Mark
10-03-2007, 06:37 AM
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/599104sports10-03-07.htm
FOOTBALL One Loss Might Not Slow Champ
By Greg Archuleta (http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/email_reporter.pl)
Of the Journal
Take heart, University of New Mexico football fans. Last weekend's Lobo conqueror, Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall, said during Tuesday's Mountain West Conference phone get-together that he expects this season's league champion to have at least one loss.
The Cougars escaped University Stadium on Saturday with a 31-24 win over turnover-plagued UNM.
"From what it looks like right now, and again, I haven't seen all the members of the league play, it could very well happen where someone might win the conference with one league loss," Mendenhall said.
The Lobos (3-2) are 0-1 in MWC play, heading into their bye week before traveling to Laramie, Wyo., for the next "biggest game of the season" against Wyoming on Oct. 13.
The problem is that the Cougars (3-2) are 2-0 in league play and now own the tiebreaker over the Lobos. UNM needs to become big fans of any conference team that plays BYU.
Most of the MWC coaches agreed that no team would go unscathed in the conference because all nine teams are too evenly matched.
"I really believe that," Lobo coach Rocky Long said, "and I think every game's going to be competitive. But I've thought that for the last two years, and the last few years we've had a champion that's gone undefeated in the league. It doesn't look like that to me (this year)."
BYU, however, could be poised to go on a run similar to 2006, judging by its next four games.
The Cougars, also on a bye week, travel to improved but still questionable UNLV (2-3, 1-0) on Oct. 13, then play host to Division I-AA Eastern Washington (3-1), travel to San Diego State (1-3, 0-0) and return home for Colorado State (0-4, 0-1).
Two of BYU's likely three toughest foes tangle this week in Laramie when the Cowboys (3-1) start MWC play against preseason favorite TCU (3-2, 1-1). Utah, the Cougars' in-state rival, is the other big threat.
The Cowboys have the nation's fourth-ranked defense but have the league's worst turnover margin at minus-4.
The Horned Frogs have had problems at quarterback but are sticking with redshirt freshman Andy Dalton. TCU has committed the most turnovers in the league, 13.
UNLV (2-3, 1-0), which looked so impressive two weeks ago against Utah in a 27-0 win, fell back to earth with a 27-20 loss at Nevada last week.
The Rebels take on Air Force (3-2, 2-1) in a matchup of teams that have taken a step back. The Falcons have lost two straight since conquering Utah and TCU en route to a 3-0 start.
San Diego State and Colorado State meet in Fort Collins, Colo., with the winner gaining desperately needed momentum. The loser could be out of the race despite the game being both's conference openers.
Then there's Utah (2-3, 0-2), whose bipolar play makes for interesting, yet unpredictable games (see Utah 44, UCLA 6, followed by UNLV 27, Utah 0).
The Utes get away from the conference race this week to face Louisville (3-2, 0-1 Big East), which averages 595.4 yards on offense to rank second in the country, to go along with 45.8 points per game behind quarterback Brian Brohm.
The Lobos have to be kicking themselves because they could be 5-0 right now. Still, they should feel good that no other MWC looks better at this point of the season.
UNM's schedule isn't so favorable because of road games at Wyoming, TCU and Utah and a Thursday night home game against Air Force, which leaves the team little time to prep for the Falcons' triple-option mutation under new coach Troy Calhoun.
The Lobos traditionally have been a better team in the second halves of seasons.
They'll have a week off to get rid of the BYU odor, and if they can fix their correctable mistakes— turnovers and lack of focus— they still could be that team with one loss that finishes on top.
The "if" still looms large for a team that hasn't won a conference championship since 1964.
http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/599104sports10-03-07.htm
FOOTBALL One Loss Might Not Slow Champ
By Greg Archuleta (http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/email_reporter.pl)
Of the Journal
Take heart, University of New Mexico football fans. Last weekend's Lobo conqueror, Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall, said during Tuesday's Mountain West Conference phone get-together that he expects this season's league champion to have at least one loss.
The Cougars escaped University Stadium on Saturday with a 31-24 win over turnover-plagued UNM.
"From what it looks like right now, and again, I haven't seen all the members of the league play, it could very well happen where someone might win the conference with one league loss," Mendenhall said.
The Lobos (3-2) are 0-1 in MWC play, heading into their bye week before traveling to Laramie, Wyo., for the next "biggest game of the season" against Wyoming on Oct. 13.
The problem is that the Cougars (3-2) are 2-0 in league play and now own the tiebreaker over the Lobos. UNM needs to become big fans of any conference team that plays BYU.
Most of the MWC coaches agreed that no team would go unscathed in the conference because all nine teams are too evenly matched.
"I really believe that," Lobo coach Rocky Long said, "and I think every game's going to be competitive. But I've thought that for the last two years, and the last few years we've had a champion that's gone undefeated in the league. It doesn't look like that to me (this year)."
BYU, however, could be poised to go on a run similar to 2006, judging by its next four games.
The Cougars, also on a bye week, travel to improved but still questionable UNLV (2-3, 1-0) on Oct. 13, then play host to Division I-AA Eastern Washington (3-1), travel to San Diego State (1-3, 0-0) and return home for Colorado State (0-4, 0-1).
Two of BYU's likely three toughest foes tangle this week in Laramie when the Cowboys (3-1) start MWC play against preseason favorite TCU (3-2, 1-1). Utah, the Cougars' in-state rival, is the other big threat.
The Cowboys have the nation's fourth-ranked defense but have the league's worst turnover margin at minus-4.
The Horned Frogs have had problems at quarterback but are sticking with redshirt freshman Andy Dalton. TCU has committed the most turnovers in the league, 13.
UNLV (2-3, 1-0), which looked so impressive two weeks ago against Utah in a 27-0 win, fell back to earth with a 27-20 loss at Nevada last week.
The Rebels take on Air Force (3-2, 2-1) in a matchup of teams that have taken a step back. The Falcons have lost two straight since conquering Utah and TCU en route to a 3-0 start.
San Diego State and Colorado State meet in Fort Collins, Colo., with the winner gaining desperately needed momentum. The loser could be out of the race despite the game being both's conference openers.
Then there's Utah (2-3, 0-2), whose bipolar play makes for interesting, yet unpredictable games (see Utah 44, UCLA 6, followed by UNLV 27, Utah 0).
The Utes get away from the conference race this week to face Louisville (3-2, 0-1 Big East), which averages 595.4 yards on offense to rank second in the country, to go along with 45.8 points per game behind quarterback Brian Brohm.
The Lobos have to be kicking themselves because they could be 5-0 right now. Still, they should feel good that no other MWC looks better at this point of the season.
UNM's schedule isn't so favorable because of road games at Wyoming, TCU and Utah and a Thursday night home game against Air Force, which leaves the team little time to prep for the Falcons' triple-option mutation under new coach Troy Calhoun.
The Lobos traditionally have been a better team in the second halves of seasons.
They'll have a week off to get rid of the BYU odor, and if they can fix their correctable mistakes— turnovers and lack of focus— they still could be that team with one loss that finishes on top.
The "if" still looms large for a team that hasn't won a conference championship since 1964.