The free preview includes four MWC football games and two women's volleyball game, beginning today, Oct. 30, with a doubleheader on the gridiron featuring No. 7/8 Utah at Air Force (5:30 p.m. MT) and No. 4 TCU at UNLV (8 p.m. PT).

On Sunday, Oct. 31, a pair of MWC women's volleyball matches will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network, beginning with TCU at UNLV (1 p.m. PT) and New Mexico at Air Force (4 p.m. MT).

On Saturday, November 6, a pivotal Commander-in-Chief's Trophy match-up takes place as Air Force travels to West Point, N.Y. to face Army at Noon ET, followed by a showdown featuring TCU at Utah (1:30 p.m. MT), a contest that may determine this season's MWC football champion.

The free preview will put CBS College Sports Network in approximately 57 million homes nationally, including full distribution on Dish Network. In the Dallas/Fort Worth market, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications are offering all digital customers CBS College Sports Network at no cost on Time Warner Cable channel 195 and 790 in HD, and on Charter Communications channel 290. Fans in the area can also watch the Network on Suddenlink Communications channel 123 or 512, Verizon FiOS channel 94 and AT&T U-Verse channel 643.

Additional cable providers that are participating in CBS College Sports Network's free preview within the MWC footprint include Time Warner channels 415 and 790 in San Diego, Calif., and Charter Communications channel 411 in Reno, Nev. For more information on getting the free preview of CBS College Sports Network, please contact your local cable provider. And, to access CBS College Sports Network's programming schedule, visit cbscollegesports.com.

SHARE YOUR "PLAY OF THE GAME" AND WIN CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK GEAR
Share your "Play of the Game" from MWC football games televised on CBS College Sports Network during its free preview and you can win CBS C gear! It's simple: become a fan of the league's official Facebook page by clicking "Like" at the top of the page, then post your "Play of the Game" on the MWC's wall! Then, get your fellow fans to vote for their favorite play of the game by clicking the "like" button for that wall post. Votes will be accepted until 5 p.m. MT on Sunday, November 7, and the plays with the most votes will win a prize pack courtesy of CBS College Sports Network!

Check out these videos from the CBS College Sports Network previewing today's featured MWC football games!

Click HERE to read more about the MWC Fans' Football Game of the Week.

CBS College Sports Network Free Preview Oct. 25 - Nov. 6: CBS College Sports Network will offer a free preview from Monday, October 25 - Saturday, November 6. The free preview will put CBS College Sports Network in approximately 60 million homes nationally, including full distribution on Dish Network. Time Warner Cable, Charter, Mediacom, Cox (select markets), Comcast (select markets) and BrightHouse (select markets), among other distributors, have committed all or a number of systems to the additional carriage.

SAN DIEGO STATE (5-2, 2-1 MWC) at WYOMING (2-6, 0-4 MWC), Noon MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: The visiting team in this series is 5-15 and has lost six of the last seven. SDSU led Wyoming 27-6 in the fourth quarter in San Diego last year before the Cowboys rallied to win on a field goal with 23 seconds left.

San Diego State: The Aztecs, a 30-20 winner last week at New Mexico, received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls this week, marking the first time SDSU has received a vote in either of the polls since receiving one vote in the USA Today poll in 2004. The last time the Aztecs appeared in the AP poll was when they debuted at No. 25 in November of 1995. Under second-year coach Brady Hoke, SDSU has matched its best start in 33 years. Though freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, the league's leading rusher, suffered a hip pointer at New Mexico, he is expected to play. Senior wide receiver DeMarco Sampson has posted back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time in his career, averaging 116.5 yards in the two contests. "(The polls) are great, and people like reading about it and the controversy of it, but we don't put a whole lot of stock in it," Hoke said. "As a program, we're 1-0 in the second half of the season and we've got a tough challenge in Laramie."

Wyoming: The Cowboys, who fell 25-20 at BYU last week, scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a 21-point deficit last year in San Diego. Wyoming has won two straight against SDSU and holds an 11-4 advantage in games played in Laramie. Quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels completed 16-of-22 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown last week against BYU. He also rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown. Safety Shamiel Gary recorded 13 tackles (seven solo). Asked about the resiliency of his players, who have endured losses to five teams that at one point were or remain ranked in the Top 25, four in the Top 10, coach Dave Christensen said, "Our players have been very resilient. It hasn't been this way everywhere I've been. Our kids have bounced back with great attitudes every week. They're excited to play. They prepare, they practice hard and I don't expect that to change."

NEW MEXICO (0-7, 0-3 MWC) at COLORADO STATE (2-5, 1-2 MWC), 4 P.M. MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: New Mexico snapped a 14-game losing streak in this game a year ago on a field goal with 12 seconds left. The lead changed hands four times in the second half. Colorado State has dropped five of its last seven against the Lobos.

New Mexico: The Lobos showed signs of finding a rhythm on offense last week, as running back Demond Dennis rushed for 133 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run, on just seven carries in a 30-20 loss to San Diego State. Tight end Lucas Reed had five catches for a career-high 95 yards, while wide receiver Ty Kirk caught six passes for 58 yards. Though quarterback B.R. Holbrook reaggravated a knee injury against San Diego State, coach Mike Locksley said he expects Holbrook to play against the Rams. "We have a lot of young players, where every snap and every we game we play the rest of the season is going to be important to the development of our program," said Locksley, whose team has officially been eliminated from the bowl picture. "Obviously, we're very disappointed that we weren't able to send our seniors out with a winning record or a bowl game, but they'll be part of this foundation as we continue to move forward and build this program."

Colorado State: The Rams, who posted a 43-10 win over UNLV before suffering a 59-6 loss at Utah last week, are hopeful of reprising their 2008 performance at Hughes Stadium when they beat the Lobos 20-6, the only game of the last four in the series that has not been decided by a field goal. Redshirt freshman running back Chris Nwoke made his first career start last week, rushing 15 times for 48 yards and catching eight passes for 49. True freshman quarterback Pete Thomas, the conference's second-leading passer, completed 19-of-28 passes for 185 yards. Asked about the progress he's seen in his offense since the start of the season, coach Steve Fairchild said, "I think we've taken a few big steps. I feel a lot more confident about our guys knowing the scheme. You can see the timing is better in our run game and in our passing game. We're close. We've got a talented group that probably isn't as explosive as I'd like it to be right now, but we've definitely got some things here that we can build on."

No. 4/4 TCU (8-0, 4-0 MWC) at UNLV (1-6, 1-2 MWC), 8 P.M. PT
TV: CBS College Sports HD

The lowdown: TCU, which has allowed 10 points in its last four games, two of which were shutouts, blanked UNLV last year 41-0. The Horned Frogs have won six straight against the Rebels, their only loss coming in Las Vegas as a member of the Western Athletic Conference in 1997.

TCU: The Horned Frogs, who own a 21-game regular-season winning streak, rank first in the nation in scoring defense (9.0 points per game) and are second in total defense (219.88 yards per game). In last year's meeting with UNLV, TCU limited the Rebels to 160 total yards, 40 of which came on one run. Offensively, the Horned Frogs rushed for 390 yards, their most since joining the MWC in 2005. TCU is coming off a 38-7 win over Air Force in which it did not punt, the first time the Frogs have accomplished that feat since a 45-14 win at Colorado State in 2006. Following this week's game, TCU has a date with No. 9 Utah in Salt Lake City, a game that's expected to determine the conference champion. "Once you get in the grind of things, it's really hard to look ahead," said coach Gary Patterson. "Maybe you look ahead earlier in the year when you're not tired and you haven't been going for three months. Before we played Utah last year, we went out and played very well at San Diego State. With the senior group that we have, I'd be very surprised if we were looking forward."

UNLV: The Rebels, who are coming off a bye week, have scored a combined 37 points against TCU in the teams' five meetings as members of the MWC. Last year's 41-0 loss marked the first time in 68 games that UNLV failed to score. The Rebels are coming off a 43-10 loss at Colorado State in which running back Deante' Purvis carried 14 times for 85 yards in his first career start and tight end Austin Harrington established career highs with four catches for 39 yards. First-year coach Bobby Hauck's team has been besieged by injuries, with 23 true or redshirt freshmen having seen action thus far. "You find out what kind of character you have," Hauck said. "It's not easy going out and getting beat on Saturdays and getting up Monday morning to go back to work to try and come out on top the next week. It takes some character, and I think we're finding that out about ourselves."

On Sunday, Oct. 31, the day features a Mountain West Conference volleyball doubleheader as UNLV hosts TCU at 1 p.m. (PT), followed by New Mexico at Air Force at 4 p.m. (MT).

• Week 10 Preview ... The second half of the Mountain West Conference season gets underway this week with seven matches on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday features a nationally-televised doubleheader on CBS C with TCU at UNLV starting at 1 p.m. (PT), followed by New Mexico at Air Force at 4 p.m. (MT). Brent Stover and AnneMarie Anderson will call the action from Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, while Jason Knapp and Tammy Blackburn will call the action from Falcon Court in Colorado Springs ... Friday's match between BYU and Utah will be televised nationally on The Mtn. at 7:30 p.m. (MT). AnneMarie Anderson and Amy Gant will call the action from Crimson Court in Salt Lake City ... No. 14 Colorado State takes an undefeated record into the second half, followed by Utah and New Mexico in a tie for second place.

• Week 9 Review ... Air Force ended a 74-match losing streak in Mountain West Conference action on Thursday night with a 3-1 win over San Diego State ... No. 15 Colorado State (8-0) wrapped up the first half of the MWC season with a win over Wyoming to remain atop the league standings ... New Mexico earned wins over BYU and Utah to move into a tie for second with Utah (5-3) ... Wyoming, BYU and San Diego State ended up in a three-way tie for fourth place (4-4) ... TCU, UNLV and Air Force round out the bottom of the standings.

• The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. Over 13,450 fans went through the MWC turnstiles last week. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 1,044 per home match with a total of 100,180 watching 96 home matches across the league. It is the second year in a row that the league has recorded an attendance over 100,000. The first season over 100,000 fans watched MWC volleyball was in 2009 (114,357) with a final average of 953. The last time the league had averaged over 900 fans per match previous to the 2009 season was in the 2001 season (925). With 40 home matches remaining on the schedule, the opportunity is there to greatly surpass last year's total.

• And ... if you can't make it out to your favorite MWC volleyball arena for a match or want to see how other teams are doing, you can be one of the many fans watching along at home on The Mtn. , CBS College Sports or BYU-TV. There are three televised matches this week - Friday, Oct. 29, BYU at Utah on The Mtn. and Sunday's CBS C doubleheader with TCU at UNLV and New Mexico at Air Force ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 for The Mtn. and channel 613 for CBS C or check with your local cable operator for the channel listing in your area ... The MWC ranks second in the nation with 19 nationally-televised matches this season.

• Three MWC student-athletes were among the 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen, TCU's Christy Hudson and Wyoming's JennaRae Jester are on the list for their excellence on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Congratulations, Jade, Christy and JennaRae!

• 1,000-Kill Club ... Four more Mountain West Conference volleyball players are on track to join the 1,000-Kill Club this season - Karolina Bartkowiak (Utah, 983), Christy Hudson (TCU, 970), Irene Hester (TCU, 958) and Lauren Whitney (Wyoming, 951). They will join Colorado State's Danielle Minch and New Mexico's Lisa Meeter who reached the mark on Oct. 14.

• Air Force hosts TCU (Friday) and New Mexico (Sunday) this week ... This season the Falcons, under the direction of new head coach Matt McShane, are playing in the intimate confines of Falcon Court at East Gym after five seasons in Clune Arena ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.62 kills per set and fifth in points at 3.89 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.45.

• BYU has just one match this week, the Deseret First Duel at Utah on Friday ... Sophomore Nicole Warner ranks 28th in the nation with 1.26 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.58 assists and 0.31 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.50.

• No. 14 Colorado State sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 8-0 ... CSU has one match this week, a road trip to San Diego State on Saturday ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is sixth in the nation with 1.54 blocks per set and is second in the MWC in hitting percentage at a .370 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.41 per set ... Danielle Minch became the 34th MWC player to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 14 against TCU.

• New Mexico will be on the road this week. First stop, UNLV on Friday, then Air Force on Sunday ... Senior Lisa Meeter earned her 1,000th career kill and 1,000th career dig on Oct. 14 at Wyoming, becoming the 33rd player to reach the 1,000 kills mark and 17th in digs in MWC history ... Senior setter Jade Michaelsen became the Lobos all-time career assist leader on Oct. 23 against Utah with 3,838.

• San Diego State stays home to host UC Riverside (Tuesday), Wyoming (Thursday) and No. 14 Colorado State (Saturday) ... Freshman Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists with 10.54 per set ... Andrea Hannasch ranks 20th in the nation in blocks with 1.32 per set.

• TCU is out on the road this week, stopping at Air Force on Friday and UNLV on Sunday ... Irene Hester leads the league in kills (3.68), points (4.30) and aces (0.40) per set, while sister Kristen ranks third in hitting percentage at . 340.

• UNLV stays home this week to host New Mexico (Friday) and TCU (Sunday) ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks among the top 10 in kills per set at 3.12 ... Senior libero Kela Lau Hee is among the top 10 in the league in digs with 3.56 per set.

• Utah starts the second half of the MWC season by hosting BYU on Friday in the second installment of the Deseret First Duel ... Freshman Erin Redd leads the league in attack percentage at .390 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is third in kills per set with 3.37 and in points at 4.02 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,436 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.18 average per set.

• Wyoming continues to add to its best season in program history at 19-5. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run ... Wyoming has just one match this week, a road trip to San Diego State on Thursday ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy is second in the MWC in service aces with 0.39 per set and is second in points per set (4.06) and fourth in kills per set (3.29) ... JennaRae Jester is 10th in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.44 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.30.

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• BYU is ranked 19th and 25th in the latest NSCAA and Soccer America Top 25 polls, respectively. The Lobos, who are riding a program-record nine-match unbeaten streak (7-0-2), are ranked 23rd in the Soccer America poll.

