Mountain West Notes - CUBuffs.com

MW FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
BOISE STATE, FRESNO STATE PICKED TO WIN MW DIVISIONAL TITLES
Boise State was predicted to win the 2013 Mountain West Football Mountain
Division title, while Fresno State was chosen to finish atop the West Division. This
season marks the first time in Conference history for divisional play. Air Force, Boise
State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming make up the Mountain
Division, with Fresno State, Hawai‘i, Nevada, San Diego State, San José State and
UNLV comprising the West Division. The two divisional winners will meet in the
inaugural MW Championship Game, which will be held Dec. 7, 2013 at the home
stadium of the divisional champion with the highest BCS ranking. The game will be
broadcast nationally by CBS at 8 p.m. MT.
2013 MW FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH - MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Rk. Team (first place votes) Points
1. Boise State (40) 245
2. Utah State (1) 204
3. Air Force 143
4. Wyoming 116
5. Colorado State 90
6. New Mexico 63
2013 MW FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH - WEST DIVISION
Rk. Team (first place votes) Points
1. Fresno State (39) 243
2. San Diego State (1) 181
3. San José State (1) 172
4. Nevada 135
5. UNLV 71
6. Hawai‘i 59
A LOOK AT THE 2013 MOUNTAIN WEST SCHEDULE
The 2013 Mountain West football schedule is comprised of 98 games, including 48
Conference matchups. The scheduling format for the new 12-member football lineup
consists of five intra-divisional games and three cross-divisional contests annually. Each
institution will play four home and four road Conference games each season.
The 2013 schedule will play out over 15 weeks, concluding on Sat., Dec. 7 with the
inaugural Mountain West Football Championship Game to be played at the home
stadium of the divisional champion with the highest BCS ranking. The game will be
broadcast nationally by CBS at 8 p.m. MT.
The non-conference slate features 22 games against teams that earned bowl berths
in 2012, including Alabama, Arizona, BYU (3 games), Florida State, Minnesota (2
games), Navy (3 games), Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon State (2 games), Pittsburgh,
Rutgers, Stanford, Tulsa, UCLA, USC and Washington. Eight non-conference opponents
finished ranked in last year’s final USA Today/Coaches’ and Associated Press Top 25
polls, including #1/1 Alabama, #3/4 Notre Dame, #3 Ohio State (AP), #6/7 Stanford,
#8/10 Florida State, #19/20 Oregon State, #23/25 Nebraska and #25 Tulsa (Coaches’).
Below is a full breakdown of the Mountain West’s 2013 non-conference opponents:
ACC:
Florida State, Pittsburgh
American: Rutgers
Big Ten: Minnesota (2), Nebraska, Ohio State
C-USA:
Southern Miss, Tulsa, UTEP (2), UTSA
MAC:
Central Michigan
Pac-12:
Arizona, Colorado (2), Oregon State (2), Stanford, UCLA,
USC (2), Utah, Washington
SEC:
Alabama
Sun Belt: Texas State
Independent: Army (2), BYU (3), Navy (3), Notre Dame, Idaho (2),
New Mexico State (2)
FCS:
Cal Poly (2), Colgate, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado,
Sacramento State, Tennessee-Martin, UC Davis, Weber State,
Western Illinois
WELCOME TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST
San José State and Utah State became official members of the Mountain West on
July 1, 2013. SJSU and USU are coming off banner campaigns, as the Spartans
and Aggies each concluded the 2012 season with identical 11-2 overall records.
San José State finished the season at No. 21 in both the USA Today/Coaches’ and
Associated Press polls, marking the first time in program history that the Spartans
were included in the final national rankings. Utah State ended the year ranked No.
17 in the Coaches’ Poll and No. 16 in the AP rankings. It is just the third time in
school history that USU has ended a season nationally ranked.
THREE NEW HEAD COACHES JOIN MW RANKS IN 2013
The Mountain West welcomes three new head football coaches in 2013, including
two who are taking charge of a program for the first time in their coaching careers.
Nevada is under the direction of first-year head coach Brian Polian, a 16-year
veteran of the coaching ranks. Polian, who is coming off one year as the special
teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Texas A&M, has also served on the staffs
of Stanford (2010-11), Notre Dame (2005-09), UCF (2004) and Buffalo (1998,
2001-03).
Both of the MW’s incoming members are also be under the guidance of first-year
head coaches in San José State’s Ron Caragher and Utah State’s Matt Wells. Caragher
comes to San José State from San Diego, where he led the Toreros to a 44-22 record
and three conference titles in his first six seasons as a Division I head coach. A
two-time nominee for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award, Caragher
previously spent four years as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at
Kentucky, and from 1996-2002 was an assistant coach at his alma mater, UCLA.
Wells, a 1996 graduate of Utah State, becomes the second-ever USU alum to be
appointed the Aggies’ head coach. The 39-year-old, who is now the 11th-youngest
head coach in the FBS, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Utah
State, including serving as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
during the 2012 campaign. In 2011, Wells coached USU’s quarterbacks and was
the team’s recruiting coordinator. He returned to Logan after two coaching stints at
New Mexico, serving as the Lobos’ wide receivers and kickoff return unit coach in
2010 and its wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2008.
In 2009, Wells served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at
Louisville, and prior to his first stint at UNM, he spent five years as an assistant at
Tulsa (2002-06) and Navy (1997-2001).
BOISE STATE IS WINNINGEST TEAM IN FBS SINCE 2002
Boise State has amassed 130 wins since the start of the 2002 season, making the
Broncos the winningest team at the FBS level during that time. Below is a breakdown
of the top five leaders nationally:
MOST WINS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS (2002-PRESENT)
Rk. Team Wins
1. Boise State 130
2. Oklahoma 120
3. LSU 117
USC 117
5. TCU 111
BEST HOME RECORD SINCE 2003
Rk. Team W-L Pct.
1. Boise State 60-3 .952
2. Oklahoma 60-4 .938
3. Ohio State 67-7 .905
4. LSU 64-8 .889
5. USC 52-9 .852
6. TCU 51-9 .850
BEST ROAD/NEUTRAL WINNING PERCENTAGE SINCE 2003
Rk. Team W-L Pct.
1. Boise State 54-13 .806
2. USC 54-14 .794
3. Texas 52-16 .765
4. LSU 46-16 .742
5. TCU 50-18 .735
THEMW.COM • TWITTER.COM/MOUNTAINWEST 2013 MW FOOTBALL WEEKLY NOTES: SEPT. 9 • PAGE 6