This Week's Games Thursday, November 9
Wyoming (5-5, 4-2) at No. 25 BYU (7-2, 5-0) on CSTV
Saturday, November 11
Colorado State (4-5, 1-4)at Utah (5-4, 3-2) on VERSUS
No. 8 Notre Dame (8-1) at Air Force (4-4, 3-2) on CSTV
TCU (6-2, 2-2) at New Mexico (5-4, 3-2) on the mtn.
UNLV (1-8, 0-5) at San Diego State (1-7 ,1-3) on the mtn.
Last Week's Results Friday, November 3
Air Force 43, Army 7 (West Point, N.Y.; Attendance - 32,066)
Friday, November 4
TCU 25, UNLV 10 (Las Vegas, Nev.; Attendance - 13,916)
Wyoming 27, San Diego State 24 (Laramie, Wyo.; Attendance - 14,012)
BYU 24, Colorado State 3 (Fort Collins, Colo.; Attendance - 21,117)
Week 10 Recap BYU remains in the driver's seat at 5-0 atop the Mountain West Conference standings, while Wyoming (4-2) has won four of its last five games and is currently in sole possession of second place. On Saturday, the Cougars rolled to their sixth consecutive win and assured themselves of their first winning season since 2001 with a 24-3 triumph over Colorado State, while the Cowboys rallied from a 17-3 deficit to edge San Diego State, 27-24. In other MWC action, TCU handed host UNLV its eighth consecutive loss with a 25-10 victory in Las Vegas.
In the only non-conference game of the week, Air Force scored a school-record 36 points in the second quarter en route to a 43-7 win over Army on Friday.
Starting Fast in Conference Play BYU (5-0) is the lone undefeated team remaining in MWC play. Including this year's Cougars, seven teams have started league play 5-0 in the eight-year history of the MWC. The previous six teams secured at least a share of the conference championship. This is BYU's third 5-0 start to MWC play. The Cougars also started 5-0 in 1999 and 2001. BYU shared the 1999 MWC crown with Colorado State and Utah after dropping its final two regular season games. The Cougars first conference loss in 1999 came at the hands of Wyoming, BYU's opponent this week. The Cougars won the 2001 MWC title with perfect 7-0 record.
In The Rankings For the first time since the final poll of the 2001 season (Jan. 4, 2002), the Cougars have earned a spot in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll. With a 24-3 victory over Colorado State on Saturday, BYU picked up its sixth straight victory and improved to 7-2 on the season. BYU received 53 points to rank 27th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. The last time the Cougars were ranked in the Coaches' Poll was on Sept. 8, 2002.
Mountain West Race BYU is currently 5-0 in league play and holds a game-and-a-half lead over Wyoming (4-2) and a two-game lead over Air Force (3-2), New Mexico (3-2) and Utah (3-2) in the standings. Four weeks remain in the regular season and BYU can clinch at least a share of the MWC title with a victory over Wyoming (5-5, 4-2) on Thursday. BYU has not won a league championship since the 2001 season.
Who's Bowl Eligible? BYU (7-2) and TCU (6-2) are both bowl eligible. New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah each have five victories on the season and are in need of one more win to become bowl eligible. Air Force and Colorado State are still in the bowl hunt with four victories apiece. The Falcons must win two of the their final four games, while the Rams must win two of their last three contests.
Week 11 Preview The 25th-ranked BYU Cougars (7-2, 5-0) host Wyoming (5-5, 4-2) on Thursday night in Provo. BYU has won six games in a row, while the Cowboys have captured four of their last five contests.
Air Force (4-4, 3-2) welcomes eighth-ranked Notre Dame (8-1) to Falcon Stadium Saturday. The last time these two teams met, Notre Dame was ranked seventh in the nation and defeated 15th-ranked Air Force, 21-14, in Falcon Stadium on Oct. 19, 2002.
Colorado State (4-5, 1-4) travels to Salt Lake City to face Utah (5-4, 3-2). The Rams look to end a four-game losing streak, while the Utes attempt to become bowl eligible for the fourth straight year.
TCU (6-2, 2-2) faces New Mexico (5-4, 3-2) in Albuquerque on Saturday. Both teams enter the game riding three-game win streaks.
San Diego State (1-7, 1-3) hosts UNLV (1-8, 0-5) at Qualcomm Stadium. The Aztecs lead the series 4-3 since the inception of the MWC in 1999. The Rebels captured last year's contest 13-10 in Las Vegas, halting a three-game SDSU win streak in the series.
Week 10 Highlights
Air Force Falcon Back John Rabold intercepted two passes at Army, both of which led to touchdowns in the second quarter. Rabold is the first Falcon to have two interceptions in a game since Tony Jones vs. Colorado State in 1998. The interceptions are the first of Rabold's career.
QB John Beck led BYU to a 24-3 victory at Colorado State. Beck completed 22-of-30 pass attempts for 290 yards. It was the sixth time this season, and fourth straight game, Beck has posted a completion percentage over 73 percent.
San Diego State LB Joe Martin recorded 15 tackles (10 solo), including a sack for five yards, in the loss at Wyoming.
