Peak Perspective: The 2019 Bold Predictions Revisited

Well the 2019 Mountain West football season has now concluded. It was an interesting season that saw Boise State winning for the second time in three seasons. At the beginning of the season I released some bold predictions that made some happy and ruffled some feathers. Here is me revisiting those predictions to give myself some kudos or make fun of myself. So, let’s get started.

Bold Prediction 1: The Conference Championship will feature two different teams.

Result: Wrong

I was half correct on this one with the West division being won by Hawaii instead of Fresno State. I felt that both Boise State and Fresno State would be taking a step back due to loss of talent. Boise State finished the season 11-1 with an 8-0 conference record. If they didn’t lose to BYU, the Broncos would have been the Group of Five representative in the New Years Six. Congrats to Hawaii and that exciting offense for winning the West Division! Led by Cole McDonald throwing for over 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns, the Rainbow Warriors had their first 10 win season since 2010. Also it’s always good when a Mountain West teams beats BYU.

Bold Prediction 2: UNLV will make a change at coach regardless of record.

Result: Correct

Let’s be honest here, Tony Sanchez was a deadman walking unless the Running Rebels somehow either made the conference title game or better. They are moving to Allegiant Stadium next season as a tenant to the Las Vegas Raiders (This is already going well for them so far….). As the season went on the Rebels continued to struggle. They did beat Vanderbilt 34-10 which is a plus. Also closing the season with two straight wins including a win against rival Nevada. By then it was already apparent that UNLV would be moving on from Sanchez. UNLV hired Marcus Arroyo as his replacement.

Bold Predictions 3: The second-place team in the Mountain Division will be…. Air Force

Result: Correct

Although I had Air Force jumping Boise State for second place it was Boise jumping Air Force for first in the Mountain Division. The Falcons put together a great 2019 season. Upsetting Colorado in Boulder was big. The tough thing for them was to travel to Boise on a short week immediately after. That made the difference in winning the Mountain and hosting the MW title game and being runner up. Getting a double digit win in the Cheez-It Bowl over Washington State gave the Falcons an 11-2 record to close the season. Unfortunately, a loss to Navy prevented them from receiving the Commander in Chief trophy. Otherwise solid season with a lot of talent returning the Falcons could be in the thick of things in 2020.

Bold Predictions 4: The Bronze Boot will go to Fort Collins

Result: Wrong

This one is a painful one. Although I did make this prediction thinking that Colin Hill would be healthy all season. The game was low scoring and a cold game which favors Wyoming. Their defense is a solid defense that Colorado State could not solve. Wyoming won the game 17-7 to extend their streak to four. Colorado State continues to struggle in games against rivals (Colorado, Air Force and Wyoming) which ultimately led to Mike Bobo resigning or mutually parting ways after the season. This series of late has always been a bit streaky, so in 2020 who knows what’s going to happen. For Ram fans the only way to go is up..

Bold Prediction 5: Jordan Love will be finish in the top 10 for the Heisman Trophy

Result: Wrong

Man, this would have been cool if Jordan Love had put up similar if not better numbers than his 2018 season. The issue is he had was his entire team struggled this season. They limped to a 7-5 record in which they did play eventual National Champion LSU. Love still put up good numbers throwing for over 3,400 yards but only threw 20 touchdowns with 17 interceptions. His best game was a 416 yard passing game against Wake Forest in a wild back and forth affair. He has since declared for the draft and looks to potentially be a first round pick.

There it is, the bold predictions revisited from the 2019 football season. Be on the lookout for the 2020 predictions coming this August.