BoiseStateFan's 2016 College Football Predictions

[BoiseStateFan27]

Washington State Cougars

Preview: After years of lots of struggles and a lot of bad luck, Washington State finally had a good year. I picked against the grain compared to others when I had Washington State rebounding and having a good year, and it looked like I was certainly wrong when they lost the opener to Portland State. Washington State rebounded and they were a true contender for the Pac-12 North most of the year, they lost to California early in the year but they beat Oregon, and came oh so close to beating Stanford. They took down Arizona State and impressively beat UCLA on the road, the regular season ended with a dud as they were destroyed by Washington, but they ended the year with a bizarre snowy bowl win against Miami.

The offense is an absolute spectacle to watch, no matter what anyone thinks of him Mike Leach's offense will throw the ball nearly every single play. His QB Luke Falk threw 644 passes last year and he missed some time due to injuries, his is a very good QB though and with no experience behind him it's important that he stays healthy this year. RB Gerald Wicks doesn't carry the ball a lot due to the offense but he makes the most of his carries and does a great job catching the ball out of the backfield. Washington State returns 10 of it's top 11 receivers from last year, and that includes Gabe Marks who is the star of the group. Washington State's offense despite how frequently it throws doesn't make a lot of big plays, they simply just march down the field 7 yards at a time and Falk is the perfect QB for it as he's both accurate and patient enough to run it well. Washington State had 8 linemen start at one point or another and 4 are back, they should be able to find enough good players to do the job.

Washington State's defense took a nice step forward last year which helped with their improvement, Washington State didn't play many players on the front 7 last year so with half of those players gone the front 7 will be a question mark even though well named defensive end Hercules Mata'afa returns and he had 7 sacks as a freshman last year. Washington State had a good secondary last year and now with almost everyone back it should be even better, if the front 7 is even decent this secondary will be able to make a lot of great plays.

Washington State's schedule will be challenging, they play Boise State OOC and they face a brutal October stretch of games. They're a tough team to pick after losing a lot of close games in 2014, Washington State made a huge improvement by winning a lot of close games in 2015. It's possible Washington State could be a better yet less fortunate team this year and have a worse record. This was a tough team to pick almost any record is on the table for this year.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 Eastern Washington: For years now Eastern Washington has produced some elite offenses that challenge FBS opponents, Washington State can't take them lightly and after last year's Portland State debacle I don't think they will. W

Sept. 10 @ Boise State: Leach after dark was a pretty successful thing for Washington State last year, this game is one of those games, combine that with Boise State's slow starts under Harsin I figure Washington State will win this one. W

Sept. 17 Idaho: Washington State easily wins this game. W

Oct. 1 Oregon: The bye week will help but Washington State has given Oregon a tough time since Leach has been head coach, I say they upset Oregon here. W

Oct. 8 @ Stanford: Stopping McCaffrey on the ground will prove too difficult for Washington State's defense. Their offense keeps them in it for almost the entire game but they lose in the end. L

Oct. 15 UCLA: Washington State has a great performance here as they take down UCLA. W

Oct. 22 @ Arizona State: Coming off the rough 3 game stretch Washington State faces Arizona State who hits a lot of big plays to beat the Cougars. L

Oct. 29 @ Oregon State: Washington State wins this game easily. W

Nov. 5 Arizona: I remember when Leach and Rich Rod both came to the Pac-12 we were all excited for the ridiculous offensive shootouts these two would have. It's possible this year but I think Arizona will have an improved enough defense, this game goes back and forth and Arizona wins. L

Nov. 12 California: Cal has gotten the best of Washington State these past few years but with Cal losing so much Washington State will finally beat them. W

Nov. 19 @ Colorado: UPSET!! Washington State gets surprised by Colorado who finally has a really good game. L

Nov. 25 Washington: Oops I missed the Friday date when doing the Washington preview. Oh well, I went back and forth on this and went with Washington. L

Predicted record: 7-5(4-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Pac-12 Conference
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North:
1. Oregon Ducks 10-2(7-2)
2. Washington Huskies 9-3(6-3)
3. Stanford Cardinal 9-3(6-3)
4. Washington State Cougars 7-5(4-5)
5. California Golden Bears 4-8(2-7)
6. Oregon State Beavers 1-11(0-9)

South:

1. Southern California Trojans 9-3(7-2)
2. Arizona Wildcats 9-3(6-3)
3. UCLA Bruins 8-4(5-4)
4. Arizona State Sun Devils 7-5(5-4)
5. Utah Utes 6-6(3-6)
6. Colorado Buffaloes 5-7(3-6)

Pac-12 Championship Game: Oregon over USC - While I think USC will get Oregon the first time I can't see them beating Oregon again the 2nd time.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Tomorrow I will start on the Mountain West.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Air Force Falcons

Preview: After a really bad down year in 2013, Troy Calhoun has recovered and he has Air Force's program rolling perhaps better than ever. Last year was yet another good year, Air Force didn't start the strongest after a 2-0 start they didn't look too overwhelmed in a loss to Michigan State, they did look overwhelmed the following week in a blowout loss to Navy, they beat Wyoming and then were terrible in a loss to Colorado State. Air Force then recovered to go on an incredible 5 game winning streak where they blew out 3 teams, and should have blown out Utah State and Boise State if they didn't turn the ball over so much. They laid an egg against New Mexico, lost the conference championship to San Diego State and the bowl to Cal in games where their defense suddenly had no answer. It was definitely a year of highs and lows for Air Force.

The offense played pretty well other than turning the ball over last year and that was with starting QB Nate Romine getting hurt against Michigan State and being done for the year, Karson Roberts took over and did a pretty good job leading the team though he threw 11 picks as the QB of an option team. Romine will be the starter again now that Roberts is gone, but if Romine gets hurt again there's no experience behind him. Air Force has incredible continuity with 7 of their top Running backs and fullbacks returning. WR Jalen Robinette is back and he is a talented playmaker. The offensive line Air Force had last year was fantastic, they were one of the better lines in the nation and this is despite how small they are due to the Air Force's weight limits, pretty amazing. Air Force has to replace 3 starters from last year but there's a lot of juniors and seniors to pick from, still this will play a big part in how Air Force's offense plays this year.

Air Force has played an attacking style of defense the past few years and they run it well. Air Force's aggression worked a lot but they also gave up a lot of big plays if their aggression didn't work, there wasn't much experience on the defense last year. Now only one player in the front 7 is gone, the secondary returns almost everyone as well and that includes safety Weston Steelhammer who has a fantastic defensive player name and he intercepts a lot of passes.

