Wednesday just a week away from its bowl game against Utah, the team didn't feel that Best would have enough time to get himself back into game shape before Dec. 23.

"He's been out a long time, and since this game is so early, to get him back in game-ready form -- we don't feel like that's something that we can get done to him ready to play," Tedford said.

Best might have been available to play had the Bears gone to a post-Christmas bowl, Tedford said. That possibility was erased when Cal closed out its regular season with a 42-10 loss at Washington.

Tedford said that the decision was made "over the last couple of days." The Bears' practice Wednesday was their first since Sunday, as players are in the midst of finals week.

Best will make the trip to San Diego to watch Cal play Utah in San Diego.

"He wishes he could be out there with us," Vereen said. "But at the same time he understands that he needs to get better and healthy."

After the jump I have quotes from Chris Martin as well as more stories on his commitment to Cal, previews of the Cal-Utah matchup, more bowl information, bracketology, and info on how you can do your holiday shopping with Randle, PC, Zhang, and Boykin this Saturday.

Cal Football

JO talks about Chris Martin's commitment to Cal. The 2nd-rated defensive end is set to become a pass rushing LB at Cal and should immediately compete for playing time. JO also has some quotes from his phone conversation with Martin. Martin thinks he and this year's recruiting class are some of the final pieces of the puzzle necessary to get Cal to a Rose Bowl or beyond. Additionally, he's looking forward to being close to home and playing in front of friends and family.
On the heels of Chris Martin's commitment, RB Tajuan Briggs decommitted from USC to give a commitment to Cal. His most recent visit to Cal led him to reconsider his commitment to USC, which he made to keep his family happy, as he'd be closer to home. Ted Miller briefly recaps the current crop of Pac-10 commits and anticipates Cal will bring in a top-25 recruiting class.
ESPN posted its scouting report for the Cal-Utah matchup. It gives Cal the advantage at QB, RB, LB, and D-line, and gives Utah the advantage at O-line, WR, secondary, special teams, and coaching. Utah ultimately gets the nod, as they predict a 23-17 win for the Utes.
Cal has posted its program for the bowl. I wonder if they'll have these available to the media or if they'll just provide stapled, black-and-white copies like they did at the Pac-10 media day.
Despite struggling with it during the season, Utah remains committed to its wildcat scheme.
Utah's experienced trio of senior linebackers is looking to notch its 40th career win.
Shane Vereen is Cal's pick for Ted Miller's underrated players of the year.
Syd was named to Sporting News' third-team All-American squad.
Syd, Alualu, Tepper, and Tucker have been invited to the annual East-West Shrine Game. It is held January 23rd and will begin at 12pm PST.
Utah safety Robert Johnson does great work both on and off the field.
Tedford comes in 7th in Wilner's year-end coaching rankings.

Cal Basketball

ESPN's latest bracketology has Cal as a 9th seed, opening the tournament against Mississippi St.
Have some holiday shopping left to do? Head to Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton on Saturday, where Randle, PC, Boykin, and Zhang will be signing autographs from 4:30 until 6:30.

Seven Cougars Selected All-MWC 2009

sroufe — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:12:15 -0000

More photos » by George Frey - AP

BYU's Jan Jorgensen tackles CSU's Leonard Mason on Sept. 26th. Jorgensen, the "Hammer from Helper", is the MWC all-time sack leader with 29. He has recorded 6.5 sacks and 56 tackles in 2009. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Browse more photos »

Jan Jorgensen, Dennis Pitta, Matt Reynolds, and Harvey Unga were awarded All-Conference First-Team honors today. Andrew George, Max Hall, and Andrew Rich were selected to the All-MWC Second-Team. Additionally, six Cougars earned Honorable Mention status: Coleby Clawson, Brett Denney, Scott Johnson, Brian Logan, Riley Stephenson and R.J. Willing. Johnson and Matt Bauman were named Academic All-Americans last week as well. Congratulations to each of these student-athletes!

