Utah -

The Utes take on Pitt today to kick off the college football season. Here is our own preview of the game.

The long awaited 2005 Fiesta Bowl rematch between Utah and Pittsburgh features the same schools, but much different teams.  This Pitt team, full of NFL prospects, should be much, much better than the team Utah thumped 35-7 in their first BCS Busting, undefeated season.

For more on the style of how Pitt should play, check out our 2010 Preview of the Panthers.

This season Pitt looks to be better.  They return five starters on offense, and six on defense.  After a stellar Freshman year, RB Deon Lewis looks to make another push at the Heisman.  They also return one of the nations top wide receivers in Jonathan Baldwin.  

Pittsburgh's defense looks to be strong once again.  They return Greg Romeous and Jabaal Sheard to their defensive line which led the nation in sacks in 2009 with 3.69 per game.  They also return both safeties their secondary which ranked 49th in pass defense, giving up 213 yards per game, and also return two linebackers.

For even more preview of the game, check out our Q&A Session with Pitt Script. 

UNLV -

The game preview for UNLV's season opener against Wisconsin will be up tomorrow, but until then you'll just have to settle for analysis from May.

This team lost a lot of talent after last season, but they still are ranked sixth in Lindley's Pre-Season top 25. It's because this team was so deep last season, that even though so much talent has left, so much talent steps in for the remaining open positions. For instance, at Tight End, Wisconsin lost star Garrett Graham who was First-team All-Big Ten. They have Lance Kendricks taking over the starting role and Wisconsin shouldn't lose anything at that position because of the caliber player that Kendricks is. Wisconsin shouldn't have any issues with departing players this upcoming season.

For more coverage, you can also check out our Q&A Session with Bucky's 5th Quarter, the Badgers blog here at SB Nation.

5. Both of us see Wisconsin winning, but what would it take for the Badgers to mess up this game and lost it?

It would take a lot. Wisconsin nearly lost at UNLV in 2007 but those were two different teams. This Badger team is better and it seems like this UNLV is team is worse. I just don't see how Wisconsin's running game won't have success Saturday. If the Badgers lose, it will probably be because they struggle with the heat early, turn the ball over and fall into a hole. Here's what is more likely to happen: If Wisconsin doesn't go deep on the first play from scrimmage like they did last year (an 80-yard touchdown against Northern Illinois), the Badgers will run on every single play on their first drive, score a touchdown and never look back.

NBC Sports also has done a preview on the UNLV-Wisconsin game.

With Scott Tolzien returning and John Clay healthy again, No. 12 Wisconsin hopes to get off to another fast start when it opens the season at UNLV on Saturday night.

Tolzien was the fourth starting quarterback in as many years for the Badgers last season, but he led Wisconsin to a 10-3 record, including a 20-14 win over Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl. He finished the year with 2,705 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

New Mexico -

The Lobos open the season against the 11th ranked Oregon Ducks. Jeremy did a preview on them back in May.

The biggest question for Oregon is who will be their quarterback in the fall.  Jeremiah Masoli is out as quarterback and the battle will come between Nate Costa and Darron Thomas once the season begins.  My gut goes with Nate Costa, and the way Chip Kelly has been able to plug in quarterbacks and they all do well.  This happened when Dennis Dixon went down (well the following year), and when Jeremiah Masoli took over for Darron Thomas during the Boise State game in 2008.

Oregon also received a Q&A Session from us along with Utah and UNLV receiving their's as well.

5. Most assume that Oregon will easily win this game, but what would have to happen for New Mexico to pull of this upset?

Oregon turnovers and a lot of them. With a couple of those generating points, momentum and belief on the UNM sideline. Seriously, the wheels would really have to come off. It would be considered the most pathetic home loss since the 24th-ranked Ducks lost 30-24 to Indiana. Disaster can and will happen. Doubtful it happens Saturday against New Mexico, not against this veteran-heavy Duck team.

Another preview of the game was done by NBC Sports.

With their star running back suspended, the 11th-ranked Ducks begin their quest for a second consecutive conference championship when they face the Lobos for the first time Saturday.

Oregon went 10-3 last season, ending Southern California's seven-year reign as Pac-10 champion and advancing to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995. The Ducks, however, were beaten 26-17 by then-eighth-ranked Ohio State.

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Colorado State

The Rams are still looking for a starting center.

Utah

Eddie Wide has been named as a candidate for the Doak Walker award, the award is presented to the top running back in college football.

New Mexico

B.R. Holbrook gets the starting nod for the season opener.

TCU

Last years lone defeat has the Horned Frogs motivated.

SDSU

The Bleacher Report has a prediction on the Aztecs.

UNLV

The Bleacer Report has a prediction on the Rebels.

BYU

Riley Nelson is the official starter but will platoon the role with Jake Heaps.

UNLV -

The UNLV Basketball team signed another recruit in 6' 6" small forward Karam Mashour.

"Karam is a talented wing, who shoots the ball well," Kruger said. "He is aggressive off the dribble and he will be a really good addition to our program. He has an uncle that lives in town, which will help him greatly with the transition."

UNLV's 11 day football camp in Ely is over following Saturday's Scrimmage.

