Tim Jefferson can boast of being the all-time winningest quarterback in Air Force history. In men's basketball, no one in the Mountain West last season scored more points than Falcons' junior guard Michael Lyons.

As we honor our service men and women this Veteran's Day, let's talk about Pat Everson. But don't bother checking a boxscore. If you want to find Everson, look up. Way up.

While the accomplishments of athletes like Jefferson and Lyons are well-chronicled in the annals of Air Force athletics, it's unlikely that either will ever top the feat accomplished by Everson and 68 of his closest friends three months ago.

In August, 15,300 feet above Vance Brand Municipal Airport in Longmont, Colo., 69 skydivers leaped from planes in pursuit of a Colorado state record that organizer Jim McCormick had been chasing for three years. The previous record was 56.

Among the group who momentarily grasped hands in a "snowflake" formation that day were 12 current Air Force cadets, including Everson, a senior from Eagle River, Alaska, who has jumped out of airplanes nearly 350 times since arriving at the Academy.

"When you're jumping with that many people, the freefall isn't necessarily the dangerous part," Everson said. "It's once you open (your parachute) and you're under the canopy that you have a higher risk of colliding with someone else.

"One of the coolest sights I've ever seen was breaking off from the formation and turning around to see that many people who were in the air at the same time. It was a phenomenal feeling."

The kind of feeling one gets when they realize their true talents, when they begin to recognize the signposts along life's path. Growing up in Alaska, Everson was convinced that path included hockey. But when he came to the realization that his career as a goal scorer was on thin ice, he put down his stick.

In favor of a gun.

You see, while Pat Everson has a penchant for plummeting from airplanes, having mastered his craft at the only school in the world where the first five jumps are solo, unassisted freefall, he is also a member of the Academy's rifle team. The NCAA-sanctioned sport, which runs from October to March, is composed of two events: smallbore rifle and air rifle.

The smallbore event consists of shooting from a prone, off-hand and kneeling position. Shooters are given 20 shots from each position, with 10 points awarded for a bulls-eye. A perfect score is 600. The air rifle competition, which follows the same scoring system, is limited to the off-hand position.

Everson, who took up the sport in high school, was the Falcons' top shooter at last week's President's Trophy Match at Army, scoring an aggregate 1158 (573 smallbore, 585 air rifle). In a match held earlier this season at UTEP, he posted a personal bests with a 590 in the air rifle competition and an aggregate of 1161.

"I played hockey for about 10 years and I loved the physicality and the emotion that came with it," Everson said. "Obviously, riflery is a big shift from that. It's more about controlling yourself and not letting your emotions get the better of you. It was just something I had a knack for. I had more talent shooting than I did playing hockey. It just made more sense for me to put my efforts toward (riflery) if I was going to compete in an NCAA sport."

It also makes considerably more sense to keep one's arms and legs inside an airplane that is flying at 13,000 feet, the typical altitude from which Everson jumps during the course of his training at the Academy. Yet since earning his jump wings through the Academy's Airmanship 490 program in 2009, Everson, who has earned a United States Parachute Association coach rating to skydive with and instruct student skydivers, has made 347 jumps, a total of 4 hours, 40 minutes of freefall time.

"It was something that I've always wanted to do, but it's kind of taken me by surprise at how much it's become part of my life," said Everson, who has designs on becoming a test pilot. "The first time I did it I was absolutely scared. The hard part is being outside the plane and looking down and seeing nothing underneath you.

"But as soon as you're outside of the plane, it's completely different. Once you let go and you're in freefall, it doesn't feel like falling, it feels like flying. Unless you've done it, it's hard to understand. Skydiving is so much more than just falling; it's flying."

Which, in the end, isn't a bad skill to have at the Air Force Academy.

As if the prospect of rappelling down the face of a 300-foot gorge in a remote portion of the Sahara Desert wasn't enough, dealing with poisonous centipedes, cantankerous camels, ill-tempered horses and the occasional un-laughing hyena left Akbar Gbaja-Biamila wondering if the perils of professional football weren't a bit over-exaggerated.

"It's beyond challenging, to say the least," Gbaja-Biamila said. "It's probably beyond nuts."

It's Expedition Impossible, a new reality show on ABC (Thursdays, 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT) that began with 13 three-person teams facing the task of traipsing across the scalding sands of Morocco in a quest to overcome physical challenges that abut the absurd and lean toward the ludicrous. The ultimate winning team earns $150,000 and three Ford Explorers. Each week, the last team to finish is eliminated from the competition.

The show premiered last week, with a team known as The Gypsies winning Stage One. In third place was the Football Players, a trio of former San Diego State football players comprised of Gbaja-Biamila, Robert Ortiz and Ricky Sharpe. Gbaja-Biamila, a linebacker, and Sharpe, a defensive back, played at SDSU from 1999-02. Ortiz, a wide receiver, was a member of the Aztecs from 2002-05. All three spent time with NFL teams, which, while perhaps providing a measure of physical superiority, doesn't carry a great deal of weight when a sand viper slips into your sleeping bag.

"You think that because you're a football player that you can contend with the heat factor and the elements, but in my case, I had to convince myself mentally that I could do these things," said Gbaja-Biamila, who currently works as a football analyst for VERSUS/NBC. "It really makes you face your fears."

For Gbaja-Biamila, it began with a tryout to become the next reality TV star in a competition sponsored by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. During the competition, Gbaja-Biamila was introduced to Expedition Impossible producer Mark Burnett, who convinced the former San Diego State athlete to round up two teammates and join him for 10 episodes of mirth and merriment in the sweltering Sahara.

Gbaja-Biamila turned to Sharpe, now a fitness consultant in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Ortiz, now a businessman in San Diego, to round out the threesome.

"We didn't go out to Morocco just to horse around," Gbaja-Bilamila said. "It's just like being on the football field. We're there to compete and we're in it to win it."

Track the progress of former Aztecs' Gbaja-Biamila, Ortiz and Sharpe on Expedition Impossible. Thursday nights at 9/8 CT on ABC.

Now that the NBA season is over, Mountain West fans can continue to get a basketball fix by turning their attention to the ladies of the WNBA.

Four WNBA players with ties to Mountain West institutions are continuing their professional careers this season in the United States - Erin Thorn (BYU) of the Chicago Sky, Leilani Mitchell (Utah) of the New York Liberty, Sandora Irvin (TCU) of the Atlanta Dream and Becky Hammon (Colorado State) of the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Three games into the 2011 season, all four are making an impact for their teams with Hammon as the veteran in her 13th year in the league. Mitchell was the 2007-08 Mountain West Player of the Year. Thorn was the 1999-2000 MW Freshman of the Year and a three-time all-MW first team honoree. Irvin wrapped up her TCU career in 2004-05.

Check out the links below to follow along with the action this season!

• Becky Hammon - San Antonio Silver Stars

• Sandora Irvin - Atlanta Dream

• Leilani Mitchell - New York Liberty

• Erin Thorn - Chicago Sky

• 2011 WNBA Schedule

• 2011 WNBA Standings

LA JOLLA, Calif. --- While the Mountain West unveiled a new logo on Monday, Commissioner Craig Thompson made it clear his vision for the soon-to-be-new league isn't limited to commercial appeal.

"We're just scratching the surface," Thompson said. "In the last three to five years, we've had phenomenal growth and unbelievable national accomplishments. And that's just the beginning. With our new members and the new excitement and new energy incorporated into that by the new logo and the rebranding efforts, you're going to continue to follow us and you're going to want to follow us, because we're on the verge of great things."

The league's new logo features an adjoining "MW" but no longer includes the word "conference" in its title.

"We're confident it's a brand that's going to grow and one we're very happy with," Thompson said. "It symbolizes the strength and unity of the Mountain West going forward and gives us a basis for laying the foundation when (Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada) join us in 2012.

"It's going to take awhile for people to understand the MW. The old logo served us very well, but it was also a little busy. I think if you look at other league logos, very seldom do you see the word conference. We're now the MW; the Mountain West."

Thompson said work on the rebranding of the league began last fall, with the new logo being selected from nearly three dozen prototypes over the last two months.

The league will officially add Boise State to the fold July 1. Fresno State, Hawaii (football only) and Nevada will join the MW in 2012.

"Because (the league) is located in a mountain state (Colorado) in the Mountain Time Zone, somewhere over the years we've lost track of the West a little bit and put more emphasis on the Mountain," Thompson said. "But with our new members, we're about as much west as we are mountain, so we're going to emphasize both names.

"This is a rebranding from the standpoint that as of July of next year, we will have undergone quite a drastic change in our membership. I think we felt we needed to reintroduce ourselves. We've got to get the public behind it and we've got to get our fans saying, 'Hey, this is a really good league.' We've had 8,000 respondents (from member schools) say that this is an up-and-coming league; it's a growing league. We still need to have them saying that when we introduce our new members."

The new logo, developed by Loma Media of San Diego, will be introduced on MW campuses beginning July 1. Thompson said there was never any consideration given to changing the name of the conference entirely, or to keeping the former name.

"In terms of agreeing it was time to refresh the logo, there was never any controversy (on the part of presidents or athletic directors) about that," said Dr. Stephen Weber, the longest-tenured member of the league's Board of Directors, who will retire effective July 5 after spending the past 15 years as the president at San Diego State. "From a parochial standpoint, one of the reasons I like this is because the old logo was a very Mountain-centric logo. This gives equal billing to the West."

NCAA Men's Golf Regional Round-up

The NCAA Men's Regional Golf Championships got underway at six sites across the country on Thursday. Participants will play a total of 54 holes, including 18 holes each day. Regional action concludes Saturday, when five teams and one individual will advance from each site to the NCAA National Championships at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., May 31-June 5.

Live scoring is available online at GolfStat.com.

MW Champion San Diego State Holds Lead After First Round of NCAA Men's Golf Regionals

San Diego State, which captured its first Mountain West title earlier this month, held a one-shot lead over second-place Washington on Thursday after the opening round of the NCAA Southwest Regional at the par 71, 7,199-yard OMNI Tucson National in Tucson, Ariz.

The eighth-ranked Aztecs have two players among the top 10 heading into Friday's second round, with Colin Featherstone and 83rd-ranked Alex Kang currently tied for sixth at 3-under.

BYU's Zac Blair, competing individually, is tied for 53rd after shooting a 4-over-par 75.

Second-place Washington, ranked No. 31, is currently followed by No. 30 Liberty (4-under par). Unranked Arizona and No. 7 Texas A&M are tied for fourth at 3-under.

Rebels are Sixth After Opening Round

UNLV shot a 7-over-par 295 and is tied for sixth with unranked SMU after the opening round of the NCAA West Regional at the par 72, 6,903-yard The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

The No. 36 Rebels are making their 23rd consecutive NCAA regional appearance, a mark shared only by Arizona State and Oklahoma State.

UNLV's Derek Ernst, the 2011 MW Player of the Year, will begin the second round on Friday tied for fourth after carding a 3-under-par 69.

New Mexico's Travis Ross, who received an at-large berth as an individual, is tied for 57th after shooting a 6-over-par 78.

No. 15 USC leads the tournament at 10-under, followed by No. 2 UCLA and No. 11 Texas, who are tied for second at 1-under.

Play Suspended in Boulder

The opening round of the NCAA South Central Regional was suspended due to inclement weather with only six of 13 teams having completed play at the par 72, 7,758-yard Colorado National Golf Club in Boulder, Colo. The conclusion of the first round is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. MT Friday, with the second round set to begin at 10:30 a.m.

Colorado State's Zahkai Brown leads the tournament after shooting a 7-under-par 65 through 16 holes. As a team, the unranked Rams are currently in fourth place at 5-under, while fellow MW member and 38th-ranked TCU is sixth at 2-over. Colorado State's Ryan Peterson is tied for 15th after carding a 1-under-par 71.

TCU's Eli Cole and Pontus Gad finished the first round tied for 20th at even-par.

Wyoming's Gabe Maier, who is competing as an individual, sits at 1-over 73 through 12 holes.

Oklahoma State, which is ranked first nationally, leads the tournament after shooting a 12-under-par 276. The Cowboys are followed by No. 13 Auburn (-8) and No. 24 Arizona State (-6).

Mountain West To Send Large Contingent of Top-10 Seeds to NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Prelims

BYU junior Miles Batty and UNLV junior Amanda Bingson headline a list of 21 Mountain West athletes earning top-10 seeds Thursday in the upcoming NCAA Division I men's and women's outdoor track and field prelims.

The competition will be held May 26-28. The West region, which includes all MW teams, will be hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., while the East region will be hosted by Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. The qualifiers from both regions will compete in the NCAA Championships, held June 8-11 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Batty, the MW champion in the 1,500 meters, set a school record in the race this year with a time of 3:36.25, a feat that came on the heels of breaking the indoor mile record (3:55.79) at the NCAA championships. Named the Men's Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Batty is the No. 1 overall seed in the nation in the 1,500 meters.

Bingson, the two-time MW defending champion in the hammer throw, is seeded No. 2 in the event in the West region. Bingson, who earned the Women's Outstanding Performance award at the MW Championships, broke her own school record this season with an effort of 229'-0".

TCU sophomore Charles Silmon, who earned the Men's Outstanding Performance award at the MW Championships, garnered a No. 8 seed in the 100 meters and a No. 6 seed in the 200 meters. Other MW athletes gaining top 10 seeds on the men's side include Air Force senior Justin Tyner in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase (No. 2); New Mexico senior Rory Fraser in the 5,000-meter run (No. 8); New Mexico senior Keith Gerrard in the 10,000-meter run (No. 2); Air Force sophomore Cale Simmons in the pole vault (No. 7); BYU senior Leif Arrhenius in the discus (No. 2) and shot put (No. 6); BYU senior Oliver Whaley in the hammer throw (No. 8); and BYU junior Chris Reno in the javelin throw (No. 9).

On the women's side, TCU senior Jessica Young earned the No. 5 seed in the 100-meter dash and is seeded No. 8 in the 200 meters. Others earning top 10 seeds include BYU senior Katie Palmer (No. 8) and BYU junior Lacey Bleazard (No. 10) in the 800-meter run; Utah senior Alyssa Abbott in the 1,500 meters (No. 8); BYU junior Katy Andrews in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase (No. 8); BYU sophomore Morgan Haws (No. 9) and New Mexico senior Ruth Senior (No. 10) in the 10,000 meters; BYU junior Ada Robinson in the high jump (No. 3); TCU junior Whitney Gipson in the long jump (No. 3); and UNLV junior Chelsea Cassulo in the hammer throw (No. 5).

Two MW relay teams also garnered top 10 seeds. On the men's side, the TCU quartet of OJ Stoneham, Mark Barnes, Mychal Dungey and Charles Silmon is seeded No. 5 in the 4x100-meter relay. The TCU women's 4x400-meter relay team of Briyanni Thomas, Quintera Charles, Teneshia Peart and Kristal Juarez earned a No. 10 seed.

MW Trio Earns Trip to NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships

Three Mountain West student-athletes, including the MW Men's and Women's Player of the Year award recipients, will compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tennis Championships May 25-30 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., following the conclusion of the team championships on May 24.

UNLV men's player Mehdi Bouras (22-11), the MW's highest-ranked singles player at No. 72 in nation, is the first Rebel men's player to earn a spot in the NCAA singles field since Elliot Wronski in 2007. He will also pair with teammate Bernard Schoeman in the doubles competition. Bouras and Schoeman are 13-8 overall in doubles, boast three wins over top-20 opponents this spring and are the first UNLV doubles team to reach the national tournament since Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin in 1999.

On the women's side, the MW's automatic qualifying slot was filled by Utah junior Anastasia Putilina, who went 2-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles last week in helping lead the Utes to their first Mountain West title. Putilina (25-13), a native of Belgorod, Russia, is currently ranked 49th in the nation.

Singles and doubles matchups will be released just prior to the tournament.

NCAA Women's Golf Regional Action Starts Today

Five teams and one individual from the Mountain West are set to begin their postseason bids in the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf Regionals, which start today. The MW is represented in the West Regional in Auburn, Wash., by BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State, as well as Colorado State's Brianna Espinoza. UNLV is competing in the Central Regional in Notre Dame, Ind., while conference champion TCU will tee off in the East Regional in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Live scoring from each of the three 54-hole tournament is available online at GolfStat.com. Regional action concludes Saturday, when eight teams and two individuals from each site will advance to the national championships, scheduled for May 18-21 in in Bryan, Texas.

The men's team from BYU and the women's teams from UNLV and Utah will represent the Mountain West in the 2011 NCAA Tennis Championships.

The BYU men's and Utah women's teams earned the league's automatic bids by winning their respective titles at the Mountain West Championships last week in Fort Collins, Colo.

The UNLV women's team will be participating in the NCAA tournament after receiving an at-large invitation.

BYU, ranked No. 35, will travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 31 San Diego at USC on May 13. With a mark of 21-5 overall and 6-0 in Mountain West play, the Cougars haven't lost a regular-season conference match since 2009. BYU faced San Diego in January, losing to the Toreros 6-1. San Diego is 18-6 overall.

The No. 49-ranked Utah women's team (16-9) will face No. 26 Alabama (15-6) in the first round on Saturday, May 14, in Athens, Ga. The Crimson Tide received an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Southeastern Conference with an 8-3 record. The Utes are making back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time since qualifying three consecutive times from 1996-98.

No. 39-ranked UNLV (20-5), the 2011 Mountain West regular-season champion, will travel to the Los Angeles Tennis Center to face No. 29 San Diego (18-5) on Saturday, May 14. The Lady Rebels, who finished 8-0 in MW play, are making their fifth consecutive NCAA appearance. It is UNLV's eighth NCAA trip in the last 10 years. UNLV and USD have met 10 times, including the Lady Rebels' 5-2 victory in Las Vegas on Feb. 20, 2010. The schools met once before in NCAA play as host USD took a 5-4 first-round win in 1997.

Check back later today for updates on match times, as well the announcement of individual and doubles lineups.

We Meet Again

BYU will be meeting Florida in the NCAA Tournament when the No. 3 seed Cougars (32-4) square off against the No. 2 seed Gators (28-7) in a Southeast Region Sweet 16 game at the Superdome in New Orleans on Thursday (6:27 p.m. CT, TBS).

Last year, behind 37 points from National Player of the Year candidate Jimmer Fredette, BYU beat Florida 99-92 in double overtime in a first-round game in Oklahoma City.

"I think both teams have improved," said Cougars coach Dave Rose. "I think they're more comfortable in how they're going to close out games. That's the thing that impresses me the most about Florida is their ability late in games to get good shots from the players that are capable of making their shots. It's not like they're trying to just hope their way into a basket to win.

"And then defensively I think that they're a lot more engaged in their defensive game plan as a group. So they're not looking for as many individual plays to try to finish out games."

Away From the Madding Crowd

Fredette's celebrity as a National Player of the Year candidate this season has had the potential to cause strain among the ranks but has never materialized, Rose said.

"I haven't ever felt like I needed to settle him down because I don't think he's ever got to a point where he's become, quote, too full of himself. I mean, he is a very humble, approachable guy.

"We've had a lot of conversations throughout the year about how we're going to manage it and how he feels, and if it becomes overwhelming to him then he needs to tell me so that I can kind of manage it better, because we had kind of a routine that we would get in, and then that routine got stretched a little bit because of some more national requests that he had.

"My conversations with him were, 'Are you fine? Is that too much? If you don't want to do it, you don't have to.' He's been great all year. There's been a couple times when on a Monday morning he said, 'Coach, I need a break,' and we'd have to kind of shut things down for the week and just have him do the obligations that our team has locally. It's all been kind of managed between the two of us.

"I'm telling you, he's as humble and approachable and as likable as a person today as he was the first day he stepped on campus."

Gators in Waiting

Florida has all five starters back from last year's team that fell to BYU 99-92 in double overtime in the first round. The Salt Lake Tribune's Jay Drew says the Cougars can expect to get the Gators' best shot.

The Men of the Hour

Florida's Kenny Boynton says the sprained ankle he suffered last week against UCLA is a distant memory, but now he has to guard the leading scorer in the nation: Jimmer Fredette.

Walker Presents Formidable Challenge

Jimmer Fredette isn't the only one left in the tournament being considered for National Player of the Year honors. UConn senior guard Kemba Walker, an All-Big East first-team selection who scored 130 points in five games during the Huskies' championship run in the conference tournament, enters Thursday's game against San Diego State averaging 23.6 points.

"He scores 35-40 percent of their points and takes about that many of their shots, so we better have a plan in terms of what we want to try to do," said Aztecs coach Steve Fisher. "You can't foul him. He's a deadly free-throw shooter and I believe he's gotten 76 free throws in his last seven games. You've got to keep him off the line. He knows how to draw fouls.

"He's lightning quick with the ball. We've got to keep him on the outside, challenge his perimeter shot, minimize the number of threes and layups they get. It's easy to say, hard to do. He's not scoring 26, 28 points a game for nothing."

The Best-Laid Plan

After UConn coach Jim Calhoun dubbed San Diego State sophomore sensation Kawhi Leonard an NBA lottery pick, someone asked Leonard how he would guard himself.

"Try to contest my shots, play defense and hope that I miss."

Join me live from courtside as I'll be blogging throughout tournament play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Plus, you can check out both the live audio stream of the game and track the stats at TheMWC.com/2011.

Have You Heard? MWC Women's Basketball March 2 Edition Better Late Than Never

BYU (22-7, 14-1) clinched a share of the regular-season league title in Saturday's 56-52 win over San Diego State, but not without being pushed to the brink.

The Cougars, who trailed 34-24 at the half, found themselves staring at a 44-28 deficit after Aztecs guard Coco Davis hit the second of two free throws with 1:52 gone in the second half.

BYU turned up the defensive pressure, however, ultimately scoring 10 points off 13 second-half turnovers by SDSU. The Cougars, whose only advantage in the game had come at 2-0 at the 19:25 mark of the first half, completed the comeback when Haley Hall hit a three-pointer with 1:32 left to give the hosts a 54-52 lead.

"This team really believes in itself," said coach Jeff Judkins. "When things aren't going their way, they really believe they can stick together and inch their way back. Every timeout we had, we just kept encouraging them, reminding them that we weren't going to get it all back with one shot.

"It's been a long time since we'd found ourselves in that kind of position, but our players believed they could win the game. They just kept working and refused to get discouraged. Earlier in the year, we might have let that kind of situation bother us, but they just inched their way back. I was really proud of them."

