A common theme in our staff’s predictions for the 2013 season in the Mountain West was the conference’s surprising depth. That all starts with the guys under center. It’s not a stretch to say the MWC may have the best collection of quarterbacks in the country.

There’s productivity for miles, with four returning field generals who finished in the top 20 nationally in passer rating. The league also boasts dual threats such as Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton and Nevada’s Cody Fajardo who can just as easily make plays with their feet as their arms.

Leaving guys like Keeton and David Fales of San Jose State off of CBR’s 2013 Preseason All-Mountain West Team sucks, but there can be only QB. We’re going with Fresno State senior Derek Carr (344-of-511 pass attempts, 4,104 passing yards, 37 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions in 2012). Former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick David Carr’s baby brother leads a group of five Bulldogs to make the squad.

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

After spending the last week breaking down the in's and out's of the Mountain West, it's time for the Crystal Ball Run staff to make their conference championship, Player of the Year and Coach of the Year picks!

Photo: USA Today Sports

Joe Southwick stepped foot in to a nearly impossible situation in 2012. After four consecutive years of Kellen Moore directing the offense on the field for the Boise State Broncos, rewriting record books along the way, Southwick was charged with replacing one of the all-time greats in school history. It is an unenviable task to have to be the next guy in line following an all-time legend of sorts, but as so many in college football have done before, Southwick was given that responsibility.

Boise State had built a reputation for high-scoring offenses over when Moore was the quarterback. Matching those numbers seemed unlikely for anyone given the roster turnover at Boise State in 2012, but Southwick became a scapegoat of sorts for what appeared to be a struggling offense, with some Boise State loyalists going so far as suggesting Southwick just is not the right guy to lead the Broncos offense. But is that really fair?

Yesterday on Crystal Ball Run my colleague John Walters wrote the following in reference to the Boise State quarterback;

First-year starter Joe Southwick tossed only 19 TDs against seven interceptions, but after the early November home loss to San Diego State – only the Broncos’ second regular-season home loss in 73 games (read that again, just to let it sink in) – he threw nine TD passes and zero interceptions.

A corner has been turned.

I felt this was worth exploring just a little deeper, because I have a similar feeling to Jason as far as Southwick is concerned.

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

Looking for a definition of #ThatAwkwardMoment on this Friday morning heading into a holiday weekend? We may have found it at that bastion of football- and moral- excellence known as the University of Notre Dame.

That’s because while Brian Kelly was leading the Irish to an 8-5 record during the 2011 season (one which would ultimately be a pre-cursor to Notre Dame’s 2012 BCS title game run), the school itself was busy paying Kelly’s predecessor Charlie Weis more than they paid him. Yup, much like in an awkward dating situation, apparently the shadow of the “last guy” loomed over Kelly two seasons ago while with the Irish.

And unfortunately, it’s looking like that shadow will continue to loom straight through the 2015 season.

According to the Chicago Tribune, tax returns indicate that for the fiscal year beginning in July 2011 and ending in 2012, Weis made a staggering $2,054,744 you know, to not coach Notre Dame, while Kelly was “only” compensated $1,088,179 to lead the Irish. In actuality, Kelly probably made a bit more in outside endorsements.

After a couple of years of uncertainty and shifting membership during the tumultuous conference realignment battles of 2010-2013, the Mountain West Conference finds itself in a position of relative stability these days.

With enough football playing members to hold a conference championship game and a new television contract offering more visibility on ESPN (and also including more money), the new Mountain West might be in the best shape it’s ever been.

When the league expands officially on July 1, it will split into two divisions based on geography, which naturally creates an unbalanced schedule. Also, schools that have road trips scheduled to Hawai’i have the option of adding an extra game to their schedule to help offset the travel cost (per NCAA regulations). Only Colorado State will play an extra game this season, so they have five non-conference games on tap.

Without further ado, let’s see how the schedules stack up for the Mountain West Conference.

Boise State is looking for its next feature back with D.J. Harper off to the NFL. (Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports - Brian Losness)

In 2012 the Mountain West Conference produced eight runners who topped 1,000 yards on the ground, tied with the Big Ten for second-most among all conferences and trailing only the SEC, which had nine. The league’s two newcomers, San Jose State and Utah State, also had 1,000-yard rushers a year ago.

Last season’s leading rusher, Stefphon Jefferson of Nevada, returns. Five of 10, however, have now matriculated: Fresno State’s Robbie Rouse, Air Force’s Cody Getz, Boise State’s D.J. Harper, USU’s Kerwynn Williams and SJSU’s De’Leon Eskridge. That leaves a whole mess of contenders for the conference title now searching for replacements as their featured back.

If one of those five squads can find a workhorse, it might make the difference in winning the Mountain West. Here's a look at how each situation is shaping up.

The good folks at ESPN Boise graciously invited CBR's Kevin McGuire to come on The Ballgame with Rick & Johnny to discuss the upcoming season in the Mountain West.

Topics included:

*Joe Southwick's development as Boise State's quarterback

*The changing of the guard at Nevada

*And more.

(Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.)

The Boise State Broncos will begin the 2013 season exactly as they finished the 2012 season: a date with Washington.

The Huskies, the erstwhile leviathan of the top left quadrant of the country, have ceded that throne in the past decade to both Pac-12 foe Oregon and, of course, Boise State. Kudos to Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian for agreeing to this August 31 season opener, in Seattle, against Chris Petersen’s crew. In seven seasons in Idaho’s state capitol, Petersen is 84-8 (.913). Knute Rockne, who has the best Division I winning percentage of all time (.881), was on the job for 13 seasons in South Bend before a plane crash claimed his life.

True, Boise State does not play in the Southeastern Conference. But Petersen, who will not turn 49 until the day after the Broncos visit Utah State (Oct. 12), is in the midst of an historic tenure. Last season was a down campaign for Boise State as it lost two games by a total of six points to finish 11-2. In the year 1 A.K. (After Kellen), the Broncos failed to score at least 50 points in a game for the first time since 1996 (the coach was Pokey Allen).

Ault leads Nevada before his final game after 28 years at the helm in 2012.
(Photo Courtesy - USA Today Sports/Mark Rebilas)

We're in the midst of "Mountain West Preview" week here at CBR so it's perhaps only right that the news breaks out of Reno, Nevada that the Wolfpack will honor coaching legend and the man who put Nevada football on the map, Chris Ault, by naming the field at Mackay Stadium after him. 

"Chris Ault has left an indelible footprint on the University of Nevada, Wolf Pack Athletics and college football, and it is only fitting that his name will grace the field on which he built that legacy of success and tradition," Nevada Director of Athletics Doug Knuth said. "We are pleased that we can honor Coach Ault for his Hall of Fame career and service to the University in this lasting way."

Ault may not be a name every college football fan knows by heart, but we can guarantee that you've seen his influence across the scope of football, probably without ever knowing it. He's the man behind the "Pistol" offense - a scheme that is now in use from pee-wee football all the way to the NFL - and already is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Images)

While the Mountain West doesn’t have a true National Championship contender like the American (Louisville) or a catchy nickname like #MACtion, make no mistake, there will be plenty of quality football played when this conference’s teams take the field in 2013. Along with three clubs which finished the 2012 season with at least nine wins (Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State) the league will also welcome two 11-win clubs from the WAC, when Utah State and San Jose State join the fold in 2013.

It also means that there will be no shortage of talented players.

As we did with our American preview two weeks ago, let’s take a look at the players you need to watch out for entering the 2013 Mountain West season.