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