Air Force has a very favorable schedule, instead of Michigan State Air Force plays Georgia State OOC this year, also Air Force hasn't lost at home since 2013 and they get Boise State, Navy, New Mexico, and Colorado State perhaps 4 of their toughest opponents all at home. Thanks to the schedule Air Force could be looking at a worst case scenario of 8 wins this year, an undefeated season until the Mountain West championship game is definitely possible.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 Abilene Christian: Whoever this team is was a lower FCS team last year so it should be an easy win for Air Force. W

Sept. 10 Georgia State: Air Force doesn't have much trouble handling business here in a win. W

Sept. 24 @ Utah State: I'm picking a bit of an upset here with Air Force getting upset by Utah State. L

Oct. 1 Navy: With Navy losing a lot this game becomes a toss up, and in the case of this toss up it's hard to overlook that Air Force hasn't lost at home since 2013. W

Oct. 8 @ Wyoming: Craig Bohl will likely have a good scheme to stop Air Force's offense, Air Force enters the 4th quarter trailing but wears down Wyoming for a win. W

Oct. 15 New Mexico: Battle of the option teams, New Mexico won't be quite as good as they were last year, Air Force beats them this time around. W

Oct. 22 Hawai'i: Air Force wins this game very easily. W

Oct. 29 @ Fresno State: What has happened to Fresno State? They're so bad now, Air Force wins. W

Nov. 5 @ Army West Point: Air Force may have some trouble but they're more talented than Army is so they eventually win. W

Nov. 12 Colorado State: This one kind of looks like a toss up as well so once again got to go with Air Force's strong home field advantage. W

Nov. 19 @ San Jose State: I'm going with the upset here, San Jose State could be playing pretty well at this point so they stun Air Force. L

Nov. 25 Boise State: Boise State sucks so bad at stopping the option, Air Force will ride that to victory again. W

Predicted Record: 10-2(6-2)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Boise State Broncos

Preview: Last year's Boise State team will never make sense to me, and I'll explain why. The season opened with a dominant start going up 16-0 at the half against Washington, suddenly in what almost defined the season it was like a completely different team took the field in the 2nd half as the offense couldn't get out of it's own way and the defense held on for dear life. With a missed field goal Boise State held on, the following game Finley struggled at QB missing lots of passes and then to top it all off BYU opened the game with a hail mary then won the game on a hail mary late. Finley would get hurt against Idaho State and true freshman Brett Rypien entered. Suddenly Boise State went on the road to Virginia where Notre Dame was one hail mary away from losing at just two weeks prior and just destroyed them 56-14. Boise State continued the run with a 55-0 domination against Hawai'i and a 41-10 road blowout of Colorado State. Suddenly 6 days later a team that was on a roll imploded with SEVEN turnovers in the first half! They lost that game 52-26 to Utah State. After 2 wins over bad opponents Boise State lost to New Mexico in one of the most ridiculous games you'll ever see. Boise State dominated the box score with 40 something first downs compared to New Mexico's 11, but Boise State's offense turned the ball over a lot while their defense gave up big plays to New Mexico offense. They lost to Air Force the following week before beating San Jose State. They then ended the year with one of the most dominant bowl performances of all time beating Northern Illinois 55-7. What you got was a team where you never had any idea how they would play week to week.

The offense has promising returns. Brett Rypien is now the permanent starter and he showed at times that he can be a great QB, he did have some freshman moments in the mid to late season where he struggled. RB Jeremy McNichols was fantastic last year running for over 1300 yards despite a leaky offensive line and missing the Utah State implosion due to injury. Backup RBs Devan Demas and Ryan Wolpin will give him a rest at times. WR Thomas Sperbeck is by far the most reliable receiver back, Shane Williams-Rhodes who was hurt a lot late last year is now gone and his speed will be missed. WR Chaz Anderson is back he too is capable of big plays both in terms of long gains for the offense and having passes bounce off his hands into defenders hands, hopefully with experience he will stop doing the latter. TE Jake Roh is back and WR A.J Richardson likely will have a bigger role this year. Now about that offensive line, Boise State returned every starter from 2014 and it was a unit that played well, suddenly last year the line regressed massively and at times it was absolutely terrible, it loses 2 really good starters but everyone else is back, after last year I don't know what to expect from it.

The defense was another odd unit. It gave up a lot of big plays throughout the year but when it didn't the defense completely dominated. It's disappointing because the big plays given up helped piss away what was a great defensive line. The line was deep, Gabe Perez missed last year due to injury and now he is back, and Sam McCaskill along with Jabril Frazier look like promising new starters on the line, the interior is still a concern due to a lack of experience there. 4 of the top 5 linebackers are back and both Ben Weaver and Tanner Vallejo were great starters at linebacker last year. The secondary was great at times but also bad at times mostly thanks to being hit hard with injuries, 9 players started games for the unit last year and 6 of them are back. Darian Thompson and Donte Deayon will sorely be missed.

The schedule is manageable, Boise State plays Louisiana-Lafayette, Washington State, Oregon State and BYU OOC, Washington State and BYU should be challenging games. Fact is since this is my team I have obviously paid more attention to them than anyone else and yet I still don't know what to expect.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 @ Louisiana-Lafayette: Very odd game, odd location, odd start time, odd channel, I don't like it. This game could be closer than expected but I may be done with College football if we actually lose this. W

Sept. 10 Washington State: I don't like it, Boise State starts slow under Harsin and Leach seems to have his best games after dark. Washington State wins. L

Sept. 24 @ Oregon State: Oregon State likely won't be in good enough shape to win this. W

Oct. 1 Utah State. Perhaps we will turn the ball over less than 7 times in the first half this time. W

Oct. 7 @ New Mexico: This won't be a good game defensively but if the offense doesn't turn the ball over Boise State should win in a shootout. W

Oct. 15 Colorado State: Boise State hasn't lost to Colorado State yet, I sure hope that at least continues. W

Oct. 20 BYU: Offense should have a better game and this time the defense doesn't give up hail marys. W

Oct. 29 @ Wyoming: It's possible this game could be close for a while but Wyoming still doesn't have the talent and depth to win. W

Nov. 4 San Jose State: Boise State plays well in this one and wins. W

Nov. 12 @ Hawai'i: Should have little trouble in this game. W

Nov. 18 UNLV: Shouldn't have much trouble in this game either. W

Nov. 25 @ Air Force: Inability to stop the option haunts once again in this loss. L

Predicted Record: 10-2(7-1)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Colorado State Rams

Preview: Colorado State's first year under Mike Bobo was a solid one, it was clear the program will go under the right direction with him. It didn't start out so well but Colorado State was replacing a lot. They were 2-4 to open the year, they had close losses to Minnesota and Colorado, but were also blown out by Utah State and Boise State. They recovered though dominating eventual division champion Air Force before a blowout loss to San Diego State and then a 4 game winning streak to end the regular season. The season ended with a bowl loss to Nevada, yes they played another MWC team in a bowl.

The offense will be interesting, last year's starter Nick Stevens is back and he played solidly but apparently Colorado State is considering starting 3 QBs, another QB in the competition is Faton Bauta who transferred in from Georgia, he was unable to beat out some pedestrian QBs for a starting job last year but perhaps being reunited with his old offensive coordinator could allow him to play well. The run game was the strength of Colorado State's offense last year, RBs Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews will split carries, and for once it's simply nice that Colorado State returns their leading rusher for a change. The receiving corps will be starting almost completely over as star receiver Rashard Higgins along with Steven Walker and TE Kivon Cartwright are all gone, Colorado State brought some junior college transfers to compete at the position, it's a complete mystery at the moment. Most of the offensive line returns so that unit should be a strength.

Colorado State's defense was brilliant in some areas but struggled in others. The defensive line was solid last year despite injury troubles, there's a lot of players gone though, Colorado State definitely has depth concerns on the line. They do return 5 of their top 6 linebackers and they had excellent play at that position last year. The secondary struggled early in the year but improved later in the year to help with their late season surge, 4 of their top 5 corners are back but Colorado State loses their top 3 safeties so that position is a worry.

