Mountain West College Football Power Rankings: Frogs and Utes On Top

The picture is starting to clear up in the Mountain West Conference race, and this week’s rankings might have been the easiest so far. Certainly easier than trying to understand why Gary Patterson was so upset at a Boise reporter on last week's MWC call. 

There are plenty of bad teams (four), a couple good teams (two) and a few in the middle (three).

With that in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s Mountain West Conference Power Rankings…

The Bottom Gets Worse

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LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 02: UNLV Rebels head coach Bobby Hauck gestures to his players during their game against the Nevada Reno Wolf Pack at Sam Boyd Stadium October 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada Reno won 44-26. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Here’s what we know about the worst teams in the conference: 

Colorado State and UNLV each have a conference win. CSU’s win is a 30+ point drubbing of the aforementioned rebels.

UNLV’s lone win was a beat-down, but the 45-10 win was against one of the all-time worst 1A or FBS teams ever, New Mexico. A win may be a win, but against the winless lobos, it doesn’t count for anything in our poll.

That leaves Wyoming, which, while winless in conference has two wins and close losses to both Air Force and BYU.

As you can see, making sense of this mess of football futility is a challenge. Nonetheless, here’s how the bottom four shakes out this week:

#9: New Mexico – hasn’t sniffed a win this season.

#8: UNLV – Lone win is over lousy lobos

#7: Colorado State – Win over UNLV isn’t terribly impressive, especially with a no-show against Utah this week.

#6: Wyoming – Close only gets you to the top of the junk heap, despite the brutal schedule

No. 5: San Diego State

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PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 05: Ryan Lindley #14 of the San Diego State Aztecs hands the ball off during the game against the UCLA Bruins at The Rose Bowl on September 5, 2009 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

I know, Aztec Fan: You beat Air Force. But a lackluster performance against a bad, bad, bad New Mexico team isn’t going to jump you over a team (BYU) you lost to.

The good news: three remaining games against the bottom four. The bad news: Two games against TCU and Utah. 

No. 4: BYU

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PROVO, UT. - SEPTEMBER 19: Jarmon Fortson #80 of the Florida State Seminoles gets the touchdown against Andrew Rich #22 and Brian Logan #7 of the Brigham Young Cougars at La Vell Edwards Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Melissa Ma

The Cougars looked great against the Cowboys Saturday...for a quarter. Then sketchy play calling and inability to execute in Wyoming territory left a game that should have been a rout in question through the final minutes.

But the Cougars are 2-2 in MWC play with losses to Air Force and TCU, with games against the doormats in the next three. 

No. 3 Air Force

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FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Tim Jefferson Jr. #7 of the Air Force Falcons pitches the ball to a receiver against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The Falcons learned this week just how much gap exists between the top and middle of the conference, enduring a 38-7 thrashing from TCU Saturday.

Losses to SDSU and TCU in conference have the Falcons in a three-way pursuit for third place in conference with BYU and San Diego State, who all look to have at least three losses when the dust settles. 

No. 2 Utah

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FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Quarterback Jordan Wynn #3 of the Utah Utes reacts in the second quarter of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on November 14, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Utah looks a lot better this week after Iowa State mopped up on Texas. But its amazing that seven weeks into the season we still don’t know whether the Utes are decent, good or outstanding.

Playing one of the weakest schedules in football has allowed the Utes plenty of opportunity to iron out the wrinkles, but certainly hasn’t steeled them for a rough stretch from here that includes Air Force, TCU, Notre Dame, San Diego State and BYU.  

No. 1 TCU

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FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Andy Dalton #14 of the TCU Horned Frogs celebrates after TCU beat the Air Force Falcons 38-7 at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

After a somewhat pedestrian first half, the frogs poured it on the Falcons and walked away with a rout against Air Force. A killer showdown with the Utes awaits after a cake-walk with UNLV this week.