Mountain West Conference: Power Ranking the Realigned League

It's now official, The Mountain West Conference has two new members and are gunning for an automatic BCS bowl bid, something every conference wants.

But unfortunately for the MWC, their chances of receiving it would be much greater if they were able to keep BYU.

But the word is out that Brigham Young University is strongly considering going independent in football .

Meanwhile the poor WAC has been gutted and are down to currently six members, two short of the NCAA requirement for actually being a conference.

On the bright side BYU has said that they might join the WAC in all other sports with the exception of football; so there's that to look forward to.

All that being said, if the goal is getting as many schools in your conference into a BCS bowl, let's break down the chances that the new MWC has of doing that.

10. New Mexico Lobos

Unfortunately for the Lobos, realignment or not, they are going to continue to have growing pains.

Their previous head coach Rocky Long had lead them to several bowls. But they parted ways with him and brought in Mike Locksley.

Hmm.

In his first year at New Mexico, Locksley went 1-11 and had both legal troubles as well as a suspension for an altercation with an assistant coach.

Will Locksley even be around to see the new MWC?

9. UNLV Rebels

Former Coach Mike Sanford brought his version of the the spread offense to UNLV,  but it didn't stick.

So now Former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck who was hired in December, gets a chance to put his stamp on the Rebels.

They usually schedule tough out of conference, so that could hurt a growing program but Hauck's Montana teams usually averaged in the 30s on offense so if he can bring that type of scoring to Vegas...

8. Colorado State Rams

The Rams most famous is coach is Sonny Lubick, but he's long gone.

He was replaced by one of his long time assistants and former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator, Steven Fairchild. After two years on the job, Fairchild has a 10-15 record and is still in rebuilding mode.

If he puts up another 3-9 season (0-8 in conference), he could be gone.

Although a couple more upsets like the one over Colorado last year could go a long way.

7. San Diego State Aztecs

Unlike New Mexico, SDSU seems to be on an upswing.

First year head coach Brady Hoke won three more games than the freshman coach with the Lobos.

And Hoke is the man behind Ball State's amazing turnaround in his final year.

So things could be looking up for the Aztecs.

6. Wyoming Cowboys

Second-year head coach Dave Christensen was a former Offensive Coordinator of the Year award winner when he was at Missouri, so the future looks bright for the Cowboys.

He put together a 7-6 season and a trip to the New Mexico Bowl, where they beat Pat Hill's Fresno State squad.

This could be one of the up and coming teams in the new MWC.

5. Fresno State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs will be joining the MWC and they will find themselves right in the middle with the potential to go either way depending on how recruiting goes.

They lost to Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl, so they already have some familiarity with the style of play in the Mountain West.

Coach Pat Hill has been there since 1997 and recently clocked his 100th win. Look for Fresno State to make a move toward the top of the conference quickly. 

And they'll also try and stop their two game losing streak in the New Mexico Bowl.

4. Nevada Wolf Pack

Coach Chris Ault runs a great offense and led Nevada to an 8-5 record and a trip to a Hawaii Bowl.

Curiously enough Nevada plays three MWC teams as their out of conference games this season, (Colorado State, at BYU, and at UNLV) so their transition to the Mountain West should be seamless.

They will be a top echelon team in the new conference.

3. Air Force Falcons

Though the loss to Navy and the failure to win the Commander in Chief’s Trophy still probably stings, it shouldn't take away the good vibes from an 8-5 season and a winning conference record.

Coming off a win against Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl, coach Troy Calhoun has a good thing going and should still have his team in the top three in the conference.

2. TCU Horned Frogs

Unless the Big 12 comes calling, TCU remains one of the top two potential BCS busters that the MWC can put out there.

They finished last season with a BCS Bowl (Fiesta Bowl loss) and a #6 ranking in both the AP and the Coaches Polls.

Head coach Gary Patterson has racked up 85 wins in only ten seasons and has the team nationally regarded.

The addition of Nevada and Fresno State don't affect the Frogs as much as Boise State coming over, especially after losing Utah and potentially BYU.

TCU needs big game competition to stay in the national spotlight.

1. Boise State Broncos

Boise State finished the season 13-0, but didn't get a chance to play in the BCS title game. That is why moving to the MWC with Nevada and Fresno State and having BYU stay could be enough to get the BCS to give them an automatic bid.

Depending on how the Broncos do this season, (the game in Maryland against Virginia Tech is key), they might not need a conference with an automatic bid to get them into the National Championship talk.

But it sure helps.