Football
Ted Miller, ESPN Senior Writer 21y

New Mexico a pleasant surprise in down year

There's no way to put a candy coating on it. The Mountain West Conference did little this season to prove it deserves a spot at the adult table in the Bowl Championship Series banquet.

The MWC couldn't produce four bowl-eligible teams and fulfill its bowl contracts. Only one conference team completed the regular season in the national rankings, and No. 24 Colorado State will have to beat TCU in the Liberty Bowl to remain there.

On top of that, two coaches were fired: Utah's Rob McBride and Wyoming's Vic Koenning.

It's hard to quibble with the decision to dump Koenning, who was 5-28 in three seasons.
But McBride, who led the Utes to six bowls in his 12 seasons, deserved better treatment. He righted his team after a six-game losing streak and won his last three, including a victory over rival BYU, to finish 5-6.

That means McBride's players fought for him at the end, a sure sign that the
athletic department blew it.

The MWC's other two bowl teams arrived at their destination very different ways.

Air Force charged into a marquee game with Notre Dame nationally ranked at 6-0. Some (who us?) started wondering if the Falcons were a threat to the BCS power structure.

But a 21-14 defeat to the Irish started a three-game swoon, and the Falcons won just two of their final seven games, stumbling into a berth in the San Francisco Bowl, which, according to sources, will be played in San Francisco.

New Mexico, meanwhile, took a stealth route to the No. 2 slot in the Las Vegas Bowl.

After an embarrassing 49-0 loss at home to Texas Tech on Sept. 27, the Lobos were 2-4. But they turned those frowns upside down by winning five of their next seven.

Is there hope for next year? Air Force and (surprise!) Colorado State appear to be the favorites next year.

BYU also should be much improved if it can figure who should play quarterback, while New Mexico finished second in the conference with only eight seniors participating.

MVP: Colorado State's Cecil Sapp. He rushed for a school record 1,495 yards and 17 touchdowns after sitting out 2001 because of a severe heal injury.

Coach of the Year: Sonny Lubick, Colorado State. The avuncular Lubick has built CSU into the MWC's most consistent winner, leading the Rams to their third Liberty Bowl in four years. He's now won 10 or more games four times in his 10 years at Fort Collins.

Newcomer of the Year: RB Dontrell Moore, New Mexico. Moore, a redshirt freshman, rushed for 13 touchdowns 1,117 yards, a total that set a school single-season freshman record and ranks third all-time at New Mexico. He's the first Lobo to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in six years and he's a big reason why New Mexico is headed to just its second bowl appearance in 41 years.

Biggest surprise: New Mexico. The Lobos rallied from a 2-4 start and won five of their last seven. While a 7-6 overall record isn't terribly impressive, New Mexico went 5-2 in conference play to finish second and earn a bid in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Biggest disappointment: The state of Utah. No change here from the midseason. Both BYU and Utah were supposed to be in the thick of the MWC race, but they finished a combined 10-13 overall and 5-9 in MWC games. Neither will play in a bowl game, and Utah is looking for a new coach.

height="75" align="right" border="0">Air Force
Air Force, which welcomed back just 10 starters from 2001's 6-6 team, started 6-0 and was the MWC's biggest surprise at midseason. But, after stumbling against Notre Dame, the Falcons lost four of their final six games. Still, the Falcons, thought to be a middle-of-the-pack team during the preseason, earned a berth in the San Francisco Bowl. With lots of talent returning on both sides of the ball for 2003, the Falcons figure to be a preseason conference favorite.

MVP: QB Chance Harridge. Harridge, a junior, finished second in the MWC with 1,159 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. He needs just 29 yards passing in the San Francisco Bowl to become the 16th player in NCAA history to eclipse 1,000 yards running and passing in a season.

Biggest disappointment: The Falcons failed to bounce back after losing to Notre Dame and tumbled out of the national rankings. A 34-26 defeat at Wyoming the week after losing to the Irish ended up being the Cowboys only MWC victory, and the Falcons concluded their regular season with a home defeat against San Diego State.

Did you know: Air Force leads the nation with 314.5 yards rushing per game. While the Falcons have ranked in the nation's top-10 in rushing every year since 1987, they have never won a rushing title.

height="75" align="right" border="0">BYU
It wasn't much of a season in Provo. After going 12-2 and winning the MWC in coach Gary Crowton's first season, BYU slipped to 5-7, including a 2-5 mark in conference games. It was the Cougars first sub-.500 finish since 1973. The Cougars failed to become bowl-eligible after losing their final two games, including a 13-6 defeat to state rival Utah.

MVP: DE Brady Poppinga. Poppinga, a sophomore, led the MWC with eight sacks. He was the top performer on a vastly improved defense that should be even better next year.

Biggest disappointment: The quarterback position. The Cougars struggled to find a consistent starter, something that rarely happens in Provo. Junior Bret Engemann lost his job to redshirt freshman Matt Berry, but that provide little help as the Cougars ended up ranked 95th in the nation in pass efficiency.

Did you know: BYU led the nation in total offense (542.8 yards per game) and scoring (46.8 ppg) last year. This year, the Cougars ranked 52nd in total offense (381.8 yards) and 88th in scoring (22.6 ppg).

height="75" align="right" border="0">Colorado State
Colorado State was expected to win the MWC and it did. Concluding the season with a 36-33 defeat to UNLV, which snapped a six-game winning streak, was a bit of a downer. The Rams were ranked 13th at the time and could have ended up in the final top-10 with a victory over TCU in the Liberty Bowl. Now a loss means the MWC likely would finish a season without a ranked team for the second time in its four-year history.

