Vacation and officially a month until the season kicks off

I'm about to head out for a week on vacation, so there won't be any updates until I return. Which means, sadly, I will not be here for the first day of practice -- which opens on August 9th. But I promise practice reports when I return.

Also, we're only a month away from the start of the 2006 season. The Utes open up on the road against UCLA on September 2nd and I feel like a child on Christmas Eve, bubbling in anticipation for what gifts sit under the Christmas tree. In one month we'll know if the preseason hype was warranted and whether the Utes can capitalize off their strong finish last year. Beating UCLA on the road won't be an easy task, but a win would definitely set the course for an amazing season.

Utah isn't the only Mountain West team opening up the season with an important game. Here's a list of Mountain West games of importance from week one.

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San Diego State head coach Chuck Long begins his career with the Aztecs against Mike Price and his UTEP Miners. Price, who's had stunning success in El Paso, will be a difficult test for the Aztecs, however they should benefit from a home crowd. A win against UTEP would be a strong debut for Long and his Aztecs, but it won't be an easy task.

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BYU opens the season against Arizona and will look to continue building their program under 2nd year head coach Bronco Mendenhall. Arizona, a team that's finished 3-8 in consecutive years, will look to progress under 3rd year head coach Mike Stoops. Stoops' Wildcats really didn't improve much over the 2004 team, so this game will be important in kicking off a successful season for Arizona. The Wildcats' defense will be matched against the Cougars explosive offense and the Wildcats will need to capitalize off of BYU's mistakes if they're going to win this game. With an average offense and a possible return of the Desert Storm defense, there is no room for error here for the Wildcats. BYU on the other hand has a lackluster defense and a solid offense. If BYU's offense can overcome Arizona's defense, they should win. However if Arizona's defense contains John Beck and the Cougars offense, that should give them enough of an advantage to win.

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TCU will look to follow up its 11-1 season with a big win against Big 12 cellar dweller Baylor. While this game looks to be an easy win for the Frogs, Baylor improved greatly last year and some even think they could finish with a winning record this season. The game, on paper, shouldn't even be close. However it's an intrastate road game for the Frogs, so they definitely could have a slip up. Especially if they overlook the Bears, like they did SMU last year.

These games are all a challenge for Mountain West teams, but they're also all winnable. I don't think the Mountain West will go undefeated in its first week of play, but it would not surprise me if they finished with only 1 or 2 losses (especially considering the rest of the conference opens up against weaker opponents).

One month to go, and baby do I love it!