CFN's MWC preview

It's finally up and there are some interesting predictions. Namely, Utah will end BYU's dream season at the end of the year, then finish with a 10-2 record, barely missing out on winning the Mountain West Conference.

Which brings up a good question, would that scenario be far better for you, as a fan, than say going 10-2, beating BYU, but tying them for the Mountain West? Meaning their dream season -- a shot at the BCS -- ended earlier in the year, probably to TCU. To me, that's a very difficult question. I've always believed conference championships trump nearly anything that can be won throughout the first 12 games of a season. But the chance to end your rivals' hopes of crashing the BCS is pretty sweet, especially coupled with a fairly good 10-2 season.

However, if the Utes are locked into a 10-2 record regardless of the BYU game, then I probably would choose for the Cougars to lose earlier in the season, providing Utah a shot at the conference championship with a victory in the Holy War. I mean, it's a win-win, since the Cougars still will miss out on the BCS and finally won't have that pesky conference championship to hold over Utah's head. Regardless, though, all of this will require Utah to do extremely well throughout the entire season, not just bits and pieces of it.

Another interesting thing you can take away from this is their game-by-game predictions. As I said earlier, CFN has Utah going 10-2, but those 2-losses aren't against teams you would expect. They have the Utes losing to Wyoming and New Mexico -- two games I've pegged as worrisome in past posts, but ones Utah should win. Yet they have Utah beating Michigan AT Michigan. That's pretty surprising and I think if the Utes are capable of beating Michigan, they will not lose a game the rest of the season.

So what are your thoughts on this? Do you see Utah going 10-2, beating BYU and still losing the Mountain West? Or if they do beat Michigan, as CFN predicts, will they finish undefeated? I would lean toward the latter, but I still find it unlikely Utah beats the Wolverines.