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The Mountain West and Conference USA have announced plans to form a new athletic association for the 2013-14 season, as a way to ensure their future survival due to heavy losses each league has suffered in realignment.

Presidents and chancellors of the 16 schools that will be a part of the group met in Dallas on Sunday to discuss the details. Those schools: Air Force, UAB, Colorado State, East Carolina, Fresno State, Hawaii, Marshall, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa and Wyoming. With the exception of Hawaii as a football-only member, the participation would involve all sports.

The Mountain West is losing Boise State and San Diego State to the Big East, while Conference USA is losing Houston, Memphis, SMU and UCF to the Big East as well. Most interesting in the announcement made Monday were these two points that will likely be included in the future structure of the new association:

• Membership of 18 to 24 universities
• Championship football game format that includes semifinal matchups

Growing from two to eight teams means the new association might have designs on absorbing the WAC, which is struggling to hang on after recent defections to the Mountain West, or possibly going after teams in the Sun Belt. Utah State and San Jose State, currently in the WAC, have been tied to the Mountain West in the past. In fact, Utah State was offered a spot in the Mountain West in 2010 but turned it down.

The championship game format, complete with semifinals, is obviously intriguing simply because that is something most folks have yearned for in college football as a whole. If the league grows to 24 teams, having four teams making it into a "championship round" would seem to increase interest. Especially if the semifinal round is on a home campus.

Now keep in mind regular-season scheduling will be contained to divisions, and those divisions are going to be set based on geography. There is a reason the news release cited this as essential to the new association: "bringing fiscal discipline into athletics and ensuring competitive fairness."

Right now, Conference USA has teams stretching from East Carolina to El Paso. So one would think that it would make more sense to have UTEP in a different division than the Pirates, just like they are now, with road games East contained to one or fewer a year, or perhaps eliminated entirely. If the league gets to 18 teams at a minimum with two nine-team divisions -- think eight regular-season football games contained to that division.

That should help alleviate some of the money that is spent on traveling alone, especially in the nonrevenue sports.

1. Remember when Notre Dame fired Bob Davie for having the temerity to go 35-25 (.583)? Neither of his successors, Ty Willingham (.583) or Charlie Weis (.565), surpassed him. New Mexico announced Wednesday that Davie will be its next head coach. It has been 11 seasons since Davie last ran a practice or coached a game, a longer hiatus than any current FBS head coach has on his resume. Given the mess that Mike Locksley made of the Lobos, you have to assume that Davie will have time to scrape off his rust.

2. Love this note that ACC blogger Heather Dinich sent me. North Carolina State sophomore corner David Amerson leads the FBS with 10 interceptions, three more than anyone else. Not only has no defender picked off 11 passes since safety Jim Leonhard of Wisconsin in 2002, but if Amerson maintains his pace of one interception per game, he will be the first to do so over an entire season since safety Terry Hoage of Georgia in 1982. You now may find Hoage in the College Football Hall of Fame.

3. If No. 11 Houston falters down the stretch, there are two other non-AQs waiting to qualify for an automatic BCS bid. If either No. 19 TCU wins the Mountain West Conference or No. 20 Southern Miss knocks off Houston to win Conference USA, it’s possible that one of them will reach 16th or higher in the final BCS standings. That would qualify the higher-ranked team of the two of them for a BCS bid. One of them will end up in the Fiesta or the Sugar.

Bob Davie has been hired as the next coach at New Mexico, ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting.

Davie, who coached at Notre Dame from 1997-2001, is set to replace Mike Locksley. The Lobos are in need of a major rebuilding project. Locksley won just two games in his two-plus seasons at New Mexico. He was fired in September, and New Mexico just won its first game of the season last week.

The Lobos have not had a winning season since 2007. Davie, who works as an analyst for ESPN, last served as a head coach with the Irish 10 years ago. He was 35-25 as head coach at Notre Dame, where he had the tough task of succeeding Lou Holtz.

Here are the non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference.

C-USA

Offense: Charles Sims, RB, Houston. Sims rushed for a career-high 207 yards on only 10 carries with two touchdowns to lead Houston to a 73-17 win at Tulane. He had 252 all-purpose yards in the game.

Defense: Shawn Jackson, LB, Tulsa. Jackson had nine total tackles, including eight solos and three tackles for loss, and added one pass breakup in a 59-17 win against Marshall.

Special Teams: Danny Hrapmann, K, Southern Miss. Hrapmann tied his own school and Conference USA records by making five field goals in a 30-29 win against UCF.

Independent

Offense: Tommy Rees, QB, Notre Dame. Rees set a season high for completions with 30 in a 45-21 win against Maryland. Rees completed 30-of-38 pass attempts for 296 yards and two touchdowns, his 18th and 19th passing touchdowns of the season.

