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LAS VEGAS — If the 2010 Mountain West Conference media preseason poll is right, both Utah and BYU will be looking up at TCU — again — in the final standings.
Results of the annual poll were released Tuesday during the MWC football media day at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. The Horned Frogs, the defending conference champions, were the unanimous pick to claim the league title, followed by the Utes and Cougars. A year ago, BYU finished second and Utah ended up third.
"All I know for sure is that TCU, with how they performed last year and with what they have coming back personnel-wise, they certainly deserve to be No. 1," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
TCU, which earned a bid to a BCS bowl in 2009, received 279 points and all 31 first-place votes.
The Utes, who are entering its final season in the MWC before it joins the Pac-10, were picked to finish second with 242 points. The Cougars were predicted to finish third with 207 points.
In the preseason poll, Air Force was slotted to finish fourth (195 points), followed by Wyoming (147), San Diego State (128), Colorado State (96), UNLV (56) and New Mexico (45).
TCU, Utah and BYU have finished in the top three in the league standings the past four seasons.
Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall said Air Force has proven itself as a contender while the rest of the league is improving.
"If you look at it historically, the results say that there are three top 25 teams on a yearly basis, then there's the rest of the league with Air Force being a consistent No. 4," Mendenhall said. "I would consider it 'The Big Four.' The rest are kind of climbing.
"But when the season hits, I think they're all the same. That's how we treat them, anyway ... The strength of the league continues to improve."
As strong as the league was in 2009, "This conference will be stronger, top to bottom, than it was a year ago," said TCU coach Gary Patterson.
4 Utes, 2 Cougars named to All-MWC preseason squads
By: Dirk Facer, Deseret News
LAS VEGAS — Four Utah Utes and two BYU Cougars made the Mountain West Conference's All-Preseason team, which was released Tuesday morning at the league's football media day at the Red Rock Resort.
Utah is represented by running back Eddie Wide, offensive lineman Caleb Schlauderaff, center Zane Taylor and defensive back Brandon Burton. BYU placed offensive lineman Matt Reynolds and safety Andrew Rich on the squad.
TCU dominated the preseason team. Quarterback Andy Dalton, linebacker Tank Carder and return specialist Jeremy Kerley were tabbed as offensive, defensive and special teams players of the year, respectively.
2010 Preseason All-Mountain West Team
Offense
QB Andy Dalton#* Sr. TCU
WR Vincent Brown** Sr. San Diego State
WR Phillip Payne Jr. UNLV
RB Eddie Wide* Sr. Utah
RB Jared Tew** Sr. Air Force
OL Matt Reynolds#* Jr. BYU
OL Jake Kirkpatrick** Sr. TCU
OL Caleb Schlauderaff** Sr. Utah
OL Marcus Cannon* Sr. TCU
OL Zane Taylor** Sr. Utah
TE Alston Umuolo Sr. San Diego State
Defense
DL Johnathan Rainey** Jr. New Mexico
DL Wayne Daniels** Sr. TCU
DL Cory Grant** Sr. TCU
LB Carmen Messina* Jr. New Mexico
LB Tank Carder** Jr. TCU
LB Brian Hendricks** Jr. Wyoming
LB Mychal Sisson** Jr. Colorado State
DB Brandon Burton Jr. Utah
DB Reggie Rembert* Sr. Air Force
DB Anthony Wright** Jr. Air Force
DB Andrew Rich** Sr. BYU
DB Chris Prosinski** Sr. Wyoming
Note: Five defensive backs were selected due to a tie in the voting.
Specialists
P Brian Stahovich** Jr. San Diego State
PK Ross Evans* Jr. TCU
Ret. Jeremy Kerley#* Sr. TCU
Offensive Player of the Year: Andy Dalton, Sr., QB, TCU
Defensive Player of the Year: Tank Carder, Jr., LB, TCU
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jeremy Kerley, Sr., KR/PR TCU
# - unanimous 2010 preseason selection.
* - member of the 2009 All-Mountain West Conference first-team.
** - member of the 2009 All-Mountain West Conference second-team.