The Cougars wrapped up sole possession of the 2011 Mountain West Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Conoco MWC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament next week in Las Vegas with a 65-49 win over New Mexico on Tuesday night.

Up and Coming

When Utah (6-8, 13-15) stages its senior night on Wednesday prior to tipoff against Colorado State, the list of honorees won't be lengthy.

Of the 14 players currently on the roster, forward Michelle Harrison and guard Hennasea Tokumura are the lone seniors, leaving coach Anthony Levrets ample talent to work with in 2011-12. Eleven players are either sophomores or freshmen.

"We've had a lot of young kids who have had to play," said Levrets, whose roster next season will also be bolstered by the return of 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Taryn Wicijowski, the 2009-10 MWC Freshman of the Year who was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in late November. "We're not where we want to be in terms of wins, but I think it bodes very well for the future. This is a talented young group. They've been very resilient. Every time I think they've finally been hit by that one crushing blow, because they're so young, they come to practice the next day as eager to learn as they were the first day of practice. That has really made this season a lot of fun."

Preparing for the Unknown

With three teams --- Colorado State, Utah and San Diego State --- tied for fourth place heading into action Wednesday night, Aztecs coach Beth Burns is currently facing the unknown heading into next week's MWC Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Defending tournament champion SDSU (12-14, 6-8) hosts third-place Wyoming on Wednesday before closing out the regular season at Colorado State on Saturday. CSU visits Utah on Wednesday.

"I've never gone into a tournament week having no earthly idea how to practice relative to who you might potentially play," said Burns, whose team held a 16-point lead at first-place BYU on Saturday before falling 56-52. "Usually, when you say anything can happen, it's a bit of an exaggeration, but when you say anything can happen in this instance, you truly feel that way.

"The only thing I can say with any certainty is that we'll be playing either Colorado State, Utah, New Mexico, Air Force or UNLV. The positive you can take from that is that with the exception of our home game against BYU, we've been in every game. That said, I still think anybody can beat anybody in this league on any given night. If we can put a complete game together for 40 minutes and sustain it, I think we've got as good of a chance as anybody else."

Curtain Call

When Air Force (8-19, 3-11) hosts New Mexico on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams, the Falcons will honor a player who can arguably lay claim to being the best in the program's history.

Guard Raimee Beck, the team's lone senior, will be playing her final game at Clune Arena. She will exit as the program's all-time leader during the Division I era in scoring average, free-throw percentage, steals, field goals attempted, three-point field goals made, three-point field goals attempted and points in a season. Saturday's game will also mark her 116th career start. The previous record was 107, set by 2007 graduate Alicia Steele.

Prior to the Falcons ending a 40-game conference losing streak against San Diego State on Jan. 19, Beck had been the team's only player to have ever won a game against an MWC opponent.

"She's meant so much to the program, both on and off the court," said first-year coach Andrea Williams. "It's been great having her as a senior to serve as the connection between the team and a new staff. Even though we brought in a new style and a new tempo, it was easy for her to make the transition. We just want to be able to send her out with some great wins and some great memories for a kid that has endured these last four years. I've thoroughly enjoyed the one year I've been with her."

A Freshman No More

Colorado State faces its most crucial two-game stretch of the season this week when it visits Utah on Wednesday before hosting San Diego State in the regular-season finale on Saturday. The Rams (13-14, 6-8), who beat both teams during the first round of league play, are currently tied for fourth place with the Utes and Aztecs.

Yet if CSU holds a trump card, it may be 6-foot-2 freshman forward Sam Martin, who after being limited by a knee injury during her senior year at Chaparral High in Parker, Colo., last year, is currently ranked in the top 15 in seven statistical categories in the MWC.

After turning in her best performance against a conference opponent this season by scoring 21 points in Saturday's 70-49 win over Air Force, Martin ranks as the second-leading scorer (12.6 ppg) among MWC freshmen. Overall, she ranks 11th in the league in rebounds (6.4 rpg), second in field-goal percentage (56.6), fifth in free-throw percentage and sixth in blocked shots (1.3). She has shot 50 percent or better in 10 of 12 games against conference opponents.

"She's far exceeded what I thought she would do, not that I didn't think she was a very capable player, but you're anxious to see what any player will do coming back from a knee injury," said coach Kristen Holt. "She's had a lot of added pressure, especially from the standpoint that there were really no other post players on our team during the majority of conference play. She's had to play a lot of minutes and she's had to learn on the run. Her ceiling is very high. I think she already has the best post presence of any player on our team."

Long Range Bombers

In TCU's 84-71 win at New Mexico (10-17, 4-11) on Saturday, the teams tied a MWC record by combining for 26 three-point baskets.

The Frogs (20-9, 12-3) were 12-of-21 beyond the arc (57.1 percent), the ninth-best three-point shooting performance in school history. Guards Emily Carter and Helena Sverrisdottir combined to go 8-for-13 from three-point range, helping to counter a New Mexico performance highlighted by five three-pointers apiece from Lauren Taylor and Megan Toben. The Lobos connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers on 37 attempts.

The difference came In the second half, however, when TCU shot an overall percentage of 66.7 percent.

"In all the games I've ever been a part of at The Pit, that second half was the best shooting performance I've ever seen," said New Mexico coach Don Flanagan, who is in his 16th season. "They shot the lights out, and not just their premiere players, but kids who came in and played 10-12 minutes.

"We just couldn't stop them, but I wasn't unhappy with the way we played except for late in the game. We competed. But it's tough to win when a team shoots 67 percent."

The Final Chapter

Wyoming (21-6, 11-3), which has thrived this season under the senior leadership of guards Aubrey Vandiver and Randi Richardson and forwards Hillary Carlson and Jade Kennedy, will bid farewell to all four when the Cowgirls host BYU in their final regular-season home game on Saturday.

Together as a complete group the past two seasons, the quartet has helped lead Wyoming to a mark of 109-48, the 2007 WNIT championship, an NCAA appearance in 2008 and a berth in the 2010 WNIT Tournament. Vandiver, a fifth-year player for the Cowgirls, sat out the 2008-09 season with an illness and was an integral part of the 2007 WNIT championship team as a freshman. Richardson sat out the 2007-08 season after transferring to Wyoming from the University of San Francisco.

"The time goes by very quickly," said coach Joe Legerski. "I can remember when Aubrey and Hillary and Jade came in as freshmen. It seems like you have so much time on your side, and then all of the sudden it's Senior Day.

"What this group has accomplished, with the number of wins, the number of postseason appearances, they're definitely going to go down as being among the best in the history of the University of Wyoming."

Nothing Like Home Cookin'

While UNLV (10-19, 3-12) has advanced past the second round only once under the current format of the MWC Tournament, coach Kathy Olivier is hoping for a reversal of fortune when the event kicks off for the fifth straight year next week at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The Lady Rebels gained the semifinals in 2009 before falling to runner-up San Diego State.

"The Mountain West Tournament is really electric," said Olivier, a former UNLV All-American who spent 15 seasons as the head coach at UCLA before returning to her alma mater in 2008. "I'm definitely convinced that anyone can win it. BYU is probably the favorite just because they're very deep and shoot the ball extremely well. But (defending tournament champion) San Diego State probably has the two best post players (Paris Johnson and Jessika Bradley) in the league and they're starting to play well as of late. But there's no doubt in my mind this year that anyone could win it."

The Big Chill

TCU senior Helena Sverrisdottir, nicknamed "Ice" for her native Hafnarfjordour, Iceland, is now the only player in program history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career. Earlier this month, she also became the program's all-time leader in career starts. Sverrisdottir made her 122nd career start Tuesday night against Utah, a win to improve the Horned Frogs record to 19-9 overall and 11-3 in MWC play.

Sverrisdottir currently ranks fifth in the MWC in both scoring (15.0 ppg) and assists (4.1).

"She came in as a freshman and made an immediate impact," said coach Jeff Mittie. "She's a great person on and off the floor and a great ambassador for TCU. She's just one of those players who is a difference-maker in your program.

"Her basketball skills are very unique. There aren't many 6-foot point guards out there who can do what she does. We're very lucky to have her."

Buzzer Beaters

The Utah men's team wasn't the only squad on campus to win with a last-second shot on Saturday.

While Chris Hines' three-pointer at the horn proved the difference in the men's 62-60 win at New Mexico, it was Iwalani Rodrigues who did the honors for the Utah women's team (13-15, 6-8), knocking down a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat New Mexico 61-58 in Salt Lake City.

"It was a good day to be a Ute," said coach Anthony Levrets. "The funny thing was that I think (Rodrigues) had missed five three-point shots in a row and she was a little down. I called her over and told her, 'At one point this season, you made 13 straight threes,' which was one away from the NCAA record. I told her, 'You can't stop shooting; you're going to make the next one and before the game is over you're going to make a huge one for us.' I just wanted to keep her confidence up. Sure enough, because she is a good shooter, if she gets opportunities, she's going to make a lot of shots."

Small Steps, Major Milestones

An Air Force program that had struggled to find success in recent seasons continues to make significant strides under first-year coach Andrea Williams.

The Falcons' point total in their 91-87 victory over UNLV last Wednesday marked their second-highest scoring output since moving into Division I, and the most in a Mountain West Conference game.

The victory gave Air Force (8-17, 3-9) its eighth home win of the season, the team's highest total in the Division I era.

"We've brought excitement back to the program and gotten it back to the point of respectability," said Williams, whose team is two victories removed from tying its highest win total since the conference's inaugural season in 1999-2000. "Teams aren't thinking that they can come in here and walk all over us anymore.

"But we still have a lot of things we want to accomplish. We need to win a road game. One of our goals at the beginning of the season was not to finish in last place, so we need to continue to get wins. We also have a goal of winning a Mountain West Tournament game (something the Falcons have done only once). We've done some good things, some great things, but we have to have higher expectations.

"As a new (coaching) staff, we came here being used to winning, so splitting (a season series) is a different kind of focus. But it's a good focus. We understand where (the program) is coming from. We're very happy with what we've been able to accomplish, but we've got a lot of work to do."

Falcons Have Fan in Legerski

Wyoming coach Joe Legerski is one win away from guiding his team (19-6, 9-3) to its fifth 20-win season in six years.

Nonetheless, Legerski is keenly aware that pocketing win No. 20 at Air Force on Wednesday will not come without a tussle. Among the Falcons' victims at Clune Arena this season have been San Diego State, the defending MWC Tournament champion and a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 qualifier a year ago; defending regular-season conference champion TCU; and UNLV, a team that until last Wednesday had beaten Air Force 26 times in the teams' previous 29 meetings.

"Air Force has some big wins at home this season and they're going to come out and compete for 40 minutes," Legerski said. "They've shown that they're capable of getting on a roll just like any other team in this league. When everything is going well for them, they can be a very tough out."

Inexperience: The Double-Edged Sword

While injuries and transfers have left Colorado State (12-13, 5-7) with only eight players this season, a factor that figures heavily in the team's current four-game losing streak, coach Kristen Holt can take solace in knowing that at least nine of the 12 players on her roster this season are scheduled to return in 2010-11.

Among those players is Kim Mestdagh, the fourth-highest scorer (16.4 ppg) in the league and the only active junior in the MWC with 1,000 career points; Sam Martin, who currently ranks second among MWC freshman in scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg); and sophomore Meixandra Porter, who tallied a career-best 19 points against TCU last week.

CSU's has also signed Kara Spotton, a 6-foot-2 forward from Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins who is rated as a top 100 prospect by ESPN.

"This season is going to help our younger players in the long run, because when we do get all of our pieces back, then they're just going to be that much better," Holt said. "But with these last four games, we've got to find a way to win. We've got to find a way to grit it out and get out of this losing streak."

Lobos Look to Rebound

For the first time this season, New Mexico (9-15, 3-9) failed to hit a three-point shot in Saturday's 61-58 loss at Utah. Conversely, Utah, which won on a three-pointer at the buzzer, was 4-of-10 beyond the arc as it rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half.

But while shooting woes have proven problematic for the Lobos the majority of the season, coach Don Flanagan is nonetheless convinced that his team is better now than it was a month ago. "I feel now like we can compete with most teams in the conference," said Flanagan, whose team has won three of its last five league games after opening conference play 0-5. "If you had asked me that 10 games ago, I'm not sure I could have given you the same answer.

"We're playing harder now, we're playing with more confidence. We're defending better. We're defending man-to-man, which we couldn't do 10 games ago. We just need to get enough production out of our offense and be able to keep teams in the 50s. Then we'll be playing where we have to play with this team."

Better Late Than Never

Defending MWC Tournament champion San Diego State (12-13, 6-7) may be finding its stride at an optimal time.

The Aztecs, who from Jan. 19-Feb. 5 lost five straight, have suddenly won four in a row, the team's longest winning streak of the season.

SDSU's next hurdle will come at first-place BYU on Saturday. The Cougars beat the Aztecs 65-55 in San Diego on Jan. 26.

"They are probably the deepest, most talented, most experienced team in the league," said coach Beth Burns. "Each one of their perimeter players at one point was the exclusive point guard on their team. Mindy Bonham has been a point guard. Jazmine Foreman has always been a point guard and Haley Hall has always been a point guard. When you look at their assist stats (No. 3 in the nation), who are you going to try and cover? They can hurt you so many different ways. Very few teams have five players who can shut them down.

"We played at a pretty high level the first time we played them. We had a week to prepare and we prepared well, but we didn't have five people who could compete with them. Our inexperience was dramatically exposed. We couldn't match their intensity, especially in the second half. We have to hope they don't bring their best game and we're going to have to play really, really well."

Reserves to the Rescue

BYU coach Jeff Judkins has sung the praises of his bench all season. And in light of Kim Parker's performance against TCU on Saturday, Judkins isn't likely to stop singing that tune anytime soon.

Parker, a reserve freshman guard, was named the MWC Player of the Week after pacing the Cougars with a team-high 14 points in a 70-60 win over the Horned Frogs, who were bidding for a share of first place. Parker finished 4-for-4 from the free throw line and was 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. She also had two rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes of action.

"Kim came in and gave us a real big lift," said Judkins, whose team (19-7, 11-1) holds a game and a half lead over TCU and a two-game lead over Wyoming heading into Wednesday's game at Colorado State. "Having a deep bench, especially when the season is winding down and people are tired and sore, it's nice to have some fresh legs and some players who can come in and really help you. Our (bench players) are always ready to come in and step up for us."

Double-Double

UNLV ended a six-game losing streak overall and a six-game losing streak against Colorado State on Saturday with a 72-60 win. The losing streak matched the Lady Rebels' longest since the 2007-08 season.

Sophomore guard Kelli Thompson scored a career-high 27 points and Jamie Smith scored 19 points and collected 12 rebounds as UNLV improved to 10-17 overall and 3-10 in conference play.

"I never got to the point where I began wondering if we were going to win again, because I'm not that type of person," said coach Kathy Olivier. "Honestly, I just kept thinking that we were capable of beating any team in our league if we just started playing well, and we did that. We came out playing really hard and we made shots. We had a lot of energy all day.

"Now we need to make it two in a row (UNLV hosts New Mexico on Wednesday). As happy as our players were after that game, there are a lot of them who are just as disappointed we haven't been playing that way all season. They feel like they can beat anyone. That doesn't mean we're going to, but they do have the confidence that they can beat anyone."

While we're in the thick of the Conference basketball season, and 2011 spring sports are already underway, two Mountain West championship events will start this week in swimming & diving and indoor track & field.

For the 12th-straight year, the MWC Swimming & Diving Championships are being held at the Oklahoma City Community College Aquatic Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Competition begins today and runs through Saturday night, with 42 events scheduled during the four-day span. In 2010, the 16th-ranked UNLV men won their sixth consecutive Mountain West Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championship, while the BYU women won their ninth overall women's team title.

For the fourth time in the history of the league, the MWC Indoor Track & Field Championships will convene at the Albuquerque Convention Center, where New Mexico will serve as the event host. As always, the competition should be intense. The BYU men looks to win the program's ninth-straight title, while the Cougar women seeks their 10th MWC crown in 12 years.

Up-to-the-minute results, recaps and photos from both Championship events will be available at TheMWC.com all week long. Click here to visit Swimming & Diving Championship Central. To visit Indoor Track & Field Championship Central, click here.

Rachel Messer and the Utah women's basketball team show their support for BYU's Alexis Kaufusi, who will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Cougars Rally Around Teammate

While BYU (18-7, 10-1) could be facing a showdown for first place against TCU on Saturday at the Marriott Center, it's still nothing more than a game.

This is not: Cougars sophomore forward Alexis Kaufusi has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and will miss the remainder of the season. Coach Jeff Judkins said Kaufusi, who was averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds after appearing in 20 games this season, will undergo chemotherapy treatments for the next six months.

"We're a very close team," Judkins said. "Obviously, she's scared, but she's very positive. Her family is extremely supportive and she has a lot of friends. As a team, we want to be supportive of her in any way we can, and we hope she can get herself back to the point where she can start getting ready to rejoin us in November."

Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. It is considered one of the most curable forms of cancer. Former San Diego State men's basketball player Kelvin Davis, diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma during the 2007-08 season, overcame the disease and was awarded the 2009 U.S. Basketball Writers Most Courageous Award winner.

Meanwhile, BYU's meeting with TCU on Saturday could well determine the league's regular-season champion. The Cougars suffered their only conference loss of the season at TCU on Jan. 19, falling 54-51.

"It's probably the biggest game of the season," Judkins said. "If we win, we're going to be in really good position. We also feel like we should have won (at TCU). It's going to be a great game."

Unfinished Business

While BYU will have had a week to prepare for TCU, the Horned Frogs' meeting with the Cougars on Saturday won't mean anything if they don't win at Colorado State Wednesday night.

TCU (17-8, 9-2), which took sole possession of second place with Saturday's win over Wyoming, beat the Rams 66-40 in Fort Worth on Jan. 15.

"We know that (the BYU) game realistically only means something if we focus on what we have to get done Wednesday night," said coach Jeff Mittie. "For us, it's not really that hard not to look ahead."

Senior guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir, who became the school's all-time leader in career-starts (119) against Wyoming, led TCU with 16 points in the Frogs' initial meeting with BYU.

Growing Up Fast

With a roster comprised of no fewer than 14 underclassmen, and without injured sophomore standout Taryn Wicijowski, it's hardly surprising that Utah has endured its share of ups and downs in 2010-11.

Yet the Utes (5-6, 12-13) are nothing if not resilient. In the wake of last Wednesday's 50-49 last-minute loss to San Diego State, Utah came within an eyelash of knocking off first-place BYU, falling 61-58. BYU had won its previous six games by an average of nearly 21 points.

"I keep thinking I'm going to have to talk to them about not hanging on to losses, but I don't," said coach Anthony Levrets. "They show up the next day as eager to learn and as eager to get better as they did the first day of practice. It's been an amazing group to coach. They take losses hard, but they don't feel sorry for themselves.

"We're not done getting better. If we get our offense going (in the MWC Tournament), with five or six kids contributing for three or four straight games, I think we can be a really dangerous team down the stretch."

Missing Pieces

Colorado State (12-11, 5-5) has battled its share of adversity this season, particularly where injuries are concerned. Among the missing are 6-foot-3 junior forward Kelly Hartig, a transfer from Virginia, and senior guard Zoi Simmons. Hartig (knee) has played in just five games this season, while Simmons (foot), who started 25 games last season, has played in only 13.

Rams coach Kristen Holt is keeping her fingers crossed in hopes that at least one, if not both, players will be available for the MWC Tournament, which tips off March 8.

"Obviously, when you get into a three- or four-game tournament, depending on your seeding, depth is nice to have because your kids at the end of the year are already tired and worn out," Holt said. "We're trying to remain optimistic (about Hartig and Simmons returning). Both of them really want to come back and they're doing everything they can, but it's a matter of whether they can heal quickly enough to get ready."

Down to the Wire

For seniors, the clock is always ticking as the final season of competition draws to a close. There's an urgency to extend the season one more game, to make the postseason a memorable one.

That's particularly true at Wyoming (18-6, 8-3), where the senior quartet of Aubrey Vandiver, Hillary Carlson, Randi Robinson and Jade Kennedy has clearly left its mark on the program.

"It's a very important time for seniors," said Cowgirls coach Joe Legerski. "They understand just how little of the season there is left. But they're also dealing with situations like where they're going to be next year, whether or not they'll apply for graduate school. What does the future hold? For seniors, that's the difficult part, not just the fact that you're running out of basketball games to be played. Underclassmen always know they're coming back, but a senior is also making plans to move on with their lives."

Power in the Paint

After dropping five straight, defending MWC Tournament champion San Diego State (11-13, 5-7) won consecutive games last week and on Tuesday night at The Pit for the first time since mid-January.

As to reasons why, look no further than the senior duo of center Paris Johnson and forward Jessika Bradley.

Johnson, who was named the MWC's co-Player of the Week along with TCU's Starr Crawford, combined to shoot 86.7 percent from the field in wins over Utah and UNLV, hitting 13-of-15 shots. She also averaged a double-double with 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds while blocking eight shots. Johnson was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field against UNLV in helping SDSU post a 77-60 win, its highest scoring game of the season.

Bradley, meanwhile, who along with Johnson comprises the Nos. 4 and 3 rebounders in the league, respectively, averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two games.

"If Paris and (Bradley) can continue to play at a really high level, that makes a difference," said coach Beth Burns. "They patrol the paint, clean up a lot of errors and trigger a lot of things for us.

"But it goes back to consistently getting good guard play. If we get that, I think we can win some games, because I do think (Johnson and Bradley) are capable of playing at the next level."

Lobos Find the Range

It's been a perplexing season for New Mexico coach Don Flanagan, who has routinely watched his team make shots in practice, only to see the Lobos struggle to find the mark in games.

Such was certainly not the case against Colorado State last week, as New Mexico (9-14, 3-8) shot 53.3 percent from the field (42.3 percent from three-point range) in an 86-53 win over Colorado State. The Lobos hit 11-of-26 three-point attempts, including seven by guard Jasmine Patterson, in posting their highest point total of the season.

