Here is the rest of week 3 games for Saturday this will be one of the last weeks the conference gets to make a statement against the non conference foes.
11.
Rice Eccles Stadium 3PM MT TV/Radio: Versus/Sirius Satallite Radio
UCLA is going for the Utah state championship Saturday when they take on Utah. The Utes are in a world of hurt and need to do something to get the offense going, especially the running game. There have been rumors of using Kyle Brady or Steve Tate at QB in certain situations similar to Eric Weddle last year and I think this is a good idea, because it would mix up the offense and perhaps spark the team. For Utah to be successful they must limit mistakes on defense, because last week that is how UCLA beat BYU with their mistakes offensively. The Utes also will be rotating defensive lineman to stay fresh against the giant offensive line. Also, the Utes must slow down Ben Olson and his passing attack while I am not sure how good he is because agaisnt Stanford he threw a ton of yards, but against BYU not so much. I would assume closer to the Stanford game but not quite that bad. Overall I see the Utes getting beat fairly easily because the Utes are not very good with who they have in the lineup and look for UCLA to have their way against the Utes.
Bronco Stadium 6PM MT TV: ESPN Game Plan/ ESPN360
This would have been a chance for Wyoming to knock of a ranked foe, but Boise State fell to Washington last weekend. Boise State is a good team with Ian Johnson running the ball. This is still a game that would be good for the conference and this is a statement game to the rest of the league that Wyoming is a legit threat to compete for the crown. If Wyoming starts like they did last week then Boise will most likely run away with this. The key match up will be Wyoming's defense against the Boise Offensive line and Ian Johnson. The O Line is very good at Boise and that helps make Ian Johnson an even better back. For Wyoming to win they need to come out fast with all facets of their offense to get the lead, and force turnovers to pull of this win. I think these teams are evenly matched and it will come down to the turnover battle to see who wins, if Wyoming wins it will be their first 3-0 start since 1996 when the Pokes started 9-0 and ended up 10-2 and a final ranking of 22 in the AP poll.
H.A. Chapman Stadium, 8PM CT TV: CSTV & CSTV PPV
OK, I will admit as I did in the latest rankings that BYU is the best team in the conference, and even more so that TCU lost to Air Force last night. BYU is playing a Tulsa team that is experienced at QB with Senior Paul Smith and can score points. The Golden Hurricanes have a new coach in Todd Graham where he took Rice to a bowl game since the 60's in just one year. Tulsa is only 1-0 by beating Louisana Monroe 35-17, but BYU is not a Monroe type team. BYU should win this game but they need to get more out of their running game with Harvey Unga getting more carries then he had against UCLA. The Cougars should be able to run the ball since Louisana Monroe rushed for over 200 yards against Tulsa, but the Tulas secondary is impressive by only giving up 66 yards passing. I think Tulsa will want some revenge after getting squashed last year in Provo, and Tulsa will keep pace throughout but for Tulsa to stay close they will need to slow the running game of BYU. It looks like BYU will win by at least 10 points.
22
Sam Boyd Stadium, 6:30PM PT TV/Radio: The Mtn./Sirius Satallite Radio
Too bad Hawaii fans or even better Heisman voters will not be able to see Colt Brennan play a Vegas team that surprised Wisonsin last week. Last week Hawaii almost blew it against La. Tech on the road winning 45-44. I believe Hawaii will be the Rebels because well they have Colt Brennan and UNLV does not have the athletes to either apply enough pressure against Hawaii and also do not have enough players to cover their receivers. A way for UNLV to have chance to win Travis Dixon needs to control the ball to keep the Hawaii offense off the field. There is no way UNLV will be able to hang with Hawaii, but I thought the same thing when La Tech played Hawaii. One side note for a reason Hawaii should win is that they stayed on the mainland after the La Tech game, so their body will be more adjusted to the time difference. Hawaii by 21 at least.
Arizona Stadium 7PM AT TV: Fox Sports Arizona
So which Lobo team will show up this time? Will it be the one that scored 6 points against UTEP or the one that scored 44 against New Mexico State. I see Arizona winning because New Mexico just isn't the best team on the road. New Mexico has Rodney Ferguson and Donovan Porterie who is coming on nicely this year. New Mexico has a chance if both of those guys can perform like they did last week. Arizona's defense is pretty good they did hold BYU to only 20 points.
Sun Devil Stadium 7PM PT TV: Fox Sports Arizona
San Diego State still has yet to show they are climbing out of the MWC cellar. San Diego State needs for some type of defense to show up against ASU this week on the road. They gave up over 40 points to an average Washington State team. For SDSU to have a good game the offense needs to control with ball with Kevin O'Connell leading the team and the Aztecs desperately need their running attack to pick up the pace, because Atiyyah Henderson did nothing last week and he is to be one of the best backs in the conference. So far Arizona State has looked pretty impressive by beating San Jost State and Colorado by a good margin. However checking out ASU's offensive stats they are not too impressive. In 2 games they have thrown for 549 yards, the 6 TD's passes is impressive, as for rushing the the Sun Devils are gaining almost 200 yards per game. For New Mexico they need to slow down star receiver Michael Jones who has 10 receptions 3 TD's and 159 yards in two games, so he is a player to watch for. ASU is a tricky opponent they are good but can lapse against opponents, but this year they so far they seem to have avoided playing down to opponents. Look for ASU to keep their record perfect at 3-0.