It should also be noted that Pitta was one of only three players (Jeremy Kerley and Jerry Hughes, TCU) in the conference to be a unanimous selection. For Pitta and Jorgensen this was their third time on the All-MWC First-Team.

TCU had an incredible 15 selections between the 1st and 2nd teams and nearly swept the player/coach of the year awards. The Utes also finished with six players on the All-MWC First-Team.

2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Andy Dalton	Jr.	TCU
WR	David Reed	Sr.	Utah
WR	Ryan Wolfe**	Sr.	UNLV
RB	Harvey Unga	Jr.	BYU
RB	Eddie Wide	Jr.	Utah
TE	Dennis Pitta**#	Sr.	BYU
OL	Matt Reynolds	So.	BYU
OL	Erik Cook	Sr.	New Mexico
OL	Marshall Newhouse	Sr.	TCU
OL	Marcus Cannon	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Beadles*	Sr.	Utah
PK	Ross Evans	So.	TCU
PR/KR	Jeremy Kerley*#	Jr.	TCU
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Jan Jorgensen**	Sr.	BYU
DL	Jerry Hughes*#	Sr.	TCU
DL	Koa Misi	Sr.	Utah
DL	John Fletcher	Sr.	Wyoming
LB	Carmen Messina	So.	New Mexico
LB	Daryl Washington	Sr.	TCU
LB	Stevenson Sylvester	Sr.	Utah
DB	Reggie Rembert	Jr.	Air Force
DB	Rafael Priest	Sr.	TCU
DB	Nick Sanders	Sr.	TCU
DB	Robert Johnson	Sr.	Utah
P	Adam Miller	Sr.	New Mexico
--Two-Time First-Team Selection *--Three-Time First-Team Selection #--Unanimous Selection
2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Max Hall	Sr.	BYU
WR	Vincent Brown	Jr.	San Diego State
WR	DeMarco Sampson	Sr.	San Diego State
RB	Joseph Turner	Sr.	TCU
RB	Jared Tew	Jr.	Air Force
TE	Andrew George	Sr.	BYU
OL	Nick Charles	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Peter Lusk	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Caleb Schlauderaff	Jr.	Utah
OL	Jake Kirkpatrick	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Taylor	Jr.	Utah
PK	Erik Soderberg	So.	Air Force
PR/KR	Dion Morton	Sr.	Colorado State
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Wayne Daniels	Jr.	TCU
DL	Ben Garland	Sr.	Air Force
DL	Johnathan Rainey	So.	New Mexico
DL	Cory Grant	Jr.	TCU
LB	Tank Carder	So.	TCU
LB	Mychal Sisson	So.	Colorado State
LB	Brian Hendricks	So.	Wyoming
DB	Andrew Rich	Jr.	BYU
DB	Anthony Wright	So.	Air Force
DB	Tejay Johnson	Jr.	TCU
DB	Chris Prosinski	Jr.	Wyoming
P	Brian Stahovich	So.	San Diego State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Andy Dalton, Jr., QB, TCU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jerry Hughes, Sr., DE, TCU
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jeremy Kerley, Jr., KR, TCU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Austyn Carta-Samuels, QB, Wyoming
COACH OF THE YEAR Gary Patterson, TCU

2009 HONORABLE MENTION
Air Force:	John Falgout, Sr., LB; Brandon Geyer, Sr., P; Ryan Gonzales, Sr., OL; Chris Thomas, Sr., DB.
BYU:	Coleby Clawson, Sr., LB; Brett Denney, Sr., DL; Scott Johnson, Sr., DB; Brian Logan, Jr., DB;Riley Stephenson, Fr., P; R.J. Willing, Sr., OL.
Colorado State:	Adrian Martinez, Sr., OL; Nick Oppenneer, Sr., DB; Cole Pemberton, Sr., OL; Shelley Smith, Sr., OL; Tim Walter, Sr., OL.
New Mexico:	Kendall Briscoe, Sr., DL.
San Diego State:	Davion Mauldin, Sr., KR; Jerry Milling, Sr., LB.
TCU:	Evan Frosch, Jr., TE; Antoine Hicks, So., WR; Jeremy Kerley, Jr., WR; Ed Wesley, Fr., RB; Jimmy Young, Jr., WR.
UNLV:	Jason Beauchamp, Sr., LB; Joe Hawley, Sr., OL; Matt Murphy, Jr., OL.
Utah:	Joe Phillips, Jr., K; Sean Sellwood, Fr., P; Sealver Siliga, So., DL; Mike Wright, Sr., LB.
Wyoming:	David Leonard, Jr., WR; Austin McCoy, So., P; Mitch Unrein, Sr., DL.