"It's just basically about confidence," Flanagan said. "Somebody gets hot and it gets contagious. We have shooters on this team, but a lot of them are just inexperienced. It's taken awhile, but it's all about getting accustomed to playing at the college level. We also get a lot of fan support here. When you're trying to please all the fans, young players tend to get nervous instead of blocking that out and focusing on the game. I think we will shoot better from now on and I think it was a big step to have a game like that."

One Step at a Time

Despite a record of 7-16 overall and 2-8 in league play, Air Force has made some significant strides under first-year coach Andrea Williams.

The Falcons have matched their second-highest win total since the MWC's inaugural season (1999-2000), ended a 40-game losing streak against conference opponents and set a single-game attendance record (2,907 vs. Colorado State on Jan. 25).

The next step? Winning a MWC Tournament game, a hurdle Air Force has cleared only once.

"We could be a little bit of a dark horse depending on which team shows up," Williams said. "Our goal is to win at least one game in the tournament and go from there. That's what our focus will be, that's what we'll talk about. For the first time in a long time we're playing for seeding, and we'll be able to do some things if we can get some wins."

Styles Change

A year ago, UNLV's Markiell Styles was a role player, coming off the bench to average 5.5 points per game.

Having started the last six games, however, the 6-foot-3 junior center appears to be coming into her own. After recently posting a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) in a game against first-place BYU, Styles finished with a career-high 16 points and collected six rebounds in Saturday's contest at San Diego State.

"She's a bright spot and she's been playing really well," said coach Kathy Olivier, whose team (2-9, 9-16) visits Air Force Wednesday night. "She has a new-found enthusiasm for the game, and that makes it that much more fun to watch her."

Cougars Hitting Their Stride

The BYU men's basketball team isn't the only squad on campus making life miserable for opponents.

At the moment, no one seems to have an answer for the women's team, either.

The Cougars (16-7, 8-1) were positively dominant last week, leveling Wyoming 73-48 in a showdown for first place, then drubbing UNLV 79-44. For those keeping score, that's a combined scoring differential of 30 points per game.

"I think we're playing our best basketball right now," said coach Jeff Judkins. "Everybody on our team knows what their roles are and what they need to do. We're just putting a lot of phases of our game together right now. We have good balance and good depth. But we know it's a long season, and hopefully we'll just continue to get better."

While BYU has yet to garner a single vote in the Associated Press poll, it's difficult to imagine there are 25 teams in the nation better than the Cougars. BYU, which has the luxury of utilizing as many as 10 players, presents a formidable challenge in the frontcourt in 6-foot-7 freshman Jennifer Hamson and 6-foot-1 senior forward Coriann Fraughton. Hamson leads the team in field-goal percentage (65.1), while Fraughton is averaging 11.0 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per contest.

The Cougars are also a handful at the guard spot, where senior Mindy Bonham (12.1 ppg) ranks among the school's all-time top players in career scoring (1,164 points), assists (422) and steals (215).

Add to that mix a player like reserve 6-foot-3 junior center Kristen Riley (9.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), and the Cougars, who are averaging a league-high 70.3 points per game, could be a tough assignment for any team in the postseason.

Slump Buster

TCU coach Jeff Mittie, whose team's shooting woes clearly contributed to consecutive losses to New Mexico and Air Force, may have identified a cure-all in sophomore forward DeLisa Gross.

Gross, who entered Saturday's game against San Diego State averaging 7.8 points, scored a career-high 20 against the Aztecs in the Horned Frogs' 63-52 win. But it wasn't simply Gross' point total that was noteworthy. She hit all seven of her shot attempts from the field, tying Ashley Davis, who went 7-of-7 in 2007, for the best single-game field goal percentage in school history.

"She had a great game," said Mittie, whose team improved to 15-8 overall and 7-2 in league play. "She got a lot of high-percentage looks. And even though we didn't shoot great in the last 30 minutes of the game, overall we shot well as a group. DeLisa was big for us, as was Briesha Wynn (career-high 13 points). It was a good performance by those two."

Lobos Guard at Her Best

With running mates Nikki Nelson and Sara Halasz lost for the season due to injuries, New Mexico senior guard Amanda Best has been left to do the majority of the heavy lifting in the backcourt this season.

In Saturday's 64-59 win over Air Force, Best arguably turned in her top performance of the season, narrowly missing a triple-double when she scored 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists.

"I think it was her best game of the season, just a great all-around game" coach Don Flanagan said of Best, who led the team in scoring seven times last season while pacing New Mexico in rebounding on seven occasions. "She had a very good assists-to-turnover ratio, she scored, she rebounded, she did a lot of things to help us."

Best wasn't alone. The Lobos, who have endured their share of shooting struggles this season, shot 52.2 percent from the field. In addition to Best, three other players scored in double figures, including Jessica Kielpinski (13), Lauren Taylor (11) and Porche Torrance (10).

"Improving our shooting percentage has been a concern all season," Flanagan said. "When we can do that, we're usually in games."

The Lobos are 8-13 overall and 2-7 in MWC play after Tuesday night's 78-65 loss to Wyoming in Laramie.

Johnson Standing Tall

Though her team may be enduring a challenging season after advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year, San Diego State senior center Paris Johnson has refused to let frustration mar her final year with the Aztecs (8-13, 2-7).

Johnson, who is averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game and ranks second in rebounding (7.7 per outing), became the school's all-time career blocks leader last Wednesday when she rejected three shots against Colorado State. Her final block gave her 252 in her career, surpassing the previous record of 251 set by Michelle Suman (1991-92, 1994-95).

On pace to break the school record for consecutive starts, which currently stands at 122 set in 2010 by former teammate Quenese Davis, Johnson has started all 118 games since beginning her collegiate career in 2007-08. She currently ranks second in the MWC in career blocks, trailing only New Mexico's Jordan Adams, who had 344 from 1999-2003.

"The versatility she's displayed, the commitment to do anything we ask her to do to keep us moving forward, for all of those things, she has been terrific," said coach Beth Burns. "I'm going to miss her terribly, as much as a person in addition to what she does on the court. She hasn't missed a beat. She hasn't bought into frustration, she just keeps working really, really hard and I'm very proud of her for that. Her body of work at San Diego State will speak for itself."

So Much for First-Year Jitters

Michelle Plouffe, Utah's 6-foot-4 freshman forward, earned MWC Player of the Week honors by averaging 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game in wins over UNLV and Air Force.

After scoring a career-high 30 points against UNLV, Plouffe scored 12 of the team's final 14 points after Air Force had narrowed the deficit to four with 9:30 left in Utah's 55-40 win.

"She's really talented," said coach Anthony Levrets, whose squad improved to 12-11 overall and 5-4 in league play. "Not only is she a great player, but she's a great person, too. She works all the time on her game.

"Early in the year, we knew she was a good shooter. But when you combine her talent with her work ethic, I think the sky is the limit for her."

Changing a Mindset

First-year coach Andrea Williams knew that reversing the fortunes of Air Force women's basketball wasn't going to happen overnight. The key was trying to eliminate a pattern of one step forward, two steps back, which occurred last week when Air Force (2-7, 7-15) dropped a pair of games to New Mexico and Utah after knocking off former league leader TCU.

"It's difficult to learn how to win," Williams said. "That's where you need an experienced quarterback or an experienced point guard to be able to take the team on their shoulders and make other players listen to them, not just what the coach is saying. Megan (sophomore guard Muniz) has been trying to do that, but this being her first year as a starter, that role is kind of new to her.

"It's just going to be a process. I think we've already overcome some big hurdles where we now think we can be in every game."

Start Fast, Finish Strong

Colorado State (12-10, 5-4) held its own against Wyoming on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Rams did so in the second half after digging themselves a 41-22 hole at intermission.

After playing what coach Kristen Holt defined as possibly her team's best game of the season in a 56-51 win at San Diego State last Wednesday, CSU was late answering the bell against the Cowgirls, who got a career-high 35 points from senior Aubrey Vandiver.

"We had a similar situation against Utah, but we were able to come back and win," Holt said. "I don't think it was a case of our kids not being ready to play against Wyoming, but sometimes when things haven't gone our way we haven't always had that grit that you need to keep going. I just didn't see the same intensity and fight as I did in the San Diego State game, where we came out and got the lead. That shouldn't be what motivates you to play hard."

No Peeking

With a road date against TCU set for Saturday, in a game that could factor heavily in the MWC Tournament pairings, Wyoming (18-5, 8-2) knew it could ill afford to look past New Mexico heading into Tuesday night's home game. The Cowgirls held off the Lobos for a 78-65 win, led by Aubrey Vandiver's double-double (28 points and 10 rebounds) and a career-high 23 points from Jade Kennedy.

The Lobos entered the contest having won two of their last three, with one of those victories coming at TCU.

"We talk about that each and every night out," said coach Joe Legerski. "That's just how we approach the season. We always look at the game at-hand, that's all we worry about. I only watch film of the opponent we're going to play in the next game and I only look at the statistics of the opponent we're going to play in the next game. We keep everything focused on the game that's coming up next on our schedule. We don't have the luxury of looking down the road. If we start peeking down the road, we're going to get beat."

Lady Rebels Searching for Answers

With her team having dropped three straight and seven of its last nine, UNLV coach Kathy Olivier is getting back to the basics.

"It's just doing the things we really take pride in, and that's everything you could possibly think of," Olivier said. "Getting our hands up, getting in a good defensive stance, blocking out, taking care of the basketball, setting better screens. It's all about making the game easier for everybody by doing the little things that are so important in this game. We just need to focus on fundamentals."

The Lady Rebels (9-14, 2-7), who will host TCU on Wednesday, got a double-double from junior Markiell Styles (13 points, 13 rebounds) in Saturday's loss at BYU. It was Styles' second double-double of the season.

First Place on Line

The winner of Wednesday night's showdown between Wyoming and BYU will open the second half of the conference season in sole possession of first place.

Wyoming (16-4, 6-1), which has proven itself a formidable foe on the road this season, heads into Provo having won five straight. BYU (14-7, 6-1), which has won three straight and six of its last seven, holds an 18-8 advantage in the series in games played at the Marriott Center.

The Cowgirls feature two of the top three scorers in the league in seniors Hillary Carlson (18.7 ppg) and Aubrey Vandiver (17.0). The Cougars, meanwhile, had four players --- Mindy Bonham (17), Coriann Fraughton (17), Jennifer Hamson (15) and Kristin Riley (11) --- finish in double figures in Saturday's 76-54 win over New Mexico.

BYU's bench has outscored opponents 322-224.

"Wyoming doesn't beat themselves," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. "They're very smart and very experienced. They shoot the three-point ball extremely well and cause a lot of matchup problems with Carlson and Vandiver. I hope we can switch enough people around so that we don't get in foul trouble. The one thing that we have that a lot of people don't is we have a lot of depth, especially with our bigs."

Said Wyoming coach Joe Legerski: "It all starts with (BYU's) pressure. They make you play 94 feet. They zone press you, they create traps and they try and get the game going up and down the floor to create easy baskets. We're going to have to handle their pressure to begin with, and once we get into the half-court we have to move in our offense, we have to execute and we have to make shots, especially on the perimeter. BYU creates a lot of problems with its great size."

TCU Looks to Rebound

After jumping out to its best start ever (6-0) in Mountain West Conference play, TCU tumbled out of first place last week when it suffered consecutive losses for the first time since late November.

In dropping a 65-54 decision to New Mexico, the Horned Frogs lost at home for just the second time this season, falling to a team that had yet to win a conference game. That setback preceded a 60-55 loss at Air Force, a team that only a week earlier had snapped a 40-game losing streak against conference opponents.

In both cases, TCU (14-8, 6-2) struggled to score, shooting 27.3 percent against New Mexico and 34.7 percent at Air Force. Against New Mexico, the Horned Frogs hit 2-of-22 shots in the first half, a season low. TCU was also outrebounded in both contests (46-39 and 42-32).

"We have not shot the ball particularly well most of the conference season," said coach Jeff Mittie. "But we had been winning, so it was getting covered up. Any time you're shooting 31-32 percent, you can lose any given night and probably deserve to lose.

"New Mexico and Air Force did some very good things against us. New Mexico controlled tempo and Air Force just hung in there; we were never able to sustain any type of offensive consistency. We're not playing very well right now. The kids were down, but we've got a good group. It's a long season, and we'll take advantage of the bye we have this week and regroup."

Levrets Shares Mittie's Pain

In a 53-48 loss at Colorado State last week, Utah, which beat UNLV Tuesday night to improve to 11-11 overall and 4-4 in MWC action, led 25-14 at the break before succumbing to a 20-3 second-half blitz that began with a layup by CSU's Meixandra Porter with 12 minutes remaining.

In suffering their first regular-season loss to the Rams since 2003, the Utes attempted 21 shots in the paint and made one. Utah got to the free throw line twice.

"In the first half, we probably defended as well as we have all year," Levrets said. "We had an opportunity to be up by 20 or 25. We had 11 shot attempts in the paint in the first half and didn't make one. In the second half, we guarded well for about eight or nine minutes before we started giving them easy layups and we kept coming away with empty possessions.

"However, I still think that we have enough pieces that if we're playing our best basketball at the end of the season that we're going to be dangerous. This a young team, but our focus and our goal has always been to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season."

Falcons Taking Game to New Heights

Ten days after beating defending conference tournament champion and NCAA Sweet 16 participant San Diego State to snap a 40-game losing streak against conference opponents, Air Force opted for an encore.

Behind a team-high 11 points from sophomore Dymond James and a bench that produced 25 points, the Falcons knocked off conference leader TCU 60-55 on Saturday, beating the Horned Frogs for the first time since 1988.

Air Force (2-5, 7-13), which has never won three league games through the first half a MWC season, will have the opportunity to do Wednesday night at New Mexico.

"Everyone who is involved now or anyone who has been involved in the past with our program is very excited," said first-year coach Andrea Williams. "When you beat a team like TCU, a team that's receiving national votes, it's huge. It can build a lot of confidence.

"We're a young team, and sometimes the best part about young players is that they don't know any better. As a team, we're starting to erase any doubts we had little by little and we're starting to believe."

Rams' Rally Nets Big Win

Colorado State (11-9, 4-3) hadn't beat Utah in a regular-season game since 2003, and the opening 20 minutes of Saturday's contest in Fort Collins didn't give anyone reason to think the streak would end.

Utah led 24-15 at the half, despite going 0-for-11 on shot attempts in the paint.

But CSU rectified matters in the second half, using a 20-3 run to take a 41-34 lead en route to a 53-48 win. The Rams shot 62 percent in the second half.

"I told our players at halftime that you can either lose by 30 or you can come back and make a game of this," said CSU coach Kristen Holt. "We didn't change anything scheme wise, it was just their mental approach.

"It was a really good win for the program and for our kids. We've had our share of adversity this season, so it really neat to see our team respond like that."

Sharing the Workload

It's not been the easiest of seasons at San Diego State, which won the regular-season conference title in 2008-09 before capturing the league tournament title last season and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Heading into Wednesday night's matchup against Colorado State, the Aztecs, whose backcourt was decimated by graduation last season, are 2-5 in conference play and 8-11 overall.

It can be trying for the team's upper classmen, who have experienced a significant amount of success.

"Our older players are working their tails off; it's the first-year players who have been really disappointing in terms of their work capacity," said coach Beth Burns. "It hasn't been about their physical performance, it's about their work capacity. I don't know if we can solve it. Our older players are doing everything they can, but this is a team game.

"You can say it's emotional immaturity on the part of 18- and 19-year-old kids who are away from home for the first time, but at the end of the day they've got to listen to their teammates; they've been there. I care about the seniors on this team so much. I want their legacy to be better. We're going to keep working hard. You usually don't remember the middle of the book, you remember how it ends."

Shooting Woes Plague Rebels

While no one disputes UNLV's ability to defend and rebound (the Lady Rebels are the top rebounding team in the MWC), shooting has been another matter. As UNLV (2-6, 9-13) concluded the first half of the conference season at Utah Tuesday night, they ranked eighth in the nine-team league in field-goal percentage (35.9) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage (28.9). Equally troubling was an assist/turnover ratio that ranked last in the conference.

"We've just been inconsistent," said coach Kathy Olivier. "Defensively, we have a lot of confidence in what we do. Offensively, we don't have a consistent shooter or a consistent scorer, so we have to score points off rebounds and get to the free-throw line a lot. That's not always easy to do."

Think Pink

All nine MWC women's basketball programs are teaming up with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to participate in the 2011 WBCA Pink Zone. The WBCA began the initiative in 2007 to raise breast cancer awareness on campuses and in communities. In 2007, more than 120 schools took part in the effort, a number that grew to more than 1,800 in 2010 to surpass $1,045,000

Drought Buster

It's over. And none too soon.

Air Force, which hadn't won an MWC game since March 3, 2008, when it beat BYU 54-40, ended a 40-game league losing streak with last week's 61-58 win over San Diego State, a team that advanced to last year's NCAA Sweet 16.

"It was phenomenal," said first-year coach Andrea Williams. "Having a monkey like that on your back can really weigh you down, but we knew it was coming. We knew we were going to beat somebody this year. That's been our mantra.

"Our senior, (guard) Raimee Beck, had been our only player up to that point who had ever won a conference game. We've talked a lot in the past few days about how it wasn't only a win for them, but also for the people who have supported the program through the years. Now we just have to keep pushing through."

Beck, who became Air Force's all-time leading scorer at the Division I level, paced the Falcons with 14 points. The Falcons (6-13, 1-5) also snapped a six-game losing streak against San Diego State.

Navigating Uncharted Waters

Annually recognized as one of the top programs in the nation, injury-ravaged New Mexico has fallen on hard times. The Lobos (6-11, 0-5), who face a daunting task at first-place TCU Wednesday night, have dropped five straight and nine of their last 10.

And coach Don Flanagan, now in his 16th season in Albuquerque, knows full well that brow-beating is not going to help put his team back on the road to success.

"There's no use in me jumping on them," Flanagan said. "Because of the success we've had over the years, they're already hearing it enough around campus and in the media. All of that is negative; there's nothing positive.

"I knew I was going to have to teach this year. When (junior guards) Sara Halasz and Nikki Nelson went down with injuries (prior to the start of the season), I knew we were going to have to teach, because we only had two players with game-time experience. We're hanging in there; we're close. I'm just not sure we're capable right now of matching up against the better teams in the league."

Cougars Take Measure of TCU

BYU (12-7, 4-4) heads into San Diego State Wednesday night knowing where it stands in the MWC. And while that position is currently second place (tied with Wyoming), the top rung of the ladder isn't far away.

Facing a road test at first-place TCU last week, the Cougars fell 61-58, but not before limiting the Horned Frogs to 29.8 percent shooting and finishing with a 45-34 advantage on the boards.

"For the most part, I thought we played pretty well," said coach Jeff Judkins. "We just didn't shoot well enough (3-of-21 from three-point range). TCU's zone is a little different than what everybody else really plays, and it took us a while to figure things out. We have some things we need to do a little bit better, but I thought we gave them a pretty good run."

Judkins was particularly pleased with the play of 6-foot-7 freshman Jennifer Hamson, who led the Cougars with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Hamson had 12 points in the second half, including four in the final two minutes, giving BYU a shot to tie at the buzzer.

Blinded by the Lights

UNLV may be below .500 overall (9-11) and 2-4 in MWC play, but Wyoming coach Joe Legerski is understandably leery of the Cowgirls matchup against the Lady Rebels in Las Vegas Wednesday night.

Over the past 10 seasons, Wyoming has lost eight times at UNLV, including a 62-56 setback last year.

"We've had our challenges playing in Las Vegas," said Legerski, whose team improved to 14-4 overall and 4-1 in league play with victories last week over Seattle and Air Force. "I think sometimes just going to Las Vegas there are so many distractions. The players are excited to go to Las Vegas. It's a different atmosphere in and of itself.

"It just all comes down to shooting the basketball. When (UNLV) shoots the three, they're a very tough out. We're going to have to get out on their shooters. You just have to hope they're not sharper shooting the ball. But we also have to be able to handle their pressure. It's going to put a lot of responsibility on our guards."

Ranks are Thin, But Rams Push On

Injuries and the decision by junior forward Chatilla van Grinsven to transfer have left Colorado State coach Kristen Holt with just eight players. Yet the Rams (10-9, 3-3) are holding fast, posting wins against UNLV and Air Force around a loss at BYU.

"I'm happy with what these kids are doing and the intensity they're playing with," Holt said. "I'm as happy with it as I've ever been. That part of our program is moving forward.

"The smoke screen is that we don't have those four or five players right now who have played major parts in the program. If that were the case, I'd have a better idea of where we stack up."

The Other Side of the Coin

A year ago, San Diego State enjoyed its best season in school history, winning the MWC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.

This season, the Aztecs head into Wednesday night's game against BYU sporting a mark of 8-9 overall and 2-3 in league play, their most recent setback coming in a 61-58 loss at Air Force in which the Falcons snapped a 40-game conference losing streak.

"Our inconsistency has been a real challenge," said coach Beth Burns. "You tell me how we can have 50 rebounds in (a 56-53) win over New Mexico and three days later have 29 rebounds against Air Force. That's pretty disparate.

"We're going to have to have some things go right against BYU. We can't get into a shooting match, because they are a lot more offensively skilled than we are. But can we win? Sure. I fully expect it to be a very competitive game. I don't think there's any great degree of separation between any of the nine teams in this league. I'm not surprised to see anybody win."

All five of the Aztecs' conference games have been decided by three or fewer points.

Looking for Signature Win

UNLV coach Kathy Olivier's Lady Rebels host Wyoming Wednesday night with an opportunity to beat the Cowgirls for the third time in the teams' last five regular-season meetings. Wyoming is currently tied for second place in the league with BYU.

"I've always told our staff that if we can get two or three consecutive wins, you never know what this team can do," said Olivier, whose squad rebounded from a loss against Colorado State to beat New Mexico at The Pit on Saturday. "I know this team believes they can beat anyone in our conference. We have the majority of our (road) games against the top teams out of the way. Now we just need to get on a roll."

UNLV plays three of its next four games at home.

A Mystery in the Making

Utah (10-10, 3-3) built a 21-15 lead against visiting TCU on Saturday, only to see it disappear when the Utes went scoreless for final 8:30 of the first half and the opening 2:21 of the second.

Utah ultimately rallied to tie the contest at 41-41 with 6:08 remaining, but fell 56-46 in a game in which the Utes were undone by 25 turnovers. Utah is averaging 16.4 turnovers per game.

