Mountain West Conference power rankings

In week two the Mountain West took a hit, as there were quite a bit blown opportunities of some major upsets. Yet, every team that played a BCS opponent, except one, actually kept it close. The lone victim, San Diego State.

TCU held a half time lead against Texas, BYU nearly rallied to beat UCLA in Pasadena, UNLV held a slight lead against Wisconsin with less than 2 minutes to go and Colorado State barely lost to a top-10 Cal team. A few breaks here and there and the Mountain West could have sent shockwaves throughout the college football landscape. Instead, they were 0-5 against BCS opponents, definitely a lost opportunity.

Team of the week: UNLV. The Rebels looked pretty poor in their opener against USU, but nearly shocked the country with their performance against Wisconsin. It's hard to believe the same UNLV team that won only 2-games last year, held a 13-12 lead late in the game. Unfortunately, the Rebels couldn't stop Wisconsin and dropped to 1-1 on the season. However, more play like that and maybe UNLV sneaks up on some teams this year.

Dud of the week: Utah. For the second week in a row, Utah holds this honor. While only New Mexico and Wyoming won Saturday, Utah had the worst loss. The Aztecs did get clobbered by Washington State, but that was on the road and against a pretty talented BCS team.

The Utes struggled on offense against Air Force and couldn't make key stops as the Falcons won 20-12. You should never lose a home game against a team that won only 4 games last year. And while I think the Falcons will be improved, they are not a more talented team than Utah. The loss was embarrassing and worthy of making Utah the dud of the week.

And now, the rankings...

Week Two Rankings
Rank	Team	Comments
1		The Frogs looked poised for a big upset early on, but then fizzled late against Texas. It was a loss that hurt, since many thought they were capable of beating the Longhorns. It's even worse when you realize they were outscored 34-3 in the second half. Depth was obviously a major issue, but that's typical when going up against BCS teams. TCU is still locked into the top spot, since no team was able to have an impact win.
2		Down 20-3, BYU roared back against UCLA and made it a game. The Cougars actually outscored UCLA 14-7 in the second half, yet were held scoreless in the 4th. The Cougars' offense looked decent and former BYU prised recruit -- and UCLA quarterback -- Ben Olson looked rather weak. Was that BYU's defense, or just poor play on his part? Hopefully it's the latter, since Utah plays Olson this week.
3		It was ugly early, but the Cowboys pulled out the victory. Wyoming is looking pretty good and at 2-0, possibly positioning themselves for a great season. They'll have a test this week though, as they face a Boise State team that was humbled by Washington Saturday.
4		Air Force is 2-0, 1-0 in Mountain West play and looking good. But they've only played one D1-A team this season and that game wasn't the greatest. The Falcons' win over Utah was fairly unimpressive, but a victory is a victory and I'm guessing Air Force will take it. Now it gets tough, as they face TCU Thursday.
5		How good is Colorado State? Well they're 0-2, but both losses have been really close. They took Cal down to the wire and should have beaten Colorado the week before. That's good because it shows that the Rams are competitive, yet bad because they're still 0-2. Just being competitive won't get the job done, they're going to have to start winning games. The Rams have a week off before getting that chance against Houston. That will be a true test, as it's a game Colorado State can reasonably win.
6		UNLV barely beats Utah State and then barely loses to Wisconsin. I'm confused! Are the Rebels now improving, or was that just Wisconsin overlooking an opponent? Hell, it's Vegas, maybe the entire Wisconsin team spent the night prior to the game out gambling, partying and having a good ol' time. We'll see whether they're for real this week, as they host #24 Hawaii.
7		A nice win for New Mexico, who had a track meet with their instate rival New Mexico State. It's funny, in week one they have a defensive battle and then in week two an offensive explosion. The issues with this victory are daunting, however. New Mexico State is not a good team and while they have an offense that loves to air it out, the Lobos defense should not be giving up 34 points to them at home. Look for a 180 this week, as they travel to Arizona. That, like the UTEP game, should be a defensive battle.
8		Chuck Long's second season with the Aztecs looks to be like his first. San Diego State was dominated, both offensively and defensively, against Washington State and looked lost for most of the game. While the Cougars are solid, there is no excuse for that defense to give up 38 complete passes and 469 yards through the air. That 38 completions is now a Washington State record, by the way. Expect more of the same next week, as San Diego travels to Arizona State.
7		Blah, this sucks. Utah shouldn't move up because they haven't proven to me they're better than last place. Every Mountain West team, outside of SDSU -- who's played only one game -- has shown some signs of life. The Utes, though? Nothing. Nothing on offense and while their defense looks decent enough, it won't be enough to carry this team. Hope things change and an upset against UCLA is the place to start.