A look at the schools that are overlooked by the ESPNs of the world.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

MWC News and Notes: 9/12/12



Air Force:
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -- Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun says he cancelled all postgame interviews after the Falcons' tough loss at Michigan last weekend so he could get his players back to spend more time on academics.
Calhoun said his decision to make himself and his players off-limits after the Falcons' 31-25 loss at Ann Arbor had nothing to do with anything that happened during the game.

Boise State:
BOISE —  A new number is on his jersey, and with it, Bryan Douglas is a different player.
Wearing No. 1 after former Boise State standouts Titus Young and Kyle Wilson were the last to do so, the sophomore cornerback has an injection of confidence, but it mainly has to do with what he’s done to get himself in that number.
After spending his redshirt season and 2011 as No. 46, Douglas started one game last season, but Boise State coach Chris Petersen challenged him to step up in academics, conditioning and on the practice field at a group that has needed depth recently.

Colorado State:
FORT COLLINS -- Jim McElwain is a forward-thinking guy. He wanted to put the win over Colorado behind him, and he wants to do the same with the loss to North Dakota State.
But Saturday's game at San Jose State (6 p.m.; KTVD-20) is too far off in the future for the Colorado State football coach.
"I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'm looking forward to today," McElwain said at his Monday press conference. "I'm looking forward to what we can do with today's practice to prepare ourselves for our next opponent. I don't even know who that is."

Fresno State:
FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
The third game of the season for the Fresno State football team will be the second straight against an opponent from the Pac 12.
The Bulldogs, 1-1 after Saturday's loss at Oregon, return home to host Colorado this Saturday night. And the Buffaloes are reeling.
They are off to an 0-2 start, losing to Colorado State of the Mountain West, then falling at home to Sacramento State.

Hawaii:
A team that played its most recent game against the then-No. 1 team in the country might be likely to overlook a lower-division opponent such as Lamar.
Hawaii coach Norm Chow said this is not the case.
"All you have to do is look at the tape, and you see how talented some of these guys are," Chow said Tuesday.
Whatever warning Hawaii needs about neglecting to take a Football Championship Subdivision opponent seriously can come from its own conference.

Nevada:
When quarterback Cody Fajardo watched film of Nevada’s heart-breaking 32-31 loss to South Florida on Monday morning it was worse than a bad dream.
“It was like watching a horrible horror movie and knowing the ending,” Fajardo said.
And, as Wolf Pack fans witnessed, the end of that horror movie showed USF receivers racing past the Nevada secondary and letting the air out of Mackay Stadium. The Bulls had two 50-plus yard touchdown passes in the game’s final 3 minutes to snatch a victory out of the Wolf Pack’s paws.

New Mexico:
Seth Doege has a history with New Mexico. And despite his earlier success against the Lobos, the Texas Tech quarterback is wary about the Red Raiders’ game with them Saturday night in Lubbock.
Doege blistered the Lobos for 401 yards and five touchdowns passes on 40 of 44 passing in the Red Raiders’ 59-13 victory in Albuquerque last season.
Despite that success, Doege said he’s seen a big improvement in the Lobos since Bob Davie took over.
“The biggest thing that jumps out to me is how hard they play,” Doege said. “They play a lot harder this year. They have a new coach, and I think he’s got them playing a lot harder. I know their defensive lines are going to be our biggest test so far in the games we’ve played.”
The Lobos have struggled so far this season, ranking 93rd in scoring defense (33.0 points per game) and 104th in pass efficiency defense (152.8). 

San Diego State:
The San Diego State defense came out tough against Army, focused and ready to get to work from first snap.
The result was impressive.
In a 42-7 win, the Aztecs held the Black Knights’ normally dominant triple option offense scoreless for an entire half.

UNLV:
Sidney Hodge still hears words of encouragement from friends and fans telling him to keep fighting and that they’ll get them the next time. Bobby Hauck says he hears that, too, though as UNLV’s coach, there’s at least an equal, and right now probably a much greater, collection of fans spitting venom his way.
It’s an ugly time for the Rebels (0-2), who would love to fast forward to Friday night at 6 when they host Washington State (1-1) in front of a national audience on ESPN. It’s a good thing the game will be on TV because there may not be too many people to witness the event in person.

Wyoming:
With one starter recovering from a head injury and two backups jostling for position, the Wyoming football team isn't sure who is going to play quarterback this weekend. And that’s probably not going to change very soon.
“Anytime there’s a chance you’ll be without your starting quarterback, it’s tough,” Wyoming coach Dave Christensen said. “But that’s the hand we’re dealt. So we’ll have a plan. We’ll have a good plan.”

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