Mountain West Conference Football Predictions: TCU Slides, Utah Reels, BYU Rolls

With the bottom of the Mountain West Conference as bad as it's ever been and TCU on a bye week, there's really only one compelling matchup in the conference this week: the slipping University of Utah at the surging San Diego State University.

But that doesn't mean there won't be drama. Here are three big predictions for this weekend in the MWC...

Utah Loses in San Diego

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 13: Manti Te'o #5 and Emeka Nwankwo #91 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackle Matt Asiata #4 of the Utah Utes as Brian Smith #58 (L) and Kapron Lewis-Moore #89 close in at Notre Dame Stadium on November 13, 2010 in South Bend,

Aztecs down Utes

The Utes are in trouble. After a downright brutal beatdown at the hands of TCU at home, Utah failed to bring anything on the road with them to South Bend, where Notre Dame embarrassed them as well.

Utah's quarterback Jordan Wynn seems to have lost his usual confident presence, and fans are already calling for backup Terrance Cain.

Meanwhile, San Diego State has come on strong, shaking off a loss at BYU, rolling to bowl eligibility and giving TCU a better game than anyone had.

Prediction: Utah turnovers and SDSU offense put the Aztecs up 14-plus by the third quarter. Cain comes in for the Utes and shows promise, but not enough to save the Utes from their third straight loss. Next week, Utah faces a quarterback controversy heading into the rivalry game.

Ryan Teeples runs BYUUtahRivalry.com and can be followed at twitter.com/ryanteeples.

BYU Rolls Again

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 16: Head coach Bronco Mendenhall of the BYU Cougars heads his team against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 16, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU beat BYU 31-3. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Cougars hit stride just in time

A couple weeks ago things looked disastrous for the Cougars. But a win Saturday against the awful Lobos puts the Cougars in a bowl game for the sixth straight year under Bronco Mendenhall.

Combined with another Utah loss and a quarterback controversy on The Hill, next Saturday's rivalry game gets very, very interesting.

Prediction: BYU runs up over 500 yards of offense again and drops half a dollar on New Mexico, 59-10.

Ryan Teeples runs BYUUtahRivalry.com and can be followed at twitter.com/ryanteeples.

TCU Loses Ground in the BCS Standings

George Frey/Getty Images

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 6: Quarterback Andy Dalton #14 of the TCU Horned Frogs throws a pass against the Utah Utes during the second half of an NCAA Football game November 6, 2010 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. TCU Beat Utah 47-7.

Boise win pushes them ahead of Frogs

TCU can't impress the voters this week, while Boise State gets only its third chance this season to do so as it hosts Fresno State.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio State could use big wins over good competition to gain favor and steal even more votes from TCU.

Prediction: Boise beats down Nevada, gains votes in the polls. Wisconsin and Nebraska also surge.

TCU drops behind the Broncos in the BCS standings, once again illustrating the absolute stupidity of using pollsters who are biased at best, ignorant at worst, and computers to determine who deserves to play for the title. Gary Patterson ruptures his spleen in anger.

Ryan Teeples runs BYUUtahRivalry.com and can be followed at twitter.com/ryanteeples.