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New Mexico Bowl Notes - Week 6

Week 6 New Mexico Bowl Notes

Week 6 New Mexico Bowl Notes in PDF Format

MWC AND WAC REGULAR SEASON WAR OVER: The season series between the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences has concluded at 6-3 in favor of the MWC, with its members outscoring the WAC 263-203. Six of the nine MWC teams (BYU, CSU, UNM, SDSU, UNLV and Utah) played against the WAC while six of the nine WAC teams (Hawai`i, Idaho, Nevada, NMSU, SJSU and USU) played the MWC. In the end, Utah and Idaho had the best records for each conference, both going 2-0.
    The Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences have gone head-to-head the last three years in the New Mexico Bowl with the MWC holding a 2-1 advantage thanks to Colorado State’s come-from-behind win over Fresno State last year. Last year the MWC also came away with a 5-2 edge in the regular season series. In the breakdown, the MWC outscored the WAC 236-166. Five MWC teams played against four different WAC teams. Utah State (WAC) played the most contests, taking on UNLV (L, 27-17 on Aug. 30), Utah (L, 58-10 on Sept. 13) and BYU (L, 34-14 on Oct. 3). San Diego State and UNLV played the most WAC teams for the MWC, both going 1-1. The Aztecs played San Jose State on Sept. 13, falling 35-10, and Idaho (W, 45-17) on Sept. 27. UNLV, besides facing Utah State to start the 2008 season, also played Nevada in the annual Fremont Cannon game, falling 49-27.

UNDEFEATED NOW AND THEN: Boise State (WAC) and TCU (MWC) are two of 13 teams in the nation without a loss. The Broncos are 5-0 on the season while the Frogs are 4-0. It’s the fourth time since the 2004 season that Boise State has started a season 5-0. The previous three times, the Broncos went on to finish the regular season undefeated (2004, 2006 and 2008). Twice this decade that TCU has started 4-0, last year and 2003, finishing with 11 wins both seasons. In the MWC since 2001, seven teams have started 4-0 or better but only two have finished undefeated, both being Utah in 2008 (13-0) and 2004 (12-0).

BOWL PREDICTIONS: Some college football experts are already making their postseason predictions. Colorado State and Air Force were selected twice from the Mountain West Conference while Louisiana Tech was the only one picked twice from the WAC. CBS Sportsline, which went out on a limb last week predicting that the WAC would not have an eligible representative, is now throwing its vote to Idaho. 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: Nevada (WAC) vs. Colorado State (MWC)
    CBS Sportsline: Idaho (WAC) vs. Air Force (MWC)
    ESPN (Mark Schlabach’s pick): Louisiana Tech (WAC) vs. Air Force (MWC)
    ESPN (Bruce Feldman’s pick): Louisiana Tech (WAC) vs. Colorado State (MWC)
    Sports Illustrated: Utah State (WAC) vs. UNLV (MWC)

THIS WEEK’S PREVIEWS: This week’s action kicks off Friday night on ESPN as Louisiana Tech visits Nevada. There are seven games slated for Saturday, all of which are conference match-ups. San Diego State is the lone MWC team with a bye while Boise State (WAC) takes a well-deserved break as well. Brief breakdowns of each game slated for this week are available in the attached PDF.

100 PERCENT SCORING: Two Western Athletic Conference teams are a part of the eight teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision to score every time it moves the ball inside the red zone (an opponent’s 20-yard line) this season. Utah State is 10-of-10 while San Jose State 8-of-8.

NCAA’S ACTIVE CAREER COACHING LIST: Nevada head coach Chris Ault, in his 25th season as a head coach, is 199-94-1, making him the sixth winningest active coach in FBS. San Jose State’s Dick Tomey is the seventh winningest active coach. In his sixth year with the Spartans and 29th overall, Tomey holds a record of 182-138-7. Tomey previously won 63 games at Hawai‘i from 1977-86 and 95 games at Arizona from 1987-2000. He has coached 327 games, the fourth most among active coaches.