Colorado State's schedule doesn't change much OOC, they play Colorado, Minnesota, UTSA and a FCS school again. They get a nice draw with UNLV and Fresno State from the West division but that also comes with a game against San Diego State. Colorado State will likely hover around the same level this year while setting the tone for what should be a pretty strong 2017.

Predictions:

Sept. 2 Colorado: This game is a toss up, for now I will go with Colorado in this one. L

Sept. 10 UTSA: Colorado State should be able to win this game without a lot of trouble. W

Sept. 17 Northern Colorado: Northern Colorado is mediocre at the FCS level should be an easy win. W

Sept. 24 @ Minnesota: Colorado State will hang in there for most of this game but Minnesota pulls off the win late. L

Oct. 1 Wyoming: Colorado State wears down their rivals in this game. W

Oct. 8 Utah State: Colorado State gets a nice win here defeating Utah State. W

Oct. 15 @ Boise State: Colorado State loses this one, they don't quite match up to Boise State's talent. L

Oct. 22 @ UNLV: Colorado State struggles with an improved UNLV team but edges out a close win. W

Nov. 5 Fresno State: Colorado State wins this game without too much trouble. W

Nov. 12 @ Air Force: This is a toss up but winning at Air Force is pretty difficult so Colorado State loses this one. L

Nov. 19 New Mexico: Colorado State does a pretty good job defending the option so they beat New Mexico. W

Nov. 26 @ San Diego State: San Diego State will likely dominate a lot of the MWC teams. L

Predicted Record: 7-5(5-3)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Fresno State Bulldogs

Preview: What has happened to Fresno State under Tim DeRuyter??? During the 2013 season DeRuyter was one of the hot names in coaching after an impressive first season Fresno State was 10-0 and ranked highly in the polls possibly set for a BCS(at the time) bowl bid, well they disappointed late in the season losing 2 games at the end. Suddenly after Derek Carr and crew left prior to 2014 it seemed like DeRuyter had little options, Fresno State struggled but still won the division that year before a complete collapse last year. DeRuyter suddenly has come from a coach next in line for a big time job to a coach on the hot seat.

Fresno State's offense wasn't too promising to begin with and it was a mess, it seemed like they had a different starter at QB every week, of those QBs Zach Greenlee was the only one who threw more TDs than picks, but he also had the worst completion percentage of those QBs, Greenlee is now gone and most likely Fresno State's Quarterback wheel of destiny is set to continue this year, they have 4 QBs on the roster, it wouldn't be surprising if all 4 started at some point this year. It would be optimal though if Fresno State finally found a number 1 starter. RB Marteze Waller was the highlight of the team as he played well despite the lack of help around him, he's gone and so are his two backups. Fresno State returns most of their receivers from last year which should help their passing game though in all reality the only place for their passing game to go is up. The offensive line is a concern as well with 3 long time starters gone.

Fresno State's defense was pretty good at pressuring the QB last year, that was unfortunately the only thing they were good at, opponents were able to run at will and if the pressure didn't get there it often meant the opposing QB was completing a pass. Fresno State's front 7 will be losing some of it's best pass rushers from last year which probably isn't the best players to lose in this situation. Fresno State's secondary had some good moments from it's two starting corners Tyquwan Glass and Jamal Ellis but this secondary also got burned a lot and now loses both starting safeties.

Fresno State doesn't have it easy OOC with road games against Nebraska and Toledo, they get Tulsa at home but that game will even be a challenge to win. Fresno State gets Utah State, Air Force and Colorado State from the Mountain Division which at least means they don't face Boise State but this also wasn't the easiest draw either. Making it back to a bowl may be what's required to save DeRuyter's job, and that's quite the uphill climb, Fresno State has a lot of questions and it would be amazing if they found answers to most of them.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 @ Nebraska: Definitely not an optimal game to start the year with, Fresno State gets blown out. L

Sept. 10 Sacramento State: Sacramento State is non-threatening as a FCS opponent, Fresno State wins this one. W

Sept. 17 @ Toledo: A defense that struggles to stop the run goes up against Toledo's fantastic run game, can't see this ending well. L

Sept. 24 Tulsa: Tulsa's high flying offense will definitely score often against Fresno State, Fresno State won't be able to keep up as in football 4 QBs are not better than 1. L

Oct. 1 @ UNLV: I'm actually more confident in the state of UNLV's program than Fresno State's, Fresno State fights hard but loses a close one. L

Oct. 8 @ Nevada: Fresno State puts up a fight once again but Nevada pulls away late. L

Oct. 15 San Diego State: Even when Fresno State is inferior in every spot they always seem to give San Diego State a tough time, they keep this a close game but still lose at the end. L

Oct. 22 @ Utah State: and this rough stretch continues, this is likely the game where the bottom falls out and Fresno State collapses. L

Oct. 28 Air Force: Struggles continue with another loss. L

Nov. 5 @ Colorado State: Fresno State yet again loses. L

Nov. 19 Hawai'i: Not sure if DeRuyter would be coaching the team at this point but they still beat Hawai'i. W

Nov. 26 San Jose State: They cap off a bad with a loss in the season finale. L

Predicted Record: 2-10(1-7)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Hawai'i Warriors

Preview: Hawai'i is a tough job, it requires a lot of travel and only a few people know how to succeed here. Norm Chow was unable to have any success not once threatening to make a bowl, only reason his tenure lasted as long as it did was due to Hawai'i not being able to afford buying him out. Their only two real options for a replacement were June Jones and Nick Rolovich, Jones has had success here before leading Hawai'i to the Sugar bowl in 2007, Rolovich meanwhile is a Hawai'i grad and played under Jones, Hawai'i went with Rolovich the less proven option but with Jones comes the risk that he might be burnt out at this point after his SMU collapse. Last year had a promising start for Hawai'i they upset Colorado in the opener, then went on the road to Ohio State where everyone fully expected Ohio State to destroy them, Hawai'is defense stood strong in what was a not as bad as expected blow out loss, the offense couldn't offer anything though. Hawai'i beat a FCS opponent and then had another good defensive performance against Wisconsin where again the offense had nothing to offer. Hawai'i hit a hot Boise State and got completely destroyed in all phases, and then after 3 decently close conference losses the bottom completely dropped out against Air Force and they were blown out in their next 3 after before beating UL-Monroe in the finale.

Hawai'i's offense sucked to say the least they couldn't do much of anything to move the ball. They switched between Max Wittek and Ikaika Woolsey they combined to throw 12 TDs and 21 picks, completing under half their passes, Wittek is gone and Woolsey will compete with 2 or 3 others for the starting job, it will be interesting to see who and how many QBs start this year. RB Paul Harris is one of the more promising parts of this offense as he ran for over 1000 yards last year they also get a solid playmaking RB in Diocemy Saint Juste back from injury. Hawai'i returns all but one receiver that has caught a pass is back and that includes WR Marcus Kemp who can make big plays but is inconsistent. The offensive line was decent last year and it returns 4 starters this year, it could be a solid line.

