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WAC overview

Tomlinson, Horned Frogs the class of the conference

By Tim Griffin, Special to CNNSI.com

LaDainian Tomlinson put himself on the map with a 406-yard rushing effort against UTEP last year. TCU Sports Information

Projected Order of Finish 1. Texas Christian 2. Fresno State 3. Texas El-Paso 4. Hawaii 5. SMU 6. Rice 7. Tulsa 8. San Jose State 9. Nevada

Top Storylines

TCU should become this season's Marshall/Tulane as LaDainian Tomlinson bulls his way into Heisman contention. New quarterback David Carr of Fresno State recalls that it's more fun to play football than watching it with the coaches in the press box like last year. New coach Gary Nord pushes Texas-El Paso into bowl contention with one of the nation's most underrated offenses.

Where They'll Be for the Holidays
BCS Blessed	Dot-Com Doomed	Confined to Couch
None	Texas Christian Fresno State Texas-El Paso	Hawaii SMU Rice Tulsa San Jose State Nevada

Best of All Worlds

Quarterback

Nevada David Neill, Zack Threadgill

Running Backs

TCU LaDainian Tomlinson, George Layne, Chad Purcell

Ends

Hawaii Channon Harris, Ashley Leslie, Craig Stutzmann, Justin Colbert

Offensive Line

TCU David Bobo, Mike Keathley, Jeff Garner, Victor Payne

Defensive Line

TCU Aaron Schobel, Shawn Worthen, Stuart Ashley

Linebackers

Fresno State Tim Skipper, Orlando Huff, Giachino Chiaramonte

Secondary

TCU Greg Wallas, Jason Goss, Russell Gary, Curtis Fuller

Special Teams

Rice Derek Crabtree, Travis Hale, Jason Hebert, Sean White

Coaching

TCU Dennis Franchione, Mike Schultz, Les Koenning, Gary Patterson

Status Report

Set to Go Skygliding

Texas-El Paso The Miners could be the conference's surprise team if they can find a steady running back.

Set to Go Cliffdiving

Hawaii June Jones' offense won't be quite as spectacular without an experienced quarterback.

About to Step Up

Josh Blankenship, QB, Tulsa The big-play quarterback should emerge with another year of experience if he can stay away from interceptions.

Hasn't Stepped Up Yet

Josh McCown, QB, SMU He needs to improve on his consistency after a streaky 1999 season.

Schedules

Brutal Schedule

Fresno State Non-conference tussles at Ohio State and UCLA should prepare the Bulldogs for tough conference games at Texas-El Paso, Rice and TCU.

Breather Schedule

TCU Talk of an undefeated season isn't far-fetched considering the Horned Frogs' non-conference games against Northwestern, Arkansas State and Navy.

Mark Your Calendar

Fresno State at UCLA, Sept. 9 The Bulldogs might be catching the Bruins at a good time after UCLA's tough opener against Alabama. Fresno State at TCU, Nov. 11 The Horned Frogs will be looking for revenge after their overtime loss last season. Texas-El Paso at TCU, Nov. 18 LaDainian Tomlinson's Heisman run kicks into overdrive.

Tim Griffin covers the