NCAA’S ACTIVE CAREER RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS: UNLV senior WR Ryan Wolfe is currently the nation’s second-leading active career receiving yards leader with 3,155 yards. He trails Naaman Roosevelt of Buffalo by one yard (3,156) and leads Bryan Anderson of Central Michigan by 27 yards (3,128). BYU senior TE Dennis Pitta is ninth on the list, but leads all tight ends with 2,411 career receiving yards. Marshall TE Cody Slate trails Pitta by 110 yards with 2,301 career yards.

NEW MEXICO BOWL CONNECTIONS: There are currently 13 former Mountain West or Western Athletic Conference players who played in one of the three New Mexico Bowls and is on an NFL team roster. Colorado State leads the way with five, followed by four San Jose State Spartans, three New Mexico Lobos and one Fresno State Bulldog. Below is a complete list of the athletes:
    Kyle Bell (2008, CSU) - RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
    Quincy Black (2006, UNM) - LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
    Tom Brandstater (2008, FS) - QB, Denver Broncos
    Billy Farris (2008, CSU) - QB, Cincinnati Bengals
    Jarron Gilbert (2006, SJSU) - DT, Chicago Bears
    Tommie Hill (2008, CSU) - DE, New York Giants
    Gartrell Johnson (2008, CSU) - RB, San Diego Chargers
    James Jones (2006, SJSU) - WR, Green Bay Packers
    Dwight Lowery (2006, SJSU) - CB, New York Jets
    Chris Owens (2006, SJSU) - CB, Atlanta Falcons
    Marcus Smith (2007, UNM) - WR, Baltimore Ravens
    Kory Sperry (2008, CSU) - TE, San Diego Chargers
    Robert Turner (2006, UNM) - OL, New York Jets

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 25 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 18-7 and have outscored the MWC and WAC 754-470. With four more games remaining, the underdogs will be looking to even the score. New Mexico State visits Ohio State Oct. 31, Louisiana Tech takes on LSU Nov. 14 and Fresno State and Hawai`i conclude the regular season at Illinois and vs. Wisconsin, respectively.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Boise State, the WAC’s lone representative in the AP and USA Today rankings, is \the highest non-automatic qualifying BCS team. The Broncos slipped a spot after playing host to FCS member UC Davis, placing sixth in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. 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 (52 consecutive polls).
    The Mountain West Conference has two teams ranked among the top 25 in the national polls. TCU comes in at No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the USA Today poll. BYU rose two spots in each poll, now sitting No. 18 in the AP rankings and No. 20 in the USA Today poll.
    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.

TALE OF THE TURNSTILES: The heads have been counted and in the fifth week of collegiate football just over 300,000 fans supported the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences. BYU had the highest home attendance out of the MWC for the third straight week, drawing 64,103. Utah State also ranks for the third straight week, this time with the largest away figures playing at BYU. On the road, New Mexico played in front of the most fans as 52,909 witnessed the Lobos play at Texas Tech. The WAC’s Boise State played before a crowd of 32,497, hosting UC Davis. A complete breakdown of each team’s attendance figures is available in the attached PDF.

BOWL TICKETS ON SALE NOW: Tickets for the fourth annual New Mexico Bowl are on sale to the general public today. Prices remain the same as the first three bowl games, with Premium sideline seats available for $30 and North end zone seats for $23. Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets for $25 each.
    Fans have three convenient ways to purchase tickets. They are available online at www.newmexicobowl.com, at the UNM ticket office located on the Northwest corner of Avenida Cesar Chavez and University Boulevard, or by calling the Lobo Ticket Office at (505) 925-LOBO or the Bowl office at (505) 925-5999.
    The game, featuring a representative from the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences, will be played on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m. MT at University Stadium on the University of New Mexico campus and will be televised nationally on ESPN and ESPN-HD.

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--NEW MEXICO BOWL--

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