"I was really happy with the way we played against New Mexico's zone (a 56-53 win) on Wednesday, but when TCU went zone against us, we struggled," said coach Anthony Levrets. "Their length really causes you problems. But not only did we not score, they scored on our turnovers.

"After our games against BYU and Wyoming, we talked about how we needed to do a better job on the boards, and we've done that ever since. But with a young team, you're always moving on to the next thing, and now we know we have to do a better job of avoiding turnovers and playing better against the zone. You just keep addressing things a piece at a time and hope all of them are curtained off by the time the tournament starts."

A Milestone and a Major Statement

While a substantial portion of the conference schedule remains, TCU coach Jeff Mittie's 400th career win might also prove to be one of the biggest of the season.

Facing a road game at Wyoming last week that featured a battle of conference unbeatens, the Horned Frogs rolled to a 68-47 win by shooting 50 percent from the floor, including an eye-popping 69 percent from three-point range. TCU followed the victory with a 66-40 rout of Colorado State, a game in which it forced 31 turnovers.

"That (Wyoming) game was a total team effort for us, particularly considering our top two scorers (Emily Carter and Helena Sverrisdottir) were a combined 0-for-12 from three-point range," Mittie said. "Early in the season, I don't think we could have won a game like that. But virtually everyone who came into the game gave us something positive."

The Frogs (12-6, 4-0), who face another first-place showdown at home Wednesday night against BYU (11-6, 3-0), got 24 points from their bench against the Cowgirls.

"I think everyone on our team understands and embraces their roles so much better than they did a month ago," said Mittie, whose team has won six straight. "We're playing much better at the defensive end of the floor and we have better balance offensively."

Utah Facing Battle on Boards

What goes up must come down, but too often lately it's come down in the hands of the opponent.

Utah (9-9, 2-2), which dropped a pair of games last week to BYU and Wyoming, yielded a combined 34 offensive rebounds in the two contests. As such, BYU finished with 19 second-chance points while Wyoming tallied 14.

"What's disappointing to me is that we played great defense, but then we didn't finish," said coach Anthony Levrets. "If (BYU and Wyoming) get seven or eight offensive rebounds as opposed to 15 and 19, those games are completely different. Whether we win or lose, I don't know, but, ultimately, in both of those games, we gave them second chances. We can't guard for 26-27 seconds, get our opponent to miss, then give them a second chance and have to guard again. Over the course of a game, that just wears you down."

Freshman Michelle Plouffe, who is tied for the conference lead in double-doubles, posted her sixth of the season (20 points, 11 rebounds) against BYU.

Lobos' Fast Finishes Belie Slow Starts

New Mexico has proven a formidable foe this season in the second half. It's getting out of the gate that has proven troublesome.

The Lobos (6-9, 0-3) once again rallied at San Diego State on Saturday, only to fall 56-53 when they were unable to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit.

"We've emphasized not giving up and maintaining a strong effort no matter what the score is, but getting off to a fast start builds confidence, and as the season goes along, confidence is probably more important than anything else," said coach Don Flanagan. "If you can have a lead, or at least be even, at halftime, you're going to have a lot more confidence than if you're down by 10 or 12. If not, you're always going to be facing a battle in the second half."

Freshman Jasmine Patterson scored in double figures against both Colorado State (a 71-60 loss) and San Diego State last week, while senior Jessica Kielpinski had a career-high 11 rebounds against the Aztecs.

Mestdagh Nears Milestone

Colorado State junior Kim Mestdagh needed 18 points against UNLV Tuesday night to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career and got 25. She entered the contest ranked fourth in the MWC in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game.

"When you think of where our program has been, what she's done is even more phenomenal because she's a player that teams target each and every night," said Rams coach Kristin Holt, whose team sits at 9-8 overall and 2-2 in league play after splitting a pair of games last week with New Mexico and TCU, and beating UNLV on Tuesday night. "She continues to find ways to score, but when Kim is at her best, she's getting rebounds and setting screens, playing great defense and running the floor. Those things free her up. If she's only focusing on getting open in the offense, sometimes she can get discouraged and isn't as good."

After Tuesday night's game, Mestdagh has reached double figures in 14 of the Rams' 17 games this season and has scored 20 or more points five times.

SDSU Hopeful Slow, Steady Wins Race

Defending MWC Tournament champion San Diego State, which swept a pair of games against UNLV and New Mexico last week, is back at .500 for the first time since Dec. 30.

The Aztecs (8-8, 2-2) play at Air Force Wednesday night.

"When you start the season 1-4, 8-8 has a whole different look to it," said coach Beth Burns. "This game (against Air Force) is really big in giving us any kind of a puncher's chance to stay in the hunt."

SDSU, which had been out-rebounded in every game save one since Dec. 28, held a 50-26 advantage in that department in Saturday's 56-53 win over New Mexico.

"Rebounding is the only way we can have a winning season," Burns said. "We've continued to improve in every other area, but we've been focusing on rebounding more than I ever have at this time of year."

Wyoming Tough at Tough Venues

With its 55-48 win over Utah on Saturday, Wyoming (12-4, 3-1) won a game in Salt Lake City for just the third time in the program's history.

The Cowgirls' 63-53 win against New Mexico on Jan. 8 marked the team's first win at The Pit since 1995.

"What it shows is our senior leadership," said coach Joe Legerski. "We've been through so many games with Aubrey (Vandiver), Hillary (Carlson), Jade (Kennedy) and Randi (Richardson). It's very difficult to find breakthroughs on the road. You look at any conference in the country and it's the same scenario. Wins at Utah have been few and far between for the Wyoming women's basketball program. Hopefully, that gives us the kind of confidence we're going to need to play with the rest of the way."

Wyoming will host Seattle University in a nonconference matchup Wednesday night.

A Double Shot of Nzeukou

UNLV junior forward/center Sadrine Nzeukou posted consecutive double-doubles last week in helping lead the Lady Rebels (8-11, 1-4) to their first conference win.

After finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 55-52 loss to San Diego State, Nzeukou had 11 points and 14 rebounds in a 63-52 win against Air Force as the Lady Rebels snapped a three-game losing streak.

"She came back this season in really good shape," coach Kathy Olivier said of the 6-foot-2 Nzeukou, a team captain the past two seasons. "We have four or five good post players, but she's kind of separated herself. She's a confident player with very good fundamentals and it shows in games. She plays under control, she does what we ask her to do and she's finding success."

Falcons Settling In

Though her team is still in search of its first conference win, first-year Air Force coach Andrea Williams said the Falcons (5-11, 0-3) played their best conference game of the season in Saturday's 62-53 loss at UNLV.

Sophomore guard Alicia Leipprandt fueled a late rally, scoring six of her 12 points during an 8-0 run in which Air Force cut the deficit to 57-52 on a layup by Leipprandt with 1:19 to play. The Rebels were able to put the game away by hitting six straight free throws.

"We came up short, but that's really the first time we've competed for a full 40 minutes," Williams said. "We put ourselves in position to win, and that's good progression for us. We grew a lot as a team."

The Falcons host San Diego State (8-8, 2-2) Wednesday night. All four of the Aztecs' conference games have been decided by three or fewer points.

Picking Up the Pieces

For a team that won the MWC Tournament last season before advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, losing your starting guard tandem is not something you care to ponder.

Yet such is the case for San Diego State (7-8, 1-2), which is attempting to replicate last year's success minus 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.

And while Arizona transfer Courtney Clements was tabbed the league's preseason Newcomer of the Year and is averaging 12.3 points after scoring a career-high 29 in Saturday's 70-67 overtime loss to Utah, it's been a work in progress for Aztecs coach Beth Burns.

"If you're going to replace your backcourt, it's a process," said Burns.

"You can't even begin to fathom how much you have to teach them, because you can't even remember what you have to teach them. When you think of every aspect of the game, every possession of the game, and you have young guards, it's just an adventure.

"The good news is, we took it on the chin early. The only way you're going to get experience is to play. We've continued to improve. We were really frightening defensively in early November, as inexperienced teams usually are. We have speed, length and great shot-blocking in our front line, but we don't have speed in our backcourt. It's just a matter of finding things both offensively and defensively that can put us in position to be successful. As a staff, you obviously don't want to come off a Sweet 16 appearance and change everything."

Frogs Brace for Early-Season Showdown

Tabbed to win the conference in the preseason coaches' poll, TCU (10-6, 2-0) is about to find out just how far it's come when it squares off against Wyoming on Wednesday night in Laramie. One of four conference teams sitting at 2-0, the Cowgirls boast the best overall mark in the league at 11-3.

"It's a game where if you win, you can get off to a really good start," said TCU coach Jeff Mittie. "It's a road game for us, so it's really a great opportunity to set the stage for the rest of the year. But it's a long season playing 16 league games, and I think it's one of those years where there's so much parity, you may see a lot of close games."

The Frogs have won four straight after dropping five of their previous nine. The turnaround, Mittie said, came in a 76-69 win over then-No. 14 Oklahoma on Jan. 1. TCU followed that with a 49-47 win at San Diego State.

"We just lost so many close games early where we just weren't able to get over the hump," Mittie said. "We played a really tough (nonconference) schedule, and you can't play average in those games and expect to win. And that's what we were doing, playing average basketball. But I think the Oklahoma game got us going in the right direction, and to win a close game at San Diego State did a lot for our confidence."

Piecing Together the Puzzle

If it wasn't enough that Utah interim head coach Anthony Levrets was stepping into the shoes of a coach (Elaine Elliott) who is one of just 16 to post 20 20-win seasons, he has also had to find a way to win without the team's best inside player. Sophomore forward Taryn Wicijowski, last year's MWC Freshman of the Year, was lost to a season-ending knee injury in November.

Nonetheless, the Utes, who are 9-8 overall, are one of four teams with a mark of 2-0 thus far in conference play. The loss of Wicijowski, meanwhile, who averaged 18.5 points in last year's MWC Tournament, has been offset by the emergence of sophomore guard Iwalani Rodrigues and freshman forward Michelle Plouffe. Rodrigues is averaging 15.2 points, while Plouffe is averaging 13.4, both of which rank among the top 10 scorers in the league.

"We're not done getting better," said Levrets, whose team travels to Provo Wednesday night to face rival BYU. "We're really young (one senior). We have players in new roles who are still growing into them."

Inexperience was evident early, as the Utes, despite holding on, too often surrendered double-digit leads. It happened again on Saturday, when Utah needed overtime to beat San Diego State after building a 12-point lead at the half.

"It happened at New Mexico State where we were up 20 in the first half and they came back, and the same thing happened at Utah State," Levrets said. "We didn't play poorly against San Diego State; they played pretty well down the stretch. But we managed to hold on. We got a stop when we needed to and we made a play when we needed to. I think that's a sign of a team growing up."

Injuries Have Hampered Lobos

With a career record of 333-157 at New Mexico, coach Don Flanagan ranks among the premiere coaches in the nation. But not even a coach of Flanagan's stature can overcome the loss of two of his team's top returning players in Sara Halasz and Nikki Nelson, both of whom have been lost to season-ending knee injuries. Halasz was the team's top returning scorer. In addition, senior center Jessica Kielpinski has been limited by a foot injury..

As such, the Lobos (6-7, 0-1) have struggled offensively. New Mexico, which visits Colorado State Wednesday night, ranks last in the league in scoring offense (60.5 ppg) and field-goal percentage (33.8).

"We're playing hard, but we're having problems offensively in not being able to score consistently," Flanagan said. "We're shooting too low of a percentage. We're trying to improve our defense to get to a point where we can be in games, but we've got to shoot a higher percentage. Shooting 30-35 percent from the field is not going to win you a lot of games.

"We've lost two experienced players. Obviously, that's been a problem. I've had times this season when I've had five freshmen on the floor. I don't think there's ever been a year (Flanagan is in his 16th season at New Mexico) where I've ever had more than two. The positive is that each one of those freshman is playing 15-20 minutes per game, and that's going to help at some point."

Falcons on Rise Under Williams

Inheriting a team that has finished with double-digit wins (10) only once since the MWC's inception in 1999-00, first-year Air Force coach Andrea Williams knew there were challenges ahead.

After 15 games, however, the Falcons (5-10, 0-2) already have more wins than in eight of their previous 11 seasons in the MWC.

"I think we've made a lot of progress considering that we've put in a whole new offensive and defensive system," Williams said. "We've overhauled everything, and we're playing at a tempo that our players aren't used to. It's a new experience for everyone involved, so everybody is trying to figure out their roles. Right now, we're just looking for that one key win to get the monkey off our back."

One player who could help expedite that objective is sophomore forward Dymond James, who is averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

"She has the ability to finish with a double-double every night, which we need in the post," Williams said. "Getting her to stay focused and play 30-35 minutes without getting into foul trouble is going to be one of the biggest steps for her. As a sophomore, she's going to have to become a go-to player. But I think she's understanding that role and showing more maturity. She needs to bring it every night."

Getting Defensive

In putting the skids on a four-game losing streak last week against UNLV, BYU not only got double-digit scoring from four players, it also turned up the heat defensively. The Cougars (10-6, 2-0) held the Lady Rebels to 32.7 percent shooting for the game and 25.0 percent in the second half.

It was a similar story in Saturday's 88-60 win at Air Force, where the Falcons shot just 35.8 percent and turned the ball over 24 times.

"The team that wins the conference is going to have to play defense, because some nights the ball just won't go into the basket," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. "I think our team defense has gotten better, but we still need to work on our individual defense, especially in the post and having teams beat us off the dribble. But we did a lot better job of that against Vegas. We didn't give them a lot of easy baskets and we didn't give them a lot of offensive rebounds."

Wiping the Slate Clean

Colorado State, which hosts New Mexico Wednesday night, has been doing some serious soul-searching in the aftermath of its 83-43 loss to Wyoming in its conference opener last week, the worst loss in coach Kristin Holt's two-plus seasons at the university.

"I know we're a better team than we've been the last couple years and we've had some good showings, but the Wyoming game was just a shock to me," said Holt, whose team is 7-7 overall. "The disappointing part to me is that we gave up. We could have lost by 50 or 60. It was tough to see. I certainly think it woke our team up.

"I've got a good core group of kids that wants to win. That loss bothered them and it should. I don't see that kind of effort ever happening again. The response at practice has been that we're not going to have a season that's reflective of that game. If you get blown out by 30 or 40, and you're working your tail off, that's one thing. I just didn't like our competitiveness. We've talked a lot about our approach and that your attitude and effort have to be there. If you have those things and you lose, that's OK. But if you don't, it's unacceptable. And that's the part we want to fix this week."

Wyoming Wary of Defending Regular-Season Champs

With the best overall record in the conference, Wyoming (11-3, 2-0) hosts preseason conference favorite TCU (10-6, 2-0) in a key matchup Wednesday night.

"We have to limit the amount of good looks that TCU gets and make sure that we move in our motion offense," said Cowgirls coach Joe Legerski. "I think it's going to come down to the team that shoots the higher percentage and, of course, the team that wins the rebounding battle. But TCU is very talented, a team with a tremendous amount of experience. They were the No. 1 (preseason) pick in our league and they've played like that. It's going to be a real challenge for us."

As it will be for TCU. Wyoming has won five straight games by an average of 24 points.

"We just go out each and every night and try to win four-minute segments; that's all we talk about," Legerski said. "I never worry about where the score is at as long as we're playing well and competing in four-minute segments."

Finding the Handle

While UNLV coach Kathy Olivier has been pleased with her team's defensive effort thus far, as well as its performance on the boards, it's turnovers that have hurt the Lady Rebels (7-9, 0-2).

UNLV ranks first in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (35.3) and rebounding margin (+8.3), but is seventh in turnover margin (- 3.19).

"I like what we're doing defensively, but we've struggled to get into a flow offensively because we've had too many turnovers," Olivier said. "We have to be able to take care of the basketball and play together down the stretch."

New Neighborhood

The latest Top-25 rankings have San Diego State moving yet again into uncharted territory, at least in one poll. The 11-0 Aztecs are listed at No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll (No. 11 by the Associated Press), marking the program's first foray into the Top-10. BYU (10-0) climbed to No. 16 and 18 in the AP and Coaches' polls, respectively, while UNLV (9-1) slipped to No. 23 in the AP and No. 22 in the Coaches' rankings. The Mountain West is one of four conferences (Big 12, Big East, Big Ten) to have at least three teams ranked in both polls.

Pride Cometh Before a Fall

The Pac-10 is no longer in position to look down its nose at the Mountain West Conference. In addition to going 5-7 against MWC teams in football over the course of the last three seasons (1-5 in 2008), the Pac-10 is 1-4 in men's basketball this season vs. the Mountain West. No. 16/18 BYU (10-0) posted the latest win, pounding Arizona 87-65 on Saturday, four days after No. 11/10 San Diego State dispatched defending Pac-10 champion Cal 77-57 in Berkeley.

Down to the Wire

With the top four men's basketball teams in the MWC --- San Diego State, BYU, No. 23/22 UNLV and New Mexico having posted a combined record of 37-2 thus far, ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz writes:

"The Mountain West is going to be a sensational four-team race. San Diego State has the look of a potential second weekend NCAA tournament team. The Aztecs are off to a sensational start, regardless of venue. BYU dismantled Arizona and remains undefeated as well. UNLV did lose at Louisville over the weekend, but the Runnin' Rebels had been impressive up to that point with wins over Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. And New Mexico has only one loss (at Cal)."

Katz also says not to be surprised if the MWC, which sent a conference-record four teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, receives more bids than the Pac-10 for the second straight year.

What's Old is New Again

While many of the players may not be cognizant of the fact, BYU and UTEP squared off on a regular basis in football for more than 30 years as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The two schools will meet for the first time since 1998 on Saturday in the fifth annual New Mexico Bowl.

Keeping Up With the Joneses'

When Air Force meets Georgia Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 27, a pair of brothers, Falcons tailback Darius Jones and Yellowjackets "A-back" Roddy Jones will give new meaning to the phrase "sibling rivalry."

The Same, But Different

While one might be inclined to believe that scheming for Air Force's triple option on an annual basis would give San Diego State an advantage against Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23, Aztecs coach Brady Hoke isn't so sure.

Said Hoke: "What makes (Navy) so effective and efficient --- they're (fifth) in the country in rush offense --- is that they believe in the option game. They recruit to it and do a great job. They're different than Air Force, which has those elements but will also be more conventional in what they do with some two-back stuff and the passing game. Air Force had 163 formations that we had to look at; Navy has eight or nine. They're more committed to the triple option series, so they've gotten better at it. Their kids are disciplined in what they're doing; they're the least penalized team in the country."

The Other Side of the Story

While No. 20 Utah is fully aware that its opponent in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas on Dec. 22 is more than capable of matching any team in the nation touchdown for touchdown, it's the other facet of No. 10 Boise State's game that has the attention of Utes coach Kyle Whittingham.

"That is the most overlooked phase of their game," Whittingham told the Salt Lake Tribune. "Their defense is outstanding. They've got 45 sacks and are giving up 13 points a game. It's probably the phase of the game that is the primary reason for their success."

The Utes will be without starting quarterback Jordan Wynn, who recently underwent season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. Backup Terrance Cain is 9-1 as a starter.

Going, going, gone

According to the Dallas Morning News, TCU has sold its additional allotment of Rose Bowl tickets and is unlikely to receive more. The school's initial allotment of 20,000 tickets sold out in four days.

"We're very grateful to the Rose Bowl for allowing us to take care of our fans that didn't get tickets during the original allotment," said athletic director Chris Del Conte. "We are completely sold out. We have exhausted all of our options."

Among my favorite oxymorons is "consistently inconsistent," a "clearly ambiguous" phrase that at times can prove "oddly appropriate."

Here's another one: "mid-major." As in, "Of the four mid-majors currently ranked in college basketball's Associated Press Top 25 poll, three are undefeated."

While I'm unsure of its origin, be it with the sports media or so-called "power conferences" that would rather skip barefoot through broken glass than face a highly touted "mid-major" on the road, I am certain of this: It is a term in dire need of demolishing.

When San Diego State, ranked No. 14 in the AP poll, leveled Pac-10 Cal by 20 points on Wednesday, Golden Bears coach Mike Montgomery didn't preface his praise of the Aztecs by saying, "As a mid-major..." Instead, Montgomery, regardless of its shrillness, opted to face the music.

"San Diego State is good," Montgomery told the San Diego Union-Tribune. ..."They made big shots, tough shots, late-clock shots. They just didn't even seem concerned that we were there."

Why would they? Because they've been defined as a "mid-major" out of the media's need to affix labels to teams and conferences to sway opinion?

For the record, there are 335 teams playing Division I basketball this season (345, if you count the 10 institutions that are currently in the reclassification process and will be included in the Ratings Percentage Index calculations), and the NCAA makes no distinction between so-called "major" and "mid-major" programs.

In addition to San Diego State, MWC brethren BYU and UNLV are also ranked in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls. All three are unbeaten, and also are listed among ESPN's Top-25 Power Rankings. However, that same trio ranks first, second and third, respectively, in the ESPN Top 25 "mid-major" poll. Apparently, these "mid-majors" are a major thorn in the side of the well-heeled, having gone 4-0 thus far against teams from "power conferences."

Conversely, per CollegeInsider.com, neither UNLV, BYU nor San Diego State is even considered a candidate for its Top 25 "mid-major" poll, whose voting panel includes some of the top coaches in the nation. Just so I'm clear here, does that leave the Rebels, Cougars and Aztecs as "mid-high majors," "better-than-average mid-majors" or not "mid-majors" at all? Majorly confusing.

Of course, there are also those who prefer the label "non-BCS" to "mid-major." If we learn one lesson this college basketball season, let it be this one: The BCS has absolutely nothing --- zero, zilch, nil, nada, zip --- to do with basketball. It is strictly a football term. Whereas the BCS does not provide equal access to postseason play, basketball throws its doors open to all, even going so far as to stage something as outlandish as a postseason tournament.

The Mountain West is one of seven conferences to have received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament each of the last nine years. Last season, the MWC sent a record four teams to the tournament, or 44.4 percent of its member institutions. Only four other conferences boasted a better percentage, all of them having 11 or more teams. If that's "mid-major," it's also demeaning, and diminishes the conference's achievements.