2009 Mountain West All-Conference Football Team Announced

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:54:10 -0000

As expected TCU lead the way with all-conference selections, but they ran away with 15 first and second team selections which more then doubles second place BYU with seven spots. The Horned Frogs also took home three of four player of the year awards, and coach of the year -- the one loss was freshman of the year which went to Wyoming's QB Austyn Carta-Samuels.

Some irony in the list is that New Mexico had the first team punter; he did have the most chances to impress. A choice that was not expected when the season started was Utah RB Eddie Wide who ran for over 1,000 yards but was to be the back up before Matt Asiata tore his ACL in the Louisville game.

The offensive player of the year award went to TCU's QB Andy Dalton while the defensive award went to TCU's DE Jerry Hughes. The rest of the awards are after the jump.

2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Andy Dalton	Jr.	TCU
WR	David Reed	Sr.	Utah
WR	Ryan Wolfe**	Sr.	UNLV
RB	Harvey Unga	Jr.	BYU
RB	Eddie Wide	Jr.	Utah
TE	Dennis Pitta**#	Sr.	BYU
OL	Matt Reynolds	So.	BYU
OL	Erik Cook	Sr.	New Mexico
OL	Marshall Newhouse	Sr.	TCU
OL	Marcus Cannon	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Beadles*	Sr.	Utah
PK	Ross Evans	So.	TCU
PR/KR	Jeremy Kerley*#	Jr.	TCU
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Jan Jorgensen**	Sr.	BYU
DL	Jerry Hughes*#	Sr.	TCU
DL	Koa Misi	Sr.	Utah
DL	John Fletcher	Sr.	Wyoming
LB	Carmen Messina	So.	New Mexico
LB	Daryl Washington	Sr.	TCU
LB	Stevenson Sylvester	Sr.	Utah
DB	Reggie Rembert	Jr.	Air Force
DB	Rafael Priest	Sr.	TCU
DB	Nick Sanders	Sr.	TCU
DB	Robert Johnson	Sr.	Utah
P	Adam Miller	Sr.	New Mexico
--Two-Time First-Team Selection *--Three-Time First-Team Selection #--Unanimous Selection
2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Max Hall	Sr.	BYU
WR	Vincent Brown	Jr.	San Diego State
WR	DeMarco Sampson	Sr.	San Diego State
RB	Joseph Turner	Sr.	TCU
RB	Jared Tew	Jr.	Air Force
TE	Andrew George	Sr.	BYU
OL	Nick Charles	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Peter Lusk	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Caleb Schlauderaff	Jr.	Utah
OL	Jake Kirkpatrick	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Taylor	Jr.	Utah
PK	Erik Soderberg	So.	Air Force
PR/KR	Dion Morton	Sr.	Colorado State
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Wayne Daniels	Jr.	TCU
DL	Ben Garland	Sr.	Air Force
DL	Johnathan Rainey	So.	New Mexico
DL	Cory Grant	Jr.	TCU
LB	Tank Carder	So.	TCU
LB	Mychal Sisson	So.	Colorado State
LB	Brian Hendricks	So.	Wyoming
DB	Andrew Rich	Jr.	BYU
DB	Anthony Wright	So.	Air Force
DB	Tejay Johnson	Jr.	TCU
DB	Chris Prosinski	Jr.	Wyoming
P	Brian Stahovich	So.	San Diego State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Andy Dalton, Jr., QB, TCU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jerry Hughes, Sr., DE, TCU
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jeremy Kerley, Jr., KR, TCU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Austyn Carta-Samuels, QB, Wyoming
COACH OF THE YEAR Gary Patterson, TCU