MVP: LB Eric Pauly. Sapp is the MVP of the conference, but Pauly deserves mention, and not just because the preseason All-MWC player led his team in tackles for the second consecutive year. Pauly, a double major in business administration and computer information systems, has a 3.78 GPA and was named a first-team Academic All-American.

Biggest disappointment: Hard to sniff at a 10-win season, but two of those three defeats came by three or fewer points and both were to inferior teams (Fresno State and UNLV). The Rams were just a couple of plays from a 12-1 record.

Did you know: The Rams own the MWC. They have won or tied for first place in three of the MWC's first four years and finished second in 2001. Lubick has a winning record against every Mountain West team except BYU. He's 3-4 against the Cougars.

height="75" align="right" border="0">New Mexico
New Mexico didn't look like it was going anywhere after a 49-0 defeat to Texas Tech dropped it to 2-4. But the Lobos, picked to finish sixth in the preseason conference poll, won five of their next seven. They finished second in the MWC standings and earned an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl -- the school's second bowl in 41 years -- surpassing Air Force despite an early-season overtime defeat to the Falcons.

MVP: QB Casey Kelly. New Mexico won four of its last six games with Kelly playing with a soft cast on his broken left arm. During that span, the junior accounted for 13 touchdowns and 1,003 yards rushing and passing.

Biggest disappointment: The Lobos season could have been much better if not for a pair of overtime defeats (Air Force, Utah State) and a lackluster performance in a 24-13 loss to New Mexico State.

Did you know: With a 7-6 record, New Mexico is the only team in the nation that has improved its win total every year since 1999, the year Rocky Long took over as head coach.

height="75" align="right" border="0">San Diego State
San Diego State started 0-5 under first-year coach Tom Craft, then won three in a row before dropping four of its last five to finish 4-9, the program's fourth consecutive losing season. Craft's offense produced big passing numbers, ranking fifth in the nation with 330.9 yards per game, but that failed to translate to victories.

MVP: WR J.R. Tolver. Tolver finished first in the nation with 137.3 receiving yards per game. He also became the school's all-time leading receiver with 262 career receptions for 3,572 yards. He set a MWC record with 296 yards receiving against Arizona State and holds three of the top-five totals in league history.

Biggest disappointment: The Aztecs bounced back from an 0-5 start, which included an embarrassing 48-38 defeat at woeful Idaho, to start 3-0 in conference play. But they lost their next three games and fell out of bowl contention.

Did you know: Tolver and Kassim Osgood set an NCAA record for passes caught and total yards by two players on the same team, finishing the season with a combined 236 receptions and 3,337 yards.

height="75" align="right" border="0">UNLV
UNLV never produced any momentum this season, failing to win consecutive games on its way to a 5-7 finish. The Rebels beat BYU for the first time since 1981, but followed that with a defeat to San Diego State. An overtime victory over Wyoming was followed by an 11-point loss at Utah. A 36-33 victory over conference champion Colorado State in the final game prevented the season from being a complete disaster.

MVP: SS Jamaal Brimmer. Brimmer, a sophomore, had 100 tackles and led the Rebels with 17 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He also forced three fumbles and recovered two.

Biggest disappointment: Mercurial quarterback Jason Thomas sat out the final game, an unfortunate ending to a career filled with peeks and valleys. He passed for 4,997 career yards, but because of injuries and inconsistency he never recovered the sophomore form that once made him a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Did you know: The victory over Colorado State was the Rebels first over a ranked foe since 1981.

height="75" align="right" border="0">Utah
Among the MWC's preseason favorites, Utah suffered through a six-game losing streak and finished 5-6. A three-game winning streak to conclude the season, which included a victory over rival BYU, wasn't enough to save coach Rob McBride's job. Five of the six defeats were by eight points or less.

MVP: OT Jordan Gross. Gross was a dominating blocker on a struggling team. A first-team All-American, he likely will be an early first-round pick in this year's NFL draft.

Biggest disappointment: McBride didn't deserve to be fired. He's produced nine winning seasons over the past 13 years and led the Utes to six of their nine bowl appearances. The administration that fired him better come up with some money. The $310,000 it was paying McBride will have to be doubled in order to bring in a hotshot coach who will satisfy fans with delusions of potential grandeur.

Did you know: Defense may win championships, but it sure didn't for McBride. The Utes led the MWC in three of four categories (total defense, rush defense and scoring).

height="75" align="right" border="0">Wyoming
It was another terrible year in Laramie, and coach Vic Koenning was fired after a 2-10 season and a 5-28 three-year record. Koenning went 1-19 against MWC foes. The Cowboys were often competitive, losing five of their six conference games by a combined 22 points, but only clicked once in an upset win over Air Force.

MVP: QB Casey Bramlett. Bramlett ranked 11th in the nation in pass efficiency, throwing for 3,325 yards and 24 touchdowns. He completed 64 percent of his passes over the final six games. The junior ranks fourth on the Pokes all-time passing list with 6,647 yards.

Biggest disappointment: The Cowboys were lifeless in a 32-20 defeat at mediocre Central Michigan, the second game of the season, and never recovered.

Did you know: Wyoming ranked 114th in the nation in total defense, surrendering 490 yards a game. The year before, the Cowboys gave up 465 yards per game. Koenning, by the way, was promoted from defensive coordinator when Dana Dimel left for Houston (and is now out of a job himself).

Ted Miller covers college football for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

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