MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

The Mountain West from top to bottom:

Air Force (2-0, 1-0 Mountain West) vs. Texas Christian (1-1, 0-0), Thursday: The Falcons allowed 15 points in their first two games.

Wyoming (2-0, 0-0) at Boise State (1-1): Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon have combined to average 184.5 yards rushing per game.

New Mexico (1-1, 0-0) at Arizona (1-1): The Lobos have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in four games.

Brigham Young (1-1, 0-0) at Tulsa (1-0): Three tight ends caught passes at UCLA for a total of 147 yards.

Texas Christian (1-1, 0-0) at Air Force (2-0, 1-0), Thursday: Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson is 5-1 when facing a short week.

UNLV (1-1, 0-0) vs. No. 24 Hawaii (2-0): This is the first time the Rebels are hosting a ranked opponent for two consecutive weeks.

San Diego State (0-1, 0-0) at Arizona State (2-0): Seven players made their first career starts in the opener.

Colorado State (0-2, 0-0), off: The Rams outgained both opponents despite losing each game.

Utah (0-2, 0-1) vs. No. 11 UCLA (2-0): The Utes are 7-0 at home against Bowl Championship Series schools since 2001.

FIVE BEST PLAYERS

1. Tommy Blake, DL, TCU: Isn’t playing his best, but he still keeps the top spot early in the season based on talent and potential.

2. Rodney Ferguson, RB, New Mexico: Five consecutive 100-yard games.

3. Beau Bell, LB, UNLV: Two outstanding games to open the season.

4. Max Hall, QB, BYU: Averaging 339.5 yards per game passing to rank ninth nationally.

5. Bryan Kehl, LB, BYU: Averaging 11.5 tackles per game, including 1.75 for loss.

THEY WROTE IT …

Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) columnist Brad Rock, on Utah’s 0-2 start and its numerous injuries: "To his credit, (Utes coach Kyle) Whittingham didn’t overdo the optimism, though he did pause long enough to remind anyone who cared that ‘this is a marathon, not a sprint.’ It wasn’t a bad analogy, really. Except that the first marathoner in history was a messenger named Phidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to herald a Greek victory. You know the story. He finished the race but ended up dying on the spot."

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson, on UCLA quarterback and former Cougar Ben Olson leading a 27-17 victory over BYU: "It was an inglorious outcome for (BYU quarterback Max) Hall, seeing that this game, more than any other this season, was exactly what nobody wanted to admit it to be: a high-stakes quarterback duel. The quarterback BYU lost vs. the quarterback BYU found, all with BCS implications in tow. Ben Olson vs. Hall. One QB was trying to justify what is and the other battling what might have been. Anybody who claimed it to be otherwise was lying."

Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram columnist Randy Galloway, on TCU being without a key player in a 34-13 loss at Texas: "Credit, of course, goes to the Texas defense. But if there were ever a case to be made for the impact of injured TCU running back Aaron Brown not being available, this was it. Forty-three yards on the ground won’t get it. And the depth fall-off behind Brown for the Frogs is rather drastic, not just talent-wise but also in experience. Was no Brown the difference? Not by looking at the final score, but maybe by looking at the TCU offense for four quarters."

THEY SAID IT …

TCU coach Gary Patterson, on the loss at Texas: "Since the last time we played Texas (12 years ago), we’ve come a long way, but obviously, we’ve got a long way to go."

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, on the Utes’ start: "Our fans deserve better. I point the finger at myself. … It starts and ends with me."

Air Force linebacker Hunter Altman, on a late goal-line stand that stopped Utah running back Darryl Poston and preserved a 20-12 victory at Utah: "Fourth and a few inches, it was almost like it was in slow motion. I saw Drew (Fowler) hit the guy straight up, so I just came in high, like you see on TV sometimes."

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON/REVIEW-JOURNAL