• The fourth NCAA RPI report had New Mexico with an RPI of 26, followed by the Cougars (34).

• Air Force midfielder/forward Kelly Bieber scored the match-winning goal in the Falcons' 1-0 decision over TCU last Sunday, helping AFA claim its first MWC victory in 41 attempts on the pitch dating back to 2003.

• UNLV forward Ashleigh Shoughro leads the Conference in points (29), points per game (1.71) and goals (13).

• Utah forward Lauren Hair tallied four points in the Utes' 3-0 victory over UNLV last Sunday. Hair was involved in every scoring play in the contest, notching two assists and netting a goal against the Rebels. She ranks second in the league in points (9) and points per game (1.50).

• Wyoming midfielder/forward Liz O'Reilly paces the Conference with eight assists, while UNM forward Jennifer Williams is second in the MWC with seven.

• New Mexico goaltender Kelli Cornell has posted a Mountain West-leading 10 shutouts.

• Utah netminder Hannah Turpen leads the league in saves (87) and saves per game (5.12).

• TCU leads the MWC in team points (100), goals (36), assists (28) and shot attempts (340).

The Week Ahead

Thursday:

• The final week of the regular season kicks off on Thursday as BYU travels to Santa Clara for a 7 p.m. PT match. The Broncos hold a 4-0-0 all-time advantage in the series. In the teams' last meeting in 2000, Santa Clara picked up a 2-1 overtime victory.

Friday:

• UNLV and San Diego State meet in San Diego at 3 p.m. PT. The Aztecs own an 8-7-0 advantage in the series following last season's 1-0 victory in Las Vegas. The institutions have split their last four meetings.

Saturday:

• League action continues on Saturday as Wyoming plays host to Air Force at 1 p.m. MT. The Cowgirls lead the all-time series 8-6-0 following last season's 3-1 win in Colorado Springs.

• TCU entertains New Mexico at 7 p.m. CT in Fort Worth. The Mtn.- MountainWest Sports Network will air a tape-delay broadcast of the match beginning at 8 p.m. MT. The Lobos are 6-3-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs after securing a 1-0 decision last season in Albuquerque.

• No. 8/11 BYU travels to Salt Lake City to take on Utah at 7 p.m. MT to wrap up Mountain West regular-season action. The Cougars lead the all-time series 16-5-1. BYU has won three straight meetings, including a 2-1 overtime win in Provo in 2009.

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TCU doesn't play anybody. Utah doesn't play anybody. The Mildred R. Merkowitz College For Storm Door Repairmen doesn't play anybody. If they were in the (your favorite BCS conference here), they couldn't win a ping-pong match with a canoe paddle.

Well, just for the sake of argument, let's take a look at last week's triumphs of other teams ranked in the Top 25 of the BCS standings, Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls.

• Oregon (No. 2 BCS, No. 1 AP, No. 1 Coaches)
Beat UCLA 60-13. UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) has beaten Houston, Texas and Washington State. A week ago, Houston lost to 1-6 Rice. This past weekend, Texas lost to an Iowa State team that was beaten 68-27 by Utah; and Washington State (1-7, 0-5 Pac-10) was officially eliminated from the bowl picture.

• Missouri (No. 6 BCS, No. 7 AP, No. 8 Coaches)
While the Tigers are fresh off a 36-27 win over former No. 1 Oklahoma, the talking heads giving TCU "respect" by keeping them in the Top 5 forget to mention that Missouri needed a 68-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds left to beat MWC member San Diego State 27-24.

• Alabama (No. 7 BCS, No. 6 AP, No. 6 Coaches)
Beat Tennessee 44-10. Tennessee, which is 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the SEC, has wins over FCS Tennessee-Martin and Alabama Birmingham (2-5, 1-2 Conference USA).

• Wisconsin (No. 10 BCS, No. 9 AP, No. 9 Coaches)
The Badgers, who outlasted Iowa 31-30, posted a 27-14 home win over San Jose State in Week 2. Utah beat San Jose State in Salt Lake City 56-3.

• Ohio State (No. 11 BCS, No. 10 AP, No. 10 Coaches)
Beat Purdue 49-0. In Week 4, the Boilermakers were beaten 31-20 at home by Toledo, a team that lost the following week at home to MWC member Wyoming (2-6).

• Stanford (No. 13 BCS, No. 13 AP, No. 14 Coaches)
Beat Washington State 38-28. Washington State, which features the fourth-worst scoring defense among the nation's 120 FBS teams, posted its lone win of the season in Week 2 when it beat FCS Montana State by one point.

• Arizona (No. 15 BCS, No. 16 AP, No. 15 Coaches)
Beat Washington 44-14. The Huskies (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) are allowing 33.1 points per game. Washington also has the distinction of being MWC member BYU's lone victim in its first five games after the Cougars opened the season 1-4 for the first time in 37 years.

• Iowa (No. 18 BCS, No. 18 AP, No. 19 Coaches)
The Hawkeyes, who are coming off a loss against Wisconsin, posted a 35-7 win at Iowa State in Week 2. Utah beat Iowa State in Ames 68-27.

• Arkansas (No. 19 BCS, No. 19 AP, No. 18 Coaches)
Beat Ole Miss 38-24. Ole Miss lost to FCS Jacksonville State in its season opener.

• South Carolina (No. 20 BCS, No. 17 AP, No. 17 Coaches)
Beat Vanderbilt 24-7. Vanderbilt is 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the SEC. Besides Ole Miss, the Commodores' only other win is against Eastern Michigan.

• Mississippi State (No. 21 BCS, No. 23 AP, No. 23 Coaches)
Beat Alabama Birmingham 29-24. UAB's two wins this season have come against Troy and UTEP.

• Miami (No. 22 BCS, No. 22 AP, No. 22 Coaches)
Beat North Carolina (12 players suspended) 33-10. Miami and Florida State are the only ranked teams in an Atlantic Coast Conference that ranks behind both the Mountain West and Western Athletic conferences in ESPN's weekly conference power rankings.

• Virginia Tech (No. 23 BCS, No. 21 AP, No. 21 Coaches)
Beat Duke (1-6, 0-4 ACC) 44-6.

• Baylor (No. 25 BCS, No. 25 AP, No. 24 Coaches)
Beat Kansas State 47-42. This is the same Baylor team that was down 35-3 at the half to TCU before the Horned Frogs let off the gas in the second half and still cruised to a 45-10 win. The Bears also lost to a Texas Tech squad that fell to Iowa State 52-38. Utah beat Iowa State by 41 points.

The talking heads keep talking about the "body of work". What was so special about the "body of work" listed in the games above? MWC teams have fared better in many instances and yet get dismissed. The talking heads may want to dismiss the facts, but the truth is in the pudding. The MWC is one of four conferences with at least one team ranked in the Top 10 of the BCS standings for at least 17 consecutive weeks (Big 12, Big Ten, SEC). In fact, only the SEC, with three, has more teams in the BCS Top 10 than the Mountain West. The MWC is tied with the Big Ten and Big 12 with two teams apiece. TCU and Utah are both ranked higher than automatic-qualifiers Florida State (ACC), and the Big East, which does not have a team ranked in this week's BCS standings. Over the past four years, the MWC has a better record against teams from AQ conferences than ACC, Big Ten and Big East, each of whom get to send their champions to a BCS game every year no matter what their record ends up.

If the national media is bent on singing the praises of teams affiliated only with the BCS, the least we can expect is that it hits every note.

To wit:

• For the third straight week, the MWC is one of three leagues (SEC, Big Ten) with multiple teams ranked in the Top 10 of the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls and the BCS standings. At least two MWC teams have been ranked in the USA Today Coaches' Top 25 poll for 40 consecutive weeks, dating back to Sept. 7, 2008. Only three other conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) can make that claim.

• The MWC has two teams ranked in the Top 10 of the first BCS standings of the 2010 season. TCU (7-0) is No. 5, while Utah (6-0) is No. 9. Both teams are ranked in the Top 10 of the AP and USA Today Coaches' polls, with TCU holding the No. 4 spot and Utah carrying a ranking of No. 9. Only the SEC, with three, has more teams ranked in the BCS Top 10 than the MWC. TCU and Utah are both ranked higher than automatic qualifiers Florida State (ACC) and West Virginia (Big East).

• Comparing the winning percentage of the top four teams in each of the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences, the MWC currently ranks fourth, behind the Big 12, SEC and Big Ten. The top four teams in the Big 12 are a combined 23-1 (.958), followed by the SEC (25-3, .892) and Big Ten (24-3, .889). The top four teams in the in the MWC --- TCU, Utah, Air Force and San Diego State --- boast a combined mark of 22-4, a winning percentage of .846.

• TCU and Utah are two of just six teams in the nation (Alabama, Boise State, Florida, Texas) to have won 29 or more games since the beginning of the 2008 season. The MWC is one of just two conferences (SEC) to have two teams with 29-plus wins during that span.

• Utah's run of 20 straight home wins, a MWC record, is the third-longest active home win streak in the nation behind Oklahoma (34) and Boise State (28). TCU and Alabama are tied for fourth with 18. TCU and Utah have each won 12 straight MWC games and are in line to equal the league record of 13 set by BYU from Oct. 7, 2006 to Sept. 26, 2009.

• Having finished with the No.1-ranked defense in the nation each of the last two seasons, TCU, which has allowed three points in its last three games, is one of only two FBS teams this season (Oregon) to have recorded two shutouts. TCU is the only team to have posted back-to-back shutouts.

Food for thought as we head into Week 8 of the 2010 college football season. Don't let it spoil your appetite, BCS.

Click HERE to read more about the MWC Fans' Football Game of the Week.

WYOMING (2-5, 0-3 MWC) at BYU (2-5, 1-2 MWC), Noon MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: This is the 77th meeting in the series, with BYU having won six straight against and nine of the last 10. The Cougars have posted consecutive shutouts against the Cowboys by a combined score of 96-0. The average score during BYU's six-game winning streak in the series has been 41-9. In last season's 52-0 win, the Cougars finished with 543 total yards and averaged 8.1 yards per pay. Wyoming was limited to 225 total yards.

Wyoming: All five of the Cowboys' losses have come against teams ranked in the Top 25. According to the Sagarin computer ratings, Wyoming has played the third-toughest schedule in the nation. In a 30-6 loss to Utah last week, the Cowboys ended an eight-quarter scoring drought when backup quarterback Dax Crum threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, providing Wyoming with its first fourth-quarter points this season. Starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who did not play in the previous week's game against TCU, passed for 84 yards and rushed for 27 as the Cowboys were limited to 183 yards by one of the top defenses in the nation. Wyoming safety Chris Prosinski, who led the defense with 12 tackles, is one of three Cowboys players ranked among the top 30 in the nation in tackles. "Our (offensive) schemes and things we're trying to do are sound," coach Dave Christensen told the Laramie Boomerang. "What we have to do is put our players in the best position for them to execute and have success, and that's been difficult at this point ant time."

BYU: The Cougars are coming off a 31-3 loss at TCU. After managing just one first down and 13 total yards in the first half, the Cougars finished with 147 total yards in failing to score a touchdown for the first time this season. BYU, which had snapped a four-game losing streak the week before by rushing the ball 62 times for 271 yards (both season highs) against San Diego State, tallied only 56 yards on the ground against TCU. Quarterback Jake Heaps, who finished 14-of-30 for 91 yards, set a BYU freshman record for completions in a season (110), but also threw two interceptions and was sacked three times. Cougars senior safety Andrew Rich, who had a game-high 13 tackles against TCU (10 solo), is tied for 18th in the nation and ranks first in the MWC with an average of 10.3 tackles per game. "Undermining (our offense) right now I would say would be confidence, and confidence usually comes with success," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "The way to build that is through simple successes of running a precise route, getting the right protection or getting the key first down. Building simple successes in practice and at key moments in the game really are what we're focusing on."

COLORADO STATE (2-5, 1-2 MWC) at No. 9/9 UTAH (6-0, 3-0 MWC), 4 p.m. MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: The Utes, forced to rally from a two-touchdown deficit in last year's 24-17 win in Fort Collins, have beaten the Rams four straight times by an average margin of 19 points. CSU is looking for its first win in Salt Lake City since 2002. Utah, which is bowl-eligible for an eighth-straight season, has won 20 straight home games, the third-longest active win streak in the nation, second-longest in school history and the longest in MWC history. The Rams are playing their third ranked team over a four-week stretch and their second top 10 opponent in that span.

Colorado State: The Rams, who are coming off a 43-10 win over UNLV, have a combined 544 rushing yards in their last two games (285 vs. Air Force, 259 vs. UNLV). Senior running back Leonard Mason, who rushed for a career-high 139 yards and a touchdown against Air Force, finished with 121 yards and a touchdown against UNLV. In last year's meeting with Utah, Mason rushed for a then career-high 130 yards. Defensive tackle Guy Miller established a school record last week with 4 1/2 sacks and also eclipsed the MWC record of 4. Miller's performance matched the most sacks by a player this season, tying Robert Eddins of Ball State, who had 4 1/2 against Central Michigan on Oct. 2. True freshman quarterback Pete Thomas, who completed his first seven passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns last week, has one interception in his last 110 attempts. "If you look back (to our season opener against Colorado), like I told (Buffaloes coach) Dan Hawkins after that game, we could have played until midnight and we weren't going to score," said CSU coach Steve Fairchild. "But we're flashing things longer at times both in practice and in games. We have to keep working. We have a long way to go, but I can see that we're going to start making some strides here pretty quickly."

