College Football 2011 Predictions: Mountain West Conference

Here are my Mountain West Conference football predictions for the 2011 season:

 

1st Place: Boise State Broncos

Boise State is an awesome 61-5 in Chris Petersen's five seasons on the job, and the wins should continue to pile up in 2011.

With 14 starts back—including Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore—the Broncos have a great shot at winning the Mountain West in their first season in the league. Moore, who is 38-2 as a starter, needs only eight more victories to pass Colt McCoy as the winningest signal caller in FBS history. College football oddsmakers have listed Boise State at +1200 to win the national championship.

 

2nd Place: TCU Horned Frogs

With only six starters returning, it will be nearly impossible for TCU to build on last season's 13-0 campaign, which was punctuated with a Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

The offense figures to take a step back after losing quarterback Andy Dalton.

The defense returns only four starters, but this is a unit that has been able to reload, rather than rebuild, under coach Patterson. The Horned Frogs have led the country in total defense the last three seasons and five times in Patterson's 11 years on the job.

 

3rd Place: Air Force Falcons

 Air Force went 9-4 last year but was oh so close to a 12-1 campaign—the Falcons lost to Oklahoma, San Diego State, and Utah by a combined 10 points.

Led by one of the best running games in the nation (which averaged 306.5 yards per game last season), Air Force will remain among the league's elite.

4th Place: San Diego State Aztecs

San Diego State finished 9-4 in 2010 and could have potentially run the table, when you consider that each of their four losses came by five points or fewer.

The Aztecs return a pair of outstanding offensive weapons in quarterback Ryan Lindley and running back Ronnie Hillman, but it will be difficult for them to improve on last year's results, with Brady Hoke and Al Borges now at Michigan.

Still, the Aztecs are coming off their first bowl victory since 1969 and should be able to make another postseason trip this year.

 

5th Place: Colorado State Rams

Coach Steve Fairchild is feeling the heat after consecutive 3-9 campaigns. He must win now, and fortunately the schedule sets up nicely for him to do so.

His Rams should benefit from a favorable non-conference slate that includes games against Northern Colorado, San Jose State, Utah State, and UTEP.

 

6th Place: Wyoming Cowboys

Wyoming took a big step back last year after going 7-6 with a New Mexico Bowl win over Fresno State in 2009. The Cowboys are coming off a season in which they went 3-9 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

A defense which brings back seven starters has the potential to be solid, but an offense which loses quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels will likely disappoint.

 

7th Place: UNLV Rebels

UNLV hasn't made a bowl appearance since 2000, when it defeated Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Second-year head coach Bobby Hauck —who has an 82-28 career record —isn't used to losing and is trying his best to get the Rebs back in a bowl. The odds are stacked heavily against that happening in 2011, with UNLV's seven road games and matchups with TCU, Boise State, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

Maybe next year.

 

8th Place: New Mexico Lobos

Following last year's 1-11 campaign, Mike Locksley fell to 2-21 since taking over as New Mexico's head coach.

In 2010, the Lobos ranked dead last nationally in scoring defense (44.3 PPG) and total offense (256.7 YPG).

Locksley still has a mountain to climb and may not be around to see this thing through if he can't get a few more wins in 2011.

Be sure to check out my other 2011 college football predictions.

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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/745039-2011-college-football-predictions-mountain-west-conference

Kevin Russo Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez