Mountain West Betting – Horned Frogs Still Team To Beat In Mountain West?
The Mountain West Conference is making a habit out of punching a ticket to big-time January bowl games. NCAA football betting analysts are wondering if the mountain mojo will be able to continue in 2010.
Last year, the TCU Horned Frogs reached their first BCS bowl in the 12-season BCS era after dominating the Mountain West Conference. Just one year earlier, the Utah Utes ran the table and earned a BCS bowl date from this non-BCS conference. Will another team in this league be able to make a splash on the national college football scene?
Team On The Rise:
In a conference with three teams that have all achieved quite well over the past few seasons, the notion of a surprise is relative, but if any team other than TCU, Utah or BYU achieved a top-three finish, that would rate as an eyebrow-raising moment. Enter the Air Force Falcons, a team online betting commentators will talk about in 2010. This is a disciplined team that is always knocking on the door and has pushed the Mountain West’s best virtually every year under coach Troy Calhoun. With an extra big play here or an averted mistake there, Air Force could rise slightly higher in the MWC pecking order. This team has very little shot to win the league, but finishing third – ahead of a BYU team that’s installing a new quarterback in 2010 – would put smiles on the faces of the folks in Colorado Springs.
Team On the Decline:
If you want to eliminate a name program from the chase for the Mountain West title, look to Provo, Utah, and the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains. It’s all relative, but an 8-4 regular season and a fourth-place finish would represent a disappointment for a Brigham Young club that’s won 43 games over the past four years. Coach Bronco Mendenhall has done a fantastic job in Provo, but he relied on veteran signal caller Max Hall to make the right read and distribute the ball to a number of different receivers. With a new quarterback this year, the Cougars should be a shade behind TCU and Utah. Moreover, the loss of key offensive cog Harvey Unga (due to breaking the Mormon honor code at BYU) will further weaken this team’s overall profile.
Best Player In The Conference:
BYU offensive tackle Matt Reynolds. Quarterback Max Hall has finally graduated, which will cripple the Cougars this upcoming season, but thanks to Reynolds, he didn’t get sacked very much during his career in Provo. Reynolds anchored a very solid offensive line in 2009, enabling coach Bronco Mendenhall’s team to go 11-2 and whip Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Reynolds’ return in 2010 will enable BYU to break in a new quarterback and potentially stay in the top tier of Mountain West Conference teams. Don’t blame Reynolds if BYU slips to fourth place in the league.
Who Will Win The Mountain West:
BYU, for all its weaknesses, will still ultimately have a say in the matter of who wins the MWC. Air Force will get its own turns at bat as well, but sports betting junkies would likely conclude that this is basically a two-team fight between TCU and Utah. The Utes – before they leave for the Pac-12 Conference – will host TCU this season in Salt Lake City. On the other hand, the Horned Frogs will get yet another year from quarterback Andy Dalton and a group of very fast receivers on the perimeter. Utah signal caller Jordan Wynn made steady improvements in 2009, but does he have what it takes to gun down TCU in a high-stakes shootout? It’s doubtful that he does. TCU will win a tough, high-scoring game and take the Mountain West for the second straight year.