Utah: The Utes, who lead the nation in kickoff returns (29.2 average), also rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (No. 4/45.8 ppg) and scoring defense (tied for No. 9/14.0 ppg). Utah has been particularly efficient in the second quarter this season, outscoring opponents 117-7. In last week's 30-6 win at Wyoming, the Utes surrendered just 67 yards rushing, the fourth time this season they have held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. Utah, which leads the nation in tackles-for-loss yardage allowed, finished with 11 tackles for loss for 52 yards, a season-high. Running back Matt Asiata had a season-high 109 yards on 16 carries to become Utah's first 100-yard rusher this season. Asiata had 74 rushing yards by halftime. Utah, which is off to its third 6-0 start in the last seven years, has outscored its last five opponents 248-60. "I think we are sitting where we hoped to be sitting (at the midpoint of the season)," said coach Kyle Whittingham. "Our offensive production has been productive. We have had a lot of guys contribute. Both quarterbacks (Jordan Wynn and Terrance Cain) and our offensive line have played big roles and a different receiver steps up each week."

SAN DIEGO STATE (4-2, 1-1 MWC) at NEW MEXICO (0-6, 0-2 MWC), 8 p.m. MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: Prior to last year's 23-20 win, San Diego State had lost eight straight in the series. Matched against their former head coach, Rocky Long, who is in his second season as the Aztecs' defensive coordinator, the Lobos never advanced past their own 40-yard line after SDSU took the lead with 7:54 left. The game marks the first time Long has returned to Albuquerque after spending 11 seasons at the helm at New Mexico.

San Diego State: The Aztecs, who are 4-2 for the first time in 14 years, beat a Top 25-ranked team for the first time since 1996 last week when they held off No. 23 Air Force 27-25. SDSU never trailed in the game, the first time that has happened against a ranked opponent since 1988. Freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, the MWC's leading rusher, carried 24 times for 191 yards, scoring on runs of 65 and 44 yards. Hillman's performance marked his third 100-yard game of the season. Meanwhile, senior wide receiver DeMarco Sampson, who had two touchdown receptions in last year's meeting with New Mexico, finished with four catches against Air Force for 106 yards, the third 100-yard receiving game of his career. "Ronnie has been doing a good job," Lindley said of Hillman, who ranks seventh in the nation with an average of 130.8 yards per game. "He needs to continue to grind, because it's a long season and we're just starting the second half. So he knows he needs to continue working hard and doing what he's been doing. He's done an awesome job for a first-year guy to come in and buy into the program. And that's a testament to the offensive line as well with the way they've been working hard. They're really opening up holes for him and letting him run."

New Mexico: The Lobos, who are coming off a bye week, allowed their fewest points of the season in a 16-14 loss to New Mexico State in their last outing. True freshman Stump Godfrey became the fourth quarterback to be utilized by coach Mike Locksley this season, completing 2-of-3 passes for 15 yards and rushing the ball 12 times for 41 yards. Junior linebacker Carmen Messina, who led the nation in tackles last season, has posted double-digit stops in each of the last two games. New Mexico is searching for answers across the board. In addition to ranking 117th among the nation's 120 FBS teams in total offense, the Lobos are 108th in total defense, 120th in scoring defense and 118th in turnover margin. "You just keep focusing," Locksley told the Albuquerque Journal. "We've upped our ante of how many days of ball-security (drills) we've done. We've reinforced with the quarterbacks about being smart with the football; it's OK to punt it. It's been my experience that it corrects itself if you keep emphasizing, and we'll continue to emphasize it."

• The third NCAA RPI report was released on Tuesday. New Mexico leads the way with an RPI of 18, followed by BYU (26).

• All eight Mountain West women's soccer teams played a pair of Conference matches last weekend. New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah finished the week a perfect 2-0.

• Lobo forward Kate Wyrick scored the match-winning goal in UNM's 1-0 double-overtime victory over BYU last Saturday. The senior netted the matches' lone goal in the 102nd minute, finding the back of the net off an assist from forward Jennifer Williams. The goal, which was Wyrick's second of the season, helped the Lobos move into sole possession of first in the MWC at 4-0-0. The Lobos own a six-match win streak.

• San Diego State goalie Aubree Southwick became the new MWC career saves leader as the Aztecs defeated Wyoming, 2-0, on Saturday in San Diego. Southwick surpassed New Mexico's Kristen Winters (327) for the No. 1 spot and now has 331 career saves, which is also a school record.

• Utah netminder Hannah Turpen leads the MWC in saves (79), while UNM goalie Kelli Cornell has posted a MWC-leading nine shutouts.

• UNLV forward Ashleigh Shoughro tallied six points over two matches last weekend to lead the Rebels to a pair of league wins. With the three goals, the Las Vegas, Nev., native set new program records for goals in a season (13), goals in a career (26) and points in a season (29).

• Shoughro leads the MWC in points (29), goals (13) and shots (67).

• Wyoming's Liz O'Reilly paces the Conference with seven assists, while BYU's Carlee Payne and UNM's Jennifer Williams are tied for second in the MWC with six assists apiece.

• TCU leads the league in team points (100), goals (36), assists (23) and shot attempts (317).

The Week Ahead

Thursday, October 21:

• The fourth week of MWC action kicks off on Thursday as San Diego State travels to Utah and No. 14/22 BYU entertains UNLV. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. MT.

• The Utes own an 11-4-3 all-time advantage over the Aztecs, including a 4-2-1 mark in Salt Lake City. Last year, SDSU netted a golden goal in the second extra frame of an MWC Tournament semifinal matchup in Provo to earn a 2-1 decision.

• The Cougars hold a 13-1-1 all-time series lead against the Rebels. BYU defeated UNLV, 1-0, last year in Las Vegas. The match will be televised live on BYU-TV and will re-air on the The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network on Sun., Oct. 24, at 2 p.m. MT. 11-1-1. 1984 Oct. 5, 1984.

Friday, October 22:

• TCU and Wyoming meet in Laramie at 3 p.m. MT. Wyoming owns a 5-2-1 all-time series advantage and has won three in a row following a 2-1 victory in Fort Worth in 2009. The Cowgirls have won four of six meetings in Laramie.

• No. 17 New Mexico travels to Air Force for a 4:30 p.m. MT match. The Lobos are 10-7-0 all-time against the Falcons following last year's 1-0 victory in Albuquerque.

Saturday, October 23:

• UNLV takes on Utah at 1 p.m. MT. The Utes lead the all-time series 10-3-3 after tallying a 1-0 win last season in Las Vegas. Utah has not lost a regular-season meeting to the Rebels since 2004, going 3-0-2 in that span. The Utes' last loss to UNLV was a 2-1 decision in the 2007 MWC Tournament semifinals.

• BYU plays host to San Diego State at 7 p.m. MT. The contest will be televised live on BYU-TV and will re-air on the The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network on Sun., Oct. 24, at 11 p.m. MT. The all-time series is deadlocked at 9-9-4. The Aztecs defeated the Cougars in Provo, 1-0, to claim the 2009 MWC Championship. BYU owns a 7-3-2 advantage over SDSU at South Stadium.

Sunday, October 24:

• Air Force entertains TCU at 11 a.m. MT. The Horned Frogs are 6-1-1 all-time against the Falcons following last season's 1-0 victory in Fort Worth.

• No. 17 New Mexico takes on Wyoming at 1 p.m. MT to wrap up the week's slate. The Cowgirls won the teams' 2009 regular-season matchup, 2-1, but the Lobos picked up a 1-0 decision over Wyoming in the first round of the 2009 MWC Championship.

Follow Mountain West Conference Olympic Sports on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWCOlySports!

• And 1,000 Digs and 100 Aces ... New Mexico senior Lisa Meeter also earned her 1,000th career dig in the Oct. 14 match at Wyoming. She finished the night with 1,003 kills, 1,007 digs and 101 service aces. Meeter is the third MWC player to record 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs and 100 aces in a career and the first since 2003.

Aspen McPartland, San Diego State (2000-03)
1,493 kills - 1,076 digs - 110 aces

Michelle Rauter, Wyoming (2000-03)
1,377 kills - 1,072 digs - 113 aces

Lisa Meeter, New Mexico (2007-thru Oct. 16, 2010)
1,006 kills - 1,016 digs - 101 aces

• Break out the Pink jerseys this week ... four Mountain West Conference teams will host Breast Cancer Awareness matches this week to honor survivors of the disease and raise awareness for a cure --- Wyoming (Oct. 19), Colorado State (Oct. 20), Air Force (Oct. 21) and New Mexico (Oct. 23).

• The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. Just over 10,000 fans went through the MWC turnstiles last week. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 1,008 per home match with a total of 86,730 watching 86 home matches across the league. The first season over 100,000 fans watched MWC volleyball was in 2009 (114,357) with a final average of 953. The last time the league had averaged over 900 fans per match previous to the 2009 season was in the 2001 season (925). With 50 home matches remaining on the schedule, the opportunity is there to greatly surpass last year's total.

• And ... if you can't make it out to your favorite MWC volleyball arena for a match or want to see how other teams are doing, you can be one of the many fans watching along at home on The Mtn. , CBS College Sports or BYU-TV. Thursday, Oct. 21 is a doubleheader on The Mtn. with Utah at TCU at 6:30 p.m. (CT), followed by San Diego State at Air Force at 7:30 p.m. (MT) ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 or check with your local cable operator for the channel listing in your area ... The MWC ranks second in the nation with 19 nationally-televised matches this season.

• Three MWC student-athletes were among the 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen, TCU's Christy Hudson and Wyoming's JennaRae Jester are on the list for their excellence on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Congratulations, Jade, Christy and JennaRae!

• Air Force will have just one match this week, a nationally-televised event with San Diego State on Thursday in Colorado Springs ... This season the Falcons, under the direction of new head coach Matt McShane, are playing in the intimate confines of Falcon Court at East Gym after five seasons in Clune Arena ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.49 kills per set and sixth in points at 3.77 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.42.

• BYU heads out on the road for the southeastern portion of MWC action at New Mexico and TCU ... Sophomore Nicole Warner ranks 32nd in the nation with 1.25 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.32 assists and 0.30 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.50.

• No. 15 Colorado State (18-2) sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 7-0 as the Rams stay home for the second week in a row. CSU beat Denver on Wednesday, 3-0 and host Wyoming on Friday at Moby Arena ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is third in the nation with 1.54 blocks per set and is second in the MWC in hitting percentage at a .367 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.25 per set ... Danielle Minch became the 34th MWC player to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 14 against TCU.

• New Mexico returns home for matches against BYU and Utah ... Senior Lisa Meeter earned her 1,000th career kill and 1,000th career dig on Oct. 14 at Wyoming, becoming the 33rd player to reach the 1,000 kills mark and 17th in digs in MWC history.

• San Diego State heads out on the road this week for matches at Air Force and UNLV ... Freshman Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists with 10.41 per set ... Andrea Hannasch ranks 21st in the nation in blocks with 1.32 per set.

• TCU returns home to face Utah and BYU this week ... Thursday's match with the Utes will be televised nationally on The Mtn. ... Irene Hester leads the league in kills (3.63), points (4.28) and aces (0.41) per set, while sister Kristen ranks third in hitting percentage at . 334.

• UNLV stays home this week to host San Diego State and UMKC ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks among the top 10 in kills per set at 3.14.

• Utah travels to TCU and New Mexico this week ... Freshman Erin Redd leads the league in attack percentage at .379 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is third in kills per set with 3.43 and in points at 4.04 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,399 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.07 average per set.

• Wyoming continues to add to its best season in program history at 19-4. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run and are currently in third in the MWC standings ... Wyoming hosted Colorado Christian on Tuesday night before the border match with Colorado State on Friday in Fort Collins ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy leads the MWC in service aces with 31 and is second in points per set (4.15) and fourth in kills per set (3.35) ... JennaRae Jester is eighth in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.45 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.44.

Follow Mountain West Conference Olympic Sports on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWCOlySports!

"I understand that the announcement of the poll makes for good conversation among media and fans, but two games into our conference season, it's too early for us to give it any attention, said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who will nonetheless ensure it receives as much attention as allowed under BCS hyperbole regulations. "At this point, it just speaks to the quality of schedule we've played, and while I appreciate the caliber of those teams, our focus has to be on the games we have remaining. We're not talking or thinking about anything but playing Missouri."

Quality of schedule? Caliber of opponents?

Please, someone explain to me how OU's schedule at this point in the season is any different than that of, say, TCU? If we're to believe the Oct. 10 USA Today Coaches' poll, the difference is apparently enormous. Despite a 45-0 win over Wyoming, the Horned Frogs went from 190 points behind then No. 2 Ohio State to 242. Simultaneously, TCU went from being 113 points behind then No. 3 Oregon to 175. TCU's loss in points to both teams came after Ohio State beat Indiana (then 3-2) by 28 and Oregon beat Washington State (then 1-5) by 20. The average computer rankings of those three teams as of last week? Wyoming 68, Indiana 83.2, Washington State 94.8. Washington State's lone win of the season is a 23-22 triumph over FCS member Montana State. And while Indiana's only other loss of the season came against Michigan (now unranked), its wins prior to meeting Ohio State came against Akron (0-6), Western Kentucky (0-5) and FCS Towson (1-4).

With the unveiling of Sunday's first BCS poll of the season --- an event that for non-automatic qualifying schools is to know the ending before Mark May utters a syllable --- came the (stunning, I know) revelation that Oklahoma had hurdled TCU to claim the top spot in the poll.

Now, before you ask how this happens, when Oklahoma was ranked No. 6 last week in both the AP and coaches' polls while TCU was ranked 4/5, let's get this out of the way immediately: it happens because the BCS says it can happen. The Sooners were hustled to the front of the line based on the boost they received from the six computer rankings, which combine to make up a third of the BCS standings and gauge strength of schedule, opponent's schedule and other factors too far-fetched to fathom.

Which, of course, brings us to Big East member West Virginia, whose conference ranks nearly 50 points behind the MWC in ESPN's weekly conference power rankings.

While losses by Nevada, Air Force, Florida and Oregon State last week certainly created room to maneuver, West Virginia, in the past three weeks, has gone from being unranked, to No. 25 to No. 20. The Mountaineers' latest jump came on the heels of a 20-6 win over South Florida, a 3-3 team whose victims thus far have a combined record of 3-14. South Florida's gaudy accomplishments have come against Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and FCS Stony Brook, which has accounted for two of the three aforementioned victories.

