2008 MWC College Football Picks & Predictions

Jimmy Boyd’s 2008 Mountain West predictions rank the nine-team conference from top to bottom to give you a better idea of who the teams to beat are this season. We’ve provided further in depth analysis on several of the top teams so be sure to check out those squads by clicking on their link below.

1st – BYU Cougars

If BYU didn’t have players taking off for missions in the middle of their college careers, this program might be the perennial leader of the mid-majors. It has certainly been the class of the Mountain West each of the past two seasons and we expect its domination to continue in 2008. BYU is loaded with talented players in QB Max Hall, running back Harvey Unga, and defensive end Jan Jorgensen. Tough road games at TCU and at Utah could be the only thing standing in BYU’s way of a BCS bid. Anything less will have been a disappointment with this team.

2nd – Utah Utes

Utah survived a barrage of injuries at key skill positions to post a nine-win season. That was impressive considering that the Utes lost three of their first four games. Last year’s injury woes should be behind them, which means that Utah will be right in the thick of things in MWC play. Having to start the season at Michigan will likely get the Utes off to another slow start, but they’ll bounce back much sooner to threaten the 10-win mark.

3rd – TCU Horned Frogs

TCU’s running game should be one of the best in the nation, led by standout Aaron Brown. Andy Dalton figures to be even better at QB in his sophomore season. A better season from the offense to help out a defense which ranked 10th in the nation in points allowed will have the Frogs bowling for the fourth straight year.

4th – New Mexico Lobos

QB Donovan Porterie is one of the league’s best, but he’ll have to do it without a pair of all-league receivers who have moved on. A tougher schedule could get them off to a slow start with games against TCU, Texas A&M, and Arizona. We expect this strong offensive team to kick things in high gear after that. It’s doubtful that New Mexico can match last year’s nine-win season, but it will still be very competitive.

5th – Wyoming Cowboys

The Cowboys are overdue for a bowl, having not been bowling since the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl. Big play guys on defense has been this team’s strength, led by defensive end Outland Trophy candidate John Fletcher, who is coming off a 10.5-sack season. New offensive coordinator Bob Cole will try to emphasize a strong running game and simplify the playbook to eliminate turnover problems. The Cowboys will be competitive, but there are too many good teams ahead of them in the MWC.

6th – Air Force Falcons

Troy Calhoun proved last season that there is life after coach Fisher DeBerry with a nine-win season. The rebuilding process starts in 2008 though and a drop off is inevitable. The biggest hole could be at QB where the Falcons will have to find someone to fill the big shoes of four-year starter Shaun Carney. A tough early season schedule won’t do them any favors either.

7th – San Diego State Aztecs

The Aztecs have gotten off to slow starts in each of head coach Chuck Long’s first two seasons. A forgiving early schedule could change all that as SDSU should beat Cal Poly, San Jose State, and Idaho is the offense can get on track. That gives the Aztecs a great chance to play .500 football.

8th – Colorado State Rams

The Rams didn’t pick up a win until their seventh game of the season in 2007. New Head coach Steve Fairchild will try to make sure that Rams don’t get off to another poor start but that won’t be easy. It doesn’t seem right that the Rams will be close to bringing up the rear again as they were such a force in the mi-90′s through the early part of this decade. Fairchild is a good hire and he will eventually get things turned around.

9th – UNLV Rebels

The Rebs have some standouts at wide receiver with Casey Flair and Ryan Wolfe, but they won’t have a good enough QB to deliver the pigskin. Mike Sanford has not gotten the results that he should have for the caliber of players he’s been getting. This may be all she wrote for him after another poor season.

Get ready to beat the college football odds this season with the help of our experts. Nobody knows more about football betting than the handicappers you will find at our site and that is why their college football picks hit at such a high rate!

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