At least one reference source cites the term "mid-major" as having been coined in 1977 by Jack Kvance, then the head coach at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., who now serves as the athletic director at George Washington University. Catholic University is a Division III school.

And, for all I know, an up-and-coming "mid-major."

Three Mountain West Conference teams and five individuals will represent the league at the 2010 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships to be held Monday, Nov. 22, in Terre Haute, Ind.

Heading to Indiana:

• The New Mexico men's and women's teams each received automatic bids to the NCAA Championship after earning first-place honors, respectively, at the Mountain Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 13, in Salt Lake City, Utah. On the men's side, BYU received an at-large berth to the championship after finishing third in the 10K race at the Mountain Regionals.

• Air Force's Jeremy Drenckhahn and Justin Tyner, BYU's Kate Bowen, TCU's Festus Kigen and Utah's Amanda Mergaert also were selected to compete individually at the NCAA Championships after posting standout performances at their respective regional meets.

History:

• Over the past 11 years, the MWC has won three NCAA team titles and one individual crown. BYU's women's cross country team claimed NCAA Championships in 1999, 2001 and 2002, respectively. On the men's side, BYU's Josh Rohatinsky collected first-place honors at the 2006 NCAA Championship, clocking a 10K time of 30:44.90.

How They Got There:

• The Lobo men's squad received an automatic bid to NCAAs after finishing first as a team at the Mountain Regionals. Senior Keith Gerrard led New Mexico, finishing fourth (29:45.9) in the 10K race. Fellow Lobo runners David Bishop (29:58.4), Rory Fraser (30:01.9) and Ross Millington (30:04.0) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, to help the Lobos earn their highest finish ever at a regional run.

• BYU's Miles Batty, the 2010 MWC Men's Runner of the Year, finished second overall in the 10K (29:30.1) to lead his team to a third-place finish at the Mountain Regional.

• Tyner, who placed 10th at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships with a time of 30:11.9, earned an automatic selection as one of the top four finishers not on an automatically qualifying team. Drenckhahn's 13th-place finish (30:17.3) at the regional meet also moved him into an automatic berth for the NCAA Championships The two selections mark the most Air Force representatives at the national championship meet since the Falcons sent a full squad to the 2004 NCAA Championships.

• Kigen will make his third NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance after being named was the South Central Region Male Athlete of the Year. The Eldoret, Kenya, native became the first male in TCU history to win a regional title, clocking a time of 30:11.1 to win the 10K event last weekend.

• On the women's side, New Mexico earned an automatic bid after earning the team title at the Mountain Regional. The Lobos held off second-place Texas Tech, 55-53, by placing three runners in the top six, and five in the race's top 20. New Mexico's Natalie Gray (20:28.6), Sarah Waldron (20:30.8) and Ruth Senior (20:32.9) paced the Lobos, finishing the race third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

• Bowen finished 12th in the 6K race at the Mountain Regional, recording a time of 20:50.7 to earn an individual invite to the NCAA Championships.

• Mergaert earned a ninth-place finish at the Mountain Regional, clocking a personal-best time of 20:45.2 to also qualify for the NCAA Championships.

How They Were Chosen:

• Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were at-large selections. Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the Top 25 in their region.

Follow the Action:

• Indiana State University will host the NCAA Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. The women's race will begin at approximately 10:08 a.m. MT, followed by the men's race at approximately 10:48 a.m. MT.

• To follow along as all of your favorite MWC runners compete at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships, click HERE to view a live webcast of the event on NCAA.com starting at 10 a.m. MT.

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

Shots from the Heart

Six Mountain West men's basketball coaches will put their free throw shooting skills to the test during the 2010-11 season as part of "Shots from the Heart," a project designed to help raise awareness for the growing problem of heart disease. Created by CollegeInsider.com, the bracket-style tournament event will benefit the American Heart Association while also paying tribute to the late Skip Prosser, the Wake Forest head coach who passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack.

Taking part in this year's inaugural event from the Mountain West will be head coaches Tim Miles (Colorado State), Steve Alford (New Mexico) and Lon Kruger (UNLV), and assistant coaches DeMarlo Slocum (Colorado State), Craig Neal (New Mexico) and Greg Gensing (UNLV).

The event is formatted after the NCAA Tournament with two 64-person fields, one for head coaches and one for assistant coaches. Each round will consist of 25 free throws, shot by the coaches at their convenience, with the winners advancing to the next round. The coaches' results will be recorded by a member of their respective athletic department. First-round competition will be held in November, followed by second-round action in December. The Round of 16 and Round of 8 are slated for January and February, respectively, with the semifinals and finals scheduled to take place at the NCAA Men's Final Four in Houston. To avoid ties, the first 20 shots made in each round will be worth one point, shots 21-24 will be worth two points and shot 25 will be worth three points.

Below are the first-round match-ups for each of the six MWC coaches taking part in the event. Fans can follow their coach's progress by clicking on the respective tournament links. For more information, or to make a donation to the American Heart Association, go to CollegeInsider.com.

The Mountain West Conference will track our coaches' progress and post the results on Twitter and on Facebook. Check back often to see who advances!

• HEAD COACH TOURNAMENT
• ASSISTANT COACH TOURNAMENT

Week of Nov. 15-21
HEAD COACHES - EAST REGION
Tim Miles (Colorado State) vs. Jeff Bzdelik (Wake Forest)

ASSISTANT COACHES - SOUTH REGION
DeMarlo Slocum (Colorado State) vs. Eric Konkol (George Mason)
Steve Merfeld (Creighton) vs. Craig Neal (New Mexico)
Rick Croy (St. Mary's) vs. Greg Grensing (UNLV)

Week of Nov. 22-30
HEAD COACHES - NORTH REGION
Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee) vs. Steve Alford (New Mexico)
Lon Kruger (UNLV) vs. Bob McKillop (Davidson)

TCU's Sverrisdottir and San Diego State's Johnson Get Look from ESPN.com

In its 2010-11 preview, ESPN.com women's basketball writers Mechelle Voepel, Graham Hays, Charlie Creme and Melanie Jackson ranked the top five players in the nation at each position. TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir ranked fifth among the small forwards, while San Diego State's Paris Johnson received at least one vote from the panel at her position. Click HERE for the full story.

Record Performance by TCU's Carter

On Tuesday night TCU needed two overtimes to beat metroplex rival SMU, 87-73. But it was senior Emily Carter's performance on the court that opened a lot eyes to the options available to the Horned Frogs. Carter scored a TCU-record 43 points in the game, the second most points scored in a single game in MWC history. Combine that with Carter's first game scoring performance of 26 points against Houston Baptist, the Bossier City, La. native is averaging 34.5 points per game to start the season.

• Week 13 Preview ... With just two weeks left in the regular season, the race is on for the Mountain West Conference championship and bids to the 2010 NCAA Tournament ... BYU and Utah wrap up the home portion of the 2010 season this week with New Mexico and TCU traveling to the Beehive State .. Thursday night features a televised match between second-place New Mexico and third-place Utah. Anne Marie Anderson and Amy Gant will call the action for The Mtn. from Crimson Court in Salt Lake City ... Down the road in Provo, BYU and TCU will be the featured game on BYU-TV, also on Thursday night ... League leader Colorado State takes its final road trip of the regular season to Wyoming on Thursday, while UNLV travels to San Diego State ... Utah and BYU swap opponents on Saturday, while Air Force makes its final flight of the season to San Diego State ... Fans can watch several matches this week through webcasts on host school sites.

• Week 12 Review ... New Mexico beat No. 13 Colorado State, 3-0 on Thursday night in Albuquerque, only the second win by the Lobos over the Rams in the last 31 attempts ... With wins on Saturday, the Rams remain in first place at 12-1, followed by the Lobos in second at 10-3 ... Utah split matches with Air Force (3-0) and UNLV (2-3) to hang on to third place at 8-4, while Wyoming split matches with TCU (3-1) and UNM (0-3) to stay in fourth at 7-6 ... San Diego State and BYU are tied for fifth at 6-6 ... TCU, UNLV and Air Force round out the bottom of the standings ... UNLV went 1-1 in 3-2 matches, losing Thursday to BYU and beating Utah on Saturday.

• Conference Title Race ... With the loss to New Mexico last week, the gap between league-leading Colorado State (12-1) and second-place New Mexico (10-3) narrowed just a bit. The Rams must win two of their three remaining matches to win the 2010 Mountain West Conference title outright. The Lobos have to win their last three matches of the season to have a shot at a share of the league title, if CSU stumbles at all in the last two weeks of the regular season.

• Meeter Named CVU.com National Player of the Week ... In addition to being named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 15, New Mexico senior Lisa Meeter was named the CVU.com (Collegiate Volleyball Update) National Player of the Week on Nov. 16. Meeter, a 5-11 outside hitter from Colorado Springs, earned a pair of double-doubles last week in wins over No. 13 Colorado State and Wyoming as the Lobos maintained their hold on second place in the MWC. Meeter is the first Lobo to receive the national honor and fourth from the Mountain West Conference. Previous MWC honorees were Lauren Miramontes of UNLV (Nov. 26, 2007), Lori Baird of Utah (Oct. 7, 2008) and Lindy Hartsock of BYU (Sept. 27, 2005).

• Seven Named to ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams ... Seven Mountain West Conference volleyball student-athletes were named to the 2010 ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams on Nov. 4. Air Force senior Caroline Kurtz (District VII), Wyoming senior JennaRae Jester (District VII) and New Mexico junior Kelly Williamson (District VI) were First Team honorees and advance to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot ... Colorado State's Dana Cranston and Air Force's Nichole Stillwell were named to the District VII Second Team, while New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen (District VI) and BYU's Nicole Warner (District VIII) were named Third Team ... The ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams are scheduled for announcement on Nov. 22.

• A New Attendance Record!! ... The Mountain West Conference established a new overall league attendance mark on Thursday, Nov. 11 when the 114,358th fan came through the door at one of four sites hosting that night. With 15 home matches to go, the current total of 121,388 will continue to grow. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 1,003 per home match, an average of 50 fans per match better than the 2009 record of 953. 2010 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).

• 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 two televised matches this week - Thursday's matches between Utah and New Mexico in Salt Lake City on The Mtn. and BYU and TCU in Provo on BYU-TV ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 for The Mtn. and channel 374 for BYU-TV 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.

• Other ways to follow the action ... several MWC programs webcast matches throughout the season. San Diego State and Utah will webcast matches this week from their respective institutional home pages. Fans can watch from afar through All Access accounts set up for a reasonable fee through the CBSSports.com College Network. And don't forget to sign up on Facebook and Twitter to follow the Mountain West Conference and its member schools. Several teams have their own Facebook and Twitter sites as well. See what the league's coaches have to say about their teams.

• 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 ... All it took was one match last week for three MWC volleyball players to reach the 1,000-kill club. TCU seniors Christy Hudson and Irene Hester and Wyoming senior Lauren Whitney each got what they needed in their Nov. 11 match against each other to become the 36th, 37th, and 38th players in league history to record 1,000 career kills. Hudson had 10, Whitney had 11 and Hester had 16 in the 3-1 Wyoming win ... Earlier in the season, Utah senior Karolina Bartkowiak became the 35th Mountain West volleyball player to join the 1,000-kill club, at the time the third this season along with Colorado State senior Danielle Minch (Oct. 14) and New Mexico senior Lisa Meeter (Oct. 14). Bartkowiak recorded 19 kills in a 3-2 win over BYU on Oct. 29 to join the elite group ... San Diego State senior Lauren Salisbury returned from injury on Saturday and is sitting at 970 career kills. If she remains healthy, Salisbury has four matches to try for 30 kills to join the group.

• Air Force (4-23; 1-13) ... has one match this week, at San Diego State on Saturday ... 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 ... On Oct. 21, in front of a national television audience, Air Force ended a 74-match losing streak in conference action with a 3-1 win over San Diego State at Falcon Court ... Senior setter Jessica Hellman became just the third Air Force player to record over 2,000 assists in a career, reaching the mark against BYU on Nov. 13 ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.58 kills per set and fifth in points at 3.85.

• BYU (11-15; 6-6) ... hosts TCU (Thursday) and New Mexico (Saturday) to wrap up the home season ... Sophomore Nicole Warner ranks 33rd in the nation with 1.25 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.65 assists and 0.30 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.53.

• No. 15 Colorado State (23-3; 12-1) ... travels this week, just up the road to Wyoming for a Thursday night match ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... CSU leads the nation in blocking at 3.07 per set as a team. Sophomore Megan Plourde is third in the nation with 1.56 blocks per set and is second in the MWC in hitting percentage at a .364 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is third in the league in assists with 10.43 per set ... Danielle Minch became the 34th MWC player to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 14 against TCU.

• New Mexico (18-8; 10-3) ... returned to the receiving votes category of the AVCA Top 25 poll this week ... UNM goes on the road to face Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday) this week ... Senior Taylor Hadfield is among the league's top hitters. In fact, she is one of two MWC players in the top 10 in hitting percentage (9th; .282) and kills per set (8th; 3.08 kps) ... 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. Michaelsen broke the 4,000 career assist mark on Nov. 13 vs. Wyoming and is in second on the MWC assists list at 10.49 per set ... Junior Allison Buck cracked the 1,000 career dig mark on Nov. 13 against Wyoming. Buck is third in the league with 3.95 digs per set.

• San Diego State (14-14; 6-6) ... wraps up the home portion of the season this week with UNLV on Thursday and Air Force on Saturday ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists with 10.52 per set ... Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks 29th in the nation in blocks with 1.27 per set.

• TCU (13-14; 4-9) ... travels this week, BYU on Thursday, followed by Utah on Saturday ... Senior Irene Hester leads the league in kills (3.67), points (4.30) and aces (0.41) per set, while sister Kristen Hester ranks third in hitting percentage at . 332 ... Christy Hudson and Irene Hester reached the 1,000 career kills mark on Nov. 11 against Wyoming.

• UNLV (9-19; 4-10) ... has one match this week, at San Diego State on Thursday ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks third in the league in kills per set at 3.43 ... Senior libero Kela Lau Hee is among the top 10 in the league in digs with 3.67 per set.

• Utah (14-13; 8-4) ... hosts New Mexico (Thursday) and TCU (Saturday) this week ... Senior Karolina Bartkowiak is among the league's top hitters. In fact, she is one of two MWC players in the top 10 in hitting percentage (7th; .292) and kills per set (9th; 2.97 kps) ... Freshman Erin Redd leads the league in attack percentage at .377 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is seventh in kills per set with 3.27 and fourth in points at 3.91 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,540 since the start of the 2007 season and leads the league this season with a 4.22 average per set.

• Wyoming (22-7; 7-6) ... hosts Colorado State on Thursday for the Cowgirls only match of the week ... The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy is second in the MWC in service aces with 0.39 per set, second in points per set (4.06) and sixth in kills per set (3.30) ... JennaRae Jester is 16th in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.37 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin is second in the league in digs per set with 4.18 ... Senior Lauren Whitney recorded her 1,000th career kill on Nov. 11 at TCU.

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

• Week 12 Preview ... There are eight MWC matches on the slate this week as teams work to improve their league standing and fight for a shot at the NCAA Tournament ... No. 13 Colorado State holds onto the top spot with an unblemished 11-0 MWC record while New Mexico and Utah follow right behind at 8-3 and 7-3, respectively ... The rest of the group is working hard to challenge the top three teams and move up in the standings over the remaining three weeks left in the regular season ... Thursday night features a televised doubleheader on The Mtn. starting with Wyoming at TCU (6:30 p.m. CT), followed by MWC leader Colorado State and second-place New Mexico (7:30 p.m. MT). Anne Marie Anderson and Amy Gant will call the action for The Mtn. from the Johnson Center in Albuquerque ... CSU and UNM will swap opponents on Saturday with TCU and Wyoming, while Utah and BYU travel to UNLV and Air Force this week ... Fans can watch several matches this week through webcasts on host school sites.

• Week 11 Review ... No. 14 Colorado State (11-0) stayed atop the league standings with a 3-1 win against UNLV on Thursday and a 3-0 win over Air Force on Saturday ... New Mexico (8-3) earned a 3-0 win over TCU to stay just ahead of Utah (7-3) for second place ... Wyoming moved into fourth place (6-5) with wins over Air Force and UNLV, while San Diego State (6-6) is in fifth place with a loss to Utah and a 3-2 comeback win over BYU ... BYU, TCU, UNLV and Air Force round out the bottom of the standings.

• Seven Named to ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams ... Seven Mountain West Conference volleyball student-athletes were named to the 2010 ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams last week. Air Force senior Caroline Kurtz (District VII), Wyoming senior JennaRae Jester (District VII) and New Mexico junior Kelly Williamson (District VI) were First Team honorees and advance to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot ... Colorado State's Dana Cranston and Air Force's Nichole Stillwell were named to the District VII Second Team, while New Mexico's Jade Michaelsen (District VI) and BYU's Nicole Warner (District VIII) were named Third Team.

• The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 1,000 per home match with a total of 112,039 watching 112 home matches across the league. The MWC single season overall attendance record of 114,357 (2009) should fall Thursday night with home matches at Air Force, New Mexico, TCU and UNLV. 2010 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 24 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 is just one televised match this week - Thursday's match between Colorado State and New Mexico in Albuquerque on The Mtn. ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 616 for The Mtn. Other MWC networks are channel 374 for BYU-TV 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.

• Other ways to follow the action ... several MWC programs webcast matches throughout the season. New Mexico, San Diego State and TCU will webcast matches this week from their respective institutional home pages. Fans can watch from afar through All Access accounts set up for a reasonable fee through the CBSSports.com College Network.

And don't forget to sign up on Facebook and Twitter to follow the Mountain West Conference and its member schools. Several teams have their own Facebook and Twitter sites as well. See what the league's coaches have to say about their teams.

• 1,000-Kill Club ... Utah senior Karolina Bartkowiak became the 35th Mountain West volleyball player to join the 1,000-kill club and the third this season along with Colorado State senior Danielle Minch (Oct. 14) and New Mexico senior Lisa Meeter (Oct. 14). Bartkowiak recorded 19 kills in a 3-2 win over BYU on Oct. 29 to join the elite group ... Three more Mountain West Conference volleyball players are on track to join the 1,000-Kill Club this season - Christy Hudson (TCU, 996), Lauren Whitney (Wyoming, 996) and Irene Hester (TCU, 986) ... Injured San Diego State senior Lauren Salisbury is sitting at 967 career kills.

• Air Force hosts Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday) 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 ... On Oct. 21, in front of a national television audience, Air Force ended a 74-match losing streak in conference action with a 3-1 win over San Diego State at Falcon Court ... Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.52 kills per set and sixth in points at 3.79 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.33.

• BYU has two road matches this week, at UNLV (Thursday) and at Air Force (Saturday) ... Sophomore Nicole Warner ranks 32nd in the nation with 1.26 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.53 assists and 0.31 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.54.

• No. 13 Colorado State sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 11-0 ... CSU travels this week, starting at New Mexico on Thursday then on to TCU for a Saturday match ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is fifth in the nation with 1.53 blocks per set and is second in the MWC in hitting percentage at a .374 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is third in the league in assists with 10.35 per set ... Danielle Minch became the 34th MWC player to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 14 against TCU.

• New Mexico host Colorado State (Thursday) and Wyoming (Saturday) this week ... Senior Taylor Hadfield is among the league's top hitters. In fact, she is one of two MWC players in the top 10 in hitting percentage (6th; .302) and kills per set (8th; 3.14 kps) ... 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. Michaelsen has moved into second on the MWC assists list at 10.43 per set.

• San Diego State has one more non-conference match this week, at home against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Aztecs lost to Cal State Fullerton, 3-0 on the road ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists with 10.62 per set ... Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks 31st in the nation in blocks with 1.26 per set.

• TCU will host Wyoming (Thursday) and Colorado State (Saturday) this week ... Senior Irene Hester leads the league in kills (3.66), points (4.26) and aces (0.39) per set, while sister Kristen Hester ranks third in hitting percentage at . 345.

• UNLV hosts BYU (Thursday) and Utah (Saturday) this week ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks third in the league in kills per set at 3.37 ... Senior libero Kela Lau Hee is among the top 10 in the league in digs with 3.59 per set.

• Utah travels to Air Force (Thursday) and UNLV (Saturday) this week ... Freshman Erin Redd leads the league in attack percentage at .378 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is sixth in kills per set with 3.27 and fourth in points at 3.93 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,508 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.23 average per set.

• Wyoming continues to add to its best season in program history at 21-6. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run ... Wyoming is on the road this week, at TCU (Thursday) and New Mexico (Saturday) ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy is second in the MWC in service aces with 0.38 per set, is second in points per set (4.05) and fifth in kills per set (3.29) ... JennaRae Jester is 11th in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.40 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.26.

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• Week 11 Preview ... There are seven big MWC matches on the slate this week as teams work to improve their league standing and fight for a shot at the NCAA Tournament ... No. 14 Colorado State holds onto the top spot with an unblemished 9-0 MWC record while New Mexico and Utah follow right behind at 7-3 and 6-3, respectively ... The rest of the group is working hard to challenge the top three teams and move up in the standings over the remaining four weeks left in the regular season ... CSU and Wyoming will host travel partners Air Force and UNLV on Thursday and Saturday, while New Mexico starts a three-match homestand with TCU on Friday. San Diego State travels to Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday). Saturday's match between San Diego State and BYU will be televised on BYU-TV (DirecTV Channel 374) ... Fans can watch several matches this week through webcasts on host school sites.

• Week 10 Review ... No. 14 Colorado State (9-0) stayed atop the league standings with a 3-0 win at San Diego State on Saturdaynight ... New Mexico (7-3) earned wins over UNLV and Air Force to move just ahead of Utah (6-3) for second place ... San Diego State (5-5) holds on to fourth place with a win over Wyoming and the loss to CSU, while Wyoming and BYU are tied for fifth at 4-5 after tough road losses at San Diego State and Utah ... 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. Close to 3,800 fans went through the MWC turnstiles last week. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 990 per home match with a total of 103,994 watching 105 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 31 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 is just one televised match this week - Saturday's match between San Diego State and BYU in Provo ... If you have DirecTV, that's channel 374 for BYU-TV. Other MWC networks are 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.