With the BCS, you don't like the rules, find another game. Do not, however, be duped by the man behind the curtain. Let's review Stoops' claim about his team's quality of schedule and the caliber of those teams.

Week 1: Utah State. The Aggies are 2-4. With the exception of a seven-point loss to Oklahoma (31-24), Utah State's three other losses (including a 41-7 loss to San Diego State) have come by an average of 23.0 points.

Week 2: Florida State. The only ACC team currently ranked in the AP poll (the ACC ranks behind both the MWC and the WAC in ESPN's weekly conference power rankings), the Seminoles' lofty achievements include a 31-0 victory over Wake Forest, a team that has lost five straight by a combined score of 203-92; a 34-14 win over Virginia, which has lost three straight by an average of 22.0 points; and Boston College, a team that has lost four straight by an average of 17.0 points.

Week 3: Air Force. Truly a credible foe, the Falcons, unranked at the time, nearly became the third team to beat Oklahoma in the Sooners' last four meetings against MWC competition. The only team to lose to Oklahoma by less than a touchdown this season (27-24), Air Force outgained Oklahoma, ranked No. 7, by nearly 100 yards. The Falcons rushed for 351 yards, the most allowed in Stoops' 12-year tenure at the school. Tell me, why is it that when the Falcons play an Oklahoma close they're immediately included in the national conversation, but are dismissed with the wave of a hand after beating an MWC opponent?

Week 4: Cincinnati. Oklahoma needed to recover an onside kick with 58 seconds left to survive 31-29. This against a team that is currently .500 and opened the season losing to Fresno State by two touchdowns.

Week 5: Texas. The Sooners posted an eight-point win against a Longhorns' squad that was pounded the previous week, 34-12, by unranked UCLA.

Week 6. Iowa State. Against ranked teams this season, the Cyclones (4-3) have been outscored 155-34, including a 68-27 loss to Utah, ranked No. 9 in the BCS standings, the AP poll and the coaches' poll. Never mind that Oklahoma's win over Iowa State (52-0) came at home, while Utah beat the Cyclones on the road. The Utes' reward? To be dropped from No. 10 in the AP poll to No. 11. Meanwhile, Oklahoma jumps three spots past TCU in the BCS standings after the Horned Frogs have allowed three points in their last three games while scoring more than 100? That's not fuzzy math, that's absurdity.

TCU, currently ranked No. 4 in both polls and No. 5 in the BCS standings, will get a chance to prove how favorably it matches up with Oklahoma this week when it hosts Air Force, the only common opponent between the Horned Frogs and the Sooners.

"The only way you can prove it is to prove it on the field," TCU coach Gary Patterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I've always said the only thing you can judge is on-the-field competition, and that's one game that's a crossover with a team that jumped us in the polls, and that's Air Force vs. Oklahoma, and now we're going to play them."

Oklahoma should just be thankful it's not the one playing TCU --- yet.

As college football passes the midway point of the regular season, and every game takes on a heightened sense of urgency, please follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MWCMick. Will TCU once again finish the regular season unbeaten, or will the Horned Frogs stumble at Utah, a place they've never won? With TCU and Utah both looming on the schedule, does Air Force have what it takes to spoil the party? Is San Diego State in line to garner its first bowl bid since the inception of the conference in 1999?

Let's tee it up on Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

As college football passes the midway point of the regular season, and every game takes on a heightened sense of urgency, please follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MWCMick. Will TCU once again finish the regular season unbeaten, or will the Horned Frogs stumble at Utah, a place they've never won? With TCU and Utah both looming on the schedule, does Air Force have what it takes to spoil the party? Is San Diego State in line to garner its first bowl bid since the inception of the conference in 1999?

Let's tee it up on Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Click HERE to read more about the MWC Fans' Football Game of the Week.

UNLV (1-5, 1-1 MWC) at COLORADO STATE (1-5, 0-2 MWC), Noon MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: Colorado State, which leads the series 12-5-1, had beaten UNLV six straight times before falling for the first time ever in Las Vegas last year. Since joining the MWC, five of the 11 games between the schools have been decided by four points or less.

UNLV: The Rebels, who will play nine teams this season that participated in bowl games last year, suffered their worst loss of the season in falling 49-10 at West Virginia last week. Beset by injuries, UNLV played 12 freshmen against the Mountaineers. The Rebels have listed 12 players as either out of the lineup or doubtful for this week's game. "We're fighting an uphill battle, and I admire the kids' willingness to go out and fight," coach Bobby Hauck told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Colorado State: The Rams, who hadn't rushed for more than 108 yards in a game this season and ranked last in the nation in rush offense, finished with 285 yards on the ground against Air Force last week. Senior Leonard Mason, filling in for starting running back Raymond Carter, who will miss his second consecutive game with a knee injury, finished with a career-high 139 yards on 22 carries. Mason, the team's leading rusher last year, suffered a hamstring injury before the start of fall camp and missed the first four games of the season. "I just wanted to come back and finish where I left off," Mason told The Coloradoan. "I've been waiting on the sidelines, so I've got to take advantage of the opportunity."

No. 10/11 UTAH (5-0, 2-0 MWC) at WYOMING (2-4, 0-2 MWC), 4 P.M. MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: This is the 83rd meeting in the series between the two teams. Utah has won three straight against Wyoming by an average of 31.6 points. The Utes would become bowl eligible with a win. The Cowboys are looking for their first victory against Utah since posting a 31-15 win in Laramie on Oct. 14, 2006.

Utah: The Utes are off to their third 5-0 start in the last seven years. Utah has scored more than 50 points in its last three contests and is averaging 49.0 points per game. The Utes lead the nation in kickoff returns (31.17 average), sacks allowed (1, tied with Boise State) and tackles for loss allowed (11). Utah also ranks first nationally in sack yardage allowed (4) and tackles for losses yardage allowed (33). Utah leads Wyoming in the series 50-31-1. Quarterback Jordan Wynn and wide receiver/kick returner Shaky Smithson were named the MWC Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for their roles in Utah's 68-27 rout of Iowa State last week. Wynn passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns while orchestrating the biggest scoring output by a Utah team in 27 years. Smithson finished 261 all-purpose yards, including 145 on punt returns and a career-high 75 receiving yards. He also threw a touchdown pass and caught a touchdown pass. Despite the win at Iowa State, Utah slipped to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, but remained at No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches' poll. "We don't get bent out of shape about that," coach Kyle Whittingham told the Deseret News. "In fact, we kind of enjoy flying under the radar and just doing our thing."

Wyoming: The Cowboys have played three Top 5-ranked teams through the first six weeks of the season. No other program in the nation has faced that many highly-ranked teams this season. Wyoming is coming off a 45-0 loss at TCU in which it was forced to play without starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuuels, who was held out of the game for unspecified reasons and did not make the trip to Fort Worth. Last year's MWC Freshman of the Year, Carta-Samuels this season has completed 65 percent of his passes for 803 yards and four touchdowns. "He's good to go," coach Dave Christensen said at his weekly press conference. "One hundred percent cleared to go."

No. 23/23 AIR FORCE (5-1, 3-0 MWC) at SAN DIEGO STATE (3-2, 0-1 MWC), 5 P.M. PT
TV: CBS College HD

The lowdown: Air Force, which leads the series 19-9, has won three straight against the Aztecs by an average margin of 23 points. San Diego State's last victory in the series came in a 19-12 decision in San Diego on Oct. 21, 2006.

Air Force: The Falcons, who are coming off a 49-27 win over Colorado State, rank first in the nation in rush offense (352.67 yards per game) and are second in kickoff returns (29.75). Kick returner Jonathan Warzeka rolled up 149 on three returns against CSU last week, including a 100-yard return for a touchdown. Air Force's 5-1 start is its best since 2003 and the team is 3-0 in the MWC for the first time since 2006. The Falcons are ranked for consecutive weeks and in both polls for the first time since 2002. Prior to Air Force's current three-game win streak against SDSU, the Aztecs had won three straight in the series. Prior to last week, Air Force had not allowed a point in the fourth quarter this season. "I think San Diego State is a team that is two plays away from being ranked in the top 20," said Falcons coach Troy Calhoun "One was a block in the back (that resulted in the winning touchdown at Missouri) and the other was a reviewed fumble (in last week's loss at BYU). They are a very capable football team."

San Diego State: The Aztecs' two losses have come by a total of six points. SDSU has its best five-game record in seven seasons (since 2003) and has matched its best record in the last 14 seasons (since 1996), despite a 24-21 loss at Brigham Young last week. Trailing 14-0 before picking up a first down and finishing the game with a time of possession discrepancy of 45:01 to 14:59, the Aztecs rallied to within a field goal twice in the second half but were unable to complete the comeback. Senior wide receiver Vincent Brown posted his second straight 100-yard receiving game and the ninth of his career with 101 yards on six catches. Air Force is the second ranked opponent SDSU has faced this season. The Aztecs lost at then No. 25 Missouri, 27-24, on Sept. 18 when the Tigers scored on a 68-yard pass play with 51 seconds left. Asked about his approach to Air Force's triple option, coach Brady Hoke said, "Stop the fullback. You have to be disciplined, but you have to take the fullback out of the game. It starts with him. If you can pound and take him away, then you help yourself. They have good fullbacks. You have to make them two-dimensional with speed options. They're awfully committed to what they do, so it will be a task.

• And ... if you can't make it out to your favorite MWC volleyball arena for a match or want to see how other teams are doing, you can be one of the many fans watching along at home on The Mtn., CBS College Sports or BYU-TV. Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. (MT), TCU is at No. 16 Colorado State on The Mtn. ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 or check with your local cable operator for the channel listing in your area ... The MWC ranks second in the nation with 19 nationally-televised matches this season.

• Three MWC student-athletes were among the 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen, TCU's Christy Hudson and Wyoming's JennaRae Jester are on the list for their excellence on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Congratulations, Jade, Christy and JennaRae!

• Air Force recorded its largest crowd of the season on Saturday night at Falcon Court at East Gym with 1,284 coming through the doors to watch the Falcons take on Wyoming ... AFA goes back out on the road this week, traveling to BYU and Utah ... This season the Falcons, under the direction of new head coach Matt McShane, are playing in the intimate confines of Falcon Court at East Gym after five seasons in Clune Arena ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.68 kills per set and fourth in points at 3.89 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.44.

• BYU picked up a non-conference win (3-0) at Weber State on Tuesday before returning to Smith Fieldhouse for matches against Air Force and UNLV on Thursday and Saturday ... Sophomore Nicole Warner is ranked 30th in the nation with 1.26 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.07 assists and 0.28 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.51.

• No. 16 Colorado State (15-2) sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 5-0 as the Rams stay home and host TCU and New Mexico at Moby Arena ... Thursday's match against TCU will be televised nationally on The Mtn. and will unveil Moby Arena's new videoboard ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is fourth in the nation with 1.62 blocks per set and leads the MWC in hitting percentage at a .374 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.30 per set.

• New Mexico travels up I-25 for matches at Wyoming (Thursday) and (No. 17) Colorado State (Saturday) ... Senior Lisa Meeter continues to climb the conference career statistical charts. The all-around player for UNM has 101 career service aces and is closing in on 1,000 career kills (991) and 1,000 career digs (994) ... Junior Ashley Rhoades recorded a career-high 20 kills in the loss at TCU on Friday night from her new outside position.

• San Diego State will have just one non-conference match this week at Seattle visits Cox Pavilion on Friday night ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists per set (10.34) and ranks 65th in the nation ... Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks third in the league and 17th in the nation with 1.33 blocks per set ... The Aztecs presented its breast cancer awareness 'Pink Out' on Thursday, Oct. 7, against BYU.

• TCU takes its second-place standing on the road to league leader No. 16 Colorado State on Thursday in front of a national television audience (The Mtn.) before heading to Laramie for a showdown with Wyoming ... TCU suffered an early season loss when setter Megan Munce suffered a leg injury and will be out for the remainder of the season. Munce led the MWC in service aces each of the last two seasons. Sophomore Meghan Horio has stepped in to the setter position ... Horio has the two Hester sisters to pick from for an attack. Irene, a senior, leads the league in kills per set with 3.76, while junior Kristen is third in hitting percentage at .354. Both are in the MWC top 10 in service aces with Irene leading the league at 0.44 (32nd in the nation) and Kristen in 10th at 0.27. Irene is 50th in the nation in points per set at 4.44.

• UNLV goes on the road this week to face Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday) ... The Rebels celebrated its annual 'Dig Pink' Day against then-No. 17 Colorado State on Oct. 9 in efforts to promote breast cancer awareness ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks among the top 10 in the conference in kills per set (3.16), while classmate Kela Lau Hee is among the league's dig leaders with 3.61 per set.

• Utah hosts UNLV (Thursday) and Air Force (Saturday) this week after a rough week in San Diego ... Freshman Erin Redd is second in the league in attack percentage at .361 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is third in kills per set with 3.51 and in points at 4.07 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,379 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.14 average per set.

• Wyoming continues to add to its best start in program history at 17-3. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run and are currently in third in the MWC standings ... Wyoming hosts New Mexico (Thursday) and TCU (Saturday) this week ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy leads the MWC in service aces with 28 and is second in points per set (4.08) and fourth in kills per set (3.29) ... Several Cowgirls round out the Top 10 in MWC hitting percentage - Camille Coffman (.287) and Reese Roehrkasse (.280) ... JennaRae Jester is seventh in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.48 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.67.

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•The second NCAA RPI report was released on Tuesday. BYU leads the way with an RPI of 21, followed by New Mexico (41) and TCU (92).

•All eight Mountain West Conference women's soccer teams played their second Conference matches last weekend. BYU defeated Air Force (2-1), New Mexico earned a win over San Diego State (2-1), TCU downed UNLV (3-1) and Utah and Wyoming played to a double-overtime tie (1-1).