Co-Defense: Thomas Holloway, DB, Army. Jabaree Tuani, DE, Navy. Holloway set a career high with 14 tackles in a 27-12 loss to Rutgers. He also got his first career interception. Tuani had four tackles and a sack in a win against SMU.

Special teams: David Ruffer, PK, Notre Dame. Ruffer made a career-long 52-yard field goal against Maryland.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Matt Brown, RB, Temple. Brown made his first start of the season and rushed 24 times for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 24-21 win against Miami (Ohio).

Defense: Roosevelt Nix, DT, Kent State. Nix tied a career-high with six tackles in a 35-3 win against Akron. Nix helped his defense hold Akron to just 58 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

Special Teams: Paul Hershey, P, Ohio. Hershey had five punts for 205 yards, including a 51-yard punt in a win over Central Michigan. He had four go inside the 20.

West Division

Co-Offense: Alex Carder, QB, Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan. Carder threw for a program record 548 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another in a 66-63 loss at Toledo. The yardage total ranks second all-time in MAC history and his passing TD total is tied for the most in conference history. White had 238 yards receiving and became the school leader in career receiving yards leader (3,678), single-season receptions (111) and single-season receiving yards (1,402).

Defense: Brad Ohrman, DL, Eastern Michigan. Ohrman had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack in a 30-17 victory over Buffalo.

Special Teams: John Potter, K, Western Michigan. Potter made a career high nine extra points at Toledo. Potter became the MAC's record holder for consecutive PATs made with 114.

Mountain West

Offense: Casey Pachall, QB, TCU. Pachall went 24-of-37 for a career-high 473 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-35 win at Boise State. The five touchdown passes tied a TCU single-game record, while his 473 yards marked the second-highest single-game total in school history.

Co-Defense: Carmen Messina, LB, New Mexico. Nat Berhe, DB, San Diego State. Messina had his fifth straight double-digit tackle performance with 14 stops in a 21-14 victory against UNLV -- the first of the season for the Lobos. He also forced a fumble. Berhe tied a team-high with six tackles, forced a fumble and also had an interception in San Diego State’s 18-15 win at Colorado State.

Special teams: Anson Kelton, P, TCU. Kelton averaged 45.8 yards on four punts in a 36-35 win at Boise State.

Sun Belt

Offense: Derek Thompson, QB, North Texas. Thompson set a North Texas single-game record by completing 82 percent of his passes – going 31-of-38 -- to lead North Texas to its first win ever at Troy. He completed 17 consecutive passes in the game and threw for 331 yards.

Defense: Brandon Joiner, DL, Arkansas State. Joiner tied a school and conference record with four sacks, and he also tied his career high with a team-best eight tackles in a 30-21 victory against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Special teams: T.Y. Hilton, KR, FIU. Hilton returned a punt 97 yards for touchdown in a win over FAU. The punt return is the longest in FIU history.

WAC

Offense: Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada. Fajardo accounted for 371 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-28 win against Hawaii. He completed 25-of-36 passes for 290 yards and a career-high three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed 19 times for 81 yards including a 25-yard touchdown run in the second half.

Defense: IK Enemkpali, DE, Louisiana Tech. Had six tackles, including 3.5 for a loss of 18 yards, in the 27-7 win at Mississippi. Enemkpali had a sack for a loss of seven yards and also forced a fumble.

Special teams: Taveon Rogers, KR, New Mexico State. Rogers returned eight kickoffs for a career-best 246 yards -- including a 99-yard return for a touchdown -- in a 48-45 win against Fresno State. He had a school-record 412 all-purpose yards in the game.

The Mountain West knew 2011 would be a critical season. The league needed some pretty standout performances in this, the final year during the four-year qualification cycle for an automatic bid into the BCS.

But so far, Boise State is the only school that has done its part. The Broncos are undefeated and ranked No. 5. TCU, which started the season in the Top 25, is now unranked at 4-2. San Diego State and Air Force, two teams some thought could make some national noise this season, are 3-2. Mountain West teams are 2-8 against teams from AQ conferences so far this season.

New Mexico and UNLV have lost to FCS teams. The Lobos remain one of the worst teams in the nation, and fired coach Mike Locksley after an 0-4 start. They are one of three winless teams remaining.

If you are looking for good defense, you are going to have to look elsewhere. Six of the eight teams in the league rank No. 69 or worse in total defense. That includes four teams -- Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV and New Mexico -- ranked No. 106 or worse.

It appears more likely than ever that the Mountain West will fall short of meeting the three criteria to get an AQ bid for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. That means it would have to appeal to the presidential oversight committee for a waiver to become an AQ conference. Of course, conference realignment has made much of college football uncertain.

Commissioner Craig Thompson has talked to Conference USA about partnering up with football in an attempt to see whether this would help get an AQ bid. Though TCU is leaving the conference, its performance this season does count for the Mountain West. But if it is up to the presidential oversight committee to decide, it could weigh this huge factor: Utah, TCU and BYU are no longer in the league. Those three schools put the Mountain West on the map.

