Mountain West Conference 2009 Power Rankings, Week Four

TCU looks to be the team to beat this season in the Mountain West Conference.

The Mountain West Conference ended up with some impressive wins in week four of the college football season. TCU beat Clemson on the road, and Utah took care of Louisville at home.

Week five features nothing but non-conference games for the conference. Of the seven games scheduled the Mountain West Conference teams should be favored in all but one of the games.

This is another important week for the Mountain West Conference in their quest for national respect. Four of the games pit Mountain West Conference teams against Western Athletic Conference teams. It is very important for Mountain West teams to win their games against other non-automatic qualifying conferences — if they want an automatic bid to the BCS in the future.

Here are the week four rankings.

1)TCU - (Last Week's Ranking 1)

TCU's defense is giving up just 245 yards a game, which ranks them 12th in college football. TCU is also ranked 21st in scoring defense, and 8th in sacks per game. TCU's defense is definitely the class of the Mountain West Conference. The offensive numbers for TCU are a little inflated at this point. Luckily, TCU's offense shouldn't have to score much to win this season with such a great defense.

After a big non-conference win over Clemson it is important for TCU not to overlook a much improved SMU team. If TCU is mentally prepared, then the Horned Frogs should win easily this weekend.

Week 5 Schedule: TCU @ SMU

2)BYU - (Last Week's Ranking 2)

It seems as if the Cougars were able to put their loss to Florida State behind them, as they took care of Colorado State at home. BYU only really played their best football in the first quarter and coasted the rest of the game.

BYU will face the fourth leading rusher in the nation this Friday, as Robert Turbin and Utah State come to Provo this Friday. Utah State is better than their 1-2 record. BYU could be in a dogfight if they overlook the Aggies.

Week 5 Schedule: Utah @ BYU

3)Utah - (Last Week's Ranking 6)

The Utes seemed to have righted their ship easily beating Louisville at home. Losing Matt Asiata for the season will really hurt the Utes as they start league play. Asiata was averaging the most yards per game of any Mountain West Conference running back. Eddie Wide did fill in well for the Utes gaining 129 against Louisville.

The bye week comes at the right time for the Utes so they can adjust their offense in preparation for conference play.

Week 5 Schedule: BYE

4)Air Force - (Last Week's Ranking 5)

Air Force's defense is very impressive this season. The Falcons have the 9th best scoring defense, and lead the nation in forced turnovers with 15. Air Force is one bad quarter away from being undefeated this season.

This Saturday's game at Navy will basically determine who will win the Commander and Chief Trophy. Air Force hasn't beat Navy since 2002. The Falcons will look to end their losing streak to Navy, and bring back the Commander and Chief Trophy to Colorado Springs.

Week 5 Schedule: Air Force @ Navy

5)Colorado State - (Last Week's Ranking 3)

Take away the first quarter of play last Saturday, and the Rams played even with BYU on the road. Colorado State proved they will be able to compete with any team in the conference this season. Nine wins this season for the Rams seems very doable.

Colorado State's game this weekend is the very interesting. Idaho, perennial dog of college football, already has more wins this season than their last two seasons combined. Colorado State needs to avoid being snakebit by a surprising Idaho team this weekend.

Week 5 Schedule: Colorado State @ Idaho

6)Wyoming - (Last Week's Ranking 8)

Wyoming continues to be a hard team to figure out. They did take advantage of UNLV's turnovers and come away with an impressive conference upset win. Yet, it is difficult to know which Wyoming team is going to show up to play each Saturday.

This weekend's game should be a gimmie for the Pokes, but you just don't know this season with Wyoming.

Week 5 Schedule: Wyoming @ Florida Atlantic

7)UNLV - (Last Week's Ranking 4)

This year's Rebel squad looks a lot like the squad from the last two years. UNLV has a ton of talent. It appears they are going to take the next step to compete in the conference every season. Yet, UNLV just doesn't win the games they are suppose to win. UNLV turned the ball over four times in their loss to Wyoming, including losing a fumble on the game tying field goal attempt with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter.

UNLV will now try to get back on track by playing win less in-state rival Nevada. A team the Rebels have lost to for four consecutive years in the annual Fremont Cannon game. The result of this week's game will be very telling about just how good the Rebels really are this season.

Week 5 Schedule: UNLV @ Nevada

8)San Diego State - (Last Week's Ranking 7)

The Aztecs continued to look good in stretches against Air Force. They still have a ways to go in order to be competitive in conference. If San Diego State put together a complete game, then they could surprise some teams later in conference play.

New Mexico State might be the worst 2-2 team in the country. This weekends game is really a must win for San Diego State.

Week 5 Schedule: New Mexico State @ San Diego State

9)New Mexico - (Last Week's Ranking 9)

The Lobos appear to be a train wreck this season. The team is losing, and members of their coaching staff are punching each other in meetings. The embarrassment will continue this Saturday.

New Mexico is ranked 107th in defensive yards allowed a game. They are playing Texas Tech who is ranked 13th in total offense a game. It isn't going to be a good day to be a Lobos fan.

Week 5 Schedule: New Mexico @ Texas Tech