New Mexico | CFTT

Three weeks make a huge difference in college football. By now, we know a little more about teams. And, it helps when teams play inter-conference games. It helps fans and experts alike measure teams against teams in other conferences and conferences as a whole against other conferences. Therefore, the Pac 10 vs. the Mountain West Showdown this weekend goes a long way in evaluating the teams and the conferences. After the MWC swept the Pac 10 in those games, fans might cry out to give their champion an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl game. The Mountain West has fared well this year against other teams, but the “sweep” was astonishing. Most pundits were predicting a 2-2 record for the MWC in this week’s match-ups. TCU and BYU were favorites, but who would have thought that New Mexico would beat Arizona, and even more, UNLV would upset Arizona State in overtime in Tempe? It is still a long year, and teams come out and play flat often. There will always be games when a good team, a great one even, will squeak by against a much weaker team.

Battle for the Butter

Stony Brook vs. Maine
Dubbed by Mike and Mike in the Morning as the Battle for the Butter, these two played on Saturday with Maine picking up the win 28-13 behind 4 touchdown passes by Black Bear QB Adam Farkes. Stony Brook had 4 turnovers, however, they held the ball almost 3 minutes longer. It didn’t matter as Maine out-gained Stony Brook in total yardage 316 to 271. The win puts Maine at 2-1 for the season.

Looking Ahead

Alabama who has looked pretty impressive this year including their 34-10 whipping of Clemson in their first game travels to play at Arkansas who is probably the worst 2-0 team in the country. This game in intriguing because it is the first time this year that the Tide’s young Freshmen will travel to a hostile environment to play. In spite of how good they are, and they are really good, these Freshmen will struggle at some point with mistakes. While the game against Clemson was considered a road game, it was played in the Georgia Dome where the Tide had plenty of fans of their own. In Fayetteville, it won’t be that way. The Hogs also have some talented Freshmen of their own playing. They have struggled early, but when the Razorbacks needed the scores, they made the plays. With the Tide going to play in Athens against Georgia next week, this is a huge trap game. Arkansas’ defense is not very good, but they have the weapons on offense that, if they avoid the mistakes, might keep them in the game. And when that happens, well, you know what can happen.

Arizona State hosts Georgia. Neither team looked particularly good Saturday, but Georgia won. The ‘Dawg win was on the road at South Carolina, so Georgia has experienced its first road test. The Sun Devils have not left the state of Arizona. They have also experienced adversity, but they failed to overcome it losing at home to UNLV in overtime. This is only the beginning of a tough stretch as Arizona State plays four straight ranked teams (Georgia, Cal, USC, Oregon) although Cal will not be ranked after losing to Maryland. They have to travel to USC to take what should be a major beat-down.

Auburn hosts LSU. If you like smash-mouth defenses, then this game is for you. Auburn knocked off Mississippi State 3-2 on Saturday while LSU squeaked by North Texas 41-3. LSU is not as explosive as last year, Auburn is still trying to find a rhythm offensively.

While Phil Steele has TCU’s schedule ranked number 85, it’s hard to believe the Frogs will have an easy time playing Oklahoma in Norman and hosting Stanford. Add to that what I believe to be the toughest non BCS conference, and TCU will have a challenge to win 10 games. But, for the Horned Frogs, it is possible that they return to double digit wins in 2008. Here is TCU’s schedule.

@ New Mexico, August 30, 5 PM

They don’t seem to excited to see TCU in August out in Albuquerque. And for good reason, the Lobos only return 10 starters from a year ago, including just one on the Offensive Line. Also gone are the two leading receivers from 2007, both of whom had over 1000 yards receiving. But the Lobos return Jr. QB Donovan Porterie (6-3, 206) who passed for 3006 yards and 15 TD’s. They also return Sr. RB Rodney Ferguson (6-0, 229) who rushed for 1177 yards a year ago. On defense, the Lobos return their top tackler Jr. Lobo Ian Clark (6-0, 210) and their unique 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

Stephen F. Austin, September 6, 6 PM
Not much went right for the Lumberjacks last year as they were 0-11. SFA, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), will need more than a few axes when they come into Amon G. Carter Stadium for their appointment with the Horned Frogs.

Stanford, September 13, 6 PM
One week after Stanford had the biggest upset of the year beating USC in the L A Coliseum, the Frogs overcame a 14 point lead in the second half to beat the Cardinals 38-36 in Palo Alto. The Cardinals return 16 starters and look to improve on last season’s 4-8 record. The Cardinals return their top three tacklers from 2007 including Fr. FS Bo McNally (6-0, 208) who recorded 114 tackles. On offense the Cardinals return So. RB Tony Gerhart (6-1, 228) from a Medical Redshirt in 2007.

@ SMU, September 20, 7 PM
2008 is the beginning of the June Jones era in Dallas. The Mustangs will have to improve dramatically, but with Jones in charge, SMU may make a big turn around. This year’s game is being dubbed the DFW Duel: The Battle for the Iron Skillet.