Hawai'i had a decent defense last year as said before, the front 7 was definitely a strength until it got hit with injuriesl late last year. Almost the entire defensive line is back from last year so there' some good depth there. Hawai'i loses some linebackers but there's still a good amount of experience here. The secondary was solid for a bit last year but then it got hit hard by injuries, had a lot of shuffling and struggled late, 7 of their top 10 are back in the secondary but depth is a concern again if they get hit by injuries.

Hawai'i's September schedule is complete suicide. They have to open against Cal in Australia and a week later they go back across the world and play at Michigan, Tennessee-Martin is a break but then they play yet another road game against Arizona. Hawai'i has a few pieces but Rolovich's rebuild won't stand a chance this year because of the brutal opening slate.

Predictions:

Aug 27 California (Australia): Hard to see Hawai'i having much of a chance winning this game, this game is just under 2 weeks away, college football is almost here! L

Sept. 3 @ Michigan: Not a chance: L

Sept. 10 Tennessee-Martin: Tennessee-Martin is none too threatening and teams that don't go the island often will struggle. W

Sept. 17 @ Arizona: Seriously this is ridiculous. L

Oct. 1 Nevada: Bye week was needed but won't help Hawai'i that much. L

Oct. 8 @ San Jose State: L

Oct. 15 UNLV: Hawai'i actually has a solid chance at winning this game, I think UNLV edges them out in a close one. L

Oct. 22 @ Air Force: L

Oct. 29 New Mexico: L

Nov. 5 @ San Diego State: L

Nov. 12 Boise State. L

Nov. 19 @ Fresno State: L

Nov. 26 Massachusetts: UMass will be struggling this year and they haven't traveled to the island any time recently, that's a combination that will allow Hawai'i to win this one. W

Predicted Record: 2-11(1-7)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Nevada Wolfpack

Preview: Nevada has been an intesting case since Ault retired. Brian Polian was a bit of a bizarre hire and so far he hasn't reached the level of what Ault's teams were capable of, then again it's pretty hard to be the guy following the best coach in program history. Last season took off to an expected 1-2 start seeing that Nevada opened with a FCS team and then played Arizona and Texas A&M, they got another win and then a loss that Polian shouldn't be taking he committed the sin of losing at home to rival UNLV. To Nevada fans that was the worst loss of the year in all reality two weeks later losing to Wyoming was a pretty bad loss, Nevada did win 3 in a row after that to secure a bowl bid and they did win that bowl game for a 7-6 season. So far mediocrity has been what Nevada has experienced under Polian but only early on did the bottom drop out.

The offense was good at times but not as good as the year before, Rolovich left to become the head coach of Hawai'i and now Nevada is expected to go back towards it's customary pistol offense with perhaps more of a passing attack this time around. Returning QB Tyler Stewart is a solid mobile QB who fits well in the system, he's a senior and could possibly be in for a big year. Nevada will have a good RB tandem in 1300 yard rusher James Butler and Akeel Lynch who transferred in from Penn State as Saquon Barkley will have most of the carries there. Nevada returns almost every player that caught a pass last year, but their receivers weren't all too effective they could improve with more experience though. The offensive line has a similar story with 8 players with starting experience back but the line wasn't great last year either but should improve with experience.

Nevada struggled defensively last year as it lacked depth. There could be problems with that again this year as Nevada only played 7 defensive linemen last year and 4 of those are gone, almost every linebacker with experience is gone as well. Nevada's secondary had good and bad moments last year, and it was comprised of mostly freshmen. Now everyone is back and it should improve unless the front 7 doesn't hold up and in that case the defense will come crashing down.

Nevada has quite the favorable schedule this year. They open with a FCS team, they'll have to take their lumps in week 2 against Notre Dame, but then they get Buffalo and a very winnable power 5 game against Purdue. They draw Wyoming, Utah State and New Mexico from the mountain division a very favorable draw. Nevada still has hopes of competing for a West division title this year but there's always the possibility they could struggle and fail to reach a bowl even.

Predictions:

Sept. 2 Cal Poly: Cal Poly is a lower FCS team should be an easy win. W

Sept. 10 @ Notre Dame: Obviously a rough one here, Nevada will be blown out in this game. L

Sept. 17 Buffalo: Nevada performs well offensively in this game and Buffalo struggles to keep up with them offensively. W

Sept. 24 @ Purdue: Not many power 5 programs are in as bad of shape as Purdue's in, Nevada comes in determined for the win and they pull it off. W

Oct. 1 @ Hawai'i: Before the bottom fell out at Hawai'i, Nevada struggled on the islands, they could struggle as this is a lot of travel Nevada had in a few weeks time, but they should still win. W

Oct. 8 Fresno State: With Fresno State struggling Nevada shouldn't have much trouble winning this game. W

Oct. 15 @ San Jose State: Nevada takes their first big setback of the year as they are surprised by San Jose State in a loss. L

Oct. 22 Wyoming: Nevada struggles through this game as well, struggling to stop Brian Hill and in the end they lose in a shootout. L

Nov. 5 @ New Mexico: Finally Nevada got a much needed bye week, but once again they can't stop the run and lose in another shootout. L

Nov. 12 San Diego State: Definitely don't want to play San Diego State while in a tailspin, the Aztecs steamroll Nevada. L

Nov. 19 Utah State: Nevada struggles continue in yet another loss. L

Nov. 26 @ UNLV: Polian enters this game knowing that if he loses he will be fired, he keeps his job for another day by getting a good effort out of the team in a big win. W

Predicted Record: 6-6(3-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

By the way in order to help myself dig out of this hole I'm in, I'll be doing the cliffnotes version of the Mac and Conference USA, as well as short previews for Army and UMass of the independents

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

New Mexico Lobos

Preview: Well done by New Mexico, 4 years ago the program was a disaster and a laughing stock amongst college football. They hired Bob Davie who brought in a different offense and were very patient with him and after 4 years Bob Davie finally got New Mexico a good year as they went 7-6 and made a bowl game. New Mexico's offense made them an interesting team. They opened 1-2, they were awful in being blown out by Tulsa, but hung in for a half against Arizona State. They got 2 wins after but didn't play well in either game then played horribly in a loss to Nevada. After barely beating Hawai'i and losing to San Jose State, New Mexico captured a big low scoring win over Utah State. Then in a ridiculous game they took down Boise State on the road, New Mexico suddenly had themselves in contention for the division title, they lost to Colorado State in the following game to end those hopes. They would have won the division by the way without that loss as they played one of their best games of the year in dominating Air Force. New Mexico lost by 8 to Arizona in their bowl game, which was better than expected.

The offense was strong last year and very capable of producing big plays. QB Lamar Jordan is an inaccurate passer but he is a fantastic runner, which New Mexico is then forced to insert QB Austin Apodaca in passing situations, his stats don't look good either but it doesn't help that the opposing defense always knew he was passing. New Mexico had a fantastic 1-2 RB set last year but they lose one of them in Jhurell Pressley, but they bring back Teriyon Gipson, and they have some other big play potential running backs that could carry the ball as well. New Mexico has some good receivers, Dameon Gamblin is the best of the bunch but the big play receiver is Delane Hart-Johnson, he's a Desean Jackson type of big play or nothing at all receiver. In the last 7 games last year he caught only 3 total passes, but all 3 passes went for more than 80 yards. New Mexico might have another option with Cole Gautsche who converted from QB to TE and redshirted last year to help himself with the transition. The offensive line had 6 players with starting experience and loses 3 of them, some JUCO transfers might help here.