TCU QB Jeff Ballard totaled 279 yards of offense in a 25-10 win at UNLV. Ballard rushed for a career-high 84 yards on 14 carries. He also completed 15-of-28 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown.
UNLV had three players record double-figure tackles against TCU. DB Jay Staggs tallied a game-high 13 tackles, followed by LB Jason Beauchamp with 11 and DL Howie Fuimaono with 10.
Overtime Games Mountain West teams have been involved in four overtimes contests in 2006, tying the league record for overtime games in one season set in 2002. Wyoming has been involved in two of the three overtime games, falling at Virginia, 12-13, on Sept. 9, and at Syracuse Sept. 29, 34-40 in double-overtime. BYU also has played one overtime contest this season, dropping a 23-30 double-overtime decision at Boston College on Sept. 16. The first intra-league overtime contest of the year took place Oct. 14 with New Mexico defeating UNLV, 39-36. MWC teams are 2-8 all-time against non-conference opponents in overtime since the league's inception in 1999. An MWC team hasn't won an overtime contest against a non-conference foe since BYU defeated Virginia, 38-35, on Sept. 2, 2000. Below is a look at MWC records in overtime since it was established in college football in 1996. The MWC record reflects each institution's record since joining the MWC.
Team
2006
MWC
Total
Last Overtime Game
Air Force
0-0
1-2
4-2
Nov. 1, 2003 (Lost to Utah, 43-45, 3ot)
BYU
0-1
3-3
5-3
Sept. 16, 2006 (Lost at BC, 23-30 2ot)
Colorado St.
0-0
0-0
0-1
Oct. 13, 2001 (Lost to Fresno State, 22-25)
New Mexico
1-0
2-3
3-4
Oct. 14, 2006 (Defeated UNLV, 39-36)
San Diego St.
0-0
0-0
3-1
Oct. 24, 1998 (Defeated Utah, 21-20)
TCU
0-0
2-0
5-4
Sept. 24, 2005 (Defeated BYU, 51-51)
UNLV
0-1
1-4
1-7
Oct. 14, 2006 (Lost to New Mexico, 36-39)
Utah
0-0
2-2
2-3
Nov. 19, 2005 (Defeated BYU, 41-34)
Wyoming
0-2
1-3
3-4
Sept. 30, 2006 (Lost at Syracuse, 34-40 2ot)
Consecutive Games Without Being Shut Out
Rk.
Team
Games
Last Time Shutout
1.
TCU
172
Nov. 16, 1991 (Texas, 0-32)
2.
Air Force
164
Dec. 31, 1992 (Mississippi, 0-13)
3.
Utah
160
Sept. 4, 1993 (Arizona State, 0-38)
4.
New Mexico
53
Sept. 27, 2002 (Texas Tech, 0-49)
5.
UNLV
33
Nov. 8, 2003 (San Diego State, 0-7)
6.
BYU
32
Nov. 22, 2003 (Utah, 0-3)
7.
Wyoming
31
Sept. 11, 2004 (Texas A&M, 0-31)
8.
San Diego State
6
Sept. 16, 2006 (Wisconsin, 0-14)
9.
Colorado State
2
Oct. 21, 2006 (Wyoming, 0-24)
Team Shutouts (Since MWC Inception 1999)
Rk.
Team
No. of Games
Last Time
1.
TCU
6
Sept. 11, 2004 (SMU, 44-0)
2.
Utah
5
Sept. 16, 2006 (Utah State, 48-0)
3.
San Diego State
3
Nov. 8, 2003 (UNLV, 7-0)
3.
Air Force
3
Aug. 30, 2003 (Wofford, 49-0)
5.
Wyoming
2
Oct. 21, 2006 (Colorado Statae, 24-0)
5.
BYU
2
Sept. 23, 2006 (Utah State, 38-0)
5.
New Mexico
2
Sept. 14, 2002 (Baylor, 23-0)
8.
UNLV
1
Sept. 16, 2000 (North Texas, 38-0)
9.
Colorado State
0
Oct. 4, 1997 (Hawai`i, 63-0)
Ahead of the Class Through the first seven-plus years of the MWC, BYU, Colorado State and Utah are all even atop the league standings in MWC victories, while Utah has accumulated the most overall wins. Below is a look at how all nine MWC teams have fared:
School
MWC W-L
Pct.
Overall W-L
Pct.
Bowls
Utah
35-20
.636
60-31
.659
5
Colorado State
35-20
.636
56-39
.590
6
BYU
35-20
.636
53-41
.564
3
New Mexico
32-23
.582
48-45
.516
3
Air Force
26-29
.473
49-41
.544
2
San Diego State
22-32
.407
31-58
.348
0
Wyoming
16-40
.286
31-59
.344
1
UNLV
15-40
.273
31-59
.344
1
TCU*
10-2
.833
17-3
.850
1
*Record since joining MWC in 2005.
Length of Games (Home Game Total Run Times) The new NCAA timing rules have definitely changed the length of games and number of plays in the Mountain West Conference. The chart below compares the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