In any case, the Mountain West needs Boise State to keep doing its part as the second half of the season gets underway.

Offensive MVP: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State. Moore remains in the Heisman discussion one year after getting an invite to New York. Moore has thrown for 1,391 yards with 17 touchdown passes and four interceptions.

Defensive MVP: Nordly Capi, DE, Colorado State. Capi is No. 2 in the nation with eight sacks, and has had a breakout season for the Rams. He also leads the nation with five forced fumbles. He set an NCAA record with four against New Mexico in the season opener.

Biggest surprise: Wyoming. OK, the Cowboys beat two FCS teams, but they already have surpassed their win total from last season at 3-2. True freshman Brett Smith has handled the starting quarterback duties well. The Cowboys are coming off a big loss to Utah State, so we’ll see how they finish up in the second half of the season.

Biggest disappointment: TCU defense. The Horned Frogs are not supposed to rebuild, they are supposed to reload, right? Well, quarterback Casey Pachall has been good in place of Andy Dalton. It’s the defense that has let the team down in two losses this season. That’s not expected of a team that has come to be known for its defense. But the Horned Frogs made huge strides in a win against San Diego State last week, a good sign moving forward.

Best game: Boise State 35, Georgia 21. The Broncos picked up their first win against an SEC team. It was a much needed one, not only to keep BCS hopes alive, but to continue to stay in the national conversation. Moore went 28-of-34 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, and the defense piled up six sacks.

Best coach: Chris Petersen, Boise State. The Broncos came into the season with high expectations once again, and they have been able to manage those and some off-field distractions, as three players have been forced to sit out because they violated NCAA rules. But they haven’t started conference play yet. That begins this week, so Boise State still has much to do to get back to a BCS game.

Taking a look at the week that was in the non-AQs ...

The good: Marshall and Western Michigan pulled upsets on their AQ opponents -- the Thundering Herd beat Louisville 17-13 and the Broncos beat UConn 38-31. ... Boise State got its run game going in a 30-10 win against Nevada as Doug Martin went over 100 yards for the first time this season. ... New Mexico State beat New Mexico 42-28 - the first time in over 40 years that the Aggies have won three straight in the series. ... San Jose State scored the go-ahead touchdown on a pass with 54 seconds remaining to beat Colorado State 38-31. The Spartans have won back-to-back games for the first time in three years. … Louisiana is 4-1 for the first time since 1988 after Brett Baer hit a 26-yard field goal with no time left to lift the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 37-34 win against FAU.

The bad: The TCU pass defense continues to struggle. SMU beat TCU 40-33 in overtime, throwing for 349 yards in the victory. All of its offensive touchdowns came on passes. In all, TCU gave up more than 450 yards for the second time this season, and the Horned Frogs are out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 47 weeks. ... Temple had a huge win against Maryland in Week 4, but the Owls fell flat at home against Toledo, dropping an important MAC game 36-13. All seven of their drives in the second half ended with a punt or turnover. ... Northern Illinois lost to Central Michigan 48-41 -- the third time this season the Huskies' defense has given up 40 points.

The heartbreak: Utah State is the poster child for broken hearts this season. For the third time, the Aggies lost a game in the closing minutes. This time, it happened against in-state rival BYU. Riley Nelson came off the bench to lead a comeback for the Cougars, engineering a 96-yard game-winnning drive with 11 seconds left for a 27-24 BYU win. His 13-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Matthews was tipped by Utah State defender Will Harris near the goal line. The Aggies blew a 24-13 lead, and were hoping for consecutive wins against BYU for the first time since 1973-74.

Meanwhile in Annapolis, a penalty flag helped decide one of the biggest rivalry games in college football. Navy erased an 18-point fourth quarter deficit behind quarterback Kriss Proctor, who had a 7-yard touchdown run and 5-yard touchdown pass to Gee Gee Greene with 19 seconds left in regulation. Alexander Teich ran in the 2-point conversion and the game went into overtime. Proctor put Navy up first in the extra period on a 1-yard touchdown run, but was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for getting in the face of an Air Force player. The extra point was blocked. Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson answered with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own and the Falcons made their extra point to win 35-34 and get a leg up in the competition for the Commander-In-Chief Trophy. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo was incredulous after the game, "I would hope the referees would have said something like, 'Settle down,' in that situation," he said. "It's too critical a call to make. I hope those guys can sleep well tonight."

Idaho nearly pulled the upset at Virginia, but the Vandals failed on their 2-point attempt in overtime and lost 21-20. Coach Robb Akey decided to go for the win in the extra period, but Brian Reader had his pass batted down. "My only disappointment was that we didn’t make the play at the end of the game," Akey said.

