New Mexico Bowl Notes

Categories: News
      Date: Nov 18, 2009
     Title: New Mexico Bowl Notes - Week 12

With just a few weeks to go, some college football experts are making their postseason predictions. From the WAC, Fresno State was almost the unanimous choice, selected 9-out-of-10 times, and is bowl-eligible with a 6-4 record. For the MWC selection, the prediction is Utah or Wyoming but there are also those, four to be exact, who think an at large bid will be necessary to fill the MWC spot in the bowl. Currently, Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho and Nevada are bowl eligible out of the WAC while Air Force, BYU, TCU and Utah are eligible from the MWC.

WEEK 12 NEW MEXICO BOWL NOTES

Week 12 New Mexico Bowl Notes in PDF Format

BOWL PREDICTIONS: With just a few weeks to go, some college football experts are making their postseason predictions. From the WAC, Fresno State was almost the unanimous choice, selected 9-out-of-10 times, and is bowl-eligible with a 6-4 record. For the MWC selection, the prediction is Utah or Wyoming but there are also those, four to be exact, who think an at large bid will be necessary to fill the MWC spot in the bowl.
    Currently, Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho and Nevada are bowl eligible out of the WAC while Air Force, BYU, TCU and Utah are eligible from the MWC. Here is the complete breakdown of what is selected for the 2009 New Mexico Bowl:
    CollegeBowlProjections.com: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Utah (MWC)
    College Football News/Fox Sports: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Kansas (at large bid)
    CBS Sportsline: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Bowling Green (at large bid)
    ESPN (Mark Schlabach’s pick): Fresno State (WAC) vs. Wyoming (MWC)
    ESPN (Bruce Feldman’s pick): Fresno State (WAC) vs. Texas A&M (at large bid)
    Football-Bowl.com: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Southern Methodist (MWC)
    MSNBC/College Football Talk: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Wyoming (MWC)
    Phil Steele (Operation Sports): Fresno State (WAC) vs. Utah (MWC)
    Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports: Fresno State (WAC) vs. Wyoming (MWC)
    Sports Illustrated: Nevada (WAC) vs. Northern Illinois (at large bid)

BOWL ELIGIBLE: There are 59 FBS teams that are already bowl-eligible, including four from the MWC and four from the WAC. There are 67 slots to be filled now that Navy has accepted a bid to the Texas Bowl. Ohio State is not officially going to the Rose Bowl but it has automatically qualified for a BCS game.
    Utah (8-2) is bowl-eligible for the seventh consecutive season, including all five seasons under head coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes currently own the nation’s longest postseason win streak (eight games), which dates back to 1999. BYU (8-2 overall) and TCU (10-0 overall) have each earned bowl eligibility for the fifth straight year. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is the only coach in school history to qualify the Cougars for bowl games in each of his first five seasons. TCU has earned bowl eligibility in eight of the last nine seasons under the direction of head coach Gary Patterson. Air Force (7-4) is bowl eligible for the third straight season under head coach Troy Calhoun. Calhoun is only the second coach in Academy history to have his team bowl-eligible in his first three years.
    Boise State (10-0), is also eligible for the 12th consecutive year and have been eligible every year since head coach Chris Petersen took over in 2006. Idaho, at 7-4, is bowl eligible for the first time since 1999. Nevada (7-3) is bowl-eligible for the fifth straight season despite starting 0-3 this year. Fresno State (6-4) is bowl-eligible for the third straight year and ninth time out of the last 10 seasons.
    In the WAC, Hawai`i is not out of contention yet but it must win out (3-of-3) to be in the running for a postseason game. The Warriors are at San Jose State this week to finish their WAC schedule, then return home to take on Navy and Wisconsin. In the MWC, both Wyoming and San Diego State are still alive. Wyoming needs one more win out of its two remaining games as the Cowboys are home this week against No. 4 TCU and at Colorado State next weekend. San Diego State must win both its remaining games which are on the road at Utah and UNLV.