"If I was to describe our team right now, in a word -- tired," he said. "We are fatigued as a football team. We wanted to see live blocking and live tackling, we obviously emphasized that. We had a prescribed number of plays today and got in and got out clean, except for (offensive lineman Shane) Watterson (Saugus, CA/Saugus HS) getting hurt and hopefully he's okay.

New Mexico -

New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley said that the camp in Ruidoso, NM was beyond expectations.

"I don't think he has done anything to lose the job and not just tonight," said Darrell Dickey, UNM's offensive coordinator. "He continues to grow and get better and the guys believe in him. But we have some really good young guys and we'll have to sit down and decide how we want to work that position."

In the Lobo's Women's Soccer program, the team shutout Nebraska 3-0.

Nebraska finished the game with eight shots on goal but a stellar performance by sophomore goalkeeper Kelli Cornell and the New Mexico defense prevented the visiting squad from scoring.

Wyoming -

Wyoming is setting up a Football Kickoff Luncheon for Monday, August 30th.

The luncheon will be emceed by The Voice of the Cowboys Dave Walsh, and will feature Wyoming Football Head CoachDave Christensen and his staff. In addition, all four of the 2010 football team captains will be featured--Austyn Carta-Samuels, Brian Hendricks, David Leonard and Chris Prosinski. Christensen will take questions from fans during the program.

The Cowgirls Women's Soccer team lost to Colorado 2-0.

"We spent a lot of the game chasing the ball and we were unable to get any rhythm in the attack as a result," said UW head coach Danny Sanchez. "Colorado is a quality team and both goals they scored were really quality finishes."

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Time to focus on some stuff not regarding BYU or expansion. 

Air Force

The defensive line looks good in camp and should be a strength:

One of the highlights of training camp has been the emergence of about six or seven linemen who can substitute and bring different strengths to the front three.

"I don't think there will be any one superstar, like maybe we had with Garland," defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt said. "But by committee, I think you're going to see some high motors and good intensity."

Air Force QB Tim Jefferson is a capable passer and should help open up the Falcon offense:

Jefferson threw reasonably well last year, although he completed just 57 percent of his passes, a number he wants to improve. And although Jefferson looks good throwing the ball - he said it's the best he has tossed the ball in his career "by far" - he's ready for whatever is asked of him.

BYU

BYU is going to play at Buffalo on Dec 30th in basketball.

Audio via 1320 KFAN from today's BYU practice:

RB Mike Hague 

The quarterback battle is still dead even:

In the other team session today, Jake Heaps led the offense to a touchdown, while Riley Nelson did not.
Heaps' TD drive was set up by a 27-yard pass to Rhen Brown and culminated by a 2-yard touchdown run by Josh Quezada. The other Heaps possession resulted in a punt.

Nelson's first possession went nowhere.

His second possession was better, thanks to a pair of 16-yard passes to Rhen Brown and Matthew Edwards.

However, it stalled on third-and-9 when Nelson missed a wide-open Quezada out of the backfield.

Nelson was visibly upset at himself for the overthrow.

The stats:

Heaps: 7 for 7 for 62 yards
Nelson: 4 for 6 for 40 yards; 4 carries for 21 yards.
R. Brown had two catches for 42 yards, Riley Stephenson made a 42-yard field goal and Luke Ashworth had a 16-yard catch.

Really thought I could leave out BYU going independent news.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Colorado State

Linbackers are going to be a force for the Rams:

What to look for: For the first time since before current defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Larry Kerr left following the 2002 season, season CSU has a chance to establish a dominating linebacking corps.

The running game should be strong with their depth:

"We've got a number of running backs," Colorado State University coach Steve Fairchild said Saturday following the Rams' third practice of the season. "Probably four, five, six guys we could put in the ballgame. So we'll have to figure out the rotation. Obviously, guys staying healthy will have something to do with it."

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Rick Scuteri - AP

TCU head coach Gary Patterson is not happy with his defense, but what else is new? (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

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TCU

Coach Gary Patterson is giving the TCU defenders his annual "dressing down" in the media. 

"Right now on defense there are no starters," Patterson fumed after the scrimmage. "We're terrible. Every job is open. We gave up almost 600 yards today."

I wouldn't read too much into it, this time last year he said the same thing and that the team looked like a 6-6 squad.

Boise State

Boise State coaches agree that watching the blue turf on TV was painful in 2009.

"What really got my attention was those (fan) things, but also when (coach Chris Petersen) said, 'Gene, it's hard to watch practice tape,' " Bleymaier said. "Sometimes they had trouble viewing their practice tapes because of the glare."

Virgina Tech Coach Frank Beamer has named Logan Thomas the #2 QBbehind senior Tyrod Taylor.

"We're fortunate to have two quality backups at quarterback, both of whom are at a stage that they can go in and win a game for us," coach Frank Beamer said in a prepared statement. "We felt the decision needed to be made at this time to give our No. 2 quarterback more reps in practice."