2009 HONORABLE MENTION
Air Force:	John Falgout, Sr., LB; Brandon Geyer, Sr., P; Ryan Gonzales, Sr., OL; Chris Thomas, Sr., DB.
BYU:	Coleby Clawson, Sr., LB; Brett Denney, Sr., DL; Scott Johnson, Sr., DB; Brian Logan, Jr., DB; Riley Stephenson, Fr., P; R.J. Willing, Sr., OL.
Colorado State:	Adrian Martinez, Sr., OL; Nick Oppenneer, Sr., DB; Cole Pemberton, Sr., OL; Shelley Smith, Sr., OL; Tim Walter, Sr., OL.
New Mexico:	Kendall Briscoe, Sr., DL.
San Diego State:	Davion Mauldin, Sr., KR; Jerry Milling, Sr., LB.
TCU:	Evan Frosch, Jr., TE; Antoine Hicks, So., WR; Jeremy Kerley, Jr., WR; Ed Wesley, Fr., RB; Jimmy Young, Jr., WR.
UNLV:	Jason Beauchamp, Sr., LB; Joe Hawley, Sr., OL; Matt Murphy, Jr., OL.
Utah:	Joe Phillips, Jr., K; Sean Sellwood, Fr., P; Sealver Siliga, So., DL; Mike Wright, Sr., LB.
Wyoming:	David Leonard, Jr., WR; Austin McCoy, So., P; Mitch Unrein, Sr., DL.

Making The Rounds: 10/31/2009

Jeremy Mauss — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:15:13 -0000

The college football season goes by so fast, but yet the off season drags, and drags along. There is still a lot of football left to be played so enjoy these mussing from around the web:

Air Force

A pair of knee surgeries has kept highly touted sophomore RB Paul Weatheroy from meeting his potential, but he is still hopeful to make an impact. Falcons will ignore the Colorado State scouting reports that shows the Rams are weak against the pass, but Air Force will still run the ball.

BYU

WR McKay Jacobson might be back next week against New Mexico. Cougars could have used him against TCU. Taking the off week to recover and evaluate rest of the season.

Colorado State

Why is biggest lineman playing weak side? Huge snow storm expected for tomorrows game. Injury report for the weekends game.

New Mexico

Players may have quit on interim coach against UNLV which was a terrible game. Lobos face former coach Rocky Long this weekend.

San Diego State

Local Poinsettia Bowl is hoping to get the home town team in their bowl. WR Vincent Brown is out for two to three weeks with surgery on his right thumb. Rocky Long --former New Mexico head coach-- current Aztec defensive coordinator has not shared his former teams secrets with SDSU.

TCU

DE Jerry Hughes is also a star off the field. How about a Texas vs. TCU game for the Texas state title, I am game. TCU needs the fans more then ever.

UNLV

QB Omar Clayton looks to be on track for TCU game. Can the Rebels hang with TCU? 20 game road MWC losing streak came to an end against New Mexico last week. Video preview of the UNLV/TCU game and offense is a concern.

Utah

WR Jereme Brooks is all healed up after a tough Air Force game. Hoop news, forward Jay Wakins out four to six weeks with a sress fracture. Haloween spirit is going around the football team. Young lineman are helping the defense

Wyoming

Center for the hoops team Adam Wadell is out for a few weeks with a knee injury. Ute running game is still productive no matter who runs the ball. Wyoming quarterbacks need to be aware of Ute DB Robert Johnson

Mountain West Football Mid Season Review and Rewards

Jeremy Mauss — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:59:31 -0000

Each team has played six games for the Mountain West, so now is a good time to see how all the preseason projection here at SB Nationhave been wrong and time to hand out some mid-season awards. The biggest error in judgment is that Wyoming was picked to finish last in the Mountain West, but there are sitting pretty at four wins and a real chance to get to a bowl game for the first time since the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl.

