The Favorite: Boise State is once again the class of the league and will be favored in every conference game. The non-conference slate does leave a bit to be desired. For a team trying to garner national attention and a BCS at-large invite, playing two MAC schools and an FCS school is not going to help. Going to Tulsa midweek is a tougher game than it will be given credit, but from the national media's perspective, Boise's entire season will be determined when they host Oregon.
The Challenger: Nevada should have one the best and under appreciated offenses this season. While Boise gets all the attention, these teams scored the exact same amount of points last season (489 total, or 37.6 per game.) Nevada is led by a senior QB who had almost 4000 yards of offense and 39 TDs last season and has been running the pistol offense for three seasons now.
The Sleeper: Utah State could be on the way up after hiring Gary Andersen from Utah. I don't think they'll be bowl eligible, especially with playing for the Beehive Boot. The Aggies could pick up an upset or two and show strides of a team on the upswing.
The Letdown: Fresno State will turn some heads by winning at least one of the three games against BCS conference teams (best guess is Wisconsin in the second week), but will not be that big of a factor in conference play. Fresno could easily slide to the middle of the pack in fifth place again, with Hawaii and Louisiana Tech posting better records.
Conference Player of the Year: Colin Kaepernick (QB Nevada) will have the stats, and Kellen Moore (QB Boise State) will have the wins. The senior Kaepernick gets it, but not by much.
I wrote what?: Nothing too awful in last year's preview, as I predicted each team's record within two games. I did have Fresno St finishing second in the conference, when they really ended up in fifth place. Hawaii did prove me wrong by getting to a bowl game despite changing coaches.
Non-conference Games to Watch:
* Oregon at Boise St, Sept 3 (Thursday) - Two Top 25 teams, national TV, opening day of the season, what else could you ask for?
* Missouri at Nevada, Oct 9 - This Friday night game on ESPN gives you an opportunity to see the Nevada pistol offense in action. With Missouri on a downturn and the game in Reno, this matchup will be far closer and a lot more fun than the 69-17 blowout last season.
* Louisiana Tech at Auburn, Sept 5 - Louisiana Tech won last season's opener against Mississippi State. Will it happen again, this time on the road?
* Fresno St at Wisconsin, Sept 12 - As stated previously, the best chance for Fresno to win one of their OOC road games. Fresno probably wins this game last year with a better kicking game (1-4 FGs.)
* Boise St at Tulsa, Oct 14 (Wednesday) - A difficult road trip against another high octane offense. The Broncos better be prepared for this one, or it could derail their BCS bowl hopes.
Projected Standings:
Boise St | 12-1 | 8-0
Nevada | 8-4 | 6-2
Louisiana Tech | 7-5 | 5-3
Hawaii | 7-6 | 5-3
Fresno St | 6-6 | 4-4
San Jose St | 4-8 | 3-5
Utah St | 4-8 | 3-5
Idaho | 2-10 | 2-6
New Mexico St | 1-12 | 0-8
2 comments:
Kaepernick is a Junior
So he is. He redshirted his freshman season.
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