• Other ways to follow the action ... several MWC programs webcast matches throughout the season. Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah and New Mexico will webcast matches this week from their respective institutional home pages. Fans can watch from afar through All Access accounts set up for a reasonable fee through the CBSSports.com College Network. And don't forget to sign up on Facebook and Twitter to follow the Mountain West Conference and its member schools. Several teams have their own Facebook and Twitter sites as well. See what the league's coaches have to say about their teams.

• 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 ... Utah senior Karolina Bartkowiak became the 35th Mountain West volleyball player to join the 1,000-kill club and the third this season along with Colorado State senior Danielle Minch (Oct. 14) and New Mexico senior Lisa Meeter (Oct. 14). Bartkowiak recorded 19 kills in a 3-2 win over BYU on Oct. 29 to join the elite group ... Three more Mountain West Conference volleyball players are on track to join the 1,000-Kill Club this season - Christy Hudson (TCU, 992), Irene Hester (TCU, 975) and Lauren Whitney (Wyoming, 969) ... Injured San Diego State senior Lauren Salisbury is sitting at 967 career kills.

• Air Force travels to Wyoming (Thursday) and No. 14 Colorado State (Saturday) 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 3.58 kills per set and fifth in points at 3.84 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.42.

• BYU has just one match this week, hosting San Diego State Saturday night on BYU-TV ... Sophomore Nicole Warner ranks 27th in the nation with 1.27 blocks per set this season ... Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.51 assists and 0.30 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.53.

• No. 14 Colorado State sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 9-0 ... CSU hosts UNLV (Thursday) and Air Force (Saturday) at Moby Arena ... The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season ... Sophomore Megan Plourde is fifth in the nation with 1.53 blocks per set and is second in the MWC in hitting percentage at a .374 clip ... Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.38 per set ... Danielle Minch became the 34th MWC player to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 14 against TCU.

• New Mexico begins a three-match homestand with TCU at the Johnson Center on Friday night, the Lobos only match of the week ... Senior Taylor Hadfield is among the league's top hitters. In fact, she is the only MWC player in the top 10 in hitting percentage (7th; .300) and kills per set (8th; 3.12 kps) ... 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 heads out on the road to face Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday) ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists with 10.56 per set ... Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks 34th in the nation in blocks with 1.25 per set.

• TCU and Prairie View A&M postponed Tuesday's non-conference match due to a stomach virus. A make-up date has not been set. The Horned Frogs hope to get healthy before heading to New Mexico on Friday ... Senior Irene Hester leads the league in kills (3.66), points (4.29) and is second in aces (0.40) per set, while sister Kristen ranks third in hitting percentage at . 354.

• UNLV goes on the road to face No. 14 Colorado State (Thursday) and Wyoming (Saturday) ... Senior Sara Nehf ranks third in kills per set at 3.26 ... Senior libero Kela Lau Hee is among the top 10 in the league in digs with 3.60 per set.

• Utah hosts San Diego State on Thursday before a weekend break ... Freshman Erin Redd leads the league in attack percentage at .375 ... Freshman Morgan Odale is fifth in kills per set with 3.25 and third in points at 3.93 ... Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,477 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.22 average per set.

• Wyoming continues to add to its best season in program history at 19-6. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run ... Wyoming hosts Air Force (Thursday) and UNLV (Saturday) this week ... Sophomore Jodi Purdy leads the MWC in service aces with 0.40 per set, is second in points per set (4.04) and fifth in kills per set (3.25) ... JennaRae Jester is eighth in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.43 ... Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.26.

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Attention Mountain West Conference Fans! CBS College Sports Network, one of three of the Mountain West Conference's television partners, is offering its cable and satellite partners a free preview from Oct. 25-Nov. 6!

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!

• Mountain West Conference Volleyball will be featured during this weekend's CBS College Sports Network Free Preview. CBS C 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.

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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• The New Mexico women's soccer team claimed a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season title following a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Wyoming last Sunday. The Lobos have also secured the top seed in the MWC Championship, which will take place Nov. 3-6 in San Diego, Calif.

• 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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• BYU is ranked 14th and 22nd in the latest NSCAA and Soccer America Top 25 polls, respectively. New Mexico is ranked 17th in the Soccer America poll.

• 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.

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• 1,000-Kill Club ... Colorado State's Danielle Minch and New Mexico's Lisa Meeter joined an elite group on Thursday, Oct. 14. The seniors became the 33rd and 34th Mountain West Conference volleyball student-athletes to record 1,000 kills in their careers. Minch recorded 20 kills against TCU, with the last being her 1,000th, to join the list, while Meeter did it in the third set against Wyoming and added three more for good measure.

• 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.

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The battle for the 2010 Mountain West Conference football championship. Key conference showdowns ahead. This weekend's release of the BCS standings and its impact on MWC teams.

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.

The battle for the 2010 Mountain West Conference football championship. Key conference showdowns ahead. This weekend's release of the BCS standings and its impact on MWC teams.

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.

• The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 996 per home match with a total of 76,727 watching 77 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 59 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. 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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•BYU is ranked 8th and 11th in the latest NSCAA and Soccer America Top 25 polls, respectively. New Mexico is ranked 25th in the Soccer America poll.

•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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Smithson Shakes, Rattles, Rolls

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."

• Mountain West Conference member institutions are a combined 44-38-9 against non-conference opponents. The MWC is 2-0 against the Big East, 1-0 vs. the Big Ten and 8-1-1 against the WAC.

• 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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• The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 1,030 per home match with a total of 72,108 watching 70 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 was in the 2001 season (925). With 66 home matches remaining on the schedule, the opportunity is there 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. 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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• Mountain West Conference member institutions are a combined 45-37-9 through six weeks of non-conference play.

• BYU (9-1-1) is ranked 12th and 15th in the latest NSCAA and Soccer America Top 25 polls, respectively.

• Air Force split a pair of matches last weekend vs. Weber State (L, 1-0) and VMI (W, 3-0) at the Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo. Midfielder/forward Eryn Avjian and forwards Megan Dozier and Bridgett Murphy netted goals against VMI on Sunday, while goalkeeper Sharon Aradine recorded a shutout in her first career start. Patterson leads the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists in 2010.

• BYU secured a 4-0 victory over Idaho State on Wednesday night. The Cougars are riding a 14-game home unbeaten streak, dating back to Sept. 3, 2009, and open league action against Wyoming at South Field on Saturday. BYU has held all but one of its 2010 opponents to single-digit shot outputs. Marquette is the only team to record double-figure shot attempts (14) against the Cougars this year.

• New Mexico was idle last weekend, but the Lobos enter league play carrying a two-match win streak. UNM forward Rachel Fields ranks third in the league with five goals.

• San Diego State lost the final two matches of its non-conference slate. The Aztecs opened the weekend with a 2-1 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Friday, before falling to Cal Poly on Sunday, 1-0. SDSU is winless in its last five matches, going 0-4-1 during that span. The Aztecs' last victory was a 2-1 decision over San Jose State on Sept. 10.

• TCU leads the Conference in goals (26), goals per game (2.36) and shot attempts (226). Last weekend, the Horned Frogs split a pair of matches against UTSA (W, 4-1) and Texas State (L, 3-0).

• UNLV swept the MWC women's soccer weekly awards, as Ashleigh Shoughro was named Offensive Player of the Week and Caitlin Allen was named Defensive Player of the Week. Shoughro posted seven points in leading UNLV to a pair of wins over VMI (5-0) and Weber State (1-0) at the Falcon Invitational. She leads the MWC in points (21), points per game (1.91), goals (9), goals per game (0.82) and shots (50). Allen was a key member of a Rebel defensive backline that posted back-to-back shutouts. UNLV is ranked 10th in the Sept. 28 NSCAA Pacific Regional rankings.

• Utah went 1-1 last weekend. The Utes downed Utah State, 2-1, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, before falling to Arizona in overtime, 1-0, on Sunday in Tuscon. Ute freshman goalie Cheyanne Mulcock made her collegiate debut, starting both matches in place of injured netminder Hannah Turpen (ankle). Despite missing two matches with an injury, Turpen is ranked second in the MWC in total saves (52) and saves per game (5.20) during the 2010 campaign.

• Wyoming defeated Boise State, 1-0, on Friday, before falling to New Mexico State, 1-0, on Sunday. Cowgirl forward Nahiomy Ortiz notched the squad's lone goal of the weekend, finding the back of the net in the 28th minute of action against the Broncos.

The Week Ahead

• All eight MWC women's soccer teams will begin league action this week.

• The Conference slate kicks off with TCU traveling to San Diego State at 4 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon. The Aztecs enter the contest with a seven-game win streak vs. MWC foes and are unbeaten in their last nine matches against league opponents (7-0-2). SDSU leads the series 5-3, including a 4-1 victory over the Horned Frogs last season in Fort Worth. Friday's match will mark the second all-time meeting between San Diego State's Sarah Halverson and TCU's Kristen Halverson. The sisters from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., also faced off in last season's outing.

• The Horned Frogs conclude their non-conference schedule with a home match against Houston Baptist on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

• Air Force and Utah meet in Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. MT on Friday. The Utes are undefeated against the Falcons, having won all 12 meetings between the two squads. In their 2009 clash, Utah posted a 3-0 win in Salt Lake City. The Utes return home Sunday for their final non-conference contest of the year, and their fourth game against a top-25 opponent, as No. 17 Oregon State visits Ute Field at 1 p.m. MT.

• New Mexico travels to Las Vegas on Friday to take on UNLV at 7 p.m. PT. The Rebels own a narrow 7-6-1 advantage in the series. New Mexico won last year's encounter, 2-0, in Albuquerque.

• In the final Conference match of the weekend on Saturday, BYU travels to Laramie to take on Wyoming at 1 p.m. MT. The Cougars lead the all-time series 14-1. BYU tallied a 2-0 decision over the Cowgirls in Provo in 2009.

• Mountain West Conference women's soccer teams are a combined 37-31-9 through five weeks of non-conference play.

• BYU (7-1-1) is ranked eighth and ninth in the latest Soccer America and NSCAA Top 25 polls, respectively.

• Air Force split a pair of matches last weekend at Northern Arizona (L, 1-0) and vs. Southern Utah (W, 5-0). Forwards Bridgett Murphy and Stephanie Patterson each scored two goals and had an assist against the Thunderbirds on Sunday, while midfielder/forward Eryn Avjian also netted her first-career goal and added an assist in the victory. Midway through the season, Patterson leads the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists.

• BYU forward Lynda Hercules earned MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors after notching the lone goal in the Cougars' 1-0 victory at Rice on Saturday. In just 37 minutes of action, the Plano, Texas, native also accounted for a team-high three shots on goal. Hercules' score came in the 43rd minute of action, just seven minutes after she entered the contest. Both of the freshman forward's goals this season have ended up being the deciding goal of the match.

• New Mexico won both of its matches at the Montana Tournament, defeating North Dakota (2-0) and Boise State (1-0). Forward Jordan Craig helped the Lobos top the Broncos on Sunday, taking teammate Roxie McFarland's pass and firing a 15-yard shot inside of the left in the 70th minute. After pitching two shutouts last weekend, New Mexico goalkeeper Kelli Cornell has seven on the year. She is tied for second place on the Lobos' all-time record list for shutouts in a career with 20.

• San Diego State went 0-1-1 at last weekend's Oregon State Nike Invitational. The Aztecs opened tournament play with a 2-1 loss to Oregon. On Sunday, SDSU received two goals from midfielder/forward Michaela DeJesus and tied No. 18 Oregon State, 2-2. DeJesus' two goals and four points against the Beavers established single-game career highs for the senior. The Dublin, Calif., native leads the squad with three goals and seven points in 2010.

• TCU goalkeeper Kelsey Walters was named MWC Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Horned Frogs to a 1-1 record against No. 18/17 Memphis (W, 3-0) and Mississippi (L, 0-1). On Friday, Walters recorded a shutout against the Tigers, saving all six of the shot attempts she faced. The victory was the senior's first shutout of the season and the 11th of her collegiate career. Walters concluded the trip by holding Ole Miss scoreless in the second half of Sunday's match. After allowing the Rebels to score in the 42nd minute, the Oklahoma City, Okla., product protected the net in the second stanza and finished the afternoon by tallying five saves on six shots on goal.

• UNLV went 1-1 at the UNLV Rebel Classic. The Rebels rebounded from a 2-1 overtime loss to Long Beach State on Friday night to topple UC Davis, 2-1, on Sunday. UNLV forward Ashleigh Shoughro currently leads the MWC in both goals (seven) and points (14). Her seven goals rank 13th in the country. Rebel goalie Kylie Wassell has tallied a 1.17 goals against average, 38 saves and one shutout this season.

• Utah went 0-2 at the Santa Clara Classic. The Utes dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 2/2 Stanford on a neutral field, before falling to No. 11/12 Santa Clara, 1-0. Utah has faced three top-25 teams away from home this season. Ute goalie Hannah Turpen is averaging 5.20 saves per contest, ranking second in the MWC.

• Wyoming lost the final two contests of its five-match road trip last weekend, losing to Creighton (6-2) on Friday and Drake (1-0) on Sunday. It was announced on Wednesday that Cowgirl forward Sara Paul, a native of Calgary, Alberta, has been selected to attend the Canadian women's soccer training camp in preparation for the 2011 Women's World Cup.

The Week Ahead

• Air Force hosts the Falcon Invitational at the Cadet Soccer Stadium. AFA will take on Weber State on Friday, before closing out the fifth week of non-conference play on Sunday vs. VMI. Weber State is 0-9 on the season after dropping matches to Cal Poly (4-0) and UC Santa Barbara (2-0) last weekend. VMI, which has tallied only two goals in 2010, is 1-7 on the season after falling to Howard (2-0) and Navy (4-0) in its last two matches.

• After suffering its first loss of the season at No. 24 Texas on Monday night, BYU looks to start a new win streak when it travels to Utah State on Saturday. The Aggies are 3-2-4 on the year and 2-0-0 against teams from Utah, having already notched victories over Weber State and Utah Valley.

• New Mexico has a week off before returning to action Friday, Oct. 1, when the Lobos travel to UNLV for its first Conference matchup of the season.

• San Diego State opens a three-match homestand this week, as Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly visit the SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs will face the Titans on Friday, before playing the Mustangs on Sunday. Cal State Fullerton owns a 2-6 record after dropping its last four matches. Cal Poly enters the week 4-4 after playing three common opponents of SDSU. Like the Aztecs, the Mustangs have squared off with top-ranked North Carolina (L, 1-0), San Jose State (W, 2-0) and Utah State (L, 3-2).

• TCU starts out its final week of non-conference play by traveling to UTSA on Friday and plays host to Texas State on Sunday. The Roadrunners (5-4-0) are coming off their first home loss of the season, a 3-1 setback to Houston on Sunday at the Recreational Sports Complex. The Bobcats (5-4-0) are on a three-match win streak after capturing a 3-1 win over Houston Baptist on Sunday.

• UNLV heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a pair of matches at the Falcon Invitational. The Rebels challenge VMI on Friday and square off with Weber State on Sunday.

• Utah returns home to host Utah State on Thursday. The Utes conclude their weekend with a road match at Arizona on Sunday. Utah holds a 10-2-0 record all-time against the Aggies, including a perfect 6-0 mark on its home turf. The Utes are 4-4- all-time against the Wildcats, including a 2-2 mark on Arizona's home pitch.

• Following a five-match road trip, Wyoming returns to the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex to take on Boise State and New Mexico State on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Broncos, who have been outscored 10-9 this season, are 3-4-1 in the 2010 campaign. The Aggies, who have outscored their opponents 25-4, are 5-1-2 midway through their season.

Truth or Dare

ESPN's weekly Conference Power Rankings, released Monday, lists the Mountain West at No. 5. The Western Athletic Conference, fueled by Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State, is ranked No. 6. All three schools are future MWC members.

The MWC and the WAC are both ranked ahead of the ACC (No. 7) and the Big East (No. 8).

Which prompts this question, meaningless to college football's aristocracy though it may be: If, as the ESPN article states, the ACC will not overtake the WAC unless it gets a team ranked near the AP top 10, how is it that the ACC and Big East are still in line to receive two of the six BCS automatic-qualifying bids?

In the AP poll, Miami is the highest-ranked ACC team at No. 19. Boise State, meanwhile, is No. 3 in the AP poll, while MWC members TCU and Utah rank No. 4 and No. 13, respectively.

Of course, why let performance skew the discussion? Why let truth get in the way?

After all, with the ACC's and the Big East's unbeatens --- North Carolina State, Boston College, Rutgers and West Virginia --- having run roughshod over the likes of Western Carolina, Weber State, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Marshall and Florida International (a combined 3-12), and West Virginia being the only ranked team among the four (No. 22 AP poll), surely an automatic-qualifying bid is justified.

Of course, in this instance, so is banging your head against the wall until you can equate inanity with sound logic.

The Upside of the Downside

San Diego state freshman running back Ronnie Hillman became the first Aztecs player to be named the MWC's Offensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row in the conference's 12-year history.

In Saturday's game at No. 25 Missouri, Hillman carried 23 times for 228 yards (9.9 ypc) and two touchdowns . He became the first SDSU player to run for over 200 yards in a game in seven years. The 228 yards rank fourth nationally in 2010 and represent a MWC single-game freshman record.

Hillman scored on runs of 75 and 93 yards, the longest rushing play in the nation this season and third all-time in conference history.

Unfortunately, SDSU was unable to follow Hillman's lead, falling 21-20 when the Tigers scored with 51 seconds left.

"We gotta win these games," Hillman told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We can't lose this. It hurts. We have to earn our respect."

No Passing Fancy

TCU quarterback Andy Dalton completed 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in Saturday's 45-10 win over Baylor. He set a TCU single-game record for completion percentage (91.3). He opened the game with 11 straight completions.

The 91.3 completion percentage set TCU and MWC single-game records.

Dalton's 91.3 completion percentage tied Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) and Jared Zabransky (Boise State) for the highest by an FBS passer in a single game (min. 20 attempts) since 2004.

Dalton, whose 32 wins lead the nation for active quarterbacks, has completed 74.6 percent (53-of-71) of his passes on the season.

"He is good," said Baylor coach Art Briles. "He was in rhythm and he had a lot of confidence. Every time he went out on the field, he knew he was going to work for it every time. We were never able to get him out of rhythm."

Here We Go Again

BYU, which hasn't opened the season 1-3 since 2005, will be tested by one of the nation's premiere quarterbacks again this week in Nevada's Colin Kaepernick. Already, the Cougars have faced Washington's Jake Locker, Air Force's Tim Jefferson and Florida State's Christian Ponder.

In Kaepernick, the Cougars will be facing a quarterback who single-handedly accounted for 329 yards total offense in the Wolf Pack's 52-31 demolition of No. 24 Cal last Friday. Kaepernick rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 181 yards and two more scores.

"I'm seeing him in my sleep," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "This quarterback is very good. What's interesting is you'll see an offense that is very similar to Air Force but with a downfield throwing game and a drop back passing game that is exceptional. There are a lot of moving parts to it, but the quarterback at any point can rush for 100 yards and make it look effortless. He's fast, he's big and he throws it well. Between Locker, Jefferson, Ponder and him, it's kind of the who's who of quarterbacks this year."

Raising Cain Utah quarterback Terrance Cain completed 20-of-passes in Saturday's win at New Mexico, a school-record .869 completion percentage. He bested the previous record of .857 (18-of-21) set by current Utah assistant Brian Johnson against Utah State in 2005.

Cain threw for 248 yards, his first 200-yard passing game of the year and the fifth of his career. He threw a career-high three touchdown passes.

"He was almost perfect," said Utes coach Kyle Whittingham. "He has played exceptionally well in two games. His pass efficiency rating (204.0) is off-the-charts good. He had great protection from the offensive line, the receivers were running good routes, so he has a lot of support around him. Terrance was good in his decision making and went through his reads very well. He did a great job running the offense."

Meanwhile, Whittingham said sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn, who has not played since suffering a thumb injury in a Week 1 win over Pittsburgh, will resume throwing this week. Center Zane Taylor (back) is probable for this week's game against San Jose State.

The Utes moved up one spot in both polls to No. 13. It is their highest ranking since the Utes finished the 2008 season ranked No. 2 in the nation.

No More, Thank You

If anyone remains unconvinced about the potential of this year's Air Force team, take a peek at the stat sheet from Saturday's 27-24 loss at No. 7 Oklahoma. The Falcons, who rank No. 1 in the nation in rush offense, leveled the Sooners with 351 yards on the ground, the most ever allowed by a Bob Stoops-coached Oklahoma team. The Sooners defense has been ranked in the national top 20 in rush defense nine consecutive seasons.

Air Force pulled within three points with 3:39 remaining but couldn't get the ball back.

"I never want to see this kind of offense again," Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis said of the Falcons' triple option. "I love Coach Stoops and the way he schedules our nonconference, the tough ones. But not this one."

Muscular Dystrophy Awareness

More than 5,000 coaches at more than 350 NCAA schools, including all nine MWC institutions, will be wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch during games on Saturday. The goal is to raise money and awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is the most common fatal genetic disorder among boys worldwide. Fans can text the word CURE to 90999 to donate $5 to Duchenne MD research. The charge will be shown on their phone bill. Fans are also encouraged to make donations on www.CoachtoCureMD.org.

Price is Right

UNLV Athletics is offering more than 115 free entertainment opportunities for children 12-and-under throughout the 2010-11 school year. Admission to six different UNLV sports' home games is free to children 12-and-under during the entire season. The ticketed sporting events -- free to kids -- are the home games for men's soccer, women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball, softball and baseball. Adult tickets are usually just $7 per game for the above programs, with season tickets available at greatly discounted rates.

Men's and women's soccer, as well as women's volleyball, are currently in the midst of their respective seasons. While tickets are required for children attending both UNLV football and men's basketball games, members of the Rebel Kids Club are eligible to attend most football and men's basketball games for free. For more information on joining the Rebel Kids Club, visit UNLVRebels.com and click on Rebel Kids Club.

• Mountain West Conference women's soccer teams are a combined 31-22-8 through four weeks of non-conference play.

• Air Force won the Catamount Classic last weekend, defeating tournament host Western Carolina (2-1) and Mercer (1-0). Including those two wins, the Falcons now have five victories on the season, their most since winning seven matches in 2003.