New Mexico's defense has been an issue for years now despite Davie being from a defensive background, but despite being one of the lesser defenses in the nation, New Mexico's current defense is still a massive improvement over where it was before Davie, I can't remember a much worse defense than that. Improvement could be possible this year, New Mexico returns almost every defensive lineman and linebacker. New Mexico returns a lot of their top players in the secondary, this secondary was capable of making big plays on big downs, either for themselves or for the opponent. The secondary will definitely be a question mark this year as well.

New Mexico has it pretty easy schedule wise, their only not completely awful non-conference opponent is Rutgers and even that is a winnable game. San Jose State and Nevada aren't the easiest West teams to draw but at least New Mexico gets Hawai'i as well. New Mexico played in a lot of close games last year, if those turn against them it's possible they could regress again but with having a lot back it's possible they could improve as well. I'll shorten this prediction section by the way.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 South Dakota: W
Sept. 10 @ New Mexico State: W
Sept. 17 @ Rutgers: L
Oct. 1 San Jose State: L
Oct. 7 Boise State: L
Oct. 15 @ Air Force: L
Oct. 22 UL-Monroe: W
Oct. 29 @ Hawai'i: W
Nov. 5 Nevada: W
Nov. 12 @ Utah State: L
Nov. 19 @ Colorado State: L
Nov. 26 Wyoming: W


Predicted Record: 6-6(3-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

San Diego State Aztecs

Preview: Last year was a little better than a typical San Diego State season, but it still had aspects of one. Once again San Diego State was an absolutely dreadful team in OOC play. Their defense scored almost as much as their offense did in beating FCS San Diego, they only could muster 7 points in a blowout loss to Cal, dropped a complete stinkbomb at home to South Alabama and then were handled by Penn State. San Diego State opened MWC play with perhaps the 2 worst teams in the league in Fresno State and Hawai'i, that allowed them to regroup. The running game became less predictable and the passing game while still crappy simply didn't turn the ball over, the offense was able to score points or at least give the defense rest and then the defense went out and dominated, it became a great combination. The last 6 games of the regular season were all blowouts in favor of San Diego State, they beat San Jose State 30-7 on the road and 6 days later a Utah State team that was on a roll suddenly got destroyed 48-14 by San Diego State. San Diego State didn't struggle again until the MWC championship against Air Force but they pulled off the breakthrough win and finally on Christmas eve San Diego State finally did something OOC in a game where parents had to shield their kids eyes from the things San Diego State did to Cincinnati.

The offense was pretty clear, San Diego State would mostly find any way they could to run the ball, and pass out of the play action, it worked really well. QB Maxwell Smith started the year and he wasn't too effective, so Christian Chapman took over, despite how bad an ineffective the passing game was the big thing is the passing game didn't do anything negative as there wasn't a single pick thrown by either QB after September. Star RB Donnel Pumphrey is back and he was one of the best in the nation running for over 1600 yards. He might run for more as his partner in crime Chase Price is gone, but Rashaad Penny and Marcus Stamps also got carries and will likely see more this year. San Diego State struggled to find solutions all year at receiver and a lot of the receivers who were at the top late last year are gone, this is definitely the biggest question mark. The offensive line returns 3 starters including a great Guard in Nico Siragusa. San Diego State identity is definitely helped by the size of this line too, it projects to be about as big as some NFL offensive lines.

San Diego State's defense was pretty young last year and early on it gave up some big plays but it sure gelled in a major way later on. The defensive line was very deep last year and while it loses 2 primary starters there was a lot of depth so they shouldn't have too hard of a time replacing them. San Diego State's linebacking corps are one of the best in the whole country, and it returns 5 of 6 starters, which includes star linebacker Calvin Munson(it feels like he's been around forever.) San Diego State's secondary returns all but two of it's top players from last year, the only issue is the 2 happen to both be corners, a safety could move over there possibly as San Diego State sure has enough of them, corner Damontae Kazee is dominant as he had 8 picks last year, with the questions at the other corner spots that number will be impossible to replicate as most QBs will avoid him.

San Diego State has a very manageable schedule, their non-conference slate includes games against New Hampshire, Cal, Northern Illinois and South Alabama. They also avoid Boise State in the regular season, San Diego State really should be able to win every game on this schedule, but at the same time they're incapable of beating power 5 teams, and actually most decent non-conference opponents beat them, and of course they tend to drop a non-conference stinker as well before pulling it together for conference play. This could or even should be the year that San Diego State bucks that trend but I'm skeptical.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 New Hampshire: New Hampshire is actually one of the better FCS teams, perfect opportunity for San Diego State to lay their stinkbomb, I very nearly picked the upset here. W

Sept. 10 California: San Diego State hasn't been able to beat any power 5 opponents so I have them losing this one. L

Sept. 17 @ Northern Illinois: This game is a tough road game as it's across the country, both are grind it out teams, Northern Illinois has slightly better QB play and they surprise San Diego State. L

Oct. 1 @ South Alabama: I would hope that because of the bye week San Diego State would be capable of not losing this one. W

Oct. 8 UNLV: San Diego State starts to get rolling again, they win this by about 10. W

Oct. 15 @ Fresno State: They struggle more than expected with Fresno State as usual but are too talented to not win. W

Oct. 21 San Jose State: They dominate this game in a win. W

Oct. 29 @ Utah State: This game actually proves to be a challenge but San Diego State wins. W

Nov. 5 Hawai'i: Easy win. W

Nov. 12 @ Nevada: This could be a big game for the division, I think San Diego State wins it easily. W

Nov. 19 @ Wyoming: Wyoming simply doesn't have the talent to win this game, but there's always hope that with this being a late November game that the weather plays a factor. W

Nov. 26 Colorado State: San Diego State wins this with no issues. W

Predicted Record: 10-2(8-0)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

San Jose State Spartans

Preview: Entering 2015 the big headline for San Jose State was the amazing recruiting class they brought in, as it was a lot of talent they aren't used to getting. The crown jewel of the class is already off the team unfortunately, but San Jose State still had a very young team last year and played like it. They were impressive beating a good FCS opponent in New Hampshire in a blowout, but then they were pummeled by Air Force, and even worse lost by 2 touchdowns to a bad Oregon State team. They recovered with a blowout win over a bad Fresno State team and weren't awful in a loss to Auburn, they then won another and lost another. Then San Jose State got a nice win over New Mexico, lost by only 1 point to BYU, and by 3 to Nevada. By the end of the regular season they were 5-7, they didn't have any business in a bowl but they got in one anyways and won the game.

The offense wasn't great last year but a big step up from the year before. Juco transfer Kenny Potter came in and took over the starting job completely by midseason, he had a few bad performances but was mostly solid. San Jose State's offense only had one really good playmaker and that was RB Tyler Ervin who had an incredible breakout year rushing for almost 1600 yards on the dot. He is now gone and replacing him will be a challenge. San Jose State has some solid efficient receivers. TE Billy Freeman is the best of the bunch, WR Tim Crawley is back too, another good receiver Tyler Winston unfortunately got hurt and will miss the entire season. San Jose State returns 5 starters on the offensive line with experience, only one is gone, most of these players are juniors too so while it should be solid this year it will be even better next year.