ESPNU PICKS UP NEVADA-NEW MEXICO STATE GAME ON NOV. 21: New Mexico State’s home game against Nevada on Nov. 21 has been picked up by ESPNU and will kick off at 8:30 p.m. (MT). The game originally was scheduled to begin at 6:00. This is the last of four conference games (as stipulated in the WAC’s new ESPN contract) that will be selected by ESPNU during the season.

UNDEFEATED NOW AND THEN: Boise State (WAC) and TCU (MWC) are two of six teams in the nation without a loss. The Broncos and Frogs are 10-0. It’s the fourth time since the 2004 season that Boise State has started a season 10-0. The previous three times, the Broncos went on to finish the regular season undefeated (2004, 2006 and 2008). The only other time this decade that TCU has started 10-0 was 2003, and it finished with 11 wins after winning its first 10. Boise State and TCU are the only two non-automatic qualifying BCS teams that are undefeated.

BCS RANKINGS UPDATED: The Bowl Championship Series Standings were updated on Sunday, Nov. 15 and the Mountain West has three teams in the Top 25 while the Western Athletic Conference has one. The Mountain West Conference has had at least two teams ranked in the BCS Standings for 13 consecutive weeks dating back to last year. TCU leads all non-automatic qualifying teams, placing fourth. Boise State, of the WAC, is sixth. Utah and BYU, both from the MWC, are 21st and 22nd, respectively. For any of these teams to play in one of the BCS bowls, it must be the highest ranked non-BCS team in the top 12 of the BCS poll at the end of the regular season or rank in the top 16 and are higher than a conference champion that has an annual automatic berth. TCU is currently ranked ahead of four BCS automatic-qualifying conference leaders.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Three Mountain West teams are currently ranked in the national polls. TCU is the MWC’s highest-ranked team at No. 4 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Utah dropped to No. 23 in both of polls following its loss at TCU, while BYU rose to No. 18 in the coaches poll and No. 19 in the AP poll. TCU has appeared in the polls for 22 straight weeks, including six consecutive weeks in the top 10. TCU’s No. 4 position for the third straight week in the USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 poll equals the highest ranking ever by a MWC team in that poll, matching Utah’s No. 4 position in the final 2008 Coaches’ poll. It’s also the Frogs’ highest ranking since being fourth in the Oct. 15, 1956 Associated Press poll. TCU hasn’t been ranked this high in November since its 1938 national championship season, when it was No. 1 in the AP poll in the first week of Nov.
    Boise State, the WAC’s lone representative, is sixth in the Associated Press Top-25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Boise State has been ranked in the top 25 at least once in each of the last eight seasons. At least one team from the WAC has been in the polls every week since Sept. 17, 2006 (58 consecutive polls). Nevada, following its 52-14 win over Fresno State, received votes in both polls this week and for the first time this season.
    The Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences are receiving more respect each year from the national media. The Associated Press and USA Today preseason polls put four non-BCS teams (Boise State, BYU, TCU and Utah) in the top 25 for the first time. Boise State’s No. 14 AP poll ranking was also the highest preseason nod for a non-BCS team since the Bowl Championship Series was formed. Since 2003, at least one non-BCS team has placed in the top 15 of the final Associated Press poll or USA Today coaches’ poll in every season. On three occasions -- No. 4 Utah in 2004, No. 5 Boise State in 2006 and No. 2 Utah in 2008 -- a non-BCS team has cracked the final poll top five. On average, the highest-ranked non-BCS team at season’s end has been ranked 12 spots better than the highest-ranked non-BCS team in either preseason poll.

ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD: Many critics claim that it is unfair to consider making the Mountain West Conference or the Western Athletic Conference automatic qualifiers for BCS Bowl Games because the level of competition in their leagues is weak, providing them an easier schedule week-in and week-out. Say what you want, but both conference’s members have gone above and beyond scheduling current automatic qualifiers from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC. For the season, there are 29 games slated with 27 already in the books. Boise State opened its season Thursday, Sept. 3 with the Pac-10’s Oregon, handing the Ducks a 19-8 loss in front of the nation on ESPN. Two days later, BYU stunned Oklahoma (14-13), last year’s runner-up in the BCS Championship Game. Colorado State wrapped up the weekend on Sunday, knocking off the Big 12’s Colorado Buffaloes on their home turf, 23-17. In week three, two more victories were recorded over the automatics as TCU went into Virginia and came away with a 30-14 win and Hawai`i cruised past Washington State in Seattle, 38-20. This past weekend, TCU did it again, going into another ACC stadium (Clemson) and pulling out a 14-10 win. Utah also added a win, topping the Big East’s Louisville in Utah, 30-14.
    So far, the BCS automatics do hold the advantage this season with a record of 20-7 and have outscored the MWC and WAC 823-486. Fresno State and Hawai`i conclude the regular season at Illinois and vs. Wisconsin, respectively.

TALE OF THE TURNSTILES: The heads have been counted and in the 11th week of collegiate football just over 310,000 fans supported the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences. The most attended game (92,584) was the Louisiana showdown between eighth-ranked LSU and La Tech. In MWC action, the Utes were the most watched for the third week in a row as No. 16 Utah fell at No. 4 TCU, 55-28, in front of a soldout crowd of 50,307. It set a new TCU single-game attendance record and was also the largest crowd in the 79-year history of Amon G. Carter Stadium. For the WAC, 33,986 fans poured into Bronco Stadium to watch Boise State take on in-state rival Idaho and remain undefeated at 10-0 with a 63-25 win. A complete breakdown of each team’s attendance figures is in the attached PDF.

BCS CREATES, NAMES NEW EXEC DIRECTOR: Bill Hancock, the former director of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, was selected Tuesday to become the first executive director of the BCS. He has been the BCS administrator since 2005, often acting as a spokesman for the conference commissioners, university presidents and bowl organizers who run college football’s controversial postseason system. In his new position, Hancock will manage the daily operations of the BCS, interact with the bowl organizations and television rights holders, and serve as the organization’s primary spokesperson. He will also oversee the group’s governmental relations and public relations efforts. Hancock’s promotion resulted from a recommendation of the BCS commissioners last month and was formally approved yesterday by the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee.

SJSU’S TOMEY ANNOUNCES RETIRMENT: Following the completion of his fifth season at San Jose State on December 5, Dick Tomey will retire from coaching. His retirement will be effective January 15, 2010. The 71-year-old head coach - with 46 years in the coaching profession - made the announcement at the university’s weekly football press conference. Since Tomey took the Spartans’ reins in December 2004, the team won the 2006 inaugural New Mexico Bowl, was bowl-eligible twice (2006, 2008), had the third best win-loss record in the Western Athletic Conference over a 39-game span from the end of 2005 through the 2008 season (22-17) and produced a .500 win-loss percentage in conference road games from 2006 to 2008. The Spartans also picked up their first win over a Pacific-10 Conference opponent, Stanford, in six years in 2006 and first victory in 31 years over San Diego State that same season. With three games remaining in 2009, Tomey has a 24-33 win-loss record as San Jose State’s head coach. Overall, Tomey is completing a 29-year college football head-coaching career and has a current coaching record of 182-143-7. A consistent winner, his teams never experienced two straight losing seasons. All 332 games he has coached were with FBS schools: Hawaii (1977-1986), Arizona (1987-2000) and San Jose State (2005-2009). Tomey is the only coach who ranks in the top 10 in the WAC and Pac-10 for conference coaching victories.

UNLV’S SANFORD LET GO: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV President Neal Smatresk and Interim Athletic Director Jerry Koloskie announced Sunday that head football coach Mike Sanford’s contract will be terminated effective December 5, 2009. The action will occur after the conclusion of the 2009 football season, Sanford’s fifth as head football coach with a 15-43 overall record at UNLV. Sanford will coach the Rebels in their final game of the season at home vs. San Diego State on Nov. 28. The team has a bye week this week.

