This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Go east, young man, go east.
That's what you must do this season to find the best football teams in the Mountain West Conference.
Led by Boise State and excluding winless Wyoming, the Mountain Division of the MWC is again stronger and deeper than the West Division.
That said, the survivor in the West earns an automatic ticket to the Mountain West championship game and the winner of this week's San Diego State-San Jose State game jumps into the driver's seat.
The Aztecs have put a home loss to — cough, cough — South Alabama behind them and won back-to-back conference games against struggling Fresno State and Hawaii.
The Spartans have recovered from an early 37-16 loss at Air Force, which might be the third- or fourth-best team in the Mountain Division, with league wins over UNLV and Fresno.
When their game ends late Saturday night, either San Diego State or San Jose State will find itself in first place.
"We tell our guys, 'Every game is important,' " Spartan coach Ron Caragher said. "But then as you get into it, as you continue winning, the bar gets raised and the importance of that game really rises."
Around the Mountain
• Boise State hasn't had a bye yet and won't until the weekend of Nov. 7. The Broncos play nine straight weeks, including two road games in a six-day span after they visit Utah State on Friday. It's a concern for coach Bryan Harsin. "Bye weeks usually happen right about now and we don't have it until [after] Week 9," he said. "... We're going to have to find ways to be creative to keep our guys healthy and have them ready to play. But we also knew what we were getting into before we started. How we handle it, I don't know yet."
• Winless Wyoming has suffered an epidemic of concussion-type injuries. Three defensive players — linebacker Lucas Wacha, end Siaosi Hala'api'api and cornerback Robert Priester — left last week's 31-17 loss to Air Force with concussion-like symptoms. So far, 15 Cowboys have suffered similar injuries. "Our protocol here is very stringent," said coach Craig Bohl. "… Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our players. Our [concussion] numbers are much higher than they have been, but we don't quite have an answer [why] right now."
• Nevada has also been hit by injuries, especially on the offensive line. Two players who began the season on the scout team, Ziad Damanhoury and Daren Echeveria, started in its 35-17 win over New Mexico. They helped the Wolf Pack rush for 351 yards. "That's a hell of a promotion," coach Brian Pollen said. "That's a battlefield promotion and they held their own. I'm just so proud of those guys. … I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't worried about them at first."
Twitter: @sluhm —
Tribune Power Rankings
Mountain West
1. Boise State (5-1) • Broncos are +10 in turnovers
2. Utah State (3-2) • Has won 20 of 22 at home
3. Air Force (3-2) • Won 8 of past 9 vs. Colorado State
4. San Jose State (3-3) • Needed late rally at UNLV
5. Colorado State (2-4) • Schedule begins to soften up
6. Nevada (3-3) • Still in West Division race
7. San Diego State (3-3) • Win streak: Fresno, Hawaii
8. New Mexico (3-3) • Beaten opponents are 0-17
9. UNLV (2-4) • Lost late lead vs. San Jose State
10. Hawaii (2-4) • Colorado win was long ago
11. Fresno State (1-5) • 'Dogs have lost five straight
12. Wyoming (0-6) • Injuries, losses piling up