Then there is New Mexico who is not just the worst team in the Mountain West but is one of the worst teams in all of college football. They ranked 100 or below in every major offensive category, oh and their coach split the lip of an assistant coach by punching him in the face.

The midseason has pretty much gone according to plan with BYU, TCU, and Utah at the top of the standings and the Mountain West is looking to snag an at-large berth bid to the BCS. The league has three teams in the top 20 in the BCS standings which is as many as the SEC, Big 10, and ACC for the most top twenty teams. Having three teams this high in the BCS standings is huge, since these standings are a main part of the BCS evaluation cycle.

As for the midseason awards the offensive player of the year is an odd choice, but they have the best stats which is a difference from the MVP. Also, the coaching choice may be odd, but I feel this team has done the most with the least.

Air Force

The Falcons have done what they normally have done the past five years, and are on pace for another bowl appearance. Besides the conference title the Falcons always want to win the Commander-in-Chief award; something they have not done in seven years, because of an overtime loss to rival Navy.

The quarterback play comes into question because Tim Jefferson is the starter, but he has been suffering an ankle injury which has hindered his play, but backup Connor Dietz has been an admirable replacement. Whoever is at quarterback has been solid, but choosing one the rest of the way could shape the season. The second half schedule for the Falcons is tough with road games at Utah, Colorado State, and BYU.

BYU

The Cougars 6-1 record is not a surprise, but the real surprise was that the single loss was not to Oklahoma, but rather a blowout loss at home to Florida State. QB Max Hall is the teams most valuable player, but he is near the top in the nation with ten picks, but has thrown zero in the last two games. The defense is still a concern, because against FSU they gave up over 300 rushing yards, and then the secondary is questionable as well with last weeks win over San Diego State; the Cougars gave up over 300 yards and three scores.

The season is going as planned -- record wise-- and a BCS shot is still in play if they win out and get a little help from Boise State. The main thing the Cougars need to do the rest of the way is to run RB Harvey Unga there have been too many times when he has the hot hand, but the coaches want to be balanced.

Colorado State

That 3-0 start seemed such long ago. The season started great with a quasi-upset over rival Colorado on opening day and then won two more. Since then the Rams have lost four straight to Idaho, BYU, Utah, and TCU; but the good news is that is the toughest part of their schedule is long gone and some cupcakes start appearing.

New Mexico

This is the worst year for New Mexico football, as mentioned above Mike Locksley punched an assistant, and is sitting out this weekend's game against UNLV. Locksley made believers out of people including me that they would be competitive this year, but 0-12 looks like at least a 50/50 shot.

San Diego State

The new coach Brady Hoke came to town made the move from Ball State to reviatlize the Aztec program, and while the wins are not there the Aztecs are getting better. This year has been tough because Hoke runs a pro style offense in comparission to the spread that former coach Chuck Long. It is cliche to say that Hoke does not have the players, but it is true especially up front in the line because lineman in the spread offense are more quick and are more of a pass blocking group, while the pro-style offense needs the line to run block more.

QB Ryan LIndley is still the offensive MVP for the Aztecs, and while he is still near the national lead in picks with nine, but his yards are up there and is able to keep his team in the games. WR Vincent Brown is a stud reveiver and is leading the MWC in nearly every receiver category and it is not even close.

TCU

The Horned Frogs are following up last years top 10 finish in hopes of finishing in a BCS bowl for the first time in school history. The offense has nearly caught up to the their defense by being in the top 10 nationally in scoring points. The running game is there with multiple backs splitting the carries and two being either a redshirt or true frosh in Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. The defense is still lead by AA candidate DE Jerry Hughes who is near the top nationally in sacks and tackles for loss. The two biggest games of the year are upcoming with BYU this week, and then Utah a few weeks later. The key player for TCU the rest of hte way is WR/PR/KR Jeremy Kerley who is second in receiving and a player in special teams.

UNLV

In what was to be a surprise season has turned into traditional Rebel football. The team has no defense what so ever, and the offense is inconsistent. One week they play Oregon State down to the wire and the next they get blown out by Utah and BYU. A bowl berth was expected, but now seems like a long shot. Mike Sanford may gone unless the team shows extreme progress the second half.

