Week 9 Predictions

Here's the action and picks for week 9:

Burning Question: Best Chance at Week 9 Upset in Mid-Major Land

Today's Burning Question: Who in the MWC/WAC has the best chance at pulling The Upset this weekend?

Air Force?
Wyoming?
Idaho?
UNLV? (lol)
New Mexico?
Utah State?

Comment Below, on our Facebook page, or simply Tweet us @theupsetblog @zbloxham @bhein3!

Boise, Michigan State Set 2 Tango

ESPN is reporting that Boise State and Michigan State have agreed to open the 2012 season in East Lansing. The matchup will be played on Labor Day weekend and is set to be broadcast by ESPN. Boise State played Virginia Tech this season in a similar set-up. The Broncos, who also have BYU scheduled in 2012, recently lost their other 2012 opponent Utah its move to the Pac-12.

Per ESPN:

This is a two-for-1 deal between Boise State and Michigan State. The two will also play a home-and-home in 2022 and 2023, and the Broncos will receive a reported payday of $1.2 million for the games.

So, all you Bronco fans, PERK UP! Sparty is coming to town next decade!

Vegas Outlook: Week 9

Here is a quick rundown of the Week 9 Lines and our ATS picks:

San Diego State @ Wyoming (+10)- - TheUpset: SDSU -10
San Jose State @ New Mexico State (+3.5) - - TheUpset: NMSU +3.5
New Mexico @ Colorado State (-16) - - TheUpset: Colorado State -16
Utah @ Air Force (+7) - - TheUpset: Utah -7
Utah State @ Nevada (-26) - - TheUpset: Nevada -26
TCU @ UNLV (+35) - - TheUpset: TCU -35
Idaho @ Hawaii (-14.5) - - TheUpset: Hawaii -14.5

Fresno, Nevada to stay in WAC until 2012

Friend of The Upset, Brendan Loy had the story yesterday.

http://www.brendanloy.com

Fresno State and Nevada announced their intention to defect to the Mountain West Conference this last summer. Both schools received invitations from the MWC during Expansion Crisis 2010. The MWC offered the invitations in hopes of spurning BYU's intention to leave the conference in September. It didn't work. With Utah already on the move to the Pac-12, Comrade Craig must pick up the pieces and spin the Boise/Fresno/Nevada is > Utah/BYU idea once more.

Don't be surprised if Karl Benson is working behind the scenes in hopes of delivering the MWC the knock-out punch he himself has become accustomed to. If TCU leaves for the Big East, as has been rumored, the Mountain West and Western Athletic would have no better option that joining forces. I'm sure Mr. Benson would much rather join forces with Comrade Craig than rebuild his brand with the likes of Texas-San Antonio and Denver University.

Burning Question: Would top non-AQ's succeed playing a BCS schedule?

BCS apologists have long since used the argument "They can't play with the big-boys" when nullifying attempts to level the playing field of college football. The BCS was created to ensure that the Good Ol Boys club would stay intact and any semblance of a college football playoff would cease from living past the embryonic stage of development. Yielding to public pressure, the BCS allowed non-AQ access to its lucrative cartel should one deem worthy. This was access to lesser BCS games, not the national title. That, you see, is reserved for the Holy Commune of Six Major Conferences (and Touchdown Jesus).

Notre Dame student: Let's rush the field when Utah "steamrolls" us

Found yesterday in the South Bend Observer, an independent student paper for Notre Dame and St. Mary's College:

What if? LaTech @ Boise State

Here in Mid-Major land we have become accustomed to match-ups with 5 Touchdown spreads. With such a HUGE talent gap between the haves and the have-not's, we here at The Upset are oftentimes left with nothing to preview. Tonight, Boise State is a 39 point favorite in its matchup with Louisiana Tech. So, with no possible storyline to follow for tonight's sure destruction at Bronco Stadium, we throw a question out to our readers:

What needs to happen for the Bulldogs to pull off the shocker?

Louisiana Tech wins if...

COMMENT BELOW OR TWEET US @theupsetblog @bhein3 or @zbloxham and we will post the best responses after the game.

