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2020 New Year’s Resolution For The Mountain West
What goals do you want to see for your team in 2020?
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Resolution time.
Now that 2019 has come and gone, we have asked our staff to hand out some resoultions for their team and the league as a whole. If you have any of your own respond to this embeded tweet below.
Mountain West
Raj: Boise State is the Mountain West and jokes aside; the MWC better find a way to campaign more for the Broncos to get into future NY6 games along with finding a way to get the Broncos in better bowl matchups. And yes, go get the standard bearer of the conference the money we deserve in this new TV deal.
Jeremy: Gotta agree with Raj, the league needs to promote itself better for whatever team is in position for a New Year’s Six Bowl or when it comes to the NCAA selection committee which could see the Mountain West have a top-three seed in San Diego State and maybe three teams overall in Utah State and New Mexico.
Be more vocal and don’t just spew that the stats speak for themselves. No need to go full Mike Aresco but speak up for the league more often and accept more media interviews.
Tron: The Mountain West needs to find a way to be more competitive as a conference, in both football and basketball. In football they need to find a way to campaign for better bowl games whenever possible. In basketball they need to find a way to get more teams to the tourney consistently, possibly by adding a round robin tournament into the schedule the way other mid majors are considering, in order to give your best teams more quad 1-2 competition. Adding a good basketball only school (like they tried with Gonzaga) could help a lot too, in terms of getting more teams into the tourney, which generates more money for the conference and the teams in it.
Roger: The MWC must continue to schedule big games on National TV, do what they can to get more national exposure to generate both respect on the national stage and of course generate more income. They can start by doing a top to bottom upgrade to their web site that was good 10 years ago but must keep up with the times, web site is clunky, maybe do push notifications on favorite teams and when they play games Take a look at the SEC website for some tips. Something much more media & social media emphasis.
Josh F: Craig Thompson needs to find his voice. We make fun of the AAC a lot, but he constantly puts his conference out there in national discussions. Meanwhile, Thompson sits in his office drinking coffee doing nothing.
Ted M.: The Mountain West needs a successor for Commissioner Craig Thompson. In charge since its inception, he held the conference together years ago when TCU, Utah and BYU left. But that was nearly 10 years ago. In sports, one must regularly prove one’s mettle. It has been a very long time since Thompson has made notable progress. He did not recognize the value of integrating Wichita State whose Final Four caliber basketball program wanted to join the Mountain West in a big way.
Thompson openly blew off the Shockers. For a conference with just eleven basketball teams it was a missed chance. He recently muffed a potential Gonzaga integration, and turned a private discussion about BYU’s return into the Mountain West – very public. No progress was made. Today, the conference is misrepresented and under-recognized. Games are hard to watch due to late airings, and being poorly televised- if at all. The Mountain West is grossly underrated. Until change is made it will remain so. Looking at the the American Athletic Conference, which has demanded Power 6 status, it’s clear that with strong leadership so much more can be realized by a strong G5 like the Mountain West.
Larry: Basketball for the conference as a whole seems to be in a better place than they were last year, I know that sounds crazy with Musselman in Arkansas and Neemias Queta injured on the bench but hear me out. The middle of the pack looks stronger and you can see guys like Medvid, Alford and Hutson building programs at their respective schools (slowly but still doing so) and recruiting on a higher level than before. I would love to see this continued momentum and a respect for the conference nationally, which has been hard to obtain in recent years. The conference is on the up and up and with San Diego State and New Mexico returning to past form that helps. But to return to 3+ big league living in the shadow of the infamous 2013 season some changes need to be made. Scheduling for most of the conference has improved with games against Auburn, Florida, LSU, Duke and more helping team’s national profile. It’s hard living in mid-major land and to find that aforementioned national respect you need to be dominant, and Utah State and San Diego State are doing just that. We can use more as a conference but the improvement isn’t going unnoticed.
Air Force
Jeremy: Football is basically there but they need to reclaim the Commander-in-Chief trophy as its main goal on the gridiron. Secondary would be to win the Mountain West. There is talent coming back and the Mountain Division is tough but there are enough pieces for the Falcons to be in the mix once again.
On basketball, I am still waiting for the team to go full-on hockey line change with five in and five out and run other teams to death.
However, I will settle for knowing they have as a student manager who dressed up like he was an extra for Downton Abbey. More of this.