•TCU's Jordan Calhoun became the all-time leading goal scorer in program history last Friday night as the Horned Frogs knocked off UNLV in Fort Worth. The junior forward paced TCU's offensive attack with three shots-on-goal and two goals. Calhoun put the Frogs on the board just two minutes and 54 seconds into the match, finding the back of the net off an assist by midfielder Jackie Torda. The goal, which at that point gave Calhoun 28 for her career, moved her past Lizzy Karoly for the all-time record in goals scored in program history.

•New Mexico is riding a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1), while BYU has won four consecutive contests.

•UNLV's Ashleigh Shoughro leads the MWC in points (23), goals (10) and shots (61).

•BYU's Carlee Payne and Wyoming's Liz O'Reilly pace the Conference with six assists apiece.

•BYU's Jennie Marshall and New Mexico's Jennifer Williams are tied for second in the MWC with seven goals apiece.

•TCU leads the league in team points (94), goals (34), assists (23) and shot attempts (282).

•New Mexico's Jordan Craig recorded the game-winning goal as the 25th-ranked Lobos netted a 2-1 victory over San Diego State last Friday night in Albuquerque. With the match tied, 1-1, late in the second half, the junior forward beat several Aztec defenders in the box and fired a shot over the head of SDSU goalkeeper Aubree Southwick. The goal, which came at the 76:55 mark, helped the Lobos improve to 4-0 at the UNM Soccer Complex and 2-0 in Conference play this season.

•San Diego State goalie Aubree Southwick leads the MWC in saves (72), while UNM netminder Kelli Cornell has posted a Conference-leading seven shutouts.

•Wyoming's Courtney Merkle helped Wyoming preserve a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Utah on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. The sophomore goalie collected 10 saves on 25 Ute shot attempts in 110:00 minutes of action. Merkle made two key saves in the extra periods, helping the Cowgirls maintain the draw. Prior to Saturday's contest, Wyoming had never won or tied Utah.

The Week Ahead

Thursday, October 14:

•The third week of MWC action kicks off on Thursday as Air Force travels to San Diego State for a 4 p.m. PT match. The Aztecs own a 12-1-1 all-time advantage in the series. SDSU has won three in a row and is unbeaten in nine straight. The Falcons' lone victory was a 3-0 decision in 2001.

•Utah and No. 25 New Mexico meet in Albuquerque at 6 p.m. MT. The Utes own a 10-5-2 advantage in the series, but the Lobos defeated Utah, 1-0, last season in Salt Lake City.

•TCU entertains No. 8/11 BYU at 7 p.m CT. The Cougars are 8-0-0 all-time against the Horned Frogs following last year's 2-0 victory in Provo.

•Wyoming travels to UNLV for a 7 p.m. PT match. The Rebels lead the all-time series 10-3-1 after tying with the Cowgirls, 1-1, last season in Laramie.

Saturday, October 16:

•League action continues on Saturday as TCU plays host to Utah at 10 a.m. CT. The Utes lead the all-time series 5-3-0, but the Horned Frogs own a 3-0-0 advantage in Fort Worth. Utah and TCU clashed twice last year, with the Utes capturing both contests by a 3-1 margin, once in Salt Lake City in the regular season and again in the opening round of the MWC Women's Soccer Championship in Provo.

•Wyoming and San Diego State meet at 11 a.m. PT in San Diego. The Aztecs are 8-2-1 all-time against the Cowgirls and have won the last four meetings, all by shutout. In the last four outings, SDSU has outscored Wyoming, 9-0. The Cowgirls' two victories in the series came in 2003 and 2005, both of which took place in Laramie.

•UNLV entertains Air Force at 1 p.m. PT. The Rebels own an 11-4-0 all-time advantage in the series following last season's 1-0 victory in Colorado Springs.

•No. 8/11 BYU takes on No. 25 New Mexico at 5 p.m. MT to wrap up the week's slate. The Cougars lead the all-time series 14-2-3. BYU notched two victories over the Lobos in Provo last season, once during the regular season (3-0) and again in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament (1-0).

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1. TCU (22-9, 12-4)
Coach Jeff Mittie has the reigning MWC Player of the Year in Helga Sverrisdottir, a first-team all-conference performer in Emily Carter, a team picked to finish first in the preseason poll --- and a new approach to how his team will run its offense.

Mittie, who previously employed a triangle-based system that often utilized set plays, has opted to switch to a motion-based offense.

"I didn't like the way we were playing at the end of the shot clock," said Mittie, whose team has made nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament in the last 10 seasons. "I felt like we were too one dimensional in those situations. I wanted to be able to give us more (offensive) options. I felt like we had a veteran team that could understand shot selection so that I didn't need to dictate as much. And I really feel like our players have adjusted to it very well."

2. San Diego State (23-11, 10-6)
The Aztecs, who advanced to the Sweet 16 last year after winning the conference tournament, must somehow find a way to fill the sizable voids left by guards Jene Morris, a first-round WNBA draft pick, and Quenese Davis. The two combined last season to average 30.3 points while contributing 270 assists and 173 steals.

In their absence, much of the focus will turn to the inside play of first-team all-conference preseason pick Paris Johnson (11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 2009-10) and senior Jessika Bradley (7.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg).

"Paris and Jessika have to be lights out, it's that simple," said coach Beth Burns, who recently signed a five-year contract extension. "We could win last year if our front line had an off night. That won't be the case this year."

Guard Courtney Clements, a transfer from Arizona and former Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, was tabbed the MWC Newcomer of the Year.

3. BYU (23-10, 11-5)
The Cougars, who advanced to the Elite Eight of the WNIT last season, return four starters, including Mindy Bonham, the team's leading scorer. Also back is Kristen Riley, the team's leading rebounder, and Haley Hall, who paced BYU in assists and steals.

Bonham, a two-time MWC All-Defensive honoree, averaged 11.1 points last season and ranked second on the team in assists per game (3.79).

"Mindy has been a real blessing to have," coach Jeff Judkins said of Bonham, a second-team All-MWC selection in 2009-10. "She's changed positions every year, from playing point guard as a freshman to playing the two guard as a sophomore and last year she played small forward. This year, she's probably going to play more of the two guard spot again. She's always had to change her role, and now she's our captain. She's one of the most dedicated, hard-working players I've ever had."

4. Utah (23-12, 10-6)
Former assistant Anthony Levrets will act as interim head coach this season while Elaine Elliott takes a year's leave of absence to consider retirement.

Levrets steps into the shoes of a coach who is one of just 16 to post 20 20-win seasons, has guided the Utes to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in 31 seasons and has a career record of 582-234 (.713).

"It's been great," Levrets said. "Our kids have responded really well. Obviously, it's not easy following Elaine. She's such a great basketball coach. But you can't focus on that; you have to focus on your team. I tell everybody I'm just glad I'm not preparing to play against her."

5. Wyoming (21-12, 9-7)
Coach Joe Legerski, who recently received a five-year contract extension, returns four starting seniors to a team that posted its fourth 20-win season in five years in 2009-10.

What Legerski will be looking for over the course of the next month is someone to emerge as the team's fifth starter, a competition that currently includes sophomores Ashley Sickles, Chaundra Sewell and Bec Campigli.

"I expect our practices are going to be very competitive, and I hope they are," said Legerski, whose team will be led by a pair of All-MWC honorees in Hillary Carlson and Aubrey Vandiver. "We need to have someone step up and emerge as that fifth starter."

6. New Mexico (23-11, 10-6)
The Lobos lost four seniors from last year's squad, including standout point guard Amy Beggin, a two-time All-MWC selection and one of only 16 players in school history to score 1,000 points.

Coach Don Flanagan, who is in his 16th season with the Lobos, is hoping that senior Amanda Best can fill the void left by Beggin. Best started 30 games last season, scoring in double figures 12 times. She led the Lobos in scoring on seven occasions and finished as the team's top rebounder eight times.

"I think she's going to surprise people," Flanagan said of Best, who assumes the team's point guard spot. "She handles the ball well, she's explosive, and as long as she learns how to distribute rather than worrying about scoring, I think she's going to do a great job."

7. UNLV (23-12, 10-6)
In addition to returning all five starters, including two-time MWC rebounding champion Jamie Smith, coach Kathy Olivier's squad also figures to get a boost from the arrival of 6-foot-3 Lenita Sanford, a former McDonalds All-American from Lynwood High (Calif.).

Sanford originally attended Trinity Valley Community College in Texas but suffered a knee injury and sat out the 2007-08 season. She then transferred to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida, where she averaged 7.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 53% from the floor. Sanford attended El Camino College in California during the 2009-10 school year, but did not play basketball.

"Lenita brings that intimidation factor," Olivier said. "She's a shot-blocker who has a mean streak about her. She's the type of player we've never really had, a physical player who we're really excited about having."

8. Colorado State (13-17, 5-11)
The Rams return four starters, including Kim Mestdagh, a second-team All-MWC pick last season, and junior forward Chatilla van Grinsven, who ranked second on the team in points, rebounds and blocks.

Mestdagh, a junior guard/forward, averaged 16.3 points last season while leading the MWC with 89 three-pointers.

"We need to get to the middle of the conference, and I think that's something we can do," said coach Kristen Holt, whose team finished eighth last season. "The one big thing that has really changed is the mentality of our kids. There was such a low-expectation kind of outlook when I came here (two years ago), but I'm not going to have to say much this year about finishing eighth last season. Our kids are motivated."

9. Air Force (3-27, 0-16)
Andrea Williams, a former assistant at South Florida, takes over as head coach at the Academy.

No stranger to the challenges of coaching at a service academy, Williams spent two seasons as an assistant at Navy, where she helped the Midshipmen win 29 games from 2002-04.

At Big East Conference member South Florida, Williams was part of a staff that guided the Bulls to the WNIT championship in 2008-09.

"I'm not going to shy away from the challenges associated with a service academy," Williams said. "There are plenty of talented and academically-qualified players out there that have the ability to play Mountain West Conference basketball. We're going to go into living rooms offering not only top caliber basketball, but a high-paying job in a well-trained field."

1. San Diego State (25-9, 11-5)
The defending conference tournament champion Aztecs must play their first five games of the season on the road. After a season-opening date at Long Beach State, a team that reached the Big West Conference tournament championship game last season, SDSU heads to perennial power Gonzaga, which won last year's West Coast Conference regular-season title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs then must travel to Oxford, Ohio, for three games in the CBE Classic, where their opponents include Wisconsin-Green Bay and IUPUI, a pair of teams that won 22 and 25 games, respectively, last season

"We better be ready to play, 'I'll tell you that," said coach Steve Fisher. "I think we'll be better prepared to play (early-season road games) than we were last year, and I think we'll play better. Whether that's going to be good enough to win is another matter. (But) we're not going to have to go through the learning curve of learning how to play at that level like we did last year, when we had two freshmen (Kawhi Leonard and Chase Tapley) and a junior college transfer (Malcolm Thomas)."

2. BYU (30-6, 13-3)
Coach Dave Rose's squad, which won its first NCAA Tournament game in 17 years last season, will enjoy the luxury of starting the same guard tandem --- Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery --- for the third straight season. And while Fredette, who received All-American honors last season, rightfully occupies a place in the spotlight, Emery has been no less crucial to the Cougars' success . Last season, Emery led the team with 85 three-point field goals and 91 steals. He also finished second in scoring, rebounding and assists.

"When you break it down, Jackson is one of the best, night in and night out," Rose said. "What people don't think about very often is that one of the things that makes Jimmer good is Jackson. They compliment each other so well. The things that each of them do very well are also very different."

3. New Mexico (30-5, 14-2)
For Lobos coach Steve Alford, it's like a present under the tree that can't be opened until New Year's Day. Former UCLA post player Drew Gordon, who transferred to New Mexico in January, will be eligible to play at the conclusion of the fall semester. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Gordon averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds with UCLA as a sophomore last season.

"It's never easy having a mid-semester transfer, so that's going to be an interesting dynamic," said Alford, whose team set a school record for victories last season while winning the regular-season conference title. "He's extremely talented. He gives us something that we haven't had -- a true power forward and a guy who can beat you inside-out. He's a big-time rebounder with a big body. It's something we've never had in the program since I've been at New Mexico."

4. UNLV (25-9, 11-5)
For those unaware, it should be remembered that UNLV started five underclassmen --- junior Tre'Von Willis, sophomores Oscar Bellfield, Brice Massamba and Chance Stanback and freshman Anthony Marshall --- in its first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Northern Iowa last season. It was the Rebels' third appearance in the tournament in the past four years.

"We've really got a young, veteran group after all the experience they gained," said coach Lon Kruger. "And with that said, we've only got two seniors this year, so I guess we're young again, but we're getting older."

5. Colorado State (16-16, 7-9)
In three seasons, coach Tim Miles has taken the Rams from zero conference wins in 2007-08 to four in 2008-09 and seven in 2009-10. Last season, CSU dropped a one-point decision to San Diego State in the opening round of the conference tournament, which the Aztecs eventually won.

"To me, losing is beyond being humbled, it's more like being humiliated," Miles said. "We went through a period where we had 11 players leave the program, because they didn't want to buy in to what we wanted. The guys that are here now want to be at Colorado State, and I think that's what is going to allow us to continue to grow and develop and improve. Our guys know they were 0-9 against the top four teams in this league last year; they want to be respected."

6. Utah (14-17, 7-9)
At 7-feet-3 and 255 pounds, Utes center David Foster is arguably the most imposing defensive player in the MWC. Foster is coming off a sophomore season in which he was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 4.0 blocks per game. He also set a single-season school record with 115 blocks, second-most in MWC history.

Nonetheless, coach Jim Boylen is convinced Foster is capable of becoming a much more complete player.

"He needs to improve offensively," Boylen said of Foster, who averaged 4.7 points per game last season. "Rebounding is obviously his strength, but he should be somewhere between 7-8 rebounds a game. He got a bunch of opportunities to score around the rim last year, but he didn't finish. If David Foster becomes a player who's averaging 10-12 points a game, we're going to be tough to beat."