Case Keenum watch: Keenum threw for 471 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-42 win against UTEP, the 15th time he has reached 400 yards in his career. He now ranks third on the NCAA career pasing list, and needs 1,482 yards to break the mark held by Timmy Chang. Keenum is averaging 401 yards passing a game. If he keeps that pace up, he will break the passing record at UAB on Nov. 5.

Helmet stickers

Alex Carder, QB, Western Michigan. Carder threw for a career-high and program record 479 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-31 win against UConn.

Harry Peoples, WR, Louisiana. Peoples had 12 catches for 176 yards in a win against FAU. His 12 receptions tied the mark Brandon Stokley set against Louisiana Tech in 1995 for most catches by a UL receiver at Cajun Field.

Brady Amack, LB, Air Force. Amack amassed a career-high 23 tackles (11 solo), a sack and two tackles for loss in the Falcons’ 35-34 overtime victory at Navy. Amack’s tackle total ranks as the sixth-highest in school history and tied for the most in Mountain West history.

Matt Christian, QB, New Mexico State. Christian went 16-of-27 for a career-high 296 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 42-28 win at New Mexico. Christian also rushed for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He had 397 yards of total offense and accounted for five of the six Aggie touchdowns in the game.

Here are the non-AQ players of the week as selected by each conference. The independent players are selected by a nationwide media panel.

Conference USA
Offense: Reggie Bullock, RB, East Carolina. Bullock rushed for a personal-best 169 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries to help East Carolina beat UAB 28-23.

Defense: Jamie Bender, S, UAB. Had 11 tackles and returned one interception 35 yards for a touchdown in a loss to East Carolina. That was the first defensive score for the Blazers since 2009.

Special teams: Danny Hrapmann, K, Southern Miss. Made three of four field goals (43, 35 and 27 yards), including two in the final quarter of a 30-24 victory over Virginia. He also converted a fake punt deep in the Golden Eagles' end zone and ran 31 yards for a first down.

Independent
Offense: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame. Eifert set a career-high with eight receptions for a game-high 75 yards and a touchdown in a 15-12 win at Pittsburgh.

Defense: Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU. Had eight tackles and a sack in a win over UCF.

Special teams: Cody Hoffman, WR/KR, BYU. Had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 24-17 win over UCF. That was BYU's first kickoff return touchdown since Oct. 17, 1998 -- a span of 161 games.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple. Ran for a school record and MAC record-tying five touchdowns in a 38-7 win at Maryland. Pierce eclipsed the 100-yard mark in rushing for the 12th time in his career and third time this season. He finished with 149 yards on 32 carries for five touchdowns.

Defense: Luke Wollet, S, Kent State. Had two interceptions while matching his season-high with eight tackles in a 33-25 win over South Alabama.

Special teams: Ray Hutson, WR, Bowling Green. Blocked a punt and recovered a fumble on a kickoff return in the Falcons’ 37-23 win at Miami (Ohio).

West Division

Co-Offense: Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan. Eric Page, WR, Toledo. White set his career record with 14 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in a 23-30 loss at No. 24 Illinois. White became the fourth Bronco to have over 200 career catches and recorded his 14th 100-yard receiving game.

Page had a season-high 13 receptions and career-high 158 receiving yards in a 33-30 overtime loss at Syracuse. Page had 279 all-purpose yards, including 114 yards in kickoff returns.

Defense: Sean Baker, S, Ball State. Had eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one interception in a 48-21 victory over Army. He was a part of a Ball State defense that tied an NCAA single game record by not allowing Army to complete a pass in the game.

Special Teams: Jeremiah Detmer, K, Toledo. Kicked a 52-yard field goal in his first career attempt in a 33-30 overtime loss at Syracuse. The 52-yarder was the second-longest field goal in Toledo history.

Mountain West

Co-Offense: Chris Nwoke, RB, Colorado State, Deon Long, RB, New Mexico. Had 102 yards of total offense (85 rushing, 17 receiving) and scored two touchdowns in Colorado State’s 35-34 double-overtime victory at Utah State. Nwoke tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left in regulation, then provided the game-winner with a 2-yard run on CSU’s second possession in overtime.

Long broke the school and Mountain West single-game record with 378 all-purpose yards in New Mexico’s overtime loss to Sam Houston State. Offensively, Long caught nine passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns, and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

Defense: Shaquil Barrett, LB, Colorado State. Had a team-high 14 tackles in a 35-34 double-overtime win at Utah State. He also added his first career fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Special teams: Tanner Hedstrom, LS, Colorado State. Hedstrom recovered two fumbles on muffed punts, including a critical takeaway to set up the game-tying score in Colorado State’s 35-34 double-overtime win at Utah State.

Sun Belt
Offense: Blaine Gautier, QB, Louisiana. In just his fourth career start, Gautier totaled 307 yards (221 passing/86 rushing) and tossed three touchdown passes to lead the offense in a 36-31 upset over FIU.