@ Oklahoma, September 27, TBA
The Sooners cannot forget 2005 when the Frogs went in to Norman and beat OU in front of 80,000 fans. Not only did the Frogs beat them in 2005, but they beat them in 1996 as well. The Sooners will run some no huddle Spread Offense this year, but I don’t know how well So. QB Sam Bradford (6-5, 213) moves. The Sooners return 8 starters on Offense including Bradford and the entire Offensive Line. The Defense only returns 5.

San Diego State, October 4, 5 PM
There is good news, bad news, and very bad news for the Aztecs which finished 4-8 last year. The good news is they return 8 starters on Defense. The bad news is that defense was not good as it gave up 242 yards rushing per game, 257 yards passing per game and 34.4 points per game. TCU had 694 yards of total offense and 45 points against SDSU in 2007. Now for the very bad news. SDSU only returns 3 starters on Offense.

@ Colorado State, October 11, 5 PM
The Rams were really close to being a winning team last year. They took Colorado to Overtime, the scared Cal when the Bears were ranked 10th, and would not go away against TCU. On Offense, the Rams return 7 starters, including Sr. RB Gartrell Johnson (6-0, 227) and Sr. RB Kyle Bell (6-2, 231) who combined to rush for 1648 yards in 2007. On Defense the Rams return 5 starters including 2007 leading tackler Sr. MLB Jeff Horinek (6-3, 234) who had 94 tackles.

BYU, October 16, 7 PM
Heading into 2008, it seems most people think BYU will be great. The media has tabbed them as their favorite to win the MWC, Jr. QB Max Hall (6-1, 201) is the Preseason MWC Offensive Player of the year and has been added to the 2008 O’Brien Watch List, and Jr. DE Jan Jorgensen (6-3, 256) has been named to the 2008 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List. Last year BYU began the year losing at UCLA and at Tulsa before going undefeated in the MWC. The Cougars finished the year 11-2, winning 10 straight games including nail bitters against Utah, TCU and UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. BYU only returns 3 starters on Defense, but 10 of the projected starters are upperclassmen. The Offensive should be great, led my Max Hall who passed for 3848 yards and 26 TD’s they also return their top 4 receivers and So. RB Harvey Unga (6-0, 243) a big punishing back who averaged 5.0 yards per carry for 1227 total rushing yards in 2007.

Wyoming, October 25, 5 PM
This a game the Horned Frogs want to win to avenge last year’s 24-21 loss in Laramie. The Cowboys return 8 starters on offense and 6 on deffense. Sr. RB Devin Moore (5-10, 191) rushed for 965 yards in 2007 and Sr. RB Wynel Seldon (6-0, 219) added 554 yards. Jr. QB Karsten Sween (6-2, 222) is back looking to improve on his 2028 yards passing. The Defense returns 2 of its top 5 tacklers. Sr. WLB Ward Dobbs (6-0, 230) had 98 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 INT.

@ UNLV, November 1, 7 PM
TCU has owned UNLV the past three years, but this Rebels team might be a dangerous one. UNLV returns 9 starters on Offense that rushed for 141 yards per game and passed for 213 yards per game but averaged only 18.2 points per game. The top two QB’s return, and that may be the biggest battle in Fall camp, and both are capable performers. UNLV also returns their top RB, Sr. Frank Summers (5-10, 200) who rushed for 928 yards and 6 TD’s. The Offensive Line returns 7 with starting experience. The Defense only returns 5, but their projected starters include 9 upperclassmen. The Rebels return their number two tackler from 2007, Jr. SS Daryl Forte (5-11, 185) who had 94 tackles.

@ Utah, November 6, 7 PM
The media voted BYU to be the preseason favorite of the MWC, but Phil Steele, the college football magazine guru, has the Utes as his favorite. One reason may be the return of Sr. QB Brian Johnson (6-1, 205). Johnson who redshirted in 2006 due to an injury, played much of 2007 injured and only passed for 1847 yards while rushing for 314 (net just 150 yds.). As a starter in 2005, Johnson passed for 2892 yards while rushing for 690 yards in 10 games missing the last three games due to, you guessed it, an injury. A healthy Johnson will mean a good Utah Offense as they return 8 starters on that side of the ball including Sr. RB Darrell Mack (6-0, 219) who rushed for 1204 yards and 12 TD’s in 2007. Defensively, Utah returns 6 starters including 2 of it’s top 3 tacklers from a year ago.

Air Force, November 22, 2:30 PM
This another game the Frogs will want to avenge. The Frogs, just 5 days after playing Texas, lost a heart breaker in Colorado Springs 20-17 in Overtime where it seemed the Frogs just ran out of gas. The Falcons went on to win 9 games and receive a birth to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. The Defense returns 5 starters and the Offense just 3. The Falcons have to replace a lot of offense from 2007.