Utah

The Utes are a mere under thrown pass from being undefeated in that Oregon. The Utes have had their share of injuries the main being stud RB Matt Asiata who tore his ACL in the Louisville game after he stood up from a touchdown run. The early season quarterback battle left the Utes with JUCO transfer Terrance Cain as the starter, and he has progressed as the season goes along. He is a dual threat player and is running more with Asiata out, but his passing is suspect; especially on the deep balls. Utah is still in the hunt for a potential BCS bid -- with help-- and the MWC conference champ if they take care of business.

Wyoming

The Pokes are the surprise team this year in MWC play. The beginning of the year was tough with three players vying for the starting quarterback position. The position is now in control from a true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels who is another dual threat quarterback and possibly could lead the Cowboys to a bowl bid. They are currently 4-3 with winnable games against rival Colorado State and then San Diego State. Wyoming also had a great turn around from their turnover margin last year which was 119th last last year to 11th in the nation.

Best Team

TCU Horned Frogs

Worst Team

New Mexico Lobos

Surprise Team

Wyoming Cowboys

Most Valuable Player

Max Hall, QB, BYU Cougars

Offensive Player of the Year

Vincent Brown, WR, San Diego State Aztecs

Defensive Player of the Year

Robert Johnson, DB, Utah Utes

New Comer of the Year

Terrance Caine, QB, Utah Utes

Coach of the Year

Dave Christensen, Wyoming

Best Win

BYU 14 Oklahoma 13

Worst Loss

Colorado 24 Wyoming 0

Go ahead and comment on who you should have been voted where.

#24 Utah Pounds UNLV in Late Night Battle

BrysonCutla — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:15:40 -0000

More photos » by Eric Jamison - AP

2 months ago: The Utah defense stops UNLV running back Channing Trotter (32) during the first half of their NCAA college football game at Sam Boyd Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

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Final - 10.17.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah Utes	7	21	0	7	35
UNLV Rebels	3	3	9	0	15

Complete Coverage >

Terrance Cain threw two touchdown passes, Eddie Wide rushed for 111 yards on 17 carries and #24 Utah (5-1, 2-0) breezed past UNLV (2-5, 0-3) late in Las Vegas. Wide's TD run down the right side gave the Utes a 20 point lead that sealed the deal early in the 4^thquarter.

UNLV QB Omar Clayton was 23 of 44 for 223 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The loss is the fourth straight for the Rebels and has given up an average of 46.8 points a game in that span.

The Utes took advantage of their first-half opportunities building a 28-6 halftime lead.

Cain had two 6-yard touchdown passes and a 3-yard run in the half. His first TD pass was to Aiona Key just inside the right sideline of the end zone late in the first quarter.

Cain found Ben Hendy on the right side with 7:29 before the half to make it 14-6. His 3-yard run, which came with 5:17 left in the half, was set up by Robert Johnson's fifth interception of the season, which was returned 31 yards to inside the UNLV 10.

The win for the Utes comes as revenge for an embarrassing 27-0 loss to UNLV back in the 2007 season. Utah is now 26-2 since that game, with the only losses coming at BYU and at Oregon.

The Utah football program reached the 600 win plateau and has an all time record of 600-418-31.

Falcons grind out a victory of Cowboys

The Road — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:53:37 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

Browse more photos »

Final - 10.17.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Wyoming Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
Air Force Falcons	0	0	3	7	10

Complete Coverage >

It took nearly 45 minutes but the Air Force Falcons (4-3, 3-1 Mountain West) were able to finally get on the board in a 10-0 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) at home. Erik Soderberg kicked a 29 yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead in a sloppy game by both teams. Four minutes later Jared Tew ran it in from 17 yards out to conclude the scoring for the Falcons and the game. The Falcons have now won three in row over the Cowboys.

Neither team had much luck moving the ball as tough defense and penalties bogged down drives all game long. Wyoming was flagged 10 times for 71 yards while Air Force was penalized 13 times for 125 yards.