Defense: Chris Pickett, DB, Troy. Recovered a fumble and returned it for a 63-yard touchdown in a win over Middle Tennessee. Pickett finished the game with seven total tackles, including one for loss, and also broke up a pass.

Special Teams: Brian David, K, Arkansas State. Set a new Sun Belt and school record when he made six field goals in a 53-24 win over Central Arkansas. His 23 points scored in the game also set a league and school record for points scored in a single game by a kicker.

WAC
Offense: Bryant Moniz, QB, Hawaii. Set a new school record and tied an NCAA record with seven touchdown passes in the first half of a 56-14 win over UC Davis. Moniz also set a new school record with 424 passing yards in a half. He was 30-of-40, and did not play in the second half.

Defense: Travis Brown, LB, Fresno State. Made a career-high 11 tackles in Fresno State’s 48-24 win at Idaho. Brown led the Bulldog defense that allowed just 55 yards of total offense in the second half and 44 yards rushing for the whole game.

Special teams: Kevin Goessling, K, Fresno State. Made all six of his extra point attempts and both field goal attempts from 48 yards in the win at Idaho.

Let's take a look at back at Week 4 for the non-AQs:

The good: How about a hand for Temple and Southern Miss, two non-AQ teams that took down the ACC on Saturday. The Owls dominated Maryland 34-7, and took particular pleasure in the win after hearing some trash talk from the Terps players before the victory. Temple has been impressive since the outset of the season, and nearly upset Penn State last week, too. Coach Steve Addazio has done a terrific job in his first year taking over the program. … Meanwhile, Southern Miss beat Virginia 30-24 -- its first road win over an AQ school on the road in five tries. … San Jose State ended a 13-game losing streak and notched its first conference win since defeating New Mexico State 13-10 on Nov. 28, 2009.

The bad:It was not a great day for the Mountain West. San Diego State was supposed to give Michigan a fight but instead lost 28-7 against former coach Brady Hoke. UNLV, a week removed from beaten Hawaii, lost at home to Southern Utah 41-16. Incredibly, Southern Utah returned three interceptions for touchdowns. New Mexico lost to Sam Houston State in overtime, 48-45. Just before kickoff, a teenager claiming to be a recruit was arrested on DWI charges in Mike Locksley’s car. Finally fed up with Locksley, New Mexico fired him Sunday afternoon. In two-plus seasons, Locksley went 2-26 and the program became a national laughingstock. To Lobos fans, this probably should go into the “good” category because they can now get the fresh start they have so desperately wanted.

UCF has got to fix its special teams. For the second straight week, that unit cost them, this time in a 24-17 loss to BYU. The Knights allowed Cody Hoffman to score on a 93-yard kickoff return, and a muffed punt by J.J. Worton set up another score. Last week against FIU, UCF also had a muffed punt that led to a touchdown and the Knights lost 17-10.

The heartbreak: The WAC had the toughest day of all the conferences in the hurting department. Two teams lost in overtime, and another with 44 seconds left in the game.

We start with Utah State. The Aggies have got to have their collective heart in pieces at this point. The closing minutes against Auburn doomed the Aggies thanks to a special teams error. The same can be said of their loss to Colorado State on Saturday night. Utah State saw its 21-13 lead evaporate after Eric Moats dropped a punt with 2:17 to play. Colorado State recovered and Chris Nwoke scored on a 1-yard run with 42 seconds left. The Rams got the 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the first two extra periods. But Utah State decided to go for 2 in the second overtime to win the game. Robert Turbin was stopped short and Colorado State won 35-34. "The reason we went for 2 is because I believe in the team," coach Gary Andersen said afterward. "I believe we can score from the 3-yard line at any time and I surely believe we can score from the 1.5 yard line. I would do it again in one second. I’m always going to coach aggressive."

Louisiana Tech must know the feeling. Two weeks in a row the Bulldogs have come close to pulling the upset. Two weeks in a row they fell just short. Last week they blew a huge lead to Houston. This week, they did not have enough to take down Mississippi State. Freshman quarterback Nick Isham threw two critical interceptions -- one late in the game, and one in overtime -- that made a huge difference in the 26-20 loss.

Nevada has not played particularly well this season, but that looked like it was about to change at Texas Tech. The Wolf Pack built a 28-14 third-quarter lead, and Cody Fajardo seemed to provide a nice spark off the bench. But the defense -- which was supposed to be a strength this year -- collapsed and the Red Raiders scored with 44 seconds left when Seth Doege threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Eric Ward for the 35-34 win.

But nothing beats the case Toledo has. The Rockets had a win snatched from them thanks to a mistake by the officials in a 33-30 overtime loss to Syracuse. The school has asked the MAC to contact the Big East and request the win be given to the Rockets.

