Odds To Win 2011 Mountain West Championship

Future Betting Odds

By this time next year, the make-up of the Mountain West Conference will have undergone a complete overall as a result of a revolving door of programs joining and leaving the conference. Some of the changes are already in place with the departure of BYU, which will play as a I-A Independent and Utah, which joined the PAC-12 to go along with the addition of Boise State from the WAC. Starting next season, Nevada, Fresno State, and Hawaii will also leave the WAC to join the Broncos in the MWC, but TCU will depart for the Big East.

The Mountain West’s newest member, Boise State has been opened by Bodog.com as a prohibitive 2/7 favorite to win the conference and a 14/1 favorite to become the first team from a Mid Major conference to win a BCS title. These lofty expectations are certainly warranted, given the fact that the Broncos return 14 starters from last season’s squad that went 12-1, with a 34-31 OT loss to Nevada being the only setback of the year.

QB Kellen Moore joins six other starters on the offensive side of the ball from that team. This Heisman Trophy finalist threw for 3,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2010, while completing an amazing 71.3 percent of his attempts. Also back is RB Doug Martin, who led the team in rushing with 1,113 yards and in scoring with 14 TD’s. Nate Potter and Thomas Byrd will once again anchor the offensive line as two of the best at their position in the conference.

The team that has been at the top of the MWC in recent years, the TCU Horned Frogs, find themselves as the second-favorite at 7/2 in their 2011 farewell tour. They are coming off an incredible run last year that resulted in a perfect 13-0 record and a No.2 ranking in the final polls. The outlook for this season is a bit more tempered given the mass exodus of talent from the 2010 squad. With QB Andy Dalton moving on to the NFL look for TCU to rely heavily on the running game led by the duo of Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. These two combined for close to 1,800 yards rushing and 18 TD’s last season.

The Horned Frogs defense, which was ranked first in the nation in points allowed in 2010, returns just five starters, but will still have LB’s Tank Carder and Tanner Brock roaming the middle of the field. These two are both considered NFL-caliber players. TCU will also benefit from the strong recruiting efforts of Head Coach Gary Patterson and his staff to help fill in the gaps on both sides of the ball. The conference showdown between the Horned Frogs and Boise State is set for Nov. 12 on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium as this game will most likely end up deciding this season’s MWC champion.

A team that could throw a monkey-wrench into the whole MWC title picture is the third-favorite at 12/1, San Diego State. The Aztecs are coming off a very successful 9-4 campaign in 2010 that marked a return to a bowl game for the first time in 12 years. QB Ryan Lindley and RB Ronnie Hillman lead a group of eight starters returning from an offense that averaged 35 points a game last year. Lindley threw for 3,554 yards and 26 TD’s and Hillman rushed for 1,304 yards as a freshman. San Diego State’s main concern is filling the holes on a defense that returns only four starters from 2010.

Another sleeper could be Air Force at 16/1. The Falcons return six starters on offense including QB Tim Jefferson and All-Conference tailback Asher Clark. These two accounted for a total of 1,770 yards on the ground, while Jefferson threw for an additional 1,342 yards. There are seven starters back on a defense that was ranked 28th in the nation in points allowed. At the very least, Air Force should provide a stiff test for both Boise State and TCU this season

The odds to win the conference for the rest of the teams have Colorado State 25/1, Wyoming 35/1, UNLV 80/1, and New Mexico 150/1.

Note: The Mountain West future lines listed above were current odds at the time the article was written. Please click here!! to get the up to the minute odds to win the 2011 Mountain West title.