A New Poll Position

Well, well... I am going to have to re-think my long-held beliefs about poll voters/prognosticators and respect for the Cougars after watching BYU move up in the polls and all the way into the Top 25 in this week's ESPN Coaches' poll, and hold steady in bracket projections.

BYU re-enters the poll at 25, while sitting at 30th in the AP poll after splitting two games last week. New Mexico and UNLV are receiving votes in the Coaches' survey, while New Mexico gets a single tally in the AP listing.

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BYU also retains it's #7 seeding in the latest "Bracketology" on ESPN.com, projected by Joe Lunardi to face 10 seed West Virginia in Anaheim. And for the first time, the Mountain West is a three-bid league, with 10 seed UNLV and 12 seed New Mexico in the projected field. The Lobos are among Lunardi's "Last Four In." New Mexico also jumps into the "Top Ten Teams Outside the Polls to Watch," in Andy Katz's "Weekly Watch."

In addition, Katz lists BYU @ New Mexico as a "Game to Watch" this week.

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On a football note, it was a recent pleasure of mine to spend some time on the phone with Fox/NFL Network's Charles Davis, giving him some background on BYU LB Bryan Kehl ahead of the NFL Combine. A good friend of mine is also a longtime friend of Davis', and he arranged the conversation, during which I also gave Charles a quick read on the BYU Football program under Bronco Mendenhall. I learned Charles may be visiting Utah in the near future and might enjoy a look at the BYU Football facilities, if not a get-together with Bronco. I'll keep you posted if Charles makes it out this way.

By the way, he's a great guy, based on what my friend has shared with me, and from what I've been able to observe of him as a broadcaster and after some time in conversation, I have no reason to disagree. Perhaps BYU will have somewhat of a high-profile ally in the future...

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