Injury report: TCU lost starting linebacker Tanner Brock for the season with a foot injury. The Horned Frogs will petition for a medical redshirt. TCU has shifted Tank Carder to the outside. … Air Force suffered injuries to starting linemen Zach Payne (knee) and Cody Miller (leg). … UAB quarterback Bryan Ellis suffered a concussion against East Carolina and was taken off the field on a backboard in a 28-23 loss.

Keenum watch: Case Keenum threw for 415 yards and two touchdowns in just two and a half quarters of play, and Houston recorded its first shutout since 1999 in a 56-0 rout of Georgia State on Saturday. He passed passed former BYU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer for third on the NCAA all-time passing yardage list, and passed former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell for third on the NCAA career total offense list.

Helmet stickers

Brandon Rutley, RB, San Jose State. Rutley had 209 yards rushing on 33 carries -- including a career-long 66 yard scoring run -- in a 34-24 win over New Mexico State. It was the first 100-plus yard rushing game of his career, and he became the first San Jose State player to rush for 200 or more yards since the 2004 season.

Austin Davis, QB, Southern Miss. Davis finished 27 for 41 for 313 yards with no interceptions in a 30-24 win over Virginia. He threw touchdown passes of 32 and 3 yards to Bolden and a 20-yarder to Ryan Balentine.

Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple. Pierce set a school record with five rushing touchdowns in a 38-7 win over Maryland. Pierce had 149 yards on 32 carries.

Deon Long, New Mexico. Long had nine receptions for 209 yards and caught three touchdown passes, and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in a loss to Sam Houston State. His 378 all-purpose yards set a school and Mountain West record.

Blaine Gautier, QB, Louisiana. Gautier, making just his fourth career start, led the Cajuns to a stunning 36-31 upset at FIU. Gautier guided the team to a season-high 419 yards of total offense and did not commit a turnover. He totaled 307 yards (221 passing/86 rushing) and tossed three touchdown passes.

The good: No.5 Boise State thoroughly and convincingly beat Georgia 35-21, picking up a critical first win over the SEC. But the Broncos were not the only to win a non-AQ vs. AQ game. Houston beat UCLA 38-34; BYU beat Ole Miss 14-13; Hawaii beat Colorado 34-17 and Ball State beat Indiana 27-20. The MAC now has eight wins over the Big Ten in the last three years. The Cardinals have also beaten Indiana twice since 2008, a huge first win for new coach Pete Lembo.

Speaking of firsts ... New Temple coach Steve Addazio picked up his first win, 42-7 over Villanova. Bernard Pierce ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. New Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren also picked up his first win when the Huskies beat Army 49-26.

The great escape: UTEP barely escaped Stony Brook, 31-24 in overtime. The Miners trailed 24-10 in the third quarter but Nick Lamaison keyed the comeback -- throwing three late touchdown passes, including the winner in overtime. Lamaison ended with 365 yards in his first career start. ... Wyoming also needed a last-second touchdown to escape Weber State. Brett Smith threw a touchdown pass to Robert Herron with 22 seconds left to give the Cowboys a 35-32 win. Weber State led for most of the fourth quarter before seeing its upset bid slip away.

The heartbreak: Utah State and Middle Tennessee felt all sorts of heartbreak after their down-to-the-wire games came up just short for them on Saturday. The Aggies had the defending national champions down for nearly the entire game. But Auburn scored twice in the final 2:07, thanks in part to an onside kick the Tigers easily recovered. Utah State lost 42-38, but if anything came out of the loss -- the nation got its first glimpse of poised true freshman Chuckie Keeton, who impressed everyone with his play in the game. You can beat Auburn won't soon forget him. Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee had its game-tying 47-yard field goal attempt against Purdue blocked and lost 27-24. The Blue Raiders led 24-17 with 9:26 left in the game, but could not hold on long enough to win. Purdue scored 17 points and gained 192 yards in the fourth quarter. "It kicks you in the gut right now, you're sick to your stomach that you lost the game," Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill said. ... New Mexico hung with Colorado State for the entire game but lost 14-10 because a familiar foe came back. Turnovers. The Lobos had three of them. Last season, New Mexico finished the season with a minus-12 turnover margin. ... Western Kentucky gave it a valiant effort against Kentucky, putting a scare into the Wildcats before losing 14-3. The Hilltoppers had more first downs and more total yardage, but also committed more penalties and turnovers in the loss. ... TCU also saw its win over Baylor evaporate when Aaron Jones kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:04 left for a 50-48 win. Casey Pachall threw an interception to end the game. Much already has been made of the uncharacteristic defense TCU played. But contrast the end of this game with the Rose Bowl. TCU got a huge defensive play to help win the game when Tank Carder batted down the 2-point conversion attempt late in the game. But the Horned Frogs could not make one stop on Baylor's game-winning drive.

