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BYU and Utah received great news Tuesday at the Mountain West Meetings in Las Vegas. Neither team was voted to win the conference by the media. That honor went to TCU. This is great news because in the history of the conference (since 1999) only two teams voted the preseason favorite (2004 Utes and 2002 CSU Rams) have gone on to win the outright conference title. A third team (BYU in 1999) finished that season tied for 1st. It will be interesting to see if TCU can avoid the dreaded media poll curse and win an outright conference title. On paper they have great talent returning including preseason defensive player of the year and all-American Jerry Hughes. They also led the conference with seven players named to the preseason all-conference team. But they face a tough non-conference schedule with ACC trips to Virginia and Clemson, with the Tigers likely beginning the season in the Top 25. Two losses early could deflate them before they begin conference play. They also have to come to Provo on a Saturday night in late October where the Cougars will have an entire week to prepare their revenge for what I believe was the most embarrassing loss in the Mendenhall era since a 2005 loss at San Diego State. BYU will be fired up with a senior Quarterback leading an angry group of players that have a lot to prove against the Horned Frogs. Not to mention the tough home contest they face against the Utes. TCU will have a very tough time making it through conference play unscathed.
With that said here are 5 more Observations from the week in sports.
It's one thing to hit a hole-in-one but this is just plain ridiculous!
Countdown to college football season: 38 days!
E-mail: jjensen@ksl.com
