Handicapping Mountain West Football
The Mountain West Conference was something of a conference of parity last season. The Fresno State Bulldogs and Utah State Aggies each finished 7-1 (in conference play) in their respective divisions, the San Diego State Aztecs and Boise State Broncos each went 6-2 in the same category and three teams finished 5-3.
Boise State Broncos
Week 1 Odds: Fresno State -4.5 vs. Boise State
Conference Winning Game Odds
BOISE ST 7/5
UTAH ST 3/1
FRESNO ST 3/1
NEVADA 7/1
COLORADO ST 18/1
SAN DIEGO ST 12/1
SAN JOSE ST 30/1
HAWAII 30/1
UNLV 30/1
WYOMING 30/1
AIR FORCE 30/1
NEW MEXICO 75/1
Futures from sportsbook.ag
Each of the aforementioned institutions should remain competitive in 2014, but one will look to improve, taking a title away from the others.
Mountain West Overview
The Fresno State Bulldogs were the team to watch last season from the Mountain West. Their play in conference was strong, as evidenced by their division-leaving record; however, it was their overall 11-2 record that caught everyone’s attention nationwide.
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This season, the Dogs have a tough schedule ahead of themselves, and putting together that same kind of record is going to be quite the task.
Why Boise State will have the most wins in the Mountain West
Chris Petersen is gone, and Bryan Harsin is in. This may sound like a problem for those who watched Petersen lead this team to bowl games in years past, but this group has a lot going for it entering the 2014 college football season.
For starters, let’s consider the fact that this is the beginning of a new era. The team has gone just 19-7 since Kellen Moore went pro, and while that’s a respectable record for any program, it’s not what we’d come to expect out of this powerhouse of a mid-major.
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Along with this new era will come health (hopefully). Or at least it will come with a healthy roster to start the year. Last season, the Broncos dealt with injuries across the board, resulting in the underwhelming record we saw.
This year, with a hopefully healthy running back in place, Boise State can return to the run game that it was so successful at just a few years ago – fitting, considering Harsin’s 2013 Arkansas State squad utilized the run quite a bit.
Where Boise State truly needs to get back on track is defense. The offensive skill players – not to mention the QB – received a heavy dose of credit during the undefeated and near-undefeated seasons, but the defense was what gave them the flexibility to run such a free-flowing offense.
This is no longer a nation-leading defensive squad, but it does have a ton of experience in the back seven.
Prediction: 11-2 overall
Sticking with the theme of experience, the Broncos have 12 starters coming back in 2014. Youth has been a problem the past few seasons, but the hope is that that theme is gone at this point in the process.
As already mentioned, health is going to be crucial this season. It was a problem a year ago, and while you can’t blame a down year (outside of the conference) solely on injuries, you can think about what would have been if the team had been healthy throughout the entire season.
With the Broncos starting the year healthy (and experienced), they have a real shot at taking down Ole Miss on a neutral field (on national television) to start 2014.
Look for the Broncos to find success early and often, and look for them to walk away with a Mountain West title.
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