MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

The Mountain West from top to bottom:

Brigham Young (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) at New Mexico (3-1, 0-0): Cougars have won nine consecutive MWC games.

UNLV (2-2, 1-0) at UNR (1-2): Rebels' fourth consecutive game against a bowl team from last season.

Air Force (3-1, 2-1) at Navy (2-2): Falcons have lost four in a row to Navy.

New Mexico (3-1, 0-0) vs. BYU (2-2, 1-0): Lobos tied best start under 10th-year coach Rocky Long.

Wyoming (3-1, 0-0), off: Cowboys beat Ohio 34-33, rallying from a 20-point deficit and overcoming seven turnovers.

San Diego State (1-2, 0-0) vs. No. 24 Cincinnati (4-0): Aztecs cornerback Vonnie Holmes has an interception in all three games.

Colorado State (0-3, 0-0) at Texas Christian (2-2, 0-1): Rams have lost 10 consecutive games for first time since 1981.

TCU (2-2, 0-1) vs. Colorado State (0-3, 0-0): Horned Frogs have four sacks in each of past two games.

Utah (1-3, 0-2) vs. Utah State (0-4): After committing three turnovers over the first three games, the Utes had four against UNLV.

FIVE BEST PLAYERS

1. Beau Bell, LB, UNLV: MWC defensive player of the week award underscores impact.

2. Max Hall, QB, BYU: Looks like the next great Cougars quarterback.

3. Rodney Ferguson, RB, New Mexico: Leads league with 473 yards rushing.

4. Jan Jorgensen, DL, BYU: Conference leader with 51/2 tackles for loss and tied for first with three sacks.

5. Devin Moore, RB, Wyoming: Averaging 6.8 yards per rush.

THEY WROTE IT ...

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe, on Utah's 27-0 loss to UNLV coming after a 44-6 victory over UCLA: "The result was a breakthrough victory for UNLV coach Mike Sanford, the former Ute offensive coordinator. Of course, all the Utes need at this point is another reference to their glorious 2004 season. Utah's offensive performance Saturday did nothing to evoke memories of that unbeaten year, back in the days when (Brian) Johnson was the backup quarterback. Even worse, it did nothing to build on the success of the previous weekend, when Johnson was also a backup quarterback."

Denver Post college football writer John Henderson, on Air Force's 31-6 loss to BYU: "Now (coach) Troy Calhoun knows what he's been missing all these years. An undersized defense that plays undersized. An offense that doesn't fool anyone in the Mountain West Conference. Getting outclassed on a field seemingly so uneven it appears his players are running uphill. But in Calhoun's first year, maybe his Air Force Falcons found another flaw: They don't know how to handle being on top."

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Nick Canepa, on San Diego State's 52-17 victory over Portland State: "(Aztecs coach Chuck) Long had to win this game, for his sake and his program's sake. ... This wasn't a test, wasn't close to one. Cincinnati comes in here 4-0 next Saturday ..."

THEY SAID IT ...

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson, on the loss to UNLV: "It was embarrassing, a flat-out embarrassing loss."

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, on the loss to BYU: "To me, where your mettle is tested a little bit is when you get hit in the teeth. And today, we got hit in the teeth."

TCU coach Gary Patterson, on Frogs quarterbacks Marcus Jackson and Andy Dalton: "We have two quarterbacks. There's not really a controversy. There's no animosity. They're just happy we're winning."

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