Tim Jefferson got the start at QB for the Falcons but was mostly ineffective. Coach Troy Calhoun put in Connor Dietz for the second half and was able to get the Falcons in rhythm and grab the victory. Calhoun had been mum all week on who would start at QB for the Falcons.

Jared Tew lead the Falcons with 27 carries for 105 yards. Air Force totaled 269 yards for the game with only two coming through the air. The Falcons defense held the Pokes to 174 yards for the game.

Wyoming was never able to break inside the Falcons 30 yard line. Their only scoring threat came on a 47 yard field goal that was blocked with time expiring at the end of the first half. Austyn Carta-Samuels was 14/31 for only 76 yards and interception. David Leonard continued to be one of the targets in the NCAA as he grabbed a team leading seven receptions for 36 yards.

The Cowboy defense held Air Force down for the most of the game. Brian Hendricks finished with 23 tackles for Wyoming and John Fletcher added two sacks. Hendricks looks to be the shoe in for defensive player of the week, well unless Utah's DB Robert Johnson has another three interception game.

Air Force had two other chances to score but failed on 4th and Goal situations in both halves, but for some reason on fourth and goal Troy Calhoun calls for a fade route instead of running the fullback dive or some type of run option which is their play.

One statsically oddity was the penalties which happened a lot in this game as Wyoming had ten for 71 yards while, Air Force had 13 for 12 yards.Air Force travels to Utah next week while Wyoming has the week off.

#24 Utah Utes at UNLV Rebels Preview

Michael Rueckert — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:39:24 -0000

Utah Utes
@ UNLV Rebels

Saturday, Oct 17, 2009, 7:00 PM PDT
Sam Boyd Stadium

TV: The Mtn

Complete Coverage >

The last time the Utah Utes traveled to Las Vegas to take on the Rebels they were handed one of their most embarrassing losses in their programs history. A 27-0 beat down that came right after their major 44-6 upset over 11th ranked UCLA in the 2007 season. Following that loss Kyle Whittingham had gone on the hot seat and it was looking like all the progress that Utah had built under Urban Meyer had been lost.

Whittingham and the Utes rebounded about as good as they could. They went 8-1 the remainder of the 2007 season with their only loss to BYU. The following season, the Utes were perfect going 13-0 in 2008. That UNLV game was a major turning point for the Utes says Whittingham:

Since that game, we have gone 25-2. That was a defining moment for us. It was really a wake up call for a lot of the guys on the team - their mindset has to be right each and every week. It was obvious when the game started that we were flat, and it was an eye-opener for a lot of guys. A lot of our current team was at or in that game and hopefully we'll continue to take the approach we have and be ready to play each week.

The (4-1) Utes are coming off a comeback win over the Colorado State Rams in which they won 24-17. Terrance Cain reminded many Ute fans of their former quarterback Brian Johnson in his nearly perfect second half comeback. Robert Johnson earned Mountain West Player of The Week honors with his 3 interceptions. With the win the Utes moved back into the top 25 with a #24 ranking in the AP Poll.

UNLV is trying to turn around their disappointing 2-4 start. The Rebels are coming off of a 59-21 beat down from BYU. The UNLV defense could not stop BYU allowing 611 yards of total offense. In the last two games the UNLV defense has allowed 1384 yards of total offense. They will no chance of beating Utah if their defense continues with this trend.

UNLV likes to throw the ball down field to their big receivers. Ryan Wolfe leads the Rebels with 489 receiving yards on the season. Phillip Payne is another big receiver who has 405 yards on the season for 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Omar Clayton will likely test Utah's secondary that has had a few problems this season. Robert Johnson could have another huge game for the Utes if they throw the ball his way.

Don't expect the Utes to overlook the Rebels. Many of the players currently on the team were on the 2007 team and remember that embarrassing loss. Despite UNLV's poor record, they are a talented team and nearly beat Oregon State. Lya Wodraska in her blog this morning said that the Utes practice today was extremely intense. The team is using the 2007 game as motivation. The Utes are 17 point favorites in this game.

