Tag Archives: Tony Sanchez

MW football power rankings

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Here are my weekly Mountain West football power rankings entering this week’s games.

1. No. 16 Fresno State (8-1, 5-0): Winners of eight straight and most of the Bulldogs’ games in conference play have been like scrimmages. But a test awaits this week at Boise State Friday. 

2. No. 14 Utah State (8-1, 5-0): The Aggies are ranked higher than the Bulldogs and are closing the gap with Fresno State in these rankings. A Fresno State-Utah State MW championship game could be a lot of fun.

3. Boise State (7-2 overall, 4-1 MW): A close home win over BYU last week. The Broncos are good, but there haven’t been enough times where they’ve shown to be elite like the two teams above them.

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MW football power rankings

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Here are my Mountain West football power rankings entering this week’s games.

1. No. 20 Fresno State (7-1, 4-0): Another impressive victory last week against Hawaii. The Bulldogs haven’t been challenged in league play, and it likely won’t be Saturday at UNLV. 

2. No. 18 Utah State (7-1, 4-0): The Aggies’ prolific offense returned by scoring 61 points at home against New Mexico. Utah State’s defense and special teams are often overlooked.

3. Boise State (6-2 overall, 4-1 MW): An impressive road win last week at Air Force. The Broncos have a big two-game stretch coming up with home games against Brigham Young and Fresno State.

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Wyoming at UNLV football pregame primer

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A little pregame reading for you for Saturday’s Wyoming at UNLV football game. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m., and the game is televised on ROOT Sports.

As I normally do, here is my No. 1 key for the Cowboys to get the win:

Complete game: Wyoming’s done a lot right during its five-game winning streak, but despite the wins there have been lulls in its play at times. The Cowboys need to start strong, but also play well for four quarters. That may mean a close game, but it’s time for UW to play well from start to finish.

There are more, but do you agree or disagree? What are your biggest keys. For more of mine, and an update on former UW player Xavier Lewis, who is now helping coach the Cowboys, see Saturday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle and Laramie Boomerang and log on to wyosports.net.

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UW vs. UNLV football preview: Notes, quotes and video

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My top key for Wyoming Saturday in its season-finale football game against UNLV:

Balanced offense: Wyoming needs to run the ball, but it also needs to get the pass game going. A big reason why the Cowboys have scored 10 points over their last two games is that the production through the air hasn’t been there. The weather will be cold and more geared toward running the ball, but UW can’t be one dimensional and must make some plays throwing the ball.

Here are more keys in my preview video:

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Mountain West football media day – West Division notes

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Here are some news and notes from Tuesday’s first day of Mountain West football media day activities here in Las Vegas. Tuesday featured teams from the West Division. Players and coaches from the Mountain Division get their turn Wednesday.

–Nevada coach Brian Polian isn’t one to hold back his opinions, and he wasn’t happy that this season’s rivalry game with UNLV is not at the end of the season,

Brian Polian

Brian Polian

like many rivalry games are around the nation, or during the weekend of Nevada Day, which celebrates when Nevada became a state back in 1864. Nevada Day is Friday, Oct. 30 this year.

This year’s game is Oct. 3 at UNLV.

This reminds me of the Border War with Wyoming and Colorado State. There was a decent stretch when that game was played at the end of the season with other rivalry games. However, that usually came during the weekend of Thanksgiving, and attendance in Laramie or Fort Collins were poor with students not around, and usually one of the two teams not being very good.

I’ve written in the past that the Border War should be played more toward the middle of the season. The weather is better and there is more fan interest. Attendance figures at both schools back that up. Not sure what to say about the Nevada-UNLV game, but one thing is certain, Polian doesn’t like the set up this year.

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