State of the MWC: The Mountain West lost two teams when Utah left for the Pac-12 and BYU declared its independence. Boise State joined the conference to make nine members for the season. In 2012, TCU will leave for the Big East and the Mountain West will add Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii. It's unclear if the conference will make any other moves. With 11 teams, they may consider adding one more team to get a championship game.
The Favorite: Boise State is the newest member, but they are the most talented. The Broncos have a great opportunity to run the table and play in a BCS bowl again. They play a solid non-conference schedule with games against Georgia, Tulsa, Toledo and former WAC and future MWC brethren Fresno State and Nevada.
The Challenger: TCU would love to win the conference in its last year as a member. The Horned Frogs lose a lot of contributors from last year's 13-0 team, including five draft picks. The game versus Boise State on November 12 will likely determine the conference title.
The Sleeper: Some may expect San Diego State to fall apart with the loss of head coach Brady Hoke. I don't expect them to become irrelevant because there is still a lot of offensive firepower and new head coach Rocky Long has a ton of experience in the Mountain West. If anyone can keep the Aztec train running, who went to its first bowl game since 1998, it's him.
The Letdown: I thought UNLV made a good hire when Bobby Hauck was brought in from Montana. He had a decent amount of talent returning in 2010, but his team was outscored by more than three touchdowns on average. The Rebels did pick up a couple of wins last season, but I don't see any more improvement this season.
Conference Player of the Year: Kellen Moore is the obvious answer here. His stats from last season were very impressive: 71.3 completion percentage, 3845 passing yards, 35 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions, and fourth in Heisman voting. He should be just as superb in his senior season.
I Wrote What?: In last year's preview, I actually picked four teams' records correctly. I thought San Diego State would improve by two games and barely make it to the postseason. Instead SDSU improved by four games and smacked Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl to finish 9-4.
Non-conference Games to Watch:
* Boise State vs Georgia in Atlanta, September 3 - Boise State gets to play in front of a huge national audience in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game.
* San Diego State at Michigan, September 24 - Brady Hoke takes on his former team, and Rocky Long takes on his former employer.
* TCU vs BYU at Arlington, October 28 - TCU plays its former conference mate at Cowboys Stadium.
* Nevada at Boise State, October 1 - Do you think Boise State will be looking for revenge on the team that ruined its perfect season last year?
* Colorado State vs Colorado at Denver, September 17 - Last year's version was a blowout, but this in-state rivalry usually produces close games.
Projected Standings:
Boise St | 11-1 | 7-0
TCU | 10-2 | 5-2
Air Force | 8-4 | 5-2
San Diego St | 8-4 | 5-2
Colorado St | 6-6 | 3-4
Wyoming | 5-7 | 2-5
New Mexico | 2-10 | 1-6
UNLV | 1-11 | 0-7
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