San Jose State had a defense last year that was good against the pass but terrible against the run. It could improve against the run this year with almost every defensive lineman back and so is just about every linebacker as well. San Jose State's secondary is a question with both starting corners gone, but they have recruited well here so if these recruits pan out we will know pretty soon.

San Jose State has a pretty tough schedule. OOC they play what should be a good Tulsa team, one of the better fcs teams in Portland State, as well as Utah and Iowa State, losing all 4 games is very possible. They also have to face both Boise State and San Diego State on the road. San Jose State always has the possibility of peaking a year ahead of time but I think they will hover around 6-7 wins this year but setting the stage for what could be a good 2017.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 @ Tulsa: L
Sept. 10 Portland State: W
Sept. 17 Utah: L
Sept. 24 @ Iowa State: L
Oct. 1 @ New Mexico: W
Oct. 8 Hawai'i: W
Oct. 15 Nevada: W
Oct. 21 @ San Diego State: L
Oct. 29 UNLV: W
Nov. 4 @ Boise State: L
Nov. 19 Air Force: W
Nov. 26 @ Fresno State: W

Predicted Record: 7-5(6-2)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Nevada- Las Vegas Rebels

Preview: Tony Sanchez proved to be better than expected in his first year at head coach, as he inherited a team that lacked talent and he made the most of it. They opened the year giving Northern Illinois a tough time in an 8 point loss, they also didn't get beaten up too badly by Michigan, and put up 80 against Idaho State. UNLV's best moment of the year was upsetting Nevada on the road, they only beat Hawai'i the rest of the year but were a lot closer to winning a lot of games so the improvement was there.

UNLV's offense was solid but not great last year. Now this offseason the starting QB job has been wide open it's been a battle between 3 QBs, Kurt Palandech is the only one who has started before but he was unimpressive in those starts, perhaps the most promising is Johnny Stanton a QB a JUCO transfer QB who at one point was at Nebraska, and he has ties to offensive coordinator Barney Cotton. UNLV brings back their top 3 RBs from last year and all 3 carry the ball a significant amount each game, they also have a lot of big play potential. WRs Devonte Boyd and Kendal Keys are back and both are juniors who have started each year. UNLV returns 3 starters on the offensive line but the 2 that are gone were more experienced, it was an ok line last year wasn't great but wasn't awful either.

UNLV's defense had some good moments as well but also struggled at times. Depth should be better this year as injuries hit the front 7 pretty hard. 10 defensive linemen played last year, and only 2 of them are gone. 6 linebackers played at times last year and now 4 of those 6 return this year. This front 7 definitely needs to improve though because even with everyone playing it was terrible, UNLV had the worst pass rush in college football last year. Despite QBs having all day to throw the ball, UNLV actually didn't have all that bad of a pass defense, Josh Rosen from UCLA didn't even complete half his passes and threw 3 picks against this secondary. It goes without saying that the secondary for UNLV was very impressive, it does replace it's two starting safeties this year but there are some experienced safeties who could step up.

UNLV's schedule isn't awful, other than UCLA their non-conference games are winnable. They also are in the West division which helps, drawing Boise State on the road obviously isn't the best thing but they get Wyoming and Colorado State on the road in addition to that. If UNLV can find a good QB this year could be better than expected but I'm only thinking they might make small improvements.

Predictions:

Sept. 1 Jackson State: W
Sept. 10 @ UCLA: L
Sept. 17 @ Central Michigan: L
Sept. 24 Idaho: W
Oct. 1 Fresno State: W
Oct. 8 @ San Diego State: L
Oct. 15 @ Hawai'i: W
Oct. 22 Colorado State: L
Oct. 29 @ San Jose State: L
Nov. 12 Wyoming: L
Nov. 19 @ Boise State: L
Nov. 26 Nevada: L

Predicted Record: 4-8(2-6)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Utah State Aggies

Preview: Still funny to think how Utah State's program used to be one of the worst in football and suddenly they have become a solid steady program. Last season was very up and down and one of the tougher ones Utah State has had under Matt Wells. They were terrible in the opener needing a miraculous punt return touchdown late to beat Southern Utah 12-9. They lost as expected to Utah and Washington before going on a dominant 3 game run of blowouts against Colorado State, Fresno State and Boise State. Suddenly they crashed down to earth in a blowout loss to San Diego State. They only won 2 more games the rest of the year and that included a bowl loss to Akron.

The offense will not have Chuckie Keeton at all this year, his career was an unfortunate one as he looked like he could have become a great QB only to get destroyed by injuries and last year he was basically ineffective. QB Kent Myers took over and he's started in each of his first 2 years at times while Keeton was hurt, Myers played great last year and with a full offseason preparing to be the starter he could have a breakout year this year. Utah State had some struggles in the running game until DeVante Mays overtook LaJuan Hunt as the starter, both are back this year. Utah State has some concerns at receiver as their top receiver Hunter Sharp is gone, and they overall are lacking experience there. Utah State loses 2 starters on the offensive line.

Utah State has been stellar on defense for several years now, but this year will definitely be a test to how consistent they are here. Utah State loses a lot on the defensive line but it's nothing compared to what they lose at linebacker where they lose 7 of their top 10 linebackers and that includes star linebackers Nick Virgil and Kyler Fackrell. Utah State returns most of their starters in the secondary and should be ok there.

Utah State has a decently challenging schedule they have to go on the road against USC and BYU OOC, as well as a home game against Arkansas State, they also play in the tougher Mountain division, and draw San Diego State as well as Nevada. Utah State should be able to return to a bowl but it will take a whole lot of answers to compete for the conference title.

Predictions:

Sept. 1 Weber State: W
Sept. 10 @ USC: L
Sept. 17 Arkansas State: W
Sept. 24 Air Force: W
Oct. 1 @ Boise State: L
Oct. 8 @ Colorado State: L
Oct. 22 Fresno State: W
Oct. 29 San Diego State: L
Nov. 5 @ Wyoming: L
Nov. 12 New Mexico: W
Nov. 19 @ Nevada: W
Nov. 26 @ BYU: L

Predicted Record: 6-6(4-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Wyoming Cowboys

Preview: Craig Bohl is taking a slow route to this rebuild, starting out with his young players and not filling gaps with JUCO transfers. It showed right away. Wyoming was probably the worst team in the nation to start the year. They were dominated by North Dakota in their opener losing by 11 and never really standing a chance, they then were routed at home by Eastern Michigan. They performed slightly better in their next 4 losses and then out of nowhere they stunned Nevada it was by far their best performance of the year. They didn't have much success after until winning the finale at home over UNLV.

Wyoming's offense had some bright spots but got hit with injuries also, QB Cameron Coffman is gone so Wyoming needs to find a replacement there. The bright spot of the offense is RB Brian Hill who is capable of putting on some amazing performances and at times carrying the team on his back as he ran for over 1600 yards last year. The good news for Wyoming's passing game is almost every receiver that caught a pass last year returns. WR Tanner Gentry has proven to be the best of the group as he played great when healthy he got hurt a lot last year also. Wyoming returns 4 starters on the offensive line as well as a lot of their backups.