Fan of Boise, TCU, Utah, or BCS Chaos? Open up your calendars...

Broncos, Horned Frogs, and Utes all have business of their own to take care of.  But as you root your teams on, keep your eyes out for these upcoming games if your life's dream of playing for a national title is to come true:

Burning Question: Tougher Road to Unblemished?

QUESTION: Which one of the remaining non-AQ's has the best chance to go undefeated? Boise State? TCU? Utah?

Boise State
Oct 26 LT 
Nov 6 HAW
Nov 12 @IDHO
Nov 19 FRES
Nov 26 @NEV
Dec 4 USU

TCU
Oct 30 @UNLV 
Nov 6 @UTAH
Nov 13 SDSU
Nov 27 @UNM

Utah
Oct 30 @AFA 
Nov 6 TCU
Nov 13 @ND
Nov 20 @SDSU
Nov 27 BYU

What do you think? Comment or Tweet us! We will always respond!

Week 8 Predictions

Conference play is making this tough!  Here are this week's MWC and WAC matchups, as well as a few potential upsets.

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah poised for takeover amid BYU's downturn

Kurt Kragthrope of the Salt Lake Tribune has a column today chronicling the ascendancy of the University of Utah football program.  Kragthorpe argues that the future of the Utah football is in a much better position than that of rival BYU.  Interesting read.  What are you thoughts? 

BYU-ND Set to Play 2 In South Bend

The University of Notre Dame and Brigham Young University, which announced a six-game series of games early in Septmeber, today released the specific dates for the first two match-ups.

BYU will travel to South Bend on October 20, 2012 and November 16, 2013.  

The two squads are scheduled to meet four additional times between 2014 and 2020.  Two of those match-ups will be in Provo.  

Rutgers DE Paralyzed After Hit

Courtesy of Rutger Official Website

There are certain times when conference affiliation must yield to more important stories. That time is now.  On Saturday, during the Rutgers-Army football game, Scarlet Knight DE Eric LeGrand was severely injured following an on-the-field tackle.  Early reports from New Jersey have reported that LeGrand is currently paralyzed from the neck down.

Vegas 1st Glance: WEEK 8

Here is a look at the Vegas lines for this week's MWC and WAC action.  The spread for each game is accompanied by the "Vegas Prediction," a combination of the spread and the over/under.

Suspended BYU WR offers his side of story

Click on the post title to link to the story from BYU student newspaper The Universe as O'Neill Chambers explains what happened.

The Upset's Meaningless Top 25

1. Boise State
2. Oregon
3. Oklahoma
4. TCU
5. Auburn
6. Michigan State
7. LSU
8. Utah
9. Alabama
10. Wisconsin

Karl Benson's Warriors

All pics courtesy of hawaiiathletics.com

Last week in Fresno, Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz threw for 376 yards, 3 TD's, and led his high-powered Warrior offense to 35 second half points. Hawaii WR Greg Salas was on the recieving end of all three touchdowns. And despite being 2500 miles from home, the Warriors blitzed the glamorous Fresno State Bulldogs 49-27.

Fast forward to Saturday night. Moniz and his caravan of fine wide receivers were again on the warpath. This time, the ranked Nevada Wolfpack were the victims of the Warrior blitz. It was the Hawaii defense, however, which provided the firepower. The Warriors held the fantastic Pistol offense of the Wolfpack to a season-low 293 yards of total offense.

Oh, how Karl Benson smiles at these Warriors of the WAC.

Week 7 Awards

We introduce to you our new weekly awards series.  We at The Upset feel that no good or bad deed should go unnoticed.  Without further ado, our Week 7 Awards!

BYU adds 4-game series with Georgia Tech

BYU and Georgia Tech announced a 4-game series to begin in 2012 as newly independent BYU continues to work to fill up a full slate of games in the coming years.  All four games are set for the 2nd week of October.  The schools will play in Atlanta in 2012 and 2014, and in Provo in 2013 and 2017.