• Falcon forward Stephanie Patterson earned MWC Offensive Player of the Week and Air Force Athletics Athlete of the Week honors for her performance last weekend. Patterson tallied a combined three points, recording an assist against Western Carolina on Friday night and scoring the team's lone goal against Mercer on Sunday afternoon. She leads Air Force with eight points and four assists through eight matches.

• BYU (6-0-1) is ranked ninth and 10th in the latest Soccer America and NSCAA Top 25 polls, respectively. The Cougars are off to their best start since beginning their 2005 campaign 9-0-0.

• BYU forward Jennie Marshall leads the Cougars with six goals, while forward/midfielder Kassidy Shumway has three to her name this season.

• In five home matches, BYU is averaging 2,556 fans per contest. Only No. 3/3 Portland holds a higher overall home attendance mark (3,190) than the Cougars.

• New Mexico goalkeeper Kelli Cornell has an MWC-leading five shutouts this season following the Lobos' 0-0 double-overtime tie with Baylor last Friday.

• San Diego State has played three top-10 teams this season in No. 9 Santa Clara, No. 9 Florida and top-ranked North Carolina.

• Aztec senior defender/forward Britney Bennett was named MWC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Bennett scored the game-winning goal vs. San Jose State (W, 2-1) and was a part of a defensive group that limited both SJSU and No. 1/1 UNC (L, 0-1) to just one goal apiece.

• San Diego State limited the Tar Heels to their lowest shot output (7) since Oct. 14, 2007, when UNC had 10 vs. Wake Forest.

• Through four weeks of action, TCU leads the Conference in points (51) and goals (19).

• UNLV's Jennifer Klein is the youngest head women's soccer coach in the nation, as she was hired at the age of 25 and coached her first game at the age of 26.

• After scoring a program-record low 15 goals in 2009, the Rebels have already topped that output this year with 16 scores through the first seven matches of the 2010 season.

• Utah secured its first win of the 2010 season last Thursday, picking up a 3-2 victory at in-state rival Weber State.

• Wyoming posted two consecutive shutouts last weekend, defeating Montana (1-0) and Eastern Washington (3-0) on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Cowgirls own a three-match win streak and have won five of their last six matches overall.

The Week Ahead

• Air Force heads to Flagstaff, Ariz., for a pair of matches. The Falcons take on Northern Arizona on Friday and face Southern Utah on Sunday. Northern Arizona is 1-3-2 on the season after defeating Cal State Fullerton (3-2) and losing to USC (3-1). Southern Utah is 2-2-1 after tying Northern Colorado (1-1) and falling to Idaho State (4-3) in its two matches.

• BYU looks to remain unbeaten when it travels to Rice and No. 24 Texas on Saturday and Monday, respectively. The Owls are 3-4 on the season and are coming off a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. last Sunday. The Longhorns are 5-1-1 following a 4-0 victory over William & Marry last weekend.

• New Mexico is set to take part in the Montana Tournament at South Campus Stadium in Missoula, Mont. The Lobos will match up with North Dakota on Friday before concluding the weekend with Boise State on Sunday.

• San Diego State will take on a pair of Pac-10 institutions at the Oregon State Nike Invitational. The Aztecs will face Oregon on Friday in a neutral site contest at Paul Lorenz Field, before playing the host Beavers on Sunday.

• In its last 10 matches vs. Pac-10 opponents, SDSU owns a 2-7-1 record, going winless in its last five meetings (0-4-1). The Aztecs tied Oregon State last season, 1-1, at the SDSU Sports Deck, and posted their last victory over the league back on Aug. 31, 2008, when they defeated Arizona State, 2-1.

• Looking to bounce back from a 4-0 home loss to No. 14/16 Oklahoma State, TCU will encounter its second consecutive ranked opponent, No. 18/17 Memphis, on Friday. The Horned Frogs will conclude their weekend with a road match against Mississippi on Sunday.

• UNLV hosts the UNLV Rebel Classic, marking the second home tournament in as many weeks for the Rebels. UNLV will take on Long Beach State on Friday, before closing out the fourth week of non-conference play on Sunday vs. UC Davis.

• Utah heads to the Santa Clara Tournament, where the Utes will face a pair of top-10-ranked teams. Utah will face No. 2 Stanford Friday, then match up with host Santa Clara on Sunday. Coming off an NCAA finals appearance in 2009, Stanford is unbeaten on the year and is riding a three-match win streak. Santa Clara is 4-1-2 on the season and is coming off a 2-1 victory over Pacific and a 1-1 draw against George in last weekend's Stanford/Nike Invitational.

• Wyoming concludes it five-match road trip this weekend. The Cowgirls will travel to Creighton on Friday, before wrapping up their trip on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, against Drake. Creighton has won two matches in a row to improve its record to 4-2-2 on the season. Drake is 3-2-2 on the year, having lost its last two matches by a combined five goals.

Falcons Keeping Fingers Crossed

With a visit to No. 7/9 Oklahoma looming on Saturday, Air Force is awaiting word on fullback Jared Tew, who may have suffered a broken bone in the back of his hand during last week's 35-15 win over BYU.

"I think (Tew's ability to play) would be a stretch, if it's indeed broken," Falcons coach Troy Calhoun told the Colorado Springs Gazette.

If Tew, a first-team preseason all-Mountain West pick, is unable to play, his spot in the lineup would be taken by Nathan Walker, who scored a touchdown against BYU and had 218 yards on 42 carries last year.

Meanwhile, senior cornerback Reggie Rembert, who was carted off the field after being injured in the season opener against Northwestern State, returned to the lineup and contributed n interception. Rembert, also a first-team preseason all-conference selection, underwent went tests for a spinal cord injury but the tests proved negative. Rembert told the Gazette that the injury was a concussion.

Backfield in Motion

San Diego State, which ranked 117th and 116th, nationally, in rush offense the past two seasons, currently sits at No. 21 among the nation's 120 FBS schools. The Aztecs have rushed for at least 200 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2005, when they had 210 yards vs. San Jose State and 265 yards vs. BYU.

In the Aztecs' 41-21 win over New Mexico State on Saturday, freshman running back Ronnie Hillman became the first SDSU running back to score four rushing touchdowns in the same game since Larry Ned did so at Wyoming on Nov. 17, 2001. Named to MWC Offensive Player of the Week, Hillman carried 22 times for 150 yards on Saturday. Although senior Davon Brown started the first two games, Hillman has accounted for 46 percent of the Aztecs 480 rushing yards and 51 percent of the team's 72 carries. He has scored five of SDSU's 11 touchdowns.

On the Rise

Utah jumped up six spots from No. 20 to No. 14 in this week's AP poll following Saturday's 38-10 win over UNLV. The Utes are also ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/Coaches' poll.

Utah first-team preseason all-conference center Zane Taylor (knee) is doubtful for this week's game at New Mexico, while quarterback Jordan Wynn is day-to-day and punter Sean Sellwood is probable.

"Zane Taylor is going to be OK," said coach Kyle Whittingham. "It's nothing major, and optimistically he would be back this week, but I wouldn't say that's likely. But he should be back in the next few weeks."

Searching for Answers

After Reily Nelson and Jake Heaps combined to throw for only 88 yards in Saturday's loss at Air Force, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said the quarterback situation for this week's game at Florida State is still being developed. The Cougars' passing total on Saturday marked their lowest in seven years.

Nelson, a junior, and Heaps, a true freshman, have been sharing the quarterback duties.

"We met as an offensive staff (on Monday) morning, which is something I never do," Mendenhall said. "I can't give you a definitive answer right now, but most likely when a plan does come into place we'll probably move away from (rotating them) every other series to see it becoming more situational, but it's too early to give you a definitive answer on that one."

Oklahoma threw for 394 yards in its win over Florida State on Saturday. Asked if that might affect which of his quarterbacks get the most reps this week, Mendenhall said: "It might. We need to throw the ball more effectively than we currently are. If you looked at the Air Force game in particular, we ran the ball effectively but had very little success throwing the football. The Washington game (BYU's season-opening win) was more representative of the balance I think we're hoping to get. In order to beat FSU, it'll have to be more toward the first plan than the second plan and we're still in the early stages."

Rams Hoping to Find Their Feet

Colorado State will be attempting to stop an 11-game losing streak dating to last season when it visits Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. The Rams suffered a 51-6 loss to Nevada over the weekend.

Said coach Steve Fairchild: "I told them this, and I believe this to be true. I think we're going to be a very good football team. We've obviously got to make up some ground and grow up in some areas. We've got to get going, but right now it's just about staying positive, getting back to work. We've got a game Saturday (at Miami of Ohio), and it's winnable. Let's get back to work."

Gang Tackling

With nine tackles in Saturday's 34-7 loss to Texas, Wyoming sophomore linebacker Ghaali Muhammad is averaging 10.5 tackles a game this season. Sophomore defensive back Shamiel Gary is also averaging 10.5 tackles, while senior defensive back Chris Prosinski is averaging 10.0.

Prosinski moved into 10th place on Wyoming's all-time career tackles list on Saturday and now has 285 tackles in his career. He moved ahead of Aaron Kyle, who had 275 tackles between 1972-75. Prosinski has recorded double-figure tackle totals in nine of UW's last 10 games. In his career, he has reached double-figure totals 14 times.

No Consolation Prize

UNLV senior quarterback Omar Clayton, who started Saturday's game at Utah after coming on in relief in the Rebels' season opener against Wisconsin, moved into fifth place on UNLV's all-time passing yards list, pushing his total to 5,041 yards after his 217 yard performance against the Utes. He is 54 yards from moving into fourth place.

Not that it serves as a great deal of consolation in relation to Rebels' 0-2 start.

"We haven't arrived anywhere because we were able to move the ball some on Utah," Clayton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Utah won the game. I've played enough to know that I stopped believing in what-ifs. I don't care about what-ifs. What if we won the game? We didn't."

Another Day at the Office

Senior quarterback Andy Dalton became TCU's career leader in pass completions in Saturday's win over Tennessee Tech. Dalton has 635 completions in his career, surpassing the Horned Frogs' previous mark of 622 by Max Knake (1992-95).

Dalton has 31 career victories and is TCU's all-time winningest quarterback as well as the nation's leader in victories by an active quarterback. In his first collegiate start in the team's 2007 season opener, Dalton, then a redshirt freshman, completed 18-of-30 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown in a 27-0 win over Baylor. TCU hosts Baylor this week.

One Step Forward...

After managing only 107 total yards at Oregon a week earlier, New Mexico amassed 433 in Saturday's loss to Texas Tech. The Lobos also improved defensively (Oregon had 702 yards; Texas Tech finished with 462).

The downside? The Lobos had 16 penalties (one fewer than the school record) for 145 yards, 17 shy of the school record.

"We take two steps forward and one step back," quarterback B.R. Holbrook told the Albuquerque Journal. "It just seems like every week it's something. This week it was penalties."

Holbrook completed 30-of-50 passes for 323 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Wyoming is mourning the loss of student-athlete Ruben Narcisse, a member of the university's football team who was killed in a single-car accident on Monday. Three other members of the team were injured.

Rembert's Status in Question for BYU

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said that senior cornerback Reggie Rembert, a first-team All-Mountain West Conference preseason pick, could miss this week's home game against BYU.

Rembert was carted off the field during the first quarter of Saturday's 65-21 win over Northwestern State. Calhoun said Rembert, who was taken to a hospital for examination and released Saturday night, suffered an injury in the lower neck area above his right shoulder.

"I don't want to say it's impossible (that Rembert plays against BYU), but he's got a long way to go, progress wise," Calhoun told the Colorado Springs Gazette.

In the event Rembert is unable to play, junior Josh Hall would make his first career start.

Air Force's point total on Saturday was its sixth highest in school history. The Falcons' 616 yards of total offense ranked as the 11th highest total in school history and were the most since Air Force amassed 670 yards vs. San Diego State in 2007.

Utah QB Wynn is Day-to-Day

Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn, who suffered a sprained thumb on his throwing hand in last week's 27-24 overtime win against No. 15 Pittsburgh, is considered day-to-day in advance of the team's MWC opener against UNLV this week. Wynn completed 21-of-36 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns against the Panthers and was intercepted once.

Converted quarterbacks made big contributions for the Utes at their new positions against Pitt. DeVonte Christopher, now a receiver, had a career-high eight receptions for 155 yards; linebacker Chad Mannis had four tackles and a pass breakup; and true freshman strong safety Brian Blechen made five tackles and contributed an interception in overtime that led to Joe Phillips' game-winning 21-yard field goal.

While Utes linebacker J.J. Williams (foot) remains questionable for the UNLV game after being held out of the season opener, his replacement, Chaz Walker, led the Ute defense with 11 tackles against Pitt. Running back Sausan Shakerin (concussion) will not play against UNLV.

Lobos Not Looking Back

Despite his team suffering its worst season-opening defeat and fifth worst defeat in school history in Saturday's 72-0 loss at No. 11 Oregon, New Mexico coach Mike Locksley is moving on.

"To those who want to judge us based on one week, I think is wrong," Locksley told the Albuquerque Journal. "It is a long season. There is a lot of football left to be played. To say can we get everything fixed in one week ... well, those type of questions will be answered to all those who have doubts."

Meanwhile, the status of junior middle linebacker Carmen Messina, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter against the Ducks, has yet to be determined. Messina is a first-team all-Mountain West Conference pick who led the nation in tackles last season.

Fifteen players, including true freshman quarterback Tarean Austin, made their debut for the Lobos.

"We got in a lot of young guys, first-time players, so hopefully this experience will help us in the future," Locksley said. "We've got to find a way to grow up fast."

Double Trouble

In its 23-17 win over Washington on Saturday, BYU alternated at quarterback with junior Riley Nelson and true freshman Jake Heaps. The two ended up with identical passing yardage, as Heaps finished 13-of-23 for 131 yards and Nelson, who started the game, went 11-of-17 for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Nelson also added 45 yards on rushing.

"The idea is to let them kind of sort it out," said Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall. "But we have enough confidence in both. I don't ever think that this year it will be one or the other. It might shift one way or the other, based on how and whom we are playing, but they have earned the right to continue on."

In addition to Heaps, 16 players saw their first career action for BYU. Freshman wide receiver Joshua Quezada contributed a 9-yard touchdown catch, while freshman tight end Richard Wilson had three catches for 45 yards.

CSU Coach Won't Blame Loss on Youth

Seven true freshmen made their debut for Colorado State in Saturday's 24-3 loss to Colorado. To put that into perspective, CSU used only three true freshmen in 2009. In 2006 and 2007 combined, the Rams used just two. The last time CSU used as many as five true freshmen in an entire season was six in 2004.

All told, 13 freshmen played for CSU on Saturday.

"Our youth will never be an excuse," said Rams coach Steve Fairchild. "We're putting those guys out there because they give us the best chance to win, and it's my job to get them ready and it's my job to get them prepared to win the football game."

True freshman quarterback Pete Thomas completed 24-of-33 passes for 196 yards with three interceptions. Thomas began with an incompletion, then completed four straight and eight of his first 10.

"I felt real comfortable out there," Thomas said. "The game seemed pretty slow to me. I felt like I was very well prepared. I just had too many mistakes on those interceptions. ... I was obviously nervous. I think there is something wrong if you are not nervous. I felt like I was pretty level-headed and calm and I felt like I had the right mindset going into the game."

Frogs Facts and Figures

TCU starting strong safety Tyler Luttrell could miss 1-2 weeks after injuring his left hamstring in the first half of Saturday's 30-21 win over No. 24/22 Oregon State. Colin Jones replaced Luttrell and will likely start this week against Tennessee Tech.

TCU, ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, ran 81 plays to the Beavers' 51. The fewest snaps a team ran against the Frogs last season was 51 by Virginia. TCU also won its 32nd straight game when rushing for more yards (278) than passing (175). The Horned Frogs are 46-2 under coach Gary Patterson when totaling at least 200 yards on the ground.

"For us, you've heard me say it, it was a like a blind date," Patterson said of the win. "You don't know what you're going to get. The second touchdown (Oregon State scored), I told the secondary what the play was. I guess what I need to do is tell them a different play. Then we'll cover the one we're supposed to."

Andy Dalton recorded his 30th victory as TCU's starting quarterback, breaking Sammy Baugh's school record of 29 from 1934-36. Dalton leads the nation among active quarterbacks with 30 wins.

Long Time Coming

With its 47-0 win over Nicholls State on Saturday, San Diego State won its first season opener since beating Idaho State on Sept. 4, 2004, a span of 2,164 days.

This week's SDSU-New Mexico State game can be seen nationally online at ESPN3 and will be televised locally on Channel 4 San Diego. Later in the season, Channel 4 San Diego will simulcast all three of SDSU's road Mountain West Conference games airing on The Mtn. The three road games are at BYU (Oct. 9); at New Mexico (Oct. 23); and at Wyoming (Oct. 30). The game at TCU on Nov. 13 will be shown on VERSUS.

Meanwhile, SDSU has unveiled a supplemental character -- "Zuma" -- to pair with their Aztec Warrior mascot. Zuma is a jaguar that will be seen at Aztec home football and basketball games. According to Aztec mythology, Tezcatlipoca (tes-cat-lee-poh-ka) was considered the god of magic and darkness. The animal most closely associated with Tezcatlipoca was the jaguar.

Fast Starts

Wyoming senior wide receiver Zach Bolger had a big night in the team's 28-20 win over Southern Utah on Saturday with a career-high five catches for a career-high 134 yards. He also caught two touchdown passes, marking his first career multi-touchdown game. Bolger is the first Wyoming player to have over 100 receiving yards since Brandon Stewart had 132 against San Diego State on Nov. 1, 2008. Bolger has now had a reception in 13 straight games.

Sophomore quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, last season's MWC Freshman of the Year, also had a night to remember, throwing for a career-high 319 yards. He completed 26-of-32 passes, including completions on his first eight attempts. He also threw for three touchdowns for the fourth time in his career. The last time a Cowboy quarterback threw for over 300 yards was Karsten Sween at Syracuse in 2006.

Despite seeing an eight-game streak of 10 or more tackles come to an end, Wyoming senior safety Chris Prosinski moved within one tackle of the school's all-time top-10 career tackle leaders. His 274 tackles are just one shy of Aaron Kyle (1972-75).

Back to Drawing Board?

UNLV coach Bobby Hauck told the Las Vegas Sun that he will evaluate the performances of quarterbacks Mike Clausen and Omar Clayton from Saturday's loss to No. 12 Wisconsin before naming a starter for this week's game at Utah.

Clausen, who unseated Clayton as the starter coming out of fall camp, completed 4-of-10 passes for 23 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Clayton in the third quarter. Clayton finished 6-of-16 for 82 yards and also rushed for a team-high 59 yards.

"I kind of said all along we would probably play Omar some," Hauck said. "He came in and did a nice job. We'll go back and look at the tape, figure out who we're going to start (this) week."

Something's Gotta Give

• Pitt heads into Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City Thursday night with its highest ranking (No. 15) since 2003, when the Panthers were ranked No. 10 in the AP and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches polls. Utah, which shares a preseason ranking of No. 24 with West Virginia in the USA Today Coaches poll, has won 17 straight home games and three straight home openers against teams from BCS AQ conferences.

• No. 6/7 TCU, which faces No. 24/22 Oregon State at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, ranked third in the nation last year in rush defense (80. 2 ypg) en route to finishing No. 1 in total defense for the second consecutive year. Oregon State, paced by standout running back Jacquizz Rogers, has won 19 of its last 21 games when a rusher gains 100 yards.

Here We Go Again

Seems BYU can't avoid crossing paths with the nation's elite quarterbacks in season openers. After opposing Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, in last year's opener, the Cougars on Saturday get a test from Washington's Jake Locker.

Locker, whom many believe will be the NFL's top pick next year, passed for 2,800 yards, rushed for 388 and had a hand in 28 touchdowns last season.

"Anytime you face a player of that caliber, you get excited," BYU defensive end Vic So'oto told the Deseret News. "You want to play against the best, and he's obviously one of the best in college football. It's fun and exciting to have a measuring stick to see where you are as an athlete and as a defense."

Walk the Walk

San Diego State has added some new activities to home games this season, one of which is billed as the "Warrior Walk." Two hours prior to kickoff, the football team will be dropped off in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot, providing fans with a chance to greet the team as it heads to the locker room.

"(Assistant coach and former Aztec quarterback) Brian Sipe has worked really hard," said SDSU coach Brady Hoke, who is in his second season after arriving from Ball State. "After the season a year ago, he asked if I knew what goes on during our games. He was speaking of some of the other things in terms of bringing back some traditions and starting some new ones. The Warrior Walk is a part of that; I had mentioned that it'd be something I'd be interested in.

"We started it at Ball State with the Cardinal Walk and it grew every game. It's another way for the community, our players and their families to all come together to support these kids. ...I remember the early ones at Ball State, there weren't many people there. It'd be our wives and our folks, as well as the kids. But that grew to be one of the most exciting things as you're walking in. There's nothing like college football."

Point, Counterpoint

For the unenlightened, Northwestern State, Air Force's opponent in the Falcons' season opener on Saturday, is located in Natchitoches, La. What the average fan may also be unaware of that the Demons have produced an above-average number of NFL players.

"If you look at guys who have been drafted in the first four rounds, Northwestern State's had 13, the Air Force Academy's had zero," said Falcons coach Troy Calhoun. "When you want to look at guys who've been drafted, period, Northwestern State's had 32; the Air Force is at five."

Said Demons coach Bradley Dale Peveto, whose team is looking to erase the memory of last year's 0-11 season: "We appreciate the compliment, but there's a footnote to that from the Air Force side. It's only recently that players from the service academies have gotten clearance to go into the NFL Draft. I'd have to believe through the years there were a lot of Air Force football players serving our country when otherwise they would have been playing in the NFL."

Free Tickets Available to Veterans

The University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Veterans Commission will provide 500 free tickets to Wyoming veterans in advance of the Cowboys' game against Air Force in Laramie on Sept. 25. Veterans can request two tickets by contacting the Wyoming Veterans Commission at (307) 265-7372. Veterans will be asked to provide their name, mailing address and proof of their veteran status. All ticket requests must be received by Sept. 8 and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

UNLV's Wallace Lost for Season

UNLV men's basketball senior Kendall Wallace will miss the 2010-11 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Wallace, a 6-4 guard, played in all 34 games for the Runnin' Rebels last season, helping the team to a 25-9 record and its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years. He was fifth on the team in scoring with an average of 6.9 points per game.