Sausan Shakerin is expected to play in this game after his injury in the San Jose State game. Shaky Smithson is also expected to play. There may be more Ute fans than Rebel fans at the game. Zack Lassiter on his Twitter page that the University of Utah has already sold over 2,000 tickets with many Ute fans buying from UNLV as well. The University of Utah is out for fall break this week and many students are making the trip down to Las Vegas for the game.

You can catch the game at 8:00 pm MT on the MTN.

CSU report card

JazzyUte — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:14:09 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

3 months ago: Utah's quarterback Terrance Cain (7) looks to pass against Oregon during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Eugene, Ore., Saturday Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Browse more photos »

Though it was far from perfect, I think the way Utah bounced back from their 14-point deficit makes this one of the best Ute games in recent years. I'm not sure when the last time Utah climbed back from a two-touchdown hole and actually won (maybe someone knows or can find out). Regardless, it was a huge win that gave this team the confidence I think they lacked during the 2005 rebuilding campaign. If anything, this season looks exactly the opposite of that one (Utah often led in many of those games they lost, blowing second-half leads multiple times).

Not this time, though - or so I hope.

Offense: B - They only really played poorly in the second quarter. The offense did have that inexcusable turnover at the start of the third, but beyond that, they were pretty consistent. I think when Shaky Smithson went out, it threw the coaches in a panic and they pulled away from Eddie Wide fearing a similar injury. Had Wide gone down, it's probably one of the most disastrous losses in recent history.

Now I don't know if that was their plan throughout the day (not giving Wide touches) or designed that way just for the second quarter, but it almost cost them. Regardless, the coaches wised up, played Wide and what do you know, the Utes' offense pretty much rolled.

One major reason for that success in the second half, however, comes down to Terrance Cain. He was amazing. Probably one of the best performances for a first-year quarterback in recent Utah history. I mean, he didn't make the mental mistakes that Grant Stucker did for the Rams and pretty much kept the offense pushing down the field in crunch time. A fantastic showing and hopefully this will be his coming out party.

Defense: B - I don't think the defense was overpowered by the Rams as much as some might indicate. Utah's defense only started stumbling when the offense had quick three and outs and turned the ball over. Which isn't a surprise, because when you're on the field for so long, you start getting gassed. Once the offense built some momentum, the defense stepped it up (well Robert Johnson, anyway) and preserved the Ute victory.

Though Colorado State has issues on the offensive end, I do believe they will be one of the best offenses Utah faces this season. So the fact they held them to 17-points, in their house, isn't entirely a bad thing.

Special Teams: B - Another B. I wasn't too disappointed with the special teams. I think the Utes returned punts and kickoffs well and pretty much kept the Rams' return team in check for most of the game. No missed field goals and extra points helps here.

Coaches:

Dave Schramm: C-plus - I want to give him a B, but I don't know if I should. Mostly because I'm not clear if holding out Wide was a precaution or just a momentary lapse on his part. I will concede he stepped it up in the second half and pretty much called the needed plays to put Utah in scoring position.
Kalani Sitake: B - I went over how the defense looked gassed in that second and early third quarter and I think that really had more to do with the offense than anything else. Once things started going well for the offense, the defense responded and kept the Rams scoreless on three consecutive drives at the end of the game.
Kyle Whittingham: B-plus - With the team down 14, this game was getting out of control fast. It's the head coaches responsibility to rally the troops in such a scenario and Whittingham did just that. The fact it came on the road against a fairly decent opponent makes it all the more impressive.

The Utes are off to their first 4-1 start since the 2003 season. That year they went 10-2 and won the Mountain West outright. They also had a tight game against a so-so Rams squad on the road. Coincidence? We'll see, I guess.

What's your grade for this victory?

Poll

Grade it...

A - Domination, baby.

1 votes

B - We're getting there...

105 votes

C - Disappointed, but a win is a win.

26 votes

D - Worst 4-1 team in the nation.

1 votes

F - Just end it...END IT!

0 votes

133 votes | Poll has closed