Wyoming was very young on defense last year and the result was an awful defense. Wyoming had almost no pass rush and defensive end Eddie Yarbrough had the majority of their sacks, he's now gone. The inside of the line definitely has more experience than the outside this year. Wyoming returns 5 of their top 7 linebackers. Wyoming's secondary last year was awful but when they had little pass rush and all freshmen and one sophomore starting in the secondary you could see why. Seeing how that was the case, Wyoming returns basically their entire secondary and it should be a little better.

Wyoming has a pretty challenging schedule. They play Northern Illinois and Nebraska in their first two games, and for their situation going on the road against Eastern Michigan will be tough also. They play in the toughest division and draw San Diego State as well as Nevada from the west. Bohl would have to work miracles to make a bowl but we should see some improvement this year.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 Northern Illinois: L
Sept. 10 @ Nebraska: L
Sept. 17 UC Davis: W
Sept. 24 @ Eastern Michigan: W
Oct. 1 @ Colorado State: L
Oct. 8 Air Force: L
Oct. 22 @ Nevada: W
Oct. 29 Boise State: L
Nov. 5 Utah State: W
Nov. 12 @ UNLV: W
Nov. 19 San Diego State: L
Nov. 26 @ New Mexico: L

Predicted Record: 5-7(3-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Mountain West Conference
​

Mountain

1. Boise State Broncos 10-2(7-1)
2. Air Force Falcons 10-2(6-2)
3. Colorado State Rams 7-5(5-3)
4. Utah State Aggies 6-6(4-4)
5. New Mexico Lobos 6-6(3-5)
6. Wyoming Cowboys 5-7(3-5)


West

1. San Diego State Aztecs 10-2(8-0)
2. San Jose State Spartans 7-5(6-2)
3. Nevada Wolfpack 6-6(3-5)
4. UNLV Runnin Rebels 4-8(2-6)
5. Fresno State Bulldogs 2-10(1-7)
6. Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors 2-11(0-8)

Conference Championship: Boise State over San Diego State - I have no idea what to actually expect from Boise State so I'm picking them to win this solely based on the fact that I can't pick San Diego State to beat us without barfing.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

MAC Conference
​

Overview: The Mac as a conference had a great year last year, Toledo took down one of the better SEC teams on the road, Western Michigan didn't embarrass themselves against Ohio State or Michigan State, Northern Illinois gave Ohio State a tough time, Bowling Green put up a lot of points on Tennessee's defense, destroyed Maryland and beat Purdue, Ohio even lost a close game to Minnesota. The Mac mostly saw good bowl performances as well.

This year the West will again be the stronger division as teams look to finally unseat Northern Illinois from the division crown. Toledo was easily the strongest candidate too, they had a lead at home against Northern Illinois and blew it to once again lose to them, Toledo had their division hopes renewed when Northern Illinois dropped their finale to Ohio, only for Toledo to drop theirs to Western Michigan. Toledo loses some good players but still brings a lot back from last year's excellent team. Western Michigan is perhaps the Mac's best hope to be the group of 5 champ to get into a New Year's 6 bowl, Western Michigan returns just about everyone and has winnable non-conference games against Northwestern and Illinois. Central Michigan proved to be decent last year as well, they have had Northern Illinois' number these past few years and could sneak up to contend for the division. Eastern Michigan could be the division's most improved team though their record won't move up much as the West is such a tough division.

The East division could be closer this year. Bowling Green basically rolled past this entire division last year, the only close game was a 28-22 road win over Buffalo in bad weather, other than that Bowling Green beat the two best contenders Ohio by a score of 62-24 and Akron 59-10. Bowling Green would eventually go on to win the Mac championship. Bowling Green loses a lot of talent this year but still has some of the best talent in the Mac, they have a new head coach as well, if Bowling Green can win the East again this year they'll solidify themselves as a top Mac program. Ohio will be looking to challenge, while they were far away from contending last year they do bring a lot of experience back so it's possible they could take Bowling Green down. Kent State has an outside shot as they might have the Mac's best defense, problem is they have nothing for an offense. Akron loses a lot and is set to regress, Buffalo could contend for a bowl but most likely won't contend for the division. Chuck Martin is still rebuilding at Miami of Ohio, he could see some improvement this year while setting up what should be a good 2017.

Key Games: (Winner in bold)

Sept 3:
Toledo @ Arkansas State
Western Michigan @ Northwestern

Sept. 10:
Central Michigan @ Oklahoma State
Northern Illinois @ South Florida
Ohio @ Kansas

Sept. 17:
Bowling Green vs Mid Tenn State
Northern Illinois vs San Diego State
Ohio @ Tennessee
Toledo vs Fresno State
Western Michigan @ Illinois

Sept. 24:
Bowling Green @ Memphis
Central Michigan @ Virginia
Western Michigan vs Georgia Southern

Sept. 30
Toledo @ BYU

Oct. 1
Central Michigan @ Western Michigan

Oct. 8
Bowling Green @ Ohio
Northern Illinois @ Western Michigan
Kent State @ Buffalo

Oct. 15
Bowling Green @ Toledo
Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois

Oct. 22
Central Michigan @ Toledo
Ohio @ Kent State

Oct. 27
Ohio @ Toledo

Oct. 29
Kent State @ Central Michigan

Nov. 1
Bowling Green @ Northern Illinois

Nov. 9
Toledo @ Northern Illinois

Nov. 15
Kent State @ Bowling Green
Ohio @ Central Michigan

Nov. 25
Buffalo @ Bowling Green
Northern Illinois @ Kent State
Toledo @ Western Michigan

Standings
​

East:

1. Bowling Green Falcons 8-4(6-2)
2. Ohio Bobcats 7-5(4-4) - 2nd based on record, all 3 went 1-1 against each other
3. Buffalo Bulls 6-6(4-4)
4. Kent State Golden Flashes 6-6(4-4)
5. Akron Zips 3-9(2-6)
6. Miami Ohio Redhawks 2-10(1-7)

West:

1. Western Michigan 10-2(8-0)
2. Toledo Rockets 9-3(6-2)
3. Central Michigan Chippewas 8-4(6-2)
4. Northern Illinois Huskies 8-4(5-3)
5. Eastern Michigan Eagles 4-8(2-6)
6. Ball State Cardinals 1-11(0-8)


MAC Championship: Western Michigan over Bowling Green - while Bowling Green has been here and Western Michigan hasn't I think Western Michigan's talent will prove to be enough for them to win.

 

[mutiger]

Mizzou's offense is going to be much improved. Mizzou actually had a lot of talent on offense last year, but all of it was very young. The OL had to deal with an injury and then OC plus Pinkel chose to stick with veterans instead of playing the youth. Josh Henson was awful the last 2 seasons as the OC and because of all the youth Pinkel admitted that he pretty much didn't allow Lock to do anything on offense last year. That changes this year with Josh Heupel at OC. Mizzou went 5-7 and looked dead after 2012...OL was terrible and offense was pitiful. 2013 Offense exploded and they won the East and finished in Top 5 nationally in the final poll.