WAC TEAM, ATHLETES LEADING THE NATION: Fresno State junior running back Ryan Mathews continues to lead the nation in rushing with 149.1 yards per game. Mathews leads UTEP’s Donald Buckram, who is averaging 142.2 yards per contest. Boise State sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 172.5 rating. Finally, Hawai’i junior wide receiver Greg Salas leads the nation with 136.0 receiving yards per game. As a team, Nevada leads the nation in rushing with 353.1 yards per game, 39 yards better than the next best team, Georgia Tech (314.1).

WIN STREAKS FROM THE MWC: TCU has won 12 games in a row dating back to last season and has the third-longest win streak in the country (Florida 20, Texas 14). The Frogs have their longest win streak since a 13-game run over the final 10 contests in 2005 and the opening three games in 2006.
    Utah has won 16 consecutive home games, while TCU has won 13 straight. The Utes’ 16-game streak ranks second in league history, while the Frogs’ 13-game streak is third.

NEW MEXICO’S MESSINA NEARING MWC TACKLE RECORD: New Mexico LB Carmen Messina has 134 total tackles in 2009, just 20 shy of the MWC singleseason record of 154, set by former Lobo standout Brian Urlacher in 1999. The sophomore linebacker has recorded double-digit tackles in eight of the Lobos’ 10 games this fall and ranks first nationally with his 134 total stops, topping Greg Jones’ (Michigan St.) 126. In per game averages, Messina leads the nation at 13.40, almost two full points ahead of UTEP’s Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, who is second at 11.63.

THIRD-DOWN OFFENSE AND DEFENSE: BYU is making the most of its third-down opportunities this season and currently leads the country with a 59.27 conversion rate. The Cougars have been successful on 74-of-127 third-down conversions. The Utah, TCU and Air Force defenses have been solid on third-down conversions this season. The Horned Frogs are fourth nationally, limiting opponents to 41-of-146 conversions (28.08 percent). The Falcons have held opponents to 44-of-155 on third-down conversions to rank fifth, limiting foes to a 28.39 percent success rate, while the Utes are seventh nationally, holding opponents to a 30.14 conversion rate (44-of-146). The MWC is one of only two conferences (SEC) with three teams ranked in the top 10 for third-down conversion defense.

IDAHO MOST IMPROVED: With seven victories this season, Idaho currently has the nation’s best turnaround. The Vandals were 2-10 last year and have recorded five more wins this year. SMU also has five more wins this year, which leaves them tied with the Vandals. Idaho was picked last in the WAC preseason coaches’ poll and is currently fourth with a 4-2 record in conference play.

NOTABLE INJURIES: Fresno State will be without the nation’s leading rusher, Ryan Mathews, for Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech. Coach Pat Hill said Tuesday that Mathews will miss the game after sustaining a concussion last week against Nevada. Hill says he expects Mathews will likely be able to return for the Dec. 5 season finale at Illinois for the Bulldogs (6-4). Mathews leads the nation with 1,491 yards rushing. He has also scored 14 touchdowns. He is a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back.
    Boise State tight end Richie Brockel is expected to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. Brockel, who has eight catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns this season, injured his left foot in the sixth-ranked Broncos’ 63-25 blowout over rival Idaho Saturday. Coach Chris Petersen declined to provide details of the injury, but said the senior was undergoing tests Monday. The Broncos (10-0) also lost freshman running back Matt Kaiserman for the season. Kaiserman, who saw his first action last month at Hawaii, suffered a broken right leg. In four games, Kaiserman has 33 carries for 150 yards and one touchdown.

THIS WEEK’S PREVIEWS: Action this week kicks off Friday night on national television as sixth-ranked Boise State visits Utah State for the first game televised by the ESPN network in Romney. On Saturday all four MWC games are televised with The Mtn, CBS College Sports and VERSUS all airing games between noon and 2 p.m. The WAC has three games that day, capped off by ESPNU’s broadcast of Nevada at New Mexico State. Don’t forget links to all the games audio and stats are available at www.NewMexicoBowl.com. Some games are even available to view online. Brief breakdowns of each game slated for this week are available in the attached PDF.

--NEW MEXICO BOWL--