Fresno State, one of five Mountain West teams to start the 2012 season with a win, enters this week facing a tough non-conference road matchup against fourth-ranked Oregon.
But the Bulldogs aren’t the only Mountain West team that will have faced tough, early season trials and tribulations before conference play.
Boise State, in their first game post-Kellen Moore, the NCAA’s winningest quarterback, lost at No. 13 Michigan State 17-13 in a contested season opener. Hawaii was the first team to fall prey to top-ranked USC 49-10.
So which Mountain West teams face the hardest matchups entering week 2? Read on… Boise State and Hawaii are idle this week… point spread according to VegasInsider.com
Air Force (1-0) at No. 19 Michigan (0-1)
The Falcons’ option offense opened the season at lightning speed against Football Championship Subdivision opponent Idaho State. Air Force rushed for 484 yards on 58 carries and executed a total of 69 plays””four more than Fresno State’s win over Weber State. Granted, it was against an FCS opponent. But Air Force will need momentum from last week’s win in order to face a ranked Michigan team that features dual-threat quarterback in senior Denard Robinson. Last year, Robinson threw for over 2,000 yards and rushed for another 1,176. Speedy offenses will collide on Saturday at Michigan Stadium. Falcons 21.5-point underdogs
South Florida (1-0) at Nevada (1-0)
The Wolf Pack take on the Big East’s South Florida, a team that finished under .500 last season. Their 31-24 win against California was a game where Cal quarterback Zach Maynard’s threw an underachieving 47 percent of his passes for completions and top receiver Keenan Allen was held to three receptions. But Nevada’s 27 first downs showcased the efficiency it has behind the pistol offense. Saturday’s matchup against USF will probably be Nevada’s only remaining formidable non-conference opponent and looks to be highly contested. They face Texas State and Northwestern State this season as well. Wolf Pack one-point favorites
Toledo (0-1) at Wyoming (0-1)
Wyoming enters this week’s matchup losing to No. 15 Texas 37-17. The Cowboys face a Toledo team that lost to the Pac-12’s Arizona in overtime by a touchdown score. Cowboys quarterback Brett Smith was intercepted twice and the Wyoming offense rushed for a total 69 yards against a tough Texas defense. Toledo ranks 73rd overall among Football Bowl Subdivision schools in passing yards.
After this week, Mountain West teams will have faced six ranked opponents. Wyoming will look to produce more offensively this week. Cowboys 2.5-point favorites
North Dakota State (1-0) at Colorado State (1-0)
Colorado State’s Jim McElwain””BCS champion Alabama’s offensive coordinator last season””was another Mountain West coach who started their head coaching careers with a victory. The Rams produced 298 total yards on offense (the same amount Derek Carr threw for in last week’s win over Weber State). They are one of two Mountain West teams this week to face off against an FCS opponent.
New Mexico (1-0) at No. 15/17 Texas (1-0)
Oddly enough, New Mexico’s offense scored a Mountain West-leading 66 points against FCS school Southern University. Even if it was against an FCS opponent, the Lobos scoring drives featured a fumble recovery score, a passing score, an interception return, a kickoff return to the house, and five rushing touchdowns. New Mexico found several ways to score in their season opener. Odds are it won’t happen this week when they journey to Austin to face a Texas squad that features two 100-plus yard rushers in Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown. Lobos 38-point underdogs
Army (0-0) at San Diego State (0-1)
One team will leave this game with its first win of the season in what appears to be one of the more competitive matchups this week. Army starts its season this week after concluding a 3-9 2011 campaign where none of the quarterbacks on the offense threw above 1,000 yards.
Fresno State begins conference play in the Mountain West Sept. 29 at home against the Aztecs. Aztecs 6.5-point favorites
Northern Arizona (0-1) at UNLV (0-1)
UNLV is the second Mountain West team to face an FCS team this week after airing it out for a subpar 116 yards in its 30-27 overtime loss to Minnesota. The Rebels also face the Pac-12’s Washington State and the WAC’s Utah State (which will jump ship to the Mountain West next season) in non-conference games. Practice is going to have to make perfect for UNLV, which allowed 478 total yards from Minnesota’s offense. The Rebels finished 2-10 overall last season.