(Read about Utah, BYU, CSU, UNM, SDSU, UNLV, AFA, and Wyoming after the jump)

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Air Force

The Falcon secondary is looking to be aggressive:

"For us, there never can be too much of those qualities," Warren said Saturday after the Falcons completed a long, hard practice. "We're not going to do anything elaborate, but we're going to be aggressive. We understand that when you try to make big plays, things can happen both good and bad and you roll with the punches."

Here is an excerpt of a Q&A with Air Force's Troy Calhoun done by The Denver Post:

"I think we're facing the strongest football schedule a service academy has played in decades," Calhoun said. "We'll see as we get into our August practice, but I have a hunch this will be one of those teams that will look at that challenge right in the eye."

In their first five weeks, the Falcons face road games at Oklahoma and Wyoming. They also have home games against BYU, a perennial Mountain West power, and service academy rival Navy, whom the Falcons haven't beaten since 2002.

Q: You have talked about concerns on the offensive line and at linebacker. Where do you stand on those two areas?

A: We have to make rapid improvement in both of those areas in August. A.J. Wallerstein and Chase Darden are two linemen who have played a good number of snaps. I think by mid-November and in 2011, the offensive line will be a position of strength for our team. We're going to try and make it happen sooner.

Q: In your three seasons, Air Force has had winning records each year and gone to a bowl game. Is this your best team on paper?

A: Time will tell. We have an awful lot to do before the first of September. We need a good three weeks of work at every position, and then we'll sit down and evaluate where we are. The work we do in preseason practice is going to be huge for this team.

BYU

Six basketball games will be shown on BYU-TV, and there are some good matchups:

Nov. 5, BYU vs. BYU-Hawaii, 7 p.m. (Marriott Center)
Nov. 20, BYU vs. Chicago State, 7 p.m. (Marriott Center)
Nov. 23, BYU vs. Mississippi Valley State, 7 p.m. (Marriott Center)
Dec. 4, BYU vs. Hawaii, 4 p.m. (EnergySolutions Arena)
Dec. 8, BYU vs. Vermont, 7 p.m. ET (Glens Falls Civic Center)
Dec. 11, BYU vs. Arizona, 4 p.m. (EnergySolutions Arena)

Below is a whole lot of audio from BYU practice today.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall

WR O'Neill Chambers

QB Coach Brandon Doman

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TCU

TCU AD, Chris Del Conte, announced on his blog that TCU has set a new all-time record for football season-ticket sales.

The excitement in our program is illustrated by the TCU, Fort Worth and surrounding communities helping us set an all-time record for football season-ticket sales. We've gone over the 16,200 mark with a month still to go before our home opener.

Colorado State

The Rams are now in full pads and having physical, up-tempo practices.

The first drill of the practice was a five-man, live tackling drill, which consisted of a ball-carrier, an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, a player blocking downfield and another defender. There was a 5-yard-wide trench that was formed by blocking pads and players. The ball carrier had to get past the defender without going out of the area. The drill was physical and set the tempo for the rest of practice.

Utah

The Ute's are stockpiling Krugers...

Brothers Dave and Joe Kruger give the Utah Utes a combined 13 feet of height and 550 pounds on the defensive line. The younger siblings of former Utah star Paul Kruger, now with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, are expected to make sizeable contributions this fall. Dave (6-5, 290), a sophomore nose tackle, and Joe (6-7, 260), a freshman defensive end, entered camp high on the depth chart and through three days of practice are solidifying spots in the rotation.  "Absolutely," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "They will play."

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More photos » Kenny Crookston - AP

BYU and SDSU will square off on national television this season on CBS.

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Utah

Utah ranked in the USA Today Coaches' Preseason Top 25, released this week.

The 2010 Utah football team is tied for No. 24 with West Virginia in the USA Today Coaches' Preseason Top 25, released today. It marks the third time in school history that the Utes have cracked the USA Today Coaches' Preseason Top 25.

Runnin' Utes to face Butler in Diamond Head Classic.

The University of Utah men's basketball team will take on NCAA runner-up Butler in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Wednesday, Dec. 22 in Honolulu. The Utes and Bulldogs tip off at 9 p.m. MT live on ESPNU.  The winner of Utah vs. Butler will take on the winner of the Florida State vs. Hawaii matchup on Thursday, Dec. 23, live on ESPN2.

BYU

NCAA denies BYU's waiver request regarding the transfer of former USC linebacker.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall announced Friday that an NCAA waiver submitted on behalf of junior linebacker Uona Kaveinga was denied.  BYU has submitted an appeal. The waiver asked that the USC transfer be allowed to play this season without having to sit out a year after his transfer.

BYU to hoop it up on national television.

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose announced the 2010-11 schedule today, which features matchups with Arizona and UCLA, a trip to the South Padre Island Invitational and a nationally televised game at San Diego State on CBS.

TCU

TCU seventh in Preseason Coaches Poll.

The TCU football team is seventh in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll, marking its highest preseason ranking since 1956 when it was also seventh.  It's the sixth time since 2000 that TCU has been ranked in the preseason. Last year's No. 17 preseason ranking was TCU's highest appearance in a preseason poll since 1960, when it was 11th. The previous four occasions saw the Horned Frogs no higher than 20th in a preseason poll.

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