Hey, if the so-called media experts can do it, why can't I?
Here it is, the long anticipated Block U preseason poll. Ok, maybe not that anticipated.
1. Brigham Young
2. Utah
3. Texas Christian
4. New Mexico
5. Air Force
6. San Diego State
7. Wyoming
8. Colorado State
9. UNLV
Why I picked the way I did:
I've always believed the defending champion stays at the top until they actually lose the crown. BYU hasn't lost a conference game in two years and should be the choice to win the Mountain West. I expect a tight race between Utah, BYU and TCU and ultimately Utah winning the conference, but in terms of my preseason poll, the Cougars are the obvious choice.
The Lobos are good and last year was the first season where they were really consistent. However, I think they slip up at least 3 times in conference play, which is why I don't expect them to contend. They'll win their 7 games, play in the postseason and now that Rocky appears to have them over the bowl game hump, possibly win another bowl game.
Outside of the top-4, I believe Air Force will make some noise again this year, maybe even influencing who wins the Mountain West -- especially with Utah and BYU both traveling to Colorado Springs. They won't win the conference, or even contend, but they should reach at leasy 6-wins and may alter the race for the championship.
The bottom half is where it gets tricky. I think Wyoming has ability to be really good, or at least decent enough to shake things up, but I'm not convinced they will. I've seen this team derail far too many times over the past 3 seasons to put stock in any type of run. There is no doubt this Wyoming team is better than last year's, but even that team only managed to win 2 conference games. Because of this, I see them winning maybe 3 this year.
Next month I'll break down the schedule a bit more, look at each team and predict their final record and conference standings.