Wallace has played in 94 total games over the last three years for UNLV and has averaged 4.8 points per game during that span.

Other News From Around the Conference

• Utah will face serious test in standout Pitt running back Dion Lewis.

• The center-quarterback exchange is crucial to the success of every offensive play. Unfortunately, New Mexico doesn't have the luxury of exchanging its youthful center-quarterback combination for seasoned veterans in advance of its meeting with No. 11 Oregon on Saturday.

• Colorado State relishes underdog role in showdown with Colorado

• Wyoming quarterback Austyn-Carter Samuels, last season's MWC Freshman of the Year, isn't sold on the "sophomore jinx."

UNLV's Clausen to Start at QB

UNLV coach Bobby Hauck has tabbed junior Mike Clausen to start at quarterback in Saturday's season opener at Sam Boyd Stadium against No. 11 Wisconsin. Clausen got the nod over senior Omar Clayton.

Clausen completed 52-of-88 passes for 463 yards and four touchdowns last season. Clayton was 196-for-326 for 2,230 yards and 13 TDs while throwing 12 interceptions.

Clausen's lone start in 2009 came against Nevada. He completed 26-of-60 passes for 276 yards and one interception in a 63-28 loss.

Clausen also rushed 69 times for 288 yards in 2009, scoring seven touchdowns.

The Fear Factor

When No. 15-ranked Pittsburgh kicks off the season at Utah (No. 24 USA Today/Coaches Poll) on Thursday night (Versus, 6:30 MDT), the Panthers' offense will be directed by sophomore quarterback Tino Sunseri. It will be Sunseri's first career start --- in prime time, no less.

"A new starting quarterback can be good and bad," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "Sometimes you get a guy who comes in and lights it up, but other times it takes a few games to get settled in. (Sunseri) threw the ball 17 times last year and didn't get a lot of playing time other than at the end. ...Typically, with a new quarterback, you are going to test him out and throw all the things any defensive coordinator would throw at a new quarterback."

Pitt coach Wannstedt is confident Sunseri will meet the challenge.

"I think he's prepared himself for this," Wannstedt said. "We have a good plan, and he understands it. Tino is very intelligent. He understands what we're trying to do as an offense. He has a strong enough arm to make all the throws that we ask our quarterbacks to make. We're not going into a game plan saying that we can't call this play or that play because the quarterback can't get the throw there accurately. He can make all the throws. He has intangibles. You don't win a state championship in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) by accident. Tino has been there, and he's done that."

There's Always a Critic

BYU quarterbacks Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps spent the duration of fall camp attempting to prove themselves worthy of being dubbed the heir to Max Hall, the Cougars' starter each of the past three seasons. When the dust settled, however, coach Bronco Mendenhall announced that Nelson, a junior, and Heaps, a true freshman, would share the quarterback duties.

"I think the general response -- and I haven't solicited much feedback from them -- but when I announced it there were a lot of nodding heads," Mendenhall said of the team's response to his decision. "Kind of the quiet support, and those that have made a comment say it was the right decision and they're behind it 100 percent, which is the easy thing to say now. For fans, for media and for everyone else, if it doesn't go well, that'll be when the tough part comes."

Nowhere to Go but Up

For the second consecutive season, Air Force will open the season against a team (Northwestern State) from the Southland Conference. Last year, the Falcons hosted Nicholls State, posting a 72-0 win. That outcome would not seem to bode terribly well for Northwestern State, which was beaten by Nicholls State last season en route to finishing 0-11.

"It's been fun watching Air Force (on tape)," Northwestern State defensive coordinator Bruce Laird said of attempting to slow the Falcons' option attack. "It's not fun seeing how good they are, but it's been fun working on it and talking about it."

For Openers

When New Mexico takes on No. 11 Oregon in its season opener on Saturday, the Lobos will be facing their highest-ranked opponent to start a season in 14 years. New Mexico fell to No. 10 Tennessee 35-21 on Sept. 6, 1986, in Knoxville, Tenn. ... Colorado State's Pete Thomas is believed to be the nation's only true freshman QB scheduled to start his team's opener this week when the Rams meet Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Invesco Field.

You Gotta Start Somewhere

Speaking of Thomas, Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild has said that as many as seven true freshmen could play against Colorado.

"There are no excuses; this is our football team; we have to go play," Fairchild said when asked if the Rams' youth has been overemphasized. "We're not putting an asterisk by Pete Thomas. It doesn't do us any good; he's got to play. Same for (Colorado). I'm sure they have new guys in the lineup, as well. It's our job as coaches to get them clued in, get them motivated, develop them and see how good we can be."

High Hopes for Hillman

San Diego State freshman running back Ronnie Hillman has been named preseason Freshman of the Year among players from non-automatic BCS qualifying conferences by ESPN college football blogger Andrea Adelson.

Dubbed the "Reggie Bush of Orange County" while at La Habra High, Hillman accounted for 2,104 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior. He was listed as Orange County's No. 9 recruit among the class of 2009. Hillman heads into Saturday's season opener against Nicholls State ranked No. 1 on the depth chart at running back.

Numbers Game

UNLV football head coach Bobby Hauck has launched a new tradition with the introduction of the "Battle Born Jersey No. 36." In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the state's official slogan, which also appears on the state flag, is "Battle Born," reflecting the state's entry on the Union side during the American Civil War.

Beginning this season, jersey No. 36 -- complete with a patch displaying the state flag on the back -- will be worn by a Nevadan who best exemplifies the Battle Born spirit of his state and the toughness and pride of Rebel Football. The inaugural recipient of the jersey senior linebacker Ronnie Paulo, who was born in Africa but grew up in Nevada and graduated from Western High in Las Vegas.

Links Worth a Look

• If there were lingering questions regarding the dedication and discipline demanded of Air Force cadets who also dabble in football, here's the final word.

• Season ticket sales have surged in Fort Worth in the wake of TCU's football success.

• Dave Christensen arrived at Wyoming as one of the top offensive coaches in the nation. Now in his second season, Christensen has more firepower at his disposal.

• A year removed from joining the MWC, Boise State has plans to add nearly 20,000 seats to Bronco Stadium.

Check it out! In Friday's College Football Preview section of USA Today, The Mtn.-MountainWest Sports Network, CBS College Sports Network and VERSUS were all included on the National Television Schedule. This is great exposure for the Mountain West Conference and its television partners in the nation's largest newspaper! 

• The Mountain West Conference recorded an 8-7 record over the first week of play. BYU started the season by tallying back-to-back road wins at Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton, while New Mexico remained perfect with a 2-0 record vs. Montana and Nebraska. UNLV won its only contest of the week, defeating UC Riverside, 1-0.

• The Cougars are ranked 14th and 16th in the latest Soccer America and Soccer Times Top 25 polls, respectively. BYU is ranked 19th in the latest NSCAA poll.

• Following consecutive home victories to open their 2010 campaign, the Lobos received five votes in the Soccer Times poll and one vote in the latest NSCAA poll.

• During the league's opening weekend, TCU and New Mexico tallied seven goals apiece in victories over Texas Southern and Montana, respectively.

• Air Force's Megan Dozier became the first MWC player to score two goals in a game in 2010, helping the Falcons to a 3-0 victory over CSU-Pueblo on Friday. TCU's Jordan Calhoun matched those efforts two days later, scoring two goals against Texas Southern on Sunday.

• Utah junior forward Erin Dalley , who was the Utes' leading scorer in 2009, scored her first goal of the season against Gonzaga at the WSU Invitational last weekend. For her efforts, Dalley was named to the WSU Invitational All-Tournament team.

The Week Ahead

• The first-ever encounter between the Air Force and Boise State women's soccer programs will take place Friday night at Cader Soccer Stadium.

• BYU begins its 2010 home slate against in-state rival Weber State on Friday. In their 13 game series, the Cougars have only lost once to Weber State. BYU is undefeated at home against the Wildcats with an 11-0 record.

• Fresh off a 2-0 start, New Mexico travels to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee and 23rd-ranked Marquette in the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tournament.

• San Diego State continues its season-opening four-game road trip on Friday when it takes on Central Florida. Following the matchup with the Knights, the Aztecs will travel to Gainesville to play No. 9 Florida - their second top-10 opponent of the season. The Aztecs have won five of their last six true road games.

• The Aztecs and Gators will meet for the first time on Sunday. SDSU has met a SEC school just once before, losing to South Carolina at SDSU Sports Deck, 2-1, in 2001.

• TCU hosts two matches at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium this weekend. The Horned Frogs face No.19 USC and Sam Houston State on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

• First-year UNLV head coach Jennifer Klein makes her home debut this weekend. The Rebels host Albany on Friday, followed by a Sunday afternoon encounter with Louisiana-Monroe.

• Utah will play in its second-straight tournament to start the season, traveling to Athens, Ga., to face Georgia and UNC Greensboro. The Utes are 1-1-0 all-time against Georgia, notching a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs in 2000. Utah and UNCG have met just once, with the Utes securing a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Spartans in Greensboro in 2008.

• Wyoming begins a three-game home stand on Friday against Buffalo. The Cowgirls will also host Idaho on Sunday, followed by a home meeting with Colorado College next Thursday.

Sterk, Boeh to Cross Paths Once Again

In the mid 1980s, Jim Sterk and Thomas Boeh worked side-by-side in the athletic department at the University of Maine. Sterk would ultimately advance to become the school's assistant athletic director in charge of finance, while Boeh became its senior associate director of athletics for administration and development.

Now, nearly 25 years later, both are athletic directors. Sterk was named athletic director at San Diego State in February after serving in the same capacity at Washington State from 2000-10. Boeh has been the athletic director at Fresno State since 2005.

When Sterk learned Wednesday that both Fresno State and Nevada had accepted an offer to join the Mountain West Conference, the competitive fire began to smolder a bit.

"For me, personally, I worked with (Boeh) at Maine, so that's going to be fun," Sterk said. "Obviously, we want to beat them every time we play, but it's good to have good competition. When you take the top three teams in the WAC (Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada) and bring them into the Mountain West, they're really strengthening the league. I think it will be a real positive for the league. (San Diego State baseball coach) Tony Gwynn was concerned there were only going to be six baseball schools (remaining in the MWC), but now we have two more (Fresno State and Nevada) that are highly competitive programs. Across the board, they bring strong programs and a national and regional fan base."

Renewing an Old Rivalry

San Diego State and Fresno State have met exactly 50 times in football, the schools' first meeting coming in 1923. San Diego State leads the series 26-20-4, but the games have been extremely tight. The Aztecs have scored a total of 1,017 points in the series; the Bulldogs 1,011.

"I think it's great for our conference, the natural rivalry we have with Fresno State, being an in-state school, it adds a lot to the conference," said SDSU football coach Brady Hoke. "They've had a great football reputation nationally, and how they've played. The job that Chris Ault has done up at Nevada is impressive. I think it's a big plus for us in the conference."

San Diego State's men's basketball team has faced Fresno State more times (102) than any other opponent.

"The addition of Nevada and Fresno State add to the quality of an already exceptional Mountain West Conference basketball league," said Aztecs men's basketball coach Steve Fisher. "We are excited to have them in the conference. Of the new schools coming in (Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada), Fresno is a school that we have had great matchups with, sell-outs at our place early in my tenure and close games in Fresno. It is a terrific rivalry that we look forward to renewing in the Mountain West Conference."

What They're Saying

University of Nevada President Milton Glick: "The offer to join the Mountain West Conference is an opportunity we cannot turn down. The Mountain West is a strong conference, and this will enhance our natural rivalry with UNLV and continue our rivalry with Boise State. We believe joining this conference is in the best, long-term interests of our fans and program and also view this invitation as acknowledgement of our work to build a strong, competitive program. ... I think it's extraordinary. I think people have been waiting a long time for this day. We think it is a game changer for us."

Fresno State football coach Pat Hill: "It's going to be a great challenge. It's some new and exciting bowls and some great games. ... It'll be a lot of fun, but it'll be very challenging."

Fresno State President John Welty: "Fresno State is honored to accept the invitation to join the Mountain West Conference. We look forward to competition against some universities we have not faced previously and to renewing rivalries with San Diego State, Colorado State and several other schools that we enjoyed previously."

Nevada football coach Chris Ault (via Twitter): "This is certainly exciting news. To be in the same conference as UNLV is important, as is having the ties to the West Coast schools."

Colorado State football coach Steve Fairchild: "They are both good football schools. They've got a tradition. I remember when I first got into coaching we played Fresno; it was back when Jim Sweeney was the coach. They've had NFL guys come out of those programs, they've been in bowls, and they've been ranked, so they'll add something to the Mountain West Conference."

UNLV President Neal Smatresk: "I think it's great that (Nevada) will be in the same league with us. We meet every year anyhow. We have a wonderful competition. It's good for the state, good for our institution and good for our conference. We've considerably improved our posture as a league."

BYU Defense Holds Its Ground

BYU's defense held the Cougar offense to one touchdown in four drives during a short practice on Thursday. The defense did not allow a first down in the three scoreless possessions, collecting two sacks in the first session and staging a pair of goal-line stands in the final two.

"Our execution still has a ways to go," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "But we have a great competitive spirit."

The offense found the endzone on 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back J.J. Di Luigi. True freshman quarterback Jake Heaps completed 7-for-9 passes for 59 yards. Junior quarterback Riley Nelson went went 0-for-1 in his only possession and sophomore QB James Lark was 1-for-2 during the offense's final drive of the day.

Senior placekicker Mitch Payne participated in practice for the first time since suffering a sprained ankle last week.

Rest While Ye Can

After taking Thursday afternoon off for swimming and a barbecue, Colorado State will hold its second full scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. The scrimmage will be closed to the general public but open to Ram Club members. Fans who want to become a member of the Ram Club are encouraged to come to the stadium, as CSU will have representatives available to assist in signing up.

The Great Unveiling

The University of Wyoming Athletic Department will hold a public open house from 5 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 26th to give fans a peek at the Wildcatter Stadium Club & Suites, the new addition to War Memorial Stadium. Fans interested in acquiring Wildcatter Stadium Club seats for the 2010 season will be able to talk with representatives from the Cowboy Joe Club about purchasing club seats. More than 70 percent of the club seats have been sold. The limited number of club seats that remain are available for one, three, five and seven-year contracts. Fans will also be able to tour the 12 suites that are featured in the new addition. All suites are sold for the next three seasons, but interested parties may talk to Cowboy Joe Club representatives about being put on a waiting list for future years.

Moving the Chains

New Mexico's offense finished with 462 total yards Wednesday night as the Lobos staged their second scrimmage of fall camp at the White Mountain Athletic Complex in Ruidoso, N.M. Sophomore quarterback J.R. Holbrook (9-of-14) accounted for 242 of the offense's 305 passing yards. Sophomore wide receiver Ty Kirk finished with three catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. True freshmen quarterbacks Stump Godfrey (27 yards) and Tarean Austin (36 yards) completed 3-of-5 and 4-of-4 passes, respectively. Austin also rushed six times for 60 yards. Junior running back James Wright carried 10 times for 45 yards and a touchdown.

BYU, Texas Agree to Home-and-Home Series

BYU and the University of Texas announced Friday that the two schools have agreed to a home-and-home football series for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Cougars and Longhorns are scheduled to meet in 2013 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, and again in 2014 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

"We are exited to announce this series with Texas," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "We are always looking for opportunities to schedule storied football programs like the Longhorns. I'm really excited for our coaches, our players and the rest of Cougar Nation to have Texas visit LaVell Edwards Stadium."

The addition of the two-game series creates three future matchups between the Cougars and Longhorns. The two schools are already slated to face each other in Austin on Sept. 10, 2011.

BYU and Texas are two of only five programs nationally to win 10 or more games each of the past four seasons. BYU is 43-9 over the last four years while Texas has achieved a 45-8 mark over the same span. Ohio State, Boise State and Virginia Tech are the only other teams with double-digit victories each of the last four seasons.

Other News From Around the Conference

• Move to Mountain West Conference figures to benefit Fresno State on numerous fronts

• Utah's running back tandem of Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata is likely to spell double trouble for opposing defenses.

• BYU's veteran offensive line is making the team's quarterback competition even tougher to sort out.

• Not surprisingly, the passing game, directed by senior quarterback Andy Dalton, has been the most impressive aspect thus far of TCU's fall camp.

• Former Notre Dame head coach and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mark Anderson that Bobby Hauck was the right hire for the Rebels.

• SI.com's Andy Staples and Stewart Mandel take a peek at the future and see a non-BCS team playing for the national championship.

Home Away From Home

New Mexico held its first workout in full pads in Ruidoso, N.M., the first practice the Lobos have ever held away from campus.

"It was a physical practice and what you would expect on the first day of pads," said head coach Mike Locksley. "We are a few thousand feet higher than Albuquerque, so the altitude training was great. It will take us a few days to adjust, but it will be very beneficial in the long run. We were able to keep our normal practice routine and had a good workout."

Junior quarterback Brad Gruner, who volunteered for special teams duty last season when he did not make the quarterback two-deep, impressed for the second straight day. Known for his ability to run, Gruner has shown improvement in the passing game.

The Lobos have 3 1/2 practice fields at their disposal at the White Mountain Athletic Complex.

Utah's Kinneberg, TCU's Winker help USA reach gold medal game

Under the direction of Utah coach Bill Kinneberg, the USA Baseball National Collegiate team finished 5-1 at the V FISU World University Baseball Championships, falling 4-3 to Cuba in 10 innings in the gold medal game on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Kinneberg, who had twice served as the National Team's pitching coach, as well the organization's director of Athlete Development Program, led Utah to its first Mountain West Conference title in 2009.

TCU pitcher Kyle Winkler, who made a school-record 19 starts this year in helping the Horned Frogs capture the Mountain West Conference title and a berth in the College World Series, was the only MWC player selected to the National Team. In six appearances spanning 12 2/3 innings, Winkler struck out 14 while allowing three earned runs on nine hits.

Changing Sides

UNLV sophomore Travis Trickey, a highly regarded linebacker coming out of Round Valley High in Springerville, Ariz., has been moved to fullback. It's a move that has become something of a trend with the Rebels thus far under first-year coach Bobby Hauck. Linebackers Brett Rather and and Anthony White were earlier moved to fullback.

And So We Meet Again

When the Baltimore Orioles faced the Indians on Tuesday night in Cleveland, the starting pitchers needed no formal introduction. Rookie Jake Arrietta started for the Orioles, while Justin Masterson, who is in his third major league season, took the mound for the Indians. Arrietta (TCU) and Masterson (San Diego State) squared off during MWC action in 2006. The Aztecs won, 6-0, with Masterson pitching a complete-game four-hitter.

Let the Best Man Win

The battle for the starting quarterback spot rages on at BYU, where junior Riley Nelson and widely heralded freshman Jake Heaps appear to be playing for keeps. During Tuesday's workout, Nelson completed 4-of-6 passes for 63 yards and three touchdowns. Heaps was 10-of-11 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Heaps' lone misfire resulted in an interception at the 1-yard line by senior cornerback Brian Logan.

Four's Company, Five's a Crowd

The 2010 Jacksonville Jaguars roster includes no fewer than four players from San Diego State. Three of the former Aztecs -- Russell Allen, Freddy Keiaho and Kirk Morrison -- are linebackers. Wide receiver Kassim Osgood was a Pro Bowl special teams player with the San Diego Chargers before joining the Jaguars in the offseason. Former SDSU defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer serves as Jacksonville's assistant defensive backs coach.

Center of Attention

Colorado State redshirt freshman Weston Richburg, who was positioned at guard on Monday, found himself at center with the first-team offense on Tuesday. Coach Steve Fairchild and offensive coordinator Pat Meyer are looking for the best candidate to replace three-year starter Tim Walter, currently with the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, freshman tight end Crockett Gillmore has been moved to defensive end, where the Rams have been hit with injuries.

Air Force Men's Hoops Loses Schafer

Air Force beat writer Frank Schwab of the Colorado Springs Gazette reports that Sammy Schafer, a starter for the Falcons' men's basketball team before suffering a concussion last season, has applied for an administrative turnback from the Academy and will take a year off from basketball. Schafer, a 6-foot-11 center, started the first three games of his sophomore season last year but missed the last 28 games because of headaches resulting from the concussion. He was averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds before being injured.

Meanwhile, Air Force and Colorado, which earlier had agreed to play a two-year series in men's basketball beginning next year, have agreed to extend the series to four years.

Other News from Around the Conference

• Even though he's viewed as one of the most dangerous kick returners in the nation, TCU's Jeremy Kerley, the MWC Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, is also tough to cut off at the pass.
• The hope is that second-year coach Michael Locksley will take New Mexico's football program to new heights. It would appear the process is underway -- literally.
• For San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley, the time has come to take off the kid gloves. Now a junior, the Aztecs coaching staff is expecting more --- and so is Lindley.
• If Wyoming football coach Dave Christensen is certain of one thing, it's that Oliver Schober will play this season -- as a 23-year-old true freshman.

BYU's Fredette Named to Reagan Celebration Youth Committee

It's a list that includes everything from pop stars to water polo players, snowboarders to sailors and ice dancers to Indy Car drivers.

And while BYU men's basketball player Jimmer Fredette may never master any of those pursuits, he can consider himself honored to be one of 11 collegiate All-Americans to be included on this prestigious list.

Fredette, the Cougars' much-decorated senior guard who led the Mountain West Conference in scoring last season (22.1 ppg), has been named a member of the National Youth Leadership Committee for the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. Fredette is one of 38 athletes, entertainers and student leaders who will honor President Reagan's legacy over the next two years through a series of celebratory events and educational programs throughout the country.

Fredette and his teammates will have the opportunity to show their skills to all of America when CBS nationally televises the Cougars MWC match-up with San Diego State on Feb. 26 at Viejas Arena in San Diego.

Schedule change ... The Utah men's basketball team has announced a change to its non-conference schedule. In place of Oregon, the Utes will host future Mountain West Conference member Boise State on Dec. 17.

In football news, BYU announces that fans will have an opportunity to attend fall practices. BYU will open four of its fall camp practices to the general public, beginning with the first of a two-a-days on Aug. 13 (10:15 a.m. and 5 p.m.). Fans are also invited to attend the team's practices on Aug. 14 and Aug. 19. Both practices start at 10:15 a.m. The Aug. 14 practice will include a scrimmage.