The young guns: In the week leading up to the opener against Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes was asked who reminded him of his 17-year-old starting quarterback, Nick Isham. “Greg Brady,” Dykes said. Isham, a true freshman born in 1993, asked the Bulldogs sports information director, “Who’s Greg Brady?” Isham might be young, but he gained his first game experience against Southern Miss, going 20-of-36 for 176 yards in a narrow 19-17 loss. Keeton, Brett Smith of Wyoming and Rakeem Cato of Marshall were the two other non-AQ true freshmen to make starts and both looked poised behind center despite their teams' losses. Keeton went 21-of-30 for 213 yards, while Cato was 15-of-21 for 115 yards in a rain-shorted day against West Virginia. Smith went 27-of-41 for 294 yards and three touchdowns, but the first pass of his career was intercepted.

Helmet stickers

Boise State defense. The Broncos absolutely dominated up front in a win against Georgia. The defensive line had six sacks and constantly harassed Aaron Murray. The Bulldogs had just 13 first downs and were never much of a threat.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois. The Huskies quarterback threw a career-high five touchdown passes and ran for another in a 49-27 win over Army.

T.Y. Hilton, FIU. Hilton opened a win over North Texas with a 62-yard kickoff return that he almost broke for a touchdown. On the next drive, he scored on a 60-yard reception on the first play. He had 180 all-purpose yards in the first quarter and finished the game with 283 all-purpose yards, 12 shy of his own school record.

Case Keenum, Houston. In his return from an ACL injury, Keenum looked like he was back to his old self, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdown passes in a win over UCLA. He went past the 300-yard mark for the 26th time in 38 career starts.

Bryant Moniz, Hawaii. Moniz threw for 5,000 yards last season but he helped the Warriors beat Colorado with his legs. Moniz ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns -- the most rushing yards by a Hawaii quarterback since Glenn Freitas had 122 yards and four touchdowns against UTEP in 1995.

Kriss Proctor, Navy. Much was made over what Proctor would face this season -- taking over for Ricky Dobbs at quarterback. But he did more than fine against Delaware, running for 176 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-17 win. He also threw his first career touchdown pass.

Boise State is going into its first year in the Mountain West as the favorite to win the league.

A panel of media members selected the Broncos to finish first, ahead of defending champion TCU. Air Force was picked to finish third, followed by San Diego State. Boise State got 28 of 31 first-place votes.

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was selected as the preseason Offensive Player of the Year, TCU linebacker Tank Carder was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Air Force kickoff specialist Jonathan Warzeka was picked as Special Teams Player of the Year.

Here is the complete predicted order of finish with first-place votes:

1. Boise State (28)

2. TCU (3)

3. Air Force

4. San Diego State

5. Colorado State

6. Wyoming

7. UNLV

8. New Mexico

Here is the complete preseason first team:

Mountain West preseason team

Offense

QB Kellen Moore, Boise State

RB Ronnie Hillman, San Diego State

RB Doug Martin, Boise State

WR Phillip Payne, UNLV

WR Josh Boyce, TCU

OL Nate Potter, Boise State

OL A.J. Wallerstein, Air Force

OL Kyle Dooley, TCU

OL Thomas Byrd, Boise State

OL Paul Madsen, Colorado State

TE Lucas Reed, New Mexico

Defense

DL Billy Wynn, Boise State

DL Shea McClellin, Boise State

DL Stansly Maponga, TCU

DL Josh Biezuns, Wyoming

LB Tank Carder, TCU

LB Mychal Sisson, Colorado State

LB Miles Burris, San Diego State

DB George Iloka, Boise State

DB Leon McFadden, San Diego State

DB Anthony Wright, Air Force

DB Jon Davis, Air Force

Special teams

P Brian Stahovich, San Diego State

PK James Aho, New Mexico

RS Jonathan Warzeka, Air Force

Andrea Adelson talks with New Mexico Lobos tight end Lucas Reed.

I am traveling to Las Vegas Monday for Mountain West media days. You already saw my top questions for the league headed into the annual interview extravaganza. Now you get my predicted order of finish for 2011:

1. Boise State
2. TCU
3. Air Force
4. San Diego State
5. Colorado State
6. Wyoming
7. UNLV
8. New Mexico

I have the Broncos as the champion based on a few factors. First, they have a huge advantage with Kellen Moore returning at quarterback. Moore was a Heisman finalist last year, and has a huge challenge on his hands without his top receivers in Austin Pettis and Titus Young. But Moore will make guys like Tyler Shoemaker, Kirby Moore and Geraldo Hiwat into solid standouts. Moore and Doug Martin form the best quarterback-running back duo in the league. On defense, the line should be one of the best in the league with veterans Billy Winn, Shea McClellin and Chase Baker returning. Factor in Boise State getting Air Force and TCU at home, and that completes my prediction.