7. TCU (13-19, 5-11)
As a sophomore last season, guard Ronnie Moss ranked 10th in the nation in assists (3.2 per game) and was fourth in the conference in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Moss' leadership will be no less critical this season for a team that features just one senior, but also includes the addition of a true point guard in Virginia Tech transfer Hank Thorns.

"Hank is going to help Ronnie tremendously," said TCU coach Jim Christian. "Ronnie needs to take some of the onus off himself in terms of being successful. He knows now that he can play, but can he be an integral part of our team winning? He's got as much physical talent as anybody I've ever coached. But now he has to understand what it truly takes to win, which means becoming a better defender and holding himself and everybody else to the standard that it takes to be successful."

8. Wyoming (10-21, 3-13)
In acquiring junior college transfer Brian Gibson, the Cowboys added immediate help on the boards, an area in which they endured their share of struggles last season. Wyoming finished eighth in the conference in rebounding margin last season at a minus -5.5 per game.

Gibson, who is 25 but is only considered a sophomore, was the leading junior college rebounder in the nation last season, averaging 14.6 per game at Delgado Community College in New Orleans.

"He's a big, physical kid who has a niche, and his niche is rebounding," said coach Heath Schroyer. "He has a great nose for the ball and he can go get it. There's no question that he's a guy who can really help us."

9. Air Force (10-21, 1-15)
The loss of 6-foot-11 center Sammy Schafer to the lingering effects of a concussion suffered last season has only been compounded by an injury to freshman Ethan Michael, who was being groomed as Schafer's backup. Michael suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during the offseason.

"It's hard enough to replace a 6-11 kid at a traditional (school), but it's even harder at the academies," said coach Jeff Reynolds. "He was such a versatile player. Not only was he good on the offensive end, he was extremely good on the defensive end, where he could go out and guard anybody. We have a couple of other skilled guys we're going to try at that spot, but because they're young they're going to have be thrown to the dogs, and in this league that's not easy."

Schafer's absence figures to place an even bigger onus on senior guard Evan Washington and senior forward Tom Fow. Washington led the Falcons in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season, while Fow finished with a team-high 45 three-pointers.

No. 10 Utah flexed its muscle in a big way in its 68-27 win at Iowa State on Saturday, posting its highest point total in 27 years and finishing with nearly 600 yards (593) total offense. Four Ute players finished with more than 100 all-purpose yards, but none was more impressive than senior wide receiver/kick returner Shaky Smithson.

Smithson, who came into the game as the MWC's leader in all-purpose yards with an average of 151.8 yards per game, nearly beat the Cyclones by himself in the first half, setting up a touchdown with a 78-yard punt return, throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Devonte Christopher and catching a career-long 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jordan Wynn, who finished 23-of-31 for 325 yards and two touchdowns.

Smithson finished with 261 all-purpose yards.

"Shaky is a dynamic football player," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "He's gained a lot of confidence and he's feeling very comfortable back there in the punt return game. He's got that special ability to make guys miss, which all great returners have."

Christopher, who posted his second 100-yard receiving game of the season (124), finished with 151 all-purpose yards. Wide receiver/kick returner Reggie Dunn, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, had 120 all-purpose yards, while running back Eddie Wide (two rushing touchdowns) accounted for 117. Dunn's kickoff return for a touchdown was Utah's first in six years.

Despite the win, Utah (5-0, 2-0 MWC) slipped to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, but remained at No 10 in the USA Today Coaches' poll.

Back on Track?

In putting the brakes on a four-game losing streak with its 24-21 win over San Diego State on Saturday, BYU also put the brakes on an Aztecs offense that had been averaging 509.5 yards per game, the seventh-best mark in the nation.

The Cougars (2-4, 1-1 MWC), who came into the game ranked last among the nation's 120 FBS teams in rush defense, held SDSU to minus-2 rushing yards in the first half and limited the Aztecs to 241 yards total offense.

The performance came on the heels of a shake-up in BYU's coaching staff earlier in the week, when assistant Jamie Hill was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator, a position assumed by head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

"We all saw them respond and that is gratifying as a coach," Mendenhall said. "I'm not willing to say we've arrived, but we did see a difference."

Offensively, the Cougars established season highs with 62 rushes for 271 yards.

"We didn't execute, we didn't stop the run and we didn't tackle," said SDSU coach Brady Hoke, whose team dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in MWC play after posting its best start in 29 years. "I think in the first 18 minutes of the game we pushed too hard to make something happen and we didn't wait for the game to come to us. When you do that, you get beat."

Surprise Party

Air Force (5-1, 3-0 MWC) turned the tables on Colorado State in Saturday's 49-27 win. The Falcons, who came into the game boasting the top rush offense in the nation, instead hurt the Rams with the pass as quarterback Tim Jefferson completed 5-of-9 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Air Force also got a touchdown pass from senior backup quarterback Ben Cochran.

Both of Jefferson's scoring passes went to Zach Kauth, who was filling in for wide receiver Kevin Fogler (knee).

The victory gave Air Force, which entered the game ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, the Ram-Falcon Trophy for the 18th time in the series.

"You like to thrash a Front Range rival," said Kauth, who had three catches for 85 yards.

The Rams (1-5, 0-2 MWC), who hadn't rushed for more than 108 yards in a game this season and ranked last in the nation in rush offense, finished with 285 yards on the ground against the Falcons. Senior Leonard Mason, filling in for starting running back Raymond Carter (knee), finished with a career-high 139 yards on 22 carries.

Air Force, enjoying its first ranking in either poll since 2003, moved up to No. 23 in both polls.

Nowhere to Hide

TCU's defense, which has ranked No. 1 in the nation each of the past two seasons, recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1955 in Saturday's 45-0 win over Wyoming. The Horned Frogs, who came into the contest ranked No. 5 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls, have eight shutouts in Gary Patterson's 10 seasons as head coach.

TCU's current streak of holding its opponent scoreless has now reached 131:24 over the last three games. SMU scored a touchdown with 11:24 to play in the game in a 41-24 TCU win in Dallas on Sept. 24. For the second straight week, the Horned Frogs (6-0, 2-0 MWC) held an opponent under 200 yards in total offense. Wyoming finished with 191 total yards a week after Colorado State managed just 161 in a 27-0 loss to TCU.

"It's a great accomplishment," said defensive end Wayne Daniels. "Coach Patterson was talking to us earlier in the week about being the best defense we can be. With this being our second shut out, I guess we're just picking up momentum."

In TCU, the Cowboys were facing their third Top 5-ranked team this season. Wyoming (2-4, 0-2 MWC) was forced to play without starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who missed the game due to an unspecified injury and did not make the trip to Fort Worth.

"As advertised, they are everything we thought they were," said Cowboys coach Dave Christensen. "They are an experienced football team and a very good football team. Obviously they have a lot of talent with 16 starting seniors. They are every bit as good as some of the teams we have faced this year and we have faced a few."

TCU jumped up to No. 4 in the AP poll, but remained at No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches' poll.

A Look at the Future

UNLV (1-5, 1-1 MWC), which will play nine teams this season that participated in bowl games last year, suffered its worst loss of the season in falling 49-10 at West Virginia on Saturday.

"Their speed advantage at the skill positions was really evident," Rebels coach Bobby Hauck said told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "They made us look like a not-very-fast, banged-up football team, which is kind of what we are."

UNLV played 12 freshmen against the Mountaineers.

"We're trying to grow for the future, but we're not giving up on our season," Hauck told the Review-Journal. "We're trying to win games. So we want to do both. Our young guys are doing a good job, and we're going to evaluate the effort level in the second half with a microscope. The guys that played hardest and best in the second half are the guys who are going to start next week."

Tough Times

New Mexico (0-6, 0-2 MWC) held its first halftime lead of the season, but Tyler Stampler's 22-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining gave New Mexico State a 16-14 victory over the Lobos on Saturday.

True freshman quarterback Stump Godfrey made his debut for the Lobos, who have used all four quarterbacks on their roster this season, including true freshman Taurean Austin.

Junior quarterback Brad Gruner, who started the game, completed 10-of-20 passes for 145 yards for the Lobos. Bryan Williams had four catches for 97 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown catch.

"Tough loss," Lobos coach Mike Locksley told the Albuquerque Journal, "one that will sit in our craw for the next two weeks. The guys got the game into the fourth quarter, which is something we've asked of them. But we didn't make the plays that we needed to make to win the game."

• BYU is ranked 11th and 12th in the latest NSCAA and Soccer America Top 25 polls, respectively. New Mexico is ranked 25th in the Soccer America poll.

• The first NCAA RPI report was released on Tuesday. BYU leads the way with an RPI of 21, followed by New Mexico (43) and TCU (115).

• All eight MWC women's soccer teams began league action last week. BYU defeated Wyoming (4-1), New Mexico earned a win over UNLV (4-0), San Diego State downed TCU in double overtime (1-0) and Utah knocked off Air Force (1-0).

• New Mexico is riding a four-match unbeaten streak (3-0-1), while BYU has won three consecutive contests.

• With 55 points this season, Air Force has doubled its output from 2009 (26). The Falcons have tallied 18 goals, the most by the squad since 2002, and 19 assists, the most since 2001. Air Force's 0.75 goals against average is the team's best mark since its 1995 campaign.

• UNLV forward Ashleigh Shoughro leads the Conference in points (21), goals (53) and shots per game (4.42).

• Wyoming's Liz O'Reilly paces the MWC in assists (6) and assists per game (0.46).

• BYU's Jennie Marshall is tied for second in the MWC with seven goals this season, while teammate Kassidy Shumway is tied for second in the league with five assists.

• UNM's Jennifer Williams recorded the second hat trick of her career to lead the Lobos to a 4-0 victory over UNLV last Friday in Las Vegas. She netted three goals, all in the second half, and added an assist to finish the contest with seven points. William's previous hat trick came on Aug. 30, 2009, when she found the back of the net three times and had two assists in a 6-2 victory over Illinois State in Albuquerque, N.M.

• San Diego State's Aubree Southwick pitched a shutout in San Diego State's league opener last Friday, helping the Aztecs defeat the Horned Frogs, 1-0, in double overtime. The senior goalie collected three saves on 15 TCU shot attempts in 107:55 minutes of action. With the victory, Southwick has a program-record 24 shutouts in her collegiate career. She leads the MWC with 68 saves during the 2010 campaign.

• TCU leads the Conference in points (85), goals (31), assists (23) and shot attempts (269).

• Utah netminder Hannah Turpen notched a shutout against at Air Force last Friday, saving all six of the shot attempts she faced in the Utes' 1-0 victory. The win marked Turpen's first shutout of the season and the eighth of her collegiate career.

The Week Ahead

• The second week of MWC action kicks off on Friday as UNLV travels to TCU for a 7 p.m. CT match. The Rebels own a 4-1-1 all-time advantage in the series. At their last meeting on Oct. 23, 2009, the Horned Frogs found the win column vs. UNLV for the first time in program history last season, recording a 3-2 victory in Las Vegas.

• Wyoming and Utah meet in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. MT on Friday. The Utes are 17-1-0 all-time against the Cowgirls, including a 7-0 record at home against Wyoming. Utah's only loss to the Cowgirls came in a 4-1 decision in Laramie in 2007.

• League action continues on Saturday as New Mexico plays host to San Diego State. The Aztecs enter the contest with an eight-game win streak vs. MWC foes and are unbeaten in their last 10 matches against league opponents (8-0-2). SDSU leads the series, 7-4-6, including a 3-1 victory over the Lobos last season in San Diego. The squads' last meeting (2008) in Albuquerque resulted in a 1-1 double-overtime tie.

• BYU entertains Air Force at 7 p.m. MT on Saturday to wrap up the week's slate. The Cougars lead the series 13-1-1 following last year's 3-0 victory in Colorado Springs. The match will be televised live on BYU-TV and will re-air on the The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network on Sun., Oct.10, at 2 p.m. MT.

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COLORADO STATE (1-4, 0-1 MWC) at RV/No. 25 AIR FORCE (4-1, 2-0 MWC), Noon MT
TV: The Mtn. HD

The lowdown: The winner takes home the Ram-Falcon Trophy. Air Force has won the trophy 17 times, while Colorado State has won it 13 times. Air Force is ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press poll, the first time the Falcons have made an appearance in either the AP or USA Today Coaches' polls since 2003. Air Force won last year's meeting in Fort Collins, 34-16. The Falcons have won four straight in the series, which began in 1957.

Colorado State: The Rams, who dropped a 27-0 decision last week to No. 5 TCU, are facing back-to-back ranked teams for the first time since 2004 (N0. 1 USC, No. 22 Minnesota). CSU is looking for its first win at Falcon Stadium since 2002. Quarterback Pete Thomas needs only eight passing yards to eclipse the freshman school record of 1,204 set by Caleb Hanie in 2004. With starting running back Raymond Carter out of the lineup with a knee injury suffered against TCU, the Rams, who rank last in the nation among FBS teams in rushing (56.2 ypg) are likely to take a running back-by-committee approach with seniors John Mosure and Leonard Mason, redshirt freshman Chris Nwoke and true freshman Tony Drake. "We need something," running backs coach Anthoney Hill told The Coloradoan. "We need somebody that can give us a spark and make something happen."

Air Force: In last year's meeting with CSU, the Falcons finished with nearly 400 total yards, including 271 on the ground. TCU last week rushed for 364 yards against the Rams. Now comes Air Force, which boasts the No. 1 rushing offense in the nation at 376.3 yards per game. Fullback Jared Tew, running back Asher Clark and quarterback Tim Jefferson are averaging a combined 250.8 yards rushing per game. Defensively, Air Force is one of only two teams in the nation (Oregon) not to have allowed a point in the fourth quarter this season, while its offense has scored 54. The Falcons are allowing an average of 5.4 points in the second half. "We want to step up to a level where we never just give into a team," nose guard Ryan Gardner told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "We want them to feel our pressure."

