Making the rounds: Mountain West news and notes

Making the rounds is back up and running. So if you find any items you feel the site should be aware of send them along to @MWCConnection.

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Boise State's Williams-Rhodes eager to make more big plays " Idaho Statesman Blogs

Broncos' Ajayi loses weight, ready to carry the load | Idahostatesman
Jay Ajayi turned heads with his 6.7 yards per carry last season as a redshirt freshman for the Boise State football team.

Mountain West opponents

Minnesota Football 2013 Season Preview: The Turn - The Daily Gopher
Years 3 and 4 are "the Turn Years." If a coach is going to break through whatever program ceiling, it generally occurs in the third or fourth year of his tenure... or not at all.

James Wilder Jr., running back: Florida State football preview 2013 - Tomahawk Nation
James Wilder Jr. made a number of highlight runs in 2012. Is he ready to carry the load for Florida State and take the pressure off red-shirt freshman QB Jameis Winston?

2013 Colorado football's 10 things to know: And now we wait - SBNation.com
In Mike MacIntyre, Colorado brought in a head coach who did at San Jose State exactly what he will be asked to do in Boulder: salvage a broken program.

2013 Washington football's 10 things to know: Seven-win Steve and a healthy foundation - SBNation.com
Washington surged defensively, slumped offensively, and finished 7-6 for the third straight year. Can this exciting squad break through their self-imposed glass ceiling?

2013 UCLA football's 10 things to know: Ready to become the new kings of L.A.? - SBNation.com
Jim Mora, Jr., engineered a hell of a turnaround in Year 1 at Westwood. Can his Bruins overcome a rough road schedule and a sketchy secondary to make their third straight Pac-12 title game?

2013 Arizona football's 10 things to know: Can RichRod sustain his gains? - SBNation.com
After a shaky offseason, can the Wildcats navigate a pretty easy schedule and sustain last year's improvement in the win column?

2013 Utah football's 10 things to know: Stemming the tide (or trying to) - SBNation.com
After a season marred by injury and inconsistency, Kyle Whittingham's Utes head into 2013 with drastically lower expectations than they had a year ago.

2013 Oregon State football's 10 things to know: Which was the outlier, 2011 or 2012? - SBNation.com
After a rather sudden collapse in 2011, Oregon State bounced back in a major way last fall. Now Mike Riley's Beavers have to prove that 2011 was the oddity.

2013 Stanford football's 10 things to know: Holding onto that David mentality - SBNation.com
Major-league continuity for a team that has won 35 games in three years? Check. Cooperative (but still pretty challenging) schedule? Check. This might be Stanford's best chance to make a serious run at the national title.

2013 USC football's 10 things to know: Overhauled Trojans will be fun, for better or worse - SBNation.com
With Marqise Lee and a sparkly, aggressive new 3-4 defense, Lane Kiffin's Trojans should be really fun to watch. But will they be good enough to avoid a winter coaching search?