The Horned Frogs, of course, would love nothing more than to leave the league as champion. But I am not sure the team will be able to match the heights it reached the last two seasons without an experienced quarterback. Casey Pachall may end up being one of the greats at TCU, but we have no idea right now. Replacing Dalton is going to be incredibly hard, and the TCU schedule is tough this year with trips to Air Force, San Diego State and Boise State.

I placed Air Force ahead of San Diego State for a few reasons: the Falcons have consistency in a coaching staff returning, and Tim Jefferson proved last season he has the capability of dominating the league. This is no shot at Ryan Lindley, who also came into his own last season. But the Aztecs are going to have a huge challenge on their hands at receiver.

Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson are gone, and now comes word that Dominique Sandifer and redshirt freshman Jay Waddell are going to miss the season with injuries. Teams no doubt will load the box to stop Ronnie Hillman and force Lindley to beat them with a group of inexperienced receivers. The good news for San Diego State is their talent at the tight end position is the best in the league.

The departures of Utah and BYU leave an opening for another team to break through into a bowl game. My pick is Colorado State, which has one of the most experienced teams returning in the league and has a schedule that should make the Rams bowl-eligible. Pete Thomas is a rising star at quarterback.

The bottom three all have issues to work out. Quarterback is a big question for all three.

My preseason choices for players of the year should not come as a huge shock: Moore for offensive POY; TCU linebacker Tank Carder for defensive POY; Air Force return specialist Jonathan Warzeka for special-teams POY.

The Mountain West revealed its conference matchups for 2012 and 2013 as the league transitions into an eight-game schedule with new membership.

Boise State, Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada will all be members of the league in 2012. Each team’s home and away opponents will reverse during the two-year period and the same team will be missed both years. The actual schedules for 2012 and 2013, including dates, times and telecast information, will be done on an annual basis.

The league opponents and rotation for 2014 and beyond have yet to be determined, but the league did vote on an eight-game schedule.

For the sake of simplicity, here are the matchups that won't happen in 2012 and 2013.

Boise State vs. Air Force

Colorado State vs. Nevada

Hawaii vs. Wyoming

UNLV vs. Fresno State

San Diego State vs. New Mexico

This is the full grid of home and away games.

Here are your links for today ...

Former New Mexico assistant J.B. Gerald has re-filed a hostile work environment lawsuit against the university and head coach Mike Locksley.

Boise State adds another recruit for 2012.

Could Conference USA play on Sundays this season?

Howard Karr has made big contributions to Hawaii sports from behind the scenes.

Fisher DeBerry deserves his spot in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Utah and BYU fans will reach TV heaven.

Former Temple running back Tim Brown will try to restart his pro career in the CFL.

The poll results are in, and now it is time to discuss the team-related questions that we posed last week. The question that got the biggest reaction: Who is the top non-AQ team?

More than 58,000 votes were cast, and the winner was not a surprise: Boise State, with 45 percent of the vote. TCU was next at 28 percent and BYU was third with 22 percent. Houston and Tulsa received a combined 5 percent. But there were some quibbles with teams I left off the list. Most notably, UCF fans were upset that I left the Knights off the list. Here are a few of their arguments:

jeffs_ writes: UCF not even listed as a choice? Hmm, they finish Top 25 in all polls (including BCS poll), go 11-3 and win the conference, but I guess there's no room. And why does a 7-6 BYU team, that beat nobody of consequence, keep getting so much love. I understand they return a lot of starters, but they haven't really proven anything with this group.

trojansfans writes: I would replace Houston and Tulsa with UCF and SMU. Tulsa isn't that talented and although Keenum is back he was out for a year. UCF has a ton of talent and SMU has a great offense and great coaching.

Why isn't UCF on the list? There are a lot of questions on defense with Bruce Miller gone. The linebacking group lacks depth as well. Defense has led this team, so I wonder whether it will be able to pick up where the past few teams left off. A Top-25 finish was great for the program, but I do not expect the Knights to be ranked in the preseason. There are tough games at BYU, SMU and Southern Miss and home games against Tulsa and Boston College. I think the West is a stronger division, and Tulsa and Houston have the potential to have better seasons than UCF, which is why they made the list.

The question that had the closest vote: a prediction for the biggest non-AQ disappointment. Nevada and TCU were tied at 29 percent this morning, while San Diego State came in third with 24 percent. Some fans wondered why Boise State was not on the list. I see the point there, with the Broncos opening the season against Georgia and facing the unknown in the Mountain West. If they finish with two losses, that would be considered a major disappointment. Nevada and TCU made the most logical sense to me because of all the players they lose, specifically at quarterback. I am surprised the two ended up tied.

As for surprise team, Fresno State led the way. Fans are excited about the Bulldogs this season with Derek Carr taking over as the starting quarterback. Your choice for must-win coach: New Mexico's Mike Locksley, who has won two games in two seasons. And the most-lopsided vote of all: can't miss non-AQ game. TCU at Boise State ran away with the vote there with 92 percent.