Missouri Tigers

Preview: Missouri's 2015 was definitely far from boring even if their offense was, it was with drama between Maty Mauk causing issues, the team threatening to refuse to play against BYU and then Gary Pinkel resigning due to health issues. On the field the team struggled. After 2 seasons of winning the SEC East Missouri dipped to 5-7. They had an unconvincing 3-0 start beating Arkansas State by a touchdown and then beating Connecticut 9-6 in the ugliest most unwatchable game you'll ever see. Missouri only once all year gave up more than 28 points, but their offense was so bad it scored 20 or more just 4 times all year! They won every single one of those games by the way. The offense was a disaster right at the start as once heralded recruit Maty Mauk proved to be nothing but trouble he finally got kicked off the team, Drew Lock a true freshman at the time took over as the starter and he performed like a true freshman getting thrown into the wolves would perform. RB Russell Hansbrough was hurt after the first game and never really played healthy all year, now he's gone but help is on the way with former Oklahoma running back Alex Ross who transferred because he fell behind Perine and Mixon at OU. The best guard on the team Evan Boehm also played hurt most of the year. Connor McGovern was the other top linemen and he was forced to play out of position so this offensive line was just terrible now all these top players are gone. The offensive line overall returns almost no starting experience. The receivers were inexperienced and pretty bad last year but they're mostly all back. Missouri's defense is what gives them hope for this year, as their defense was very good last year and now it returns a lot of experience. Defensive end Walter Brady got dismissed but he is the only one of Missouri's top 9 defensive linemen from last year that is gone. Charles Harris is the star end of this group he will be dominant again. 2 of 3 starting linebackers are back and 5 of the top 7 players in the secondary are back. It's a tough and deep defense. Missouri's schedule includes a non-conference road opener at West Virginia and they draw LSU in addition to their game against Arkansas from the West which definitely isn't the most favorable of draws. I would say what I think but I'm never right on Missouri, 3 years ago I predicted doom and gloom...they won the SEC East. Following Year I predicted a drop off...they won the SEC East. Last year I predicted them to stay right in the thick of the SEC East race and they fell apart. Here's my best guess though.

Predictions:

Sept. 3 @ West Virginia: West Virginia returns a lot of experience and when not faced against the spread offenses of the Big 12 West Virginia plays good defense, I think Missouri will lose this opener. L

Sept. 10 Eastern Michigan: Nice easy win here. W

Sept. 17 Georgia: Expect this to be a low scoring game, Georgia just has a few more playmakers to beat Missouri. L
Sept. 24 Delaware State: Delaware State is one of the worst teams in the MEAC this should be simple. W

Oct. 1 @ LSU: Can't see Missouri winning in death valley. L

Oct. 15 @ Florida: Another ugly game but Florida scores the touchdown needed to win. L

Oct. 22 Middle Tennessee: Missouri actually will be threatened in this one as Mid Tenn State is one of the better mid majors this year but Missouri escapes a close one. W

Oct. 29 Kentucky: Missouri I think dominates this game and wins 16-3. W

Nov. 5 @ South Carolina: Missouri's offense will be capable of scoring on South Carolina's defense so that alone helps them win. W

Nov. 12 Vanderbilt: These two teams are almost the same exact team this year, except Missouri actually wants to get better at offense. W

Nov. 19 @ Tennessee: Missouri had Tennessee's number until last year, they will give Tennessee's offense a hard time but I can't see Missouri having any offensive success themselves in this one. L

Nov. 26 Arkansas: Missouri's offense gets dominated in this game and they lose a low scoring affair. L

Predicted Record: 6-6(3-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Conference USA
​

Overview: Conference USA dropped into possibly being the worst conference last year. They had a few good teams but there were a lot of bad ones as well. Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss were easily the top 4 in the league, Mid Tenn State was the only middle level team the conference had. The non-conference performances were nothing to write home about, Western Kentucky by far the best team in the league only beat Vanderbilt by 2 and lost to Indiana by 3, they did get an impressive bowl win over South Florida though. Southern Miss put up a good fight against Nebraska, Mississippi State and Washington, but also never really threatened to win any of those games. Mid Tenn State was impressive enough by not getting completely run off the field by Alabama, and they barely lost to both Illinois and Vanderbilt though lost by 2 TDs in their bowl to Western Michigan. Marshall wasn't at all their usual selves last year, they barely beat Purdue and were dominated by Ohio, they also needed 2 overtimes to survive Kent State though they won their bowl over UConn. Louisiana Tech's best performance was a triple OT loss to Kansas State, FIU looked like they got a big win by beating UCF only to find out UCF was the worst team in the nation. The main 5 teams I've mentioned so far were way ahead of the rest of the league, all of them except for Mid Tenn State and Southern Miss lose a lot of their best players, and Southern Miss lost their head coach. Louisiana Tech seems like they will take a step back, the other 4 will likely contend for the conference title, FIU and Florida Atlantic are the only other two that have any potential to challenge but those two could easily struggle as well. Southern Miss and Mid Tenn State seem like the favorites, Western Kentucky loses a lot and Marshall does as well, though Marshall should be loaded next year.

Key Games: (Winners in bold)

Sept. 1:
FIU vs Indiana
Rice @ Western Kentucky

Sept. 3:
Louisiana Tech @ Arkansas
Southern Miss @ Kentucky

Sept. 9
FIU vs Maryland

Sept. 10
Florida Atlantic @ Miami
Mid Tenn State @ Vanderbilt

Sept. 17
Florida Atlantic @ Kansas State
Louisiana Tech @ Texas Tech
Mid Tenn State @ Bowling Green

Sept. 24
Louisiana Tech @ Mid Tenn State
Marshall vs Louisville
Western Kentucky vs Vanderbilt

Oct. 1
Florida Atlantic @ FIU
Marshall @ Pitt

Oct. 6
Western Kentucky @ Louisiana Tech

Oct. 8
FIU @ UTEP

Oct. 15
Florida Atlantic @ Marshall
Western Kentucky @ Mid Tenn State
Southern Miss @ LSU

Oct. 22
Louisiana Tech @ FIU
Mid Tenn State @ Missouri

Oct. 29
Western Kentucky @ Florida Atlantic
Mid Tenn State @ FIU
Marshall @ Southern Miss

Nov. 5
FIU @ Western Kentucky

Nov. 12
Mid Tenn State @ Marshall

Nov. 19
Marshall @ FIU

Nov. 25
Louisiana Tech @ Southern Miss

Nov. 26
Western Kentucky @ Marshall

Standings
​

East
1. Mid Tenn State Blue Raiders 9-3(8-0)
2. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 8-4(6-2)
3. Florida International Golden Panthers 7-5(5-3)
4. Marshall Thundering Herd 7-5(5-3)
5. Florida Atlantic Owls 5-7(3-5)
6. Old Dominion Monarchs 4-8(2-6)
7. Charlotte 49ers 1-11(0-8)

West
1. Southern Miss Golden Eagles 10-2(8-0)
2. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 6-6(4-4)
3. UTEP Miners 6-6(4-4)
4. Rice Owls 5-7(4-4)
5. UTSA Roadrunners 4-8(3-5)
6. North Texas Mean Green 1-11(0-8)

Conference Championship: Southern Miss over Mid Tenn State - despite my concerns about the coaching, Southern Miss has more talent and they've played in the conference championship game before