Boise State
Raj: I’m sure a lot of teams would love to face some local criticism despite finishing 12-2 and winning the conference. That’s the Bronco’s reality. 2019 was a good year but Coach Harsin needs another ‘signature year’ and 2020 is shaping to have all the elements of another magical Bronco run. Let’s get it!
Jeremy: Leon Rice needs to find his coaching magic and get this team back to 20 wins. Last year was an abnormality with just 13 wins. Rice is a good enough coach and has one of the best players in the league in Derrick Alston to not pull off an upset against a top-tiered team and go to the NIT.
Colorado State
Jeremy: Win a freaking rivalry game. The Mike Bobo era was not great against Air Force, Wyoming or Colorado. He had a 2-13 record and those two wins came in his first year on the job. We will see what Steve Addazio can do.
Josh F: Win a rivalry game. Steve Addazio has said the right things (“That team up north”) and looks to be putting in the work to get the Rams back on track. However, beating a rival will get him back in the good graces of Rams fans quicker.
Fresno State
Jeremy: A shocking development came when Jeff Tedford stepped down due to health reasons so the big question/resolution is can Kalen Deboer who came back to Fresno State as the head coach following a one-year stint with Indiana and can he get the offense back on track. Really, the team on a whole as the 2019 year was a big drop off from winning the Mountain West to not making a bowl game.
Hawaii:
Jeremy: Find a way to not turn the ball over so often with this passing attack. Whether it is Cole McDonald or Chevan Cordeiro, the offense needs to be more careful. Also, finding a quality running game to balance the run-n-shoot.
New Mexico
Jeremy: Danny Gonzales filling the Lobos football program with hope and progress. This will really be a Year Zero situation but bringing back a former player and coach to the fold will energize the fanbase, lets all hope he gets a few wins along the way.
As for hoops, make the NCAA Tournament this year. The team is currently being overshadowed by a top-15 San Diego State team and Utah State which was the preseason favorite. The Lobos are a solid 59 in the latest NET rating and currently have a 2-1 record vs. Q1 teams and the only loss in that group is to undefeated Auburn.
Larry: The Lobos are hard to gauge at the moment. A 13-2 record for basketball and an undefeated record at home is great but the team’s recent games against Houston Baptist and UC-Davis have shown some flaws in Paul Weir’s program. Two of the team’s most impactful players (Bragg Jr. and Caldwell) are suspended indefinitely pending investigations and two more impactful players (Hendrix and Lyle) were seen in each other faces on the sideline. These two games have been too close for comfort and the absence of two starters is obviously manifesting on the court. While others like Zane Martin and Corey Manigault have stepped up this is a different Lobo team than previously seen.
This is important as this was a make or break it year for Weir and the team’s success cannot keep fans from being nervous about what is happening behind closed doors. The ride has never felt steady under Weir and that keeps you uneasy. Though he has a highly-rated recruiting class coming in and guys that need to be developed on the bench. The 2019-2020 season has been good to Weir so far (until this past two weeks) but how the Lobos bounce back in conference play and adapt in 2020-2021 with multiple seniors scheduled to graduate will show fans in Albuquerque how the program will look in the foreseeable future.
Nevada
Jeremy: Hoops will take some time with new coach Steve Alford and this new team that lost a ton of talent from last year. An NCAA bid is very likely not on the card but a sign of progress and strength would be to get a top four seed in the Mountain West tournament and make a trip to the NIT.
For football, Jay Norvell is heading into his fourth year (and a bowl game this weekend) but this team needs to have a better running game and it starts with Toa Taua reverting back to his freshman status.
San Diego State
Jeremy: Let’s go bold. San Diego State basketball must get to at the very least a Sweet 16 appearance. The team has not been to a Sweet 16 since 2014 but this team has the talent to win multiple NCAA Tournament games. Just to go over the top because some resolutions are tough to achieve, San Diego State getting two-seed for the NCAA Tournament.
For football, get that running game up and going to its standards and it seems that could be the case after Jordan Byrd rushed for 139 yards in the bowl game. Also, get a near-elite passing game and that might be in the pipeline with USC grad transfer Jack Sears joining the program.
