By Fliry Vorru (talk) - I created this work entirely by myself., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18588335
It has been a wild roller coaster of a season for Troy. From defeating LSU to losing to South Alabama, there has rarely been a boring week for the Trojans. A few plays here and there and Troy could be sitting at 11-0 heading into a de facto Sun Belt title game. Instead, they are sitting at 9-2 and will at the very least share the Sun Belt with a win over Arkansas State.
Let's take a look at the weekly poll.
Others Receiving Votes: Houston 4, NIU 3, Ohio 3, Army 2, Arkansas State 2, Central Michigan 2.
This week saw the top four continue to pull away from the rest of the top ten with virtually every voter ranking UCF, Memphis, Boise State, and USF in some combination of the top four. Fresno State is back in the top ten, giving the MWC three of the top ten to go along with three AAC programs. Only the Sun Belt is not in the top ten this week, but Troy is very close to giving the conference representation.
Others Receiving Votes: Troy 15, Ohio 15, Army 4, Navy 3, Houston 2.
It is amazing just what two weeks can do to a program. San Diego State went from undefeated and #1 in the poll to unranked with two straight losses. The most recent loss was a complete drubbing at the hands of Fresno State, our newest member of the rankings. Along with Fresno State hitting the top 10, we have a season-high 20 teams receiving votes in this week's poll.
Others Receiving Votes: San Diego State 11, Troy 6, Arkansas State 6, SMU, 5, Appalachian State 4, Florida International 4, Florida Atlantic 3, Houston 2, Army 1, Ohio 3. Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @BenMoore247, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @The_DailyDragon, @HerdNation.
Others to watch: Charles Williams UNLV (141/763/3TD), Izzy Matthews CSU (153/734/13TD), Timothy McVey Air Force (83/708/10TD), Dontel James FRESNO STATE (208/697/5TD), Richard McQuarley UNM (143/656/18TD), Lexington Thomas UNLV (124/642/8TD).
As much as Conference USA loves to light it up in the air, the MWC is all about the ground and pound. It has to be considering two teams run the option. While the MWC will again put together a great season on the ground, it will be with a new set of faces. Gone are Pumphrey, Hill, McNichols, Butler, and Gipson. Tyrone Owens is the top returning rusher and his finished sixth in the conference last season with 1,097 yards, nearly 200 less than teammate Teriyon Gipson.
The name to watch is Aztec running back Rashaad Penny. He broke the 1,000-yard mark as a backup last fall and is poised to have an outstanding season with an increased workload.
Others to watch: Christian Chapman SDSU (1,994/20TD), Nick Stevens CSU (1,936/19TD), Ty Gangi NEVADA (1,301/8TD), David Cornwall NEVADA (Transfer), Lamar Jordan UNM, Arion Worthman AIR FORCE.
While the overall class is not that outstanding, the cream of the crop behind center is among the nation’s best. Between Rypien and Allen, you are looking at two potential first round picks, with Allen’s name thrown around as a possible #1 overall pick. Don’t sleep on Dru Brown and the invigorated Hawaii offense. Brown was outstanding in his first year as a starter and could put up some monster numbers this fall.
A name to pay attention to is David Cornwall at Nevada. He is looking to break a string of Alabama quarterback transfer misses but will have his hands full holding off Gangi for the starting job.
Receiving:
Michael Gallup, Colorado State: 76/1,272/14TD
Cedrick Wilson, Boise State: 56/1,129/11TD
Keesean Johnson, Fresno State: 66/773/6TD
Devonte Boyd, UNLV: 45/746/4TD
Jamire Jordan, Fresno State: 45/713/2TD
Others to watch: Wyatt Demps NEVADA (53/686/9TD), John Ursua HAWAII (53/652/3TD), Justin Holmes SJSU (36/613/3TD), Olabisi Johnson CSU (28/613/4TD), Ron’quavion Tarver UTAH STATE (46/602/3TD), Mikah Holder SDSU (27/581/5TD), Tre Hartley SJSU (33/572/4TD).
Simply put, the MWC is not a pass happy league like CUSA or the Big 12. No one in the conference puts up astounding numbers, although a few have been able to break the glass ceiling. Michael Gallup is one of the few receivers that would look just as at home on WKU’s roster as Colorado State. He is explosive and talented and should put up great numbers in the Ram’s offense.