UNLV (1-4, 1-1 MWC) at WEST VIRGINIA (3-1, 0-0 BIG EAST), 3:30 P.M. ET
TV: Big East Network/KVVU/ESPN Game Plan

The lowdown: The game not only marks the first meeting between the schools, but UNLV's first game against a school from the Big East Conference. The Rebels have not ventured this far east since playing at Miami in 1972. West Virginia is 4-2-1 against MWC teams and is riding a 15-game home non-conference winning streak.

UNLV: The Rebels dropped a 44-26 decision to then No. 25-ranked Nevada last week. Wide receiver Phillip Payne had eight catches for a career-high 170 yards, including a personal-best 65-yard reception. Quarterback Omar Clayton moved into third place on the school's career passing list with 5,490 yards. The Rebels have endured their share of struggles on both sides of the ball, ranking 1110th among the nation's 120 FBS teams in total offense and 101st in scoring defense. The Mountaineers are one of nine teams UNLV faces this season that participated in bowl games last year. "When you're trying to build things, it's difficult to play the type of schedule we've played," Hauck said. "When it's uphill every week, it's hard."

West Virginia: The Mountaineers, who were idle last week, held a ranking of No. 21 in the nation before dropping a 20-14 decision at No. 15 LSU on Sept. 25. Paced by running back Noel Devine, a Heisman Trophy candidate averaging 97.8 yards per game, West Virginia is 15-3 when Devine rushes for at least 100 yards. Devine ranks No. 1 nationally among active players in career rushing yards, No. 4 in all-purpose yards and No. 5 in yards per carry. The question is whether Devine will play. He suffered a toe injury against LSU and is questionable for Saturday's game. "He is trying to get on the mend; he has a bone bruise under his toe," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "It's a bone bruise, so when he pivots, that aches. ... A bone is not like a muscle or a joint, but hopefully he will be good."

SAN DIEGO STATE (3-1, 0-0 MWC) at BYU (1-4, 0-1 MWC), 4 P.M. MT
TV: The Mtn. HD.

The lowdown: BYU has won four straight and eight of its last nine against San Diego State. The Cougars have won seven of the last eight in Provo by an average of 21 points. The Aztecs have not won in Provo since 2000 (16-13).

San Diego State: The Aztecs, who were idle last week, are off to their best start since 1993 and have matched their best four-game record in the last 29 seasons. SDSU completed non-conference play with a 41-7 victory over Utah State on Sept. 25. Senior wide receiver Vincent Brown caught five passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while junior quarterback Ryan Lindley posted his third 300-yard passing day of the season, completing 17-of-24 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns. True freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, who has two 100-yard games to his credit this season, finished with 89 yards and a touchdown. The Aztecs are one of six teams in the nation that rank among the top 25 in scoring offense (15th, 38.25 ppg), total offense (7th, 509.5 ypg), total defense (22nd, 296.0 ypg) and scoring defense (9th, 13.75 ppg). SDSU ranks 1st in the MWC in pass offense, total offense, pass efficiency defense and punting. "We're not satisfied; we want to be 4-0," said defensive back Andrew Preston. "Three and one is better than 2-2 and all that, but we want to be 4-0. We're glad that non-conference is over and we can get into conference play. We want to go out and win a Mountain West Conference championship."

BYU: The Cougars, who are coming off a 31-16 loss at Utah State, have lost four straight for the first time since 1993 and are 1-4 for the first time in 37 years. BYU has not lost five in row since dropping the final two games of the 1990 season and the first two of the '91 campaign. The Cougars have struggled across the board. Among the nation's 120 FBS teams, BYU ranks 120th in rush defense, 101st in scoring defense, 118th in passing efficiency, 114th in scoring offense and 96th in total offense. The Cougars could be without as many as five defensive starters for the game. Linebacker Jordan Pendleton is expected to miss 2-6 weeks after spraining his knee at Utah State, while safety Andrew Rich has been deemed as "possible" this week after suffering an upper-arm contusion and a shoulder stinger last week. Safety Steven Thomas is not expected to return from a concussion suffered against Florida State in Week 3, and linebacker Jameson Frazier is out for a month with a broken thumb. Nose tackle Romney Fuga (knee) is out for the season. "I have learned more the past four weeks, than I think I have learned in the previous five years combined," coach Bronco Mendenhall told the Salt Lake Tribune. "Because, number one, we are not accustomed to it. And number two, it wasn't expected, at least to this level ... So it has been a phenomenal learning experience, one I wouldn't like to go through multiple times."

No. 10/10 UTAH (4-0, 2-0 MWC) at IOWA STATE (3-2, 1-1 BIG 12), 6 P.M. CT
TV: Fox College Sports

The lowdown: Utah jumped to No. 10 this week in both polls, moving up three places in the Associated Press poll and two spots in the USA Today Coaches' poll. It marks the Utes' highest ranking in two seasons. Utah, which finished the 2008 season ranked No. 2 in the nation, did not crack the top 10 until Oct. 26 that year. While Iowa State leads the series 4-0, all four games were played in the 1970s. The last time the Cyclones played in MWC opponent was in 2008, when they lost to UNLV 34-31 in Las Vegas.

Utah: The Utes are ranked in the top 10 in the nation in both scoring offense (44.2 ppg, tied for No. 6) and scoring defense (12.8 ppg, No. 7). Utah is also ranked No. 7 in total defense (246.8 yards per game), No. 7 in pass efficiency offense (172.8) and No. 11 in rushing defense (86.8 ypg). The defense has not allowed a touchdown in the last five quarters and has yielded just three TDs in the last 16 quarters. In their last outing, a 56-3 rout of San Jose State, the Utes limited the Spartans to seven first downs and 172 total yards. The Utes are 28-48-3 all-time against the Big 12. In the past 20 years, Utah is 3-2 against the Big 12, with wins over Kansas in 1993 and 1996, a win over Texas A&M in 2004, and losses to Nebraska in 1992 and Texas A&M in 2003. The Utes have more wins against BCS schools than any other non-automatic qualifier. Since the BCS began in 1998, the Utes own 20 wins against BCS opponents and are 20-11 "They are very similar to Pitt," coach Kyle Whittingham said of the Cyclones (Utah beat Pittsburgh 27-24 in overtime in its season opener). "Their personnel is what you see in a typical Big 12 football team. They are big up front on offense and have hard-running tailbacks. They employ tight ends on nearly every snap. Their defense is active - their secondary in particular is very good. It's about what you expect from a Big 12 football team."

Iowa State: The Cyclones are coming off a 52-38 win at home against Texas Tech in which they finished with a season-high 441 yards total offense. ISU had two running backs (Alexander Robinson, 103) and Shontrelle Johnson, 102) surpass the 100-yard mark in the same game for the first time since 2004. Quarterback Austen Arnaud completed 20-of-28 passes for 190 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, as the Cyclones staged their best offensive output since posting a 55-22 Big 8 Conference win against Kansas State in 1972. It was the Cyclones' most points in a game since a 58-6 win against nonconference Tennessee Tech in 2002. Defensively, ISU ceded 508 total yards against Texas Tech, including five passing touchdowns. Opponents are averaging 384.4 total yards against the Cyclones. "It (could) be a big showcase," said Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, whose team is 9-0 when limiting opponents to fewer than 24 points, but just 1-8 when allowing more than 24 points.

NEW MEXICO (0-5, 0-2 MWC) at NEW MEXICO STATE (0-4, 0-1 WAC), 6 P.M. MT
TV: AggieVision/ESPN Game Plan

The lowdown: This is the 101st meeting in a series that began in 1894. New Mexico, which leads the series 66-29-5, had won eight straight against the Aggies before dropping a 3-point decision last year. New Mexico has won three straight games in Las Cruces.

New Mexico: The Lobos are awaiting word on the status of sophomore quarterback B.R. Holbrook, who resumed practicing this week after undergoing exploratory knee surgery on Sept. 22. If Holbrook is cleared by doctors to play on Friday, he will start against the Aggies. Holbrook's last start came in a Week 2 loss to Texas Tech, a game in which the Lobos finished with 433 total yards. With true freshman Taurean Austin and junior Brad Gruner sharing the duties in Holbrook's absence, New Mexico has failed to eclipse the 300-yard mark. "It's a huge difference," coach Mike Locksley told the Albuquerque Journal. "It allows us to go into a game with a playbook full of plays, to be able to execute tempos and do all the different things this offense is versed to do. When you play a young freshman quarterback for the sake of him going out and being able to execute, you obviously condense what you do. You can only execute so many things with his lack of experience."

New Mexico State: The Aggies have won back-to-back games in the series just once since 1969, the victories coming in 1988-99. New Mexico State is coming off a 59-0 loss to then No. 3 Boise State in which it surrendered 602 total yards and an average of 9.7 yards per play. New Mexico State could be without quarterback Matt Christian, who left last week's game with a sprained shoulder. If Christian is unable to play, redshirt freshman Tanner Rust would make his first career start. "I would say the odds are against (Christian), but never say never," coach DeWayne Walker told the Las Cruces Sun News. "He's close enough to where, if we could have a little luck in terms of getting him ready for the game, we're definitely going to bank on that before kickoff."

TheMWC.com is the place to be for all 2010 MWC Men's and Women's Basketball Media Day activities. Join the action online Tuesday, October 12 and Wednesday, October 13 as the coaches gather to discuss the 2010-11 season at The Mtn. studios in Denver.

In addition to video of one-on-one interviews with each of the men's and women's basketball coaches, TheMWC.com will feature blogs and photos throughout the event to provide fans with an inside look at the 2010-11 season. Live updates and photos of the event can also be obtained via the Conference's Facebook and Twitter pages.

For a complete MWC Basketball Media Day experience, fans should follow this easy three-step program:

Step 1: Between now and Tuesday morning, submit questions to the head men's and women's coaches of your favorite MWC teams by clicking HERE. A random selection of fan questions will be included in one-on-one interviews during media days. Check out TheMWC.com later in the week to watch video clips of your favorite head coach and see if your question was one of those chosen.

Step 2: Check out "Inside the MWC," the official blog of the Mountain West Conference, beginning on Tuesday, October 12. Mick McGrane, the MWC Correspondent, will provide reports as they come in from the 2010 Men's and Women's Basketball Media Day events, including the media's preseason all-Conference selections and the teams' predicted order of finish.

Step 3: Share your favorite MWC men's or women's basketball memory and you can win. It's simple: become a fan of the league's official Facebook page by clicking "Like" at the top of the page, then post your story to the 2010 MWC Basketball Media Day wall! Your fellow fans will vote for their favorite story by clicking the "like" button for that wall post. Votes will be accepted until 5 p.m. MT on Friday, October 15, and the men's and women's stories with the most votes will win autographed MWC basketballs, signed by all nine head men's and women's basketball coaches!

This contest is open to all fans of the Mountain West Conference Facebook page, excluding those who are employees of a member institution or are involved with the administration and/or execution of the contest. The MWC encourages camaraderie and team spirit, but prohibits the use of objectionable content, such as alcohol, smoking, firearms, violence or nudity, and well as content that is defamatory to any group or individual and/or violates the law.

The Mtn.'s Coverage of 2010-11 MWC Basketball Media Day
The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network will provide media day updates on the network's Web site, TheMtn.tv, and will broadcast men's and women's preview shows at 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday, October 12 and Wednesday, October 13, respectively. In addition, The Mtn. will be producing three shows with the head men's and women's basketball coaches, as well as members of The Mtn. announce team. Each of those programs will air later in October, so visit TheMtn.tv for programming information.

• And ... if you can't make it out to your favorite MWC volleyball arena for a match or want to see how other teams are doing, you can be one of the many fans watching along at home on The Mtn., CBS College Sports or BYU-TV. Thursday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. (PT), Wyoming is at UNLV on The Mtn. ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 or check with your local cable operator for the channel listing in your area ... The MWC ranks second in the nation with 19 nationally-televised matches this season.

• Three MWC student-athletes are among the 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen, TCU's Christy Hudson and Wyoming's JennaRae Jester are on the list for their excellence on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. This list gets narrowed down to 10 in the next few weeks. Congratulations, Jade, Christy and JennaRae!

• Air Force returns home for the first time since Aug. 28 when the Falcons host No. 17 Colorado State on Thursday night and Wyoming on Saturday night. AFA has been on the road for 13 consecutive matches, along the way they made stops non-conference stops for tournaments at Memphis and academy-rival Army ... This season the Falcons, under the direction of new head coach Matt McShane, are playing in the intimate confines of Falcon Court at East Gym after five seasons in Clune Arena ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.62 kills per set.

• BYU heads out on the road for its next three matches. The Cougars will travel to California for an MWC match-up with San Diego State on Thursday night, then return to Utah for two in-state non-conference matches at Utah Valley on Saturday and Weber State on Tuesday ... Sophomore Nicole Warner is ranked 48th in the nation with 1.22 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 8.87 assists and 0.26 service aces per set.

• No. 17 Colorado State (13-2) sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 3-0 as the Rams head out on the road to face Air Force on Thursday night and UNLV on Saturday afternoon ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is third in the nation with 1.62 blocks per set and leads the MWC in hitting percentage at a .365 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.36 per set.

•New Mexico is in a four-way tie for second place at 2-1 in Mountain West Conference action and face travel partner TCU on Friday night in Fort Worth for the Lobos' lone match of the week ... After a loss at San Diego State to start conference competition, head coach Jeff Nelson played fruit basket upset with his starting line-up by moving middle blocker Ashley Rhoades to the outside, outside Kelly Williamson to the right-side and putting Taylor Hadfield back in the middle, along with some other adjustments. It worked as UNM picked up two home wins with the new look front row ... Senior Lisa Meeter continues to climb the conference career statistical charts. The all-around player for UNM has 101 career service aces and is closing in on 1,000 career kills (981) and 1,000 career digs (975).