BYU's fans should be pleased, as the Cougars home schedule for 2013 now includes Texas, Georgia Tech, Boise State, and Utah.

BCS Week 1: Non AQ Power Play

Week 1 of the BCS Rankings brought both smiles and frowns to Mid-Major land. On the one hand, Boise State, TCU, and Utah all debuted in the Top 10 of the aggregate poll and are well-positioned to make post-season noise once again. On the other, Boise State, which climbed to #2 in both human elements of the BCS, was hurt by poor computer rankings and no longer controls its own title game destiny.

Our observations were ...

Utah's Smithson defends BYU

Week 7 Predictions

The season is mid-way through and we're in the thick of conference play, but are we in mid-season form?  Check out our thoughts and predictions for this week and you be the judge.  NEW - Make your pick!  Vote on the polls for every game!

Road Statement: Utah 68 Iowa State 27

Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to the Shaky Smithson Show.

Utah's explosive wide receiver racked up 293 all-purpose yards, including a TD reception and a TD pass, on the way to Utah's 68-27 dismantling of Big 12 opponent Iowa State on Saturday night.

Vegas 1st Glance: WEEK 7

Here is a quick rundown of how the odds-makers in Vegas see Week 7 in the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences:

Quick Slant: Week 6 recap

A quick review of the action in week 6:

Week 6: Upset Watch and Predictions

For Upset Watch in Week 6, Utah and UNLV travel east to battle BCS foes while most everyone else resumes conference play.

Utah drops Boise to preserve BYU rivalry

Utah and BYU have announced a home-and-home for 2011-12 that serves as the beginning to a preservation of their long-time rivalry.  While athletic directors from both schools had stated the rivalry would indeed continue, there was some question if a break of a season or two would occur as the schools change conference ties.

To make room for the game and not upset their home/away balance, Utah dropped their 3-game series with Boise State.  The move leaves the Broncos searching to quickly fill the hole and will likely hurt their strength of schedule moving into their first year in the MWC.

Utah paid Boise State $350,000 to get out of the series.

TCU & Boise: Schedule strength vs. TV exposure

Boise State has been the talk of the 2010 college football world. The Broncos possible berth in the BCS National Title game has been a hot-bed issue since the final buzzer of last year's Fiesta Bowl. This talk only increased with Boise State's early season victories over Virginia Tech and Oregon State. With both of these games being broadcast on ESPN, the network has gone to great lengths to prop up the underdog that could. The city of Boise was even privileged with an appearance of College GameDay.

Lost in the mix of Bronco Nation is the TCU Horned Frogs.

Air Force special unis: Love 'em or hate 'em?

If you saw Air Force defeat Navy 14-6 on Saturday, you saw the Falcons special uniforms they rolled out to honor armed forces personnel around the world.  The uniforms are designed to replicate the flying suits worn by the Thunderbirds flight squadron.

Since the game was on Versus, we are going to guess you didn't see it.  So here's a look at the uniforms and our takes on the design:

Quick Slant: Week 5 recap

Quick thoughts from Week 5's games, polls, etc:

Utah State sends BYU reeling; Cougars fire defensive coordinator

Devin Johnson leads Utah State in post-game celebration

A 17-year drought has ended for the boys in Aggie blue.  Utah State dismantled a struggling BYU team 31-16 on Friday night, upping their record to 2-3 and buoying their hopes of going bowling, while moving BYU to 1-4.

Week 5: Zach's Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Ohio State
4. Boise State
5. Oklahoma
6. Nebraska
   
7. TCU
8. Auburn
9. Arizona
10. Arkansas
11. Stanford
12. Utah
13. Miami
14. Iowa
15. LSU
16. Michigan State
17. Michigan
18. Nevada
19. Wisconsin
20. South Carolina
21. Florida State
22. Air Force
23. West Virginia
24. Oregon State
25. Oklahoma State
    

Week 5: Predictions

While the slate is absent of games vs. BCS conference opponents, there are a few rivalries and a few conference matchups on the docket. How will your team fare this week? Leave your predictions and thoughts!