2007 Mountain West Conference Preview by Marc Lawrence Geography refresher: ranging in altitudes from 7 feet to 7,220 feet, the Mountain West Conference looks to be growing to new heights. BYU appears perched atop and ready to reclaim their position in the conference pecking order, while TCU might have something to say about who sits where in the MWC this year. The bottom line is this mini-conference is scaling to new levels. Here is one handicapper’s take on the Mountain West Conference for 2007. Returning quarterbacks and starters are listed alongside each team’s name. Be sure to check out the rest of my 2007 Conference Previews updated throughout the summer. Enjoy... Air Force: QB, 4 Off, 6 Def Like Elvis, Fisher DeBerry has left the building. Choosing to retire after 23 years at the helm, rather than accepting a mandated shakeup of his staff DeBerry left with a sterling 168-109-1 legacy. New head coach Troy Calhoun will have a hard time filling his shoes. Calhoun, a former AFA assistant coach and QB coach with the Houston Texans last season, is one of 17 Division 1-A coaches at his alma mater (yes, we know Division 1-A is no longer the official classification label being used nowadays by the NCAA. We just can’t get used to FBS: Football Bowl Subdivision). The bottom line is first year coaches replacing icons are not our cup of tea, especially when the cupboard is bare. Play against Air Force vs. TCU. BYU: 6 Off, 7 Def Last year we issued the warning. Simply put, the message was “don’t buck Bronco” (Mendenhall). He has raised the bar since taking over this program two years ago. “Now that we have been 11-2, now that we have a 10-game win streak, now that we were No. 15 in the country, now that we have been undefeated at home, the team has been asked to play at a higher level… we don’t intend to be satisfied with the level of play. So I have asked for more,” insists Mendenhall. He loses QB John Beck, the second best passer in Cougar history. Stepping in is Arizona State transfer Max Hall, a former JUCO Player of the Year. And the beat goes on. Play on BYU vs. Arizona. Colorado State: QB, 9 Off, 9 Def The skid continues in Ft. Collins where after winning seven-plus games ten straight years, the Rams have now failed to hit that plateau each of the past three seasons. Suddenly the powers-that-be are growing restless and Sonny Lubick knows he’s on the hot-seat. To his aid are the most returning starters (18 – plus both kickers) Lubick has ever fielded. They will look to lift the Rams out of the MWC cellar behind QB Caleb Hanie, the seventh senior signal-caller to start for Lubick. That’s reassuring given the fact that each of the previous six had a winning season, while five of them guided his team to a bowl game. Once again, our money’s on Sonny. Play on Colorado State as a pick or underdog vs. Wyoming. New Mexico: QB, 8 Off, 10 Def Rocky Long worked his magic to the max last year. Inheriting an inexperienced pack of young pups, Long guided the Lobos into the post-season for the fourth time in five years. That’s quite an accomplishment for a school which had gone bowling only six other times from 1938-2001. This season he’ll return the most returning starters he’s ever had, six of whom were all-MWC performers in 2006. Long will count heavily on seven linemen and seven linebackers with significant experience to anchor the defense. It’s the offense that will need to step things up. Four new assistants (for the second year in a row), including a new offensive coordinator (for the third straight year), will attempt to maintain stability. Play on New Mexico vs. Wyoming. San Diego State: QB, 10 Off, 4 Def Hayden Fry was a revolutionary coach at Iowa. In 1978 he took over a program that had had 17 straight non-winning seasons. Fry immediately created the Tigerhawk, a new logo representing a new University of Iowa, while bringing a wide-open passing game to the Big Ten for the first time. Fry’s teams went on to suffer only five losing seasons in his 20 years at IU. His coaching tree shows turnarounds take time, as his pupils (Chuck Long included) are 14-65 in the first year and 24-45 in the second year. Like Fry-Daddy himself, all have needed at least three years before enjoying a winning season. Long will be a winner soon but maybe not this season. Play against San Diego State vs. Colorado State. TCU: 6 Off, 9 Def Gary Patterson is the most unsung coach in all of college football. The man can coach, and his numbers attest to the fact. His teams have finished in the Top 25 every year of his tenure with TCU. In 2006 the Frogs became one of five teams in the nation to win eleven games three times the past four seasons, and they did it in dominating fashion. Thanks to a stifling defense (their PK’s actually outscored the opponents in two games last year) the Frog outscored opponents 192-13 in the first half of games last year. They also held Northern Illinois to five first downs in the Poinsettia Bowl, three of which came via penalties; impressive, to say the least. Play on TCU vs. BYU. UNLV: 7 Off, 7 Def It’s easy to scoff at a team that has won two games a year each of the last three seasons. That would be a major mistake with this year’s Rebels. Much like 2005, injuries impacted this team again last year when both their starting quarterback and senior tailback were lost for the season with injuries. QB Rocky Hinds stepped in and played all 12 games with a banged-up knee. Helping Hinds with a new makeover in 2007 will be new OC Todd Berry, former Army head coach, with his version of the Rebel Shotgun Spread Offense. In addition, the best WR corps in school history returns intact. Mike Sanford should soon begin to reap the seeds he’s sowed. Play on UNLV vs. New Mexico. Utah: QB, 10 Off, 5 Def Once again, when a team takes a precipitous drop in offensive production, yet improves their numbers both straight up and at the betting window, you can be assured the defense was front and center. It happened for the Utes last season, thanks to a stop unit that improved more than 50 YPG. This year Kyle Whittingham, who has coached 17 current NFL players, is loaded offensively with ten starters back, including star QB Brian Johnson who is back from a knee injury. Johnson led the MWC in total offense in 2005. He’ll have the returning support of his six top wide receivers, two of whom were on the 2005 squad. Yes, it’s good to be a Ute these days. Play on Utah as an underdog vs. BYU. Wyoming: 7 Off, 5 Def A chant commonly heard at Cowboy games is, “That ‘ol son of a gun from Wyoming. He’s got a syncopated gaiter, and you ought to hear the meter to the roar of his repeater.” It’s the Cowboy Joe fight song and the Cowboys hear it every time they enter the red zone. It was obviously music to the ears of the offense last year as Wyoming led the MWC in red zone efficiency at 90%. Unfortunately, the Cowboy defense ranked dead last in the same category, allowing the opposition to score 95.5% of the time it entered the red zone. Hence head coach, Cowboy Joe Glenn, knows he needs more from the defenders if they’re to regain their winning ways. Play on Wyoming as an underdog vs. BYU. Remember to get Marc Lawrence’s Guaranteed College Football Winners this year right here at Vegas Experts, where you only pay after you win! And don’t forget to check out the rest of Marc’s 2007 Conference Previews, with free College Football Picks on nearly every team!