Mountaintop View 7-18-22. Utah State, MWC schedules, conference realignment, SDSU WRs, Future Games.

It’s Monday and we are back at it! Football news is always plentiful even in the off-season. Through it all, coverage is still coming your way today in the form of the latest news around the internet and original content later today and all of this week.

State of the Program: Utah State

Blake Anderson led the most remarkable program turnaround last year, taking a 1-5 team to an 11-2, top 25, Mountain West Conference and LA Bowl champion in 2022. Now what will they do for an encore? The Aggies have to replace a lot of talent at WR and the front 7 on defense. But with QB Logan Bonner and a new influx of transfer talent, they could pick up right where they left off. The coaching staff should be a big factor and they know what it takes to make the team gel quickly. Plus, core returning players have had a year in the system and should be even better this year. On the other hand, the advanced metrics thought the 2021 version was pretty lucky and they may not be able to replicate that good fortune this season.

What the MWC got right and wrong in its scheduling.

Chris Murray dives into Thursday’s scheduling announcement when they released the pods or “protective rivalry games” for the next three seasons. He says it worked out very well for Air Force, Colorado State, Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii, UNLV, and Wyoming. However, Boise State’s protected games make no sense, and New Mexico, SDSU, SJSU, and Utah State aren’t much better. Mainly because the Lobos and Aggies don’t have traditional in-conference rivalries. Murray also makes some tweaks and comes up with a better schedule, one that protects nine of ten traditional rivalries instead of only six.

College football’s changing landscape.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s the theme of Wyoming beat reporter Ryan Thorburn’s column. He discusses how the PAC went from 10 to 12 teams and is now back down to 10. Also, how the Mountain West looked on the verge of implosion last year and now is the most stable conference out west. He also considers Wyoming’s resume for conference realignment, which has one glaring issue: no Mountain West conference titles. Plus, the future of Craig Bohl and how he will be the longest-tenured Wyoming coach this season.

Aztec Wide Receivers.

Summers are great for position previews and this one looks at the SDSU wide receiver group. For the first time in quite a while, it could be productive. Leading the way is Jesse Matthews, who will be one of the best WRs in the conference after an impressive 2021 campaign. And the coaching staff thinks that Tyrell Shavers isn’t too far behind him, although he is more unproven. Both are praised for not only their talent but also their conditioning and ability to play a significant amount of snaps. Other names mentioned are TJ Sullivan and true freshman Jacoby Kelly.

Future Games

On the horizon:

• Later today: A new MWC Recruiting Roundup with the latest news, offers, and commitments.
• Coming Tuesday: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: End of Season Predictions (Part 1)
• Coming Wednesday: Peak Perspective: The MWC vs. the PAC-12: 2021 Season Comparison.