The TCU Horned Frogs and Utah Utes have played one tough opponent each, and have come out on top. The Air Force Falcons are maybe the "surprise" of the year, but is playing a notch or two above what I would have expected, especially in Norman. SDSU at 2-1 is I think deceptively good and then there are my BYU Cougars. The team without an identity and without a clear cut leader.
#7 Oklahoma 27 v Air Force Falcons 24 (2-1;1-0)
Air Force went into Norman an enormous underdog in the eyes of the nation, they came out of Norman with a loss, and still almost broke into the top 25. Air Force is the real deal right now. A running offense is not a "come back" offense, and yet they scored 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and put themselves in a position to tie the game at the end. The only question for the cadets is what toll all the running will do on their OL and RBs late in the season. Right now, they have proven they can play with anyone.
Florida St. 34 v BYU Cougars 10 (1-2; 0-1)
Another week where our Cougars just did not look good. We were outplayed in every aspect of the game. Our offense was totally inept in the second half and our defense played well at times, but still fell victim to the Big Play Syndrome. Right now BYU is scrambling for an identity. The players are saying the right things to the media, but I am not seeing enough of the body language on the field to back it up. What I would like to see is a Max Hall, Manase Tonga, Fui Vakapuna "blow a gasket" type emotion on a big play or some tough yardage. On defense I would like to see a Cameron Jensen-esk fist pump or a Bryan Kehl post sack victory lap. Or really for that matter maybe just a good solid tackle. Someone needs to step up and be an EMOTIONAL leader on the field, and not just a guy who says the right things. BYU needs a leader who will help them establish an identity.
Miami (OH) 31 v Colorado State Rams 10 (0-3; 0-0)
CSU continue its skid, and really has fallen to New Mexico in my eyes. They have not played good competition and have not played well. The score of this game was really 31-3. I mean CSU got the ball with just over 4 minutes left in the 4th and I am sure Miami through all the scrubs in and CSU managed a TD. But the Rams are lacking some serious punch.
New Mexico Lobos 14 (0-3; 0-1) v #14 Utah 56 (3-0; 2-0)
Same song different verse for New Mexico.
Missouri 27 v San Diego State Aztecs 24 (2-1; 0-0)
San Diego State nearly pulled of what could have been a turning point win at Mizzou. Mizzou was not ranked, but they were a quality opponent and this would have been a big game fro SDSU in terms of gaining confidence and momentum. The good news for SDSU fans is that they did not get blown away by a mid-range opponent...uh, hum
#4 TCU Horned Frogs 45 (3-0; 0-0) v Baylor 10
TCU was not tested this week, and I am surprised that they did not bump ahead of Boise State after the Virginia Tech loss, since TCU now has the quality win compenent over BSU. Needless to say, they will be king of The Mountain until someone knocks them off.
Idaho 30 v UNLV Rebels 7 (0-3; 0-1)
Man, that's 3 Mountain West Conference teams who are win-less thus far in 2010. I mean Idaho? You would have thought that adding Idaho to the MWC would be a downgrade, but apparently they are better than the bottom 1/3 of our conference. They are a middle of the pack MWC team. Next week they play CSU and I would expect them to blow them out too.
#3 Boise State 51 v Wyoming Cowboys 6 (1-2; 0-0)
Wyoming never had a chance. I think that Wyoming is moving up the ranks in the Mountain West, but the are not ready to take on Boise, especially in Boise. Despite the VaTech fiasco, I still feel that Boise is a #3 team, and probably would beat Texas, who Wyoming hung with for a little last week.