I have been on the Devonte Boyd wagon for what seems like forever. For a variety of reasons, he has yet to take a step into the elite receiver category that I pegged him years ago. Here is his one last chance to take the conference by storm and he will have to do so with a redshirt freshman quarterback.
Next week, we will take a look at defense and special teams for the Mountain West Conference before rolling out conference previews.
Another week is in the books for the 2015 college
football season with the Mountain West Conference going 5-7. Conference play kicked
into gear with four MWC games played. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and
ugly of week five Independent football action.
There are always surprises and disappointments in any college football season. Tomorrow we will talk about the biggest surprises, but today is all about disappointment. Here are my choices for the most disappointing G5 teams so far this season.
Another week is in the books for the 2015 college
football season with the Mountain West Conference going 6-4 with two conference
games taking place (New Mexico-Wyoming, Fresno State-San Jose State). Let's
take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week four MWC football action.
Week four of the college football season get
underway tomorrow with Cincinnati and Memphis getting a seat on the big stage.
Mountain West action kicks into gear with the Boise State-Virginia on Friday
night.
Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with Mountain West going 2-10 with no conference games taking place. Let's take a look at
the good, bad, and ugly of week three Mountain West football action.
Week Three Scoreboard:
Boise State 52, Idaho State 0
Arizona State 34, New Mexico 10
Michigan 28, UNLV 7
Michigan State 35, Air Force 21
Texas A&M 44, Nevada 27
Washington 31, Utah State 17
Colorado 27, Colorado State 24 (OT)
Oregon State 35, San Jose State 21
South Alabama 34, San Diego State 27 (OT)
Washington State 31, Wyoming 14
Utah 45, Fresno State 24
Hawaii 47, UC Davis 27
Who/What Looked Good:
Brian Hill, Wyoming: The sophomore running back has been one of the few
bright spots for a Cowboys team that is 0-3. In the last two games, Hill has
carried the ball 41 times for 381 yards and two touchdowns.
Rashard Wiggin’s Health: After missing the loss to Minnesota due to
injury, Wiggins was again his impressive self with eight catches for 125 yards
and a touchdown versus Colorado. The Rams might easily be 3-0 if not for his
injury.
Hawaii: Say what you will about the win over UC Davis, but Hawaii is
2-1 with a win over a team that beat UMass and Colorado State. Max Wittek (43-86/541/5TD)
bounced back from a poor showing at Ohio State with his second 200+ yard
passing game of the season.
Who/What Looked Bad:
Non-conference Woes: The MWC went 2-10 in non-conference play during
week three and has no non-conference wins over FBS competition since week one.
For a conference expected to be among the best in the G5, the start to this
season has been disastrous.
San Diego State’s Defense: The biggest question mark for the Aztecs was
on offense heading into the season. Instead, the vaunted defense was the one to
disappoint in week three, with South Alabama racking up over 500 yards of total
offense. SDSU is playing on a razor’s edge with a bad offense and cannot afford
to play like that one defense.
Utah State’s Offense: The Aggies are struggling badly with only 14.3
points per game, under 300 yards of total offense per game. Injuries have
played a major role, but this could get ugly before the season ends.
Two G5 rushers have broken the 300 yard mark with Ray Lawry actually breaking 400 yards for a FBS leading 438 yards in the first two weeks of the season. The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA lead the way with 3 players making the top 10 a piece, followed by the Sun Belt with 2, American with one, and Army with one. The MAC has none.
With 12 games being played by Mountain West teams to start the 2015 season, Week One should be a very good start to the season as I have all but two teams winning their season opener.
Week One of the FBS season is only two weeks away and brings us 55 games involving G5 teams including six games of G5 versus G5 teams. Today I will predict all 13 Thursday night games.
Looking at each of the MWC teams, the non-conference record versus current FBS teams is an excellent indicator for all-time success as a program. Next on the list is Fresno State with a total of 116 FBS non-conference games. Some of the opponents may have been conference foes in the past but are now in different FBS conferences.
The Mountain West Conference is churning out players that end up on NFL rosters at an incredible rate lately with 106 MWC players on NFL rosters. Fresno State (17), Boise State (16), San Diego State (13), San Jose State (11), Nevada (15) and Utah State (12) all have double digit players in the NFL currently.