Ted: Athletic Director JD Wicker gets kudos for his Aztecs Stadium progress – building a new stadium in San Diego is near impossible. The Aztecs will spend $250 million on a 35,000 seat stadium. It would be better to go up to 40-45K. If Wicker were smart, he’d also start on a statue of Kawhi Leonard to guard the entrance of Viejas Arena. For Aztecs football, Rocky Long must reassess his offense- and offensive coordinator Jeff Horton.
A team with NCAA top-five defense struggles to make touchdowns. The Aztecs qualify as G5 elite, but will never realize NY6 status until offensive success complements defense and special teams. They must also not abandon the run game.
For basketball, the Aztecs are heading to a deep NCAA Tourney run. On this momentum, Brian Dutcher must recruit strong for the coming years, and build on the success of getting grad transfers like KJ Feagan and Yanni Wetzell to round out talented players.
Tron: SDSU should have multiple resolutions. They need to do whatever they can to stay on schedule for their new football stadium to be finished by 2022. They should also look for a new offensive coordinator, but realistically they won’t. In basketball, they need to continue to play strong and make the Sweet 16. They’d be the seventh team in conference history to make it that far. With a little luck, they could be the first team in conference history to make the Elite 8.
San Jose State
Jeremy: Hoops must keep the talent it has on this roster or the team will always be at the bottom of not just the Mountain West standings but the bottom of college hoops. Jean Prioleau needs to guide this team to 10 wins this year, and that would be just the second time ever since the Spartans have achieved that feat in the Mountain West. The Spartans have had double-digit wins only two times since the 2010-11 season.
Football overachieved and it will be a tough task for Brent Brennan to keep that momentum going with quarterback Josh Love graduating. There is hope in San Jose and Brennan needs to build upon that and see if 2020 can be at least the same as 2019.
UNLV
Jeremy: Realistic expectations for UNLV basketball fans. That has mostly been the case this year with T.J. Otzelberger and the team has played fairly well in his first year but they have not yet got that big first win for the new coach.
This one is for Otzelberger, don’t throw players under the bus and blaming these kids who are in school, mind you, that they are not 100 percent always focused on hoops. Yes, basketball should be a high priority but mix in some balance and know this first year will be tough.
Football has a new beginning with Carlos Arroyo coming in over from Oregon and going into a gorgeous new football stadium. There are pieces coming back on offense like RB Charles Williams and QB Kenyon Oblad and who knows maybe Armani Rogers could make a resurgence with a new head coach. Keeping it close in the losses that do hit the Rebels is something that would be appreciated.
Utah State
Logan: The Aggies’ 2020 surely kicks off with Craig Smith and what he can do with his squad in March. The talent is there to make this spring one of the most successful runs in program history — and you never know how long a gem like coach Smith will remain at the G5 level.
Winning even one game in the NCAA Tourney would be dandy, but I somewhat greedily hope for a Sweet 16 appearance as Queta-Merrill-Bean endear themselves to a national audience. This will also be a big year for AD John Hartwell, who must fill openings for women’s hoops and volleyball while managing mixed expectations for a football team that’s lost its way. The year 2020 is almost certainly a turning point for Utah State Athletics across the board — for better or worse.
Jeremy: Hoops it has to be to avoid the play-in game and win at least one NCAA Tournament game. Last year’s NCAA Tournament game debacle against Washington, so redemption is needed.
The team led by head coach Craig Smith is off to a solid start despite being knocked out of the rankings with a few quality losses.
Football was not great this year for a variety of reasons. Gary Andersen 2.0 needs to find the magic he had in Logan during his first time around. He had an amazing defense and an offense that may not have been as dynamic under Matt Wells but it was good enough to win games. With a year under his belt and more of his recruited players could make a difference.
Wyoming:
Jeremy: Football is on the verge of possibly outdoing its Josh Allen years as a team. The bowl game showed promise with Levi Williams putting up really good passing numbers by completing 11 of 26 passes (OK, not great) but he did have 234 yards, three touchdown passes to just one pick. Plus, he rushed for another 53 and had a touchdown.
There likely will be a quarterback competition this spring and fall and if the passing game is anywhere close against Georgia State then this Cowboys team will be a contender.
Hoops might be looking for a new head coach soon if Allen Edwards as he won just eight games last year and has just five wins as of the new year. Edwards will need to get this team to double-digits to show improvement over last year and then make jump in 2020-21.