• San Diego State will host BYU (Thursday) and Utah (Saturday) this week and trying to find a solution to fill the spot open by injured senior Lauren Salisbury. Salisbury suffered a wrist injury in practice last week and missed the Aztecs trip to the north Front Range. SDSU almost pulled the upset (3-2) against then-No. 18 Colorado State in Moby Arena last Thursday without Salisbury ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists per set (10.52) and ranks 48th in the nation ... Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks third in the league with 1.29 blocks per set.

• TCU is one of the teams involved in the four-way tie for second in the conference. The Horned Frogs host New Mexico on Friday night ... TCU suffered an early season loss when setter Megan Munce suffered a leg injury and will be out for the remainder of the season. Munce led the MWC in service aces each of the last two seasons. Sophomore Meghan Horio has stepped in to the setter position ... Horio has the two Hester sisters to pick from for an attack. Irene, a senior, leads the league in kills per set with 3.68, while junior Kristen is third in hitting percentage at .350.

• UNLV is hoping a little Polynesian flavoring will kick up the crowd for Thursday's televised match against Wyoming. It is Hawaiian Civic Club Night at Cox Pavilion ... Saturday's match against No. 17 Colorado State is 'Dig Pink' Day as the Rebels promote breast cancer awareness ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks among the top 10 in the conference in kills per set (3.19), while classmate Kela Lau Hee is among the league's dig leaders with 3.61 per set.

• Utah takes a trip to San Diego this week. The Utes will play a non-conference match against No. 23 San Diego on Thursday, before hopping across town for an MWC match-up with San Diego State. Utah is part of the four-way tie for second in the league standings ... Freshman Erin Redd is second in the league in attack percentage at .350 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is third in kills per set with 3.53 and second in points at 4.13 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently eighth with 1,335 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.02 average per set.

•Wyoming is off to its best start in program history at 16-2. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run and are currently part of the four-way tie for second in the MWC standings. Wyoming will play a nationally-televised match at UNLV on Thursday before taking on Air Force on Saturday night in Colorado Springs ... Current MWC Player of the Week Jodi Purdy leads the MWC in service aces with 27 and is third in points per set (4.13) and fourth in kills per set (3.30) ... Three Cowgirls round out the Top 10 in MWC hitting percentage - Camille Coffman (.284), Reese Roehrkasse (.279) and JennaRae Jester (.273) ... Jester also is seventh in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.49 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.62.

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Already, TCU and future MWC member Boise State have been lowered one spot in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls, with the Horned Frogs dropping from No. 4 to No. 5 in the AP poll, and the Broncos falling from No. 3 to No. 4 in both polls.

TCU's drop came in the aftermath of a 41-24 win at SMU, whose only other loss this season came against Texas Tech. Boise State, meanwhile, was leap-frogged by Oregon following the Ducks' win over Stanford last week. The Broncos' demotion came in the wake of a 59-0 victory over New Mexico State.

Never mind that both TCU and Boise State have yet to lose, an irreconcilable sin that, according to popular opinion, will leave them with nothing to play for save a sliver of pride and some loose change. Never mind, too, that Boise State has beaten more ranked teams than Oregon, or that one of the Ducks' wins came against Arizona State (2-3), a team that lost to Oregon State last week. TCU and Boise State have both beaten Oregon State. The Beavers are still receiving 12 votes in the AP poll (deservedly so), but what's surprising is Baylor's 10 votes. The Bears are 4-1 with victories over zero ranked opponents and teams with a combined record of 7-17, and that includes 2-2 FCS member Sam Houston State. Baylor's one loss? TCU, 45-10. The Horned Frogs led 35-3 at the half and let off the gas pedal in the second half or the score would have been a lot worse.

Perhaps you weren't aware that Boise State's strength of schedule is higher than that of Oregon, which it beat in both 2009 and 2008. The Broncos' strength of schedule is also higher than that of Ohio State, Nebraska and Auburn. That would be the same Nebraska, of course, that following its stirring 17-3 home win over South Dakota State (a winless FCS school) in Week 4, actually garnered more points in the Coaches' poll the following week.

Welcome to the world of the non-automatic qualifier, where the line between fortune and failure is as blurred as the BCS' eyesight.

Despite being idle last week, Utah jumped two spots this week to No. 10 in both polls, its highest ranking since finishing No. 2 in the AP poll during their undefeated 2008 season.

Make no mistake. The unbeaten Utes, and the remainder of the MWC, are delighted with their rise in the polls. Yet Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, whose team received a pat on the back and a shrug of the shoulders from the BCS in being denied a chance to play for a national championship in both 2004 and 2008, knows full well there is a better way to do business.

"There's really not a lot of rhyme or reason some weeks what goes on," Whittingham said. "What happens to your team is more dependent upon what happens to other teams. That's just how it is. Until there's a playoff system, I don't think anything is going to be real accurate. I think there should be a playoff system. Ranking teams and deciding by popular vote who's best, I don't buy that."

TCU held its ground at No. 5 in both polls following last week's 27-0 win at Colorado State. Meanwhile, Air Force, which ended a seven-game losing streak against Navy on Saturday to improve to 4-1 (2-0 MWC), is ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press poll. The Falcons, whose only setback came in a three-point decision at No. 7 Oklahoma, haven't been ranked in either the AP or USA Today Coaches' polls since Oct. 4, 2003.

"I still think there's a little bit of a stigma that says you have to be in one of these six (automatic-qualifying BCS) leagues," said Air Force coach Troy Calhoun. "If you're in one of those six leagues and you win, you're in good shape. If you're not in one of those six leagues, you have to win by 70 points and you may still drop. That may be oversimplifying it a little bit, but I think that's still the prevailing perception that's out there."

Too often, perception is confused with reality. A lesson that's proving ever more difficult to grasp by the BCS.

Air Force, which ended a seven-game losing streak against Navy on Saturday to improve to 4-1 (2-0 MWC), is ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press poll. The Falcons haven't been ranked in either the AP or USA Today Coaches' poll since Oct. 4, 2003. Air Force is receiving the second-highest number of votes in the Coaches' poll.

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves," quarterback Tim Jefferson told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "It's not the end of the season. We've still got seven games left in the season. I'm going to stay modest, and the rest of the team will."

Saturday's win did not come without a cost. Coach Troy Calhoun said inside linebacker Brady Amack, who led the team in tackles through the first four weeks of the season, may have suffered a fractured ankle.

Movin' On Up

Despite being idle on Saturday, Utah, which visits Iowa State this week, jumped to No. 10 in both polls. The ranking is the Utes' highest since finishing No. 2 during their undefeated 2008 season.

"As I've said many times, to me the most important thing is the show of respect for our players and our team across the country," said coach Kyle Whittingham. "It's still very early in the season. We have a lot of football left and don't get caught up in that at this point. As far as how others view the program, like recruiting, that's a positive but not our focus. Our focus is the task at hand. If you get caught up in where you are it's a distraction. We try to put it on the back burner for now."

Beware of Bears

San Diego State (3-1, 0-0 MWC) is off to its best start in 29 years. BYU (1-4), meanwhile, is off to its worst start since 1973. The Cougars are coming off a 31-16 loss to Utah State, a team the Aztecs defeated 41-7 on Sept. 26.

Nonetheless, SDSU head coach Brady Hoke, who coached alongside BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall when the two were assistants at Oregon State in 1989-90, knows better than to take the bait when discussing a team that has beaten the Aztecs five consecutive times and eight of the last 10. The teams meet Saturday at BYU.

"They have a tremendous staff and a head coach that I know very well," Hoke told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "He's a fighting guy. This is a program that has so much pride. ...Right now, they are a wounded bear, and I don't like fighting with bears."

The Puzzling Business of the Polls

One week after dropping a spot in the AP poll despite winning at SMU, the TCU Horned Frogs remained No. 5 in both polls following Saturday's 27-0 victory at Colorado State.

A similar fate befell future MWC member Boise State this week. Despite winning 59-0 at New Mexico State, the Broncos dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 in both polls when they were leap-frogged by Oregon, a 52-31 winner over Stanford.

"Last week, everybody thought it wasn't enough style points against a really good SMU team and nobody else had any, either," said TCU coach Gary Patterson. "As close as it is in college football, you need to make sure that you go win, because that's the only thing we have control over. We don't have control over the audience, the media, or anybody else that decides all of that other stuff. We've just got to go win."

Hold That Line

In the wake of surrendering 346 yards rushing in Saturday's loss to TCU, Colorado State this week will be paired against an Air Force squad that ranks No. 1 in the nation with an average of 373.60 yards rushing per game.

"When you play a team like Air Force...they are unique," said coach Steve Fairchild. "I like to go with our (No. 1) offense vs. our (No. 1) defense during the week, because I think that a competitive speed of the game is necessary. We can't do as much of that this week obviously, just because we can't simulate the other side of the ball as well as we would like.

"It's a big week for us with the scout teams, and it's a big week for us at practice, just because you're not going to have looks at things you've seen before or seen a lot of. It's hard to prepare for, there's no question."

Meanwhile, Fairchild said running back Raymond Carter, the team's leading rusher, is likely to miss Saturday's game because of knee injury. Fairchild said he did not expect Carter to miss the rest of the season.

Tricks Turn Into Treats

Wyoming put the brakes on a three-game losing streak with Saturday's 20-15 win at Toledo. The Pokes were anything but conventional, scoring on a touchdown pass by wide receiver David Leonard and using a fake field goal and fake punt to convert on fourth down. Both plays led to field goals.

"We had a few tricks up our sleeve," coach Dave Christensen told the Casper Star-Tribune. "We're a football team that's looking for ways to make things happen, and where we're at now, we've got to be creative."

Leonard, who threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to fellow wide receiver Chris McNeill, turned in his most productive game of the season. He caught seven passes for 62 yards and now has 126 career receptions, the 10th-best mark in Wyoming history.

"It was fourth grade when I (last threw) a halfback pass," Leonard said. "I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but as long as I got it to him we were going to be all right. I thought Chris was going to shoot it down with a shotgun, it was such a duck. But it got there."

Back to Square One?

If New Mexico sophomore quarterback B.R. Holbrook is cleared to play, he will start this week's game against New Mexico State. Holbrook underwent exploratory surgery on his left knee on Sept. 22 after starting the team's first three games.

True freshman quarterback Taurean Austin, who has started the last two weeks for the Lobos, left the game after injuring his ankle in the third quarter of Saturday's loss to UTEP. Austin, whose status for this week's game has yet to be determined, was replaced by junior Brad Gruner, who missed the team's game against UNLV on Sept. 25 because of a back injury.

"We're hopeful B.R. is back," coach Mike Locksley told the Albuquerque Journal. "There is a chance he will be available for us. We have to see where we are with the injuries at quarterback position, and we'll make that call (who starts) as we get into preparation for next week's game."

TCU's Del Conte Honored

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte has been presented the 2010 Bobby Dodd Division I-A Athletic Director's Award.

The Bobby Dodd Foundation recognized Del Conte for his support last season in the TCU football program posting a 12-1 record, No. 6 final ranking and the school's first-ever BCS appearance. Horned Frog coach Gary Patterson was honored as the 2009 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year.

In his first year on campus, Del Conte saw TCU set a single-season school record with six conference championships (football, men's swimming and diving, women's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis and baseball) while also winning a national title (rifle). Fifteen of TCU's 20 sports in 2009-10 were represented in NCAA postseason play and 12 sports were nationally ranked.

At which point, of course, I was presented with a rebuttal that still ranks, for me, No. 1 among the most astounding responses to escape a football coach's lips.

"Well," he began, stroking his chin as though I'd just challenged his knowledge of quantum physics, "if all you're going to do is base what we've done on statistics, then, no, we're not very good."

In that I was unable to base their performance on tight-rope walking or skydiving, I told him that I really had little else to go on, particularly in light of the fact that his team was nine games into a 12-game season.

"Then I guess that's your prerogative," he said, disappearing into the locker room.

Numbers don't lie. They can be skewed, massaged, manipulated and presented to appear misleading, but they're terrible liars.

Which, naturally, brings us to the BCS.

In its bid to become the seventh conference eligible to automatically qualify for a BCS bowl game, the Mountain West must meet three criteria (none of which, surprisingly enough, include juggling machetes while rescuing the occupants of a burning building):

1. The conference must finish among the top six in a listing of the average of each conference's highest ranked team at the end of each regular season.

2. The conference must finish among the top six in a listing of the average computer rankings of every conference's full roster of teams at the end of each regular season.

3. The conference must accumulate a score of at least 50 percent of the highest ranking conference's score in the Adjusted Top-25 Performance Ranking, which measures how many teams each conference placed in the BCS top 25 and adjusts for conference size.

Halfway through a four-year evaluation period that began in 2008, the Mountain West meets No. 1 and No. 3, and is making strides toward clearing hurdle No. 2. The argument that the MWC's lesser-performing teams are preventing it from gaining AQ status? Let's look at the numbers, which, again, are abject failures when it comes to fibbing.

For a cup of day-old decaf and tickets to this week's Randolph-Macon vs. Emory and Henry game, which conference's bottom three teams from 2008-present had a worse record than those of the MWC? If you said the Pac-10, which is a robust 5-7 against the MWC since 2008 and is ranked No. 2 in this week's ESPN conference power rankings, give my best to Emory and Henry. From 2008-present, the AQ Pac-10's bottom two teams have a combined winning percentage of .161 (9-47). The Pac-10's bottom three teams have also been worse than the MWC during that time (19-64).

More numbers? From 2007-2010, the MWC's winning percentage vs. automatic-qualifying BCS is better than that of the Big Ten, ACC and Big East, which, for those keeping score, has exactly zero teams currently ranked in either the AP or USA Today Coaches' Top 25 polls.

Meanwhile, conference members TCU and Utah are two of just six teams in the nation to have won 27 or more games since the beginning of the 2008 season.

Then again, what do I know? As I once learned from a certain defensive coordinator, basing performance strictly on hard data is to fall victim to misperception.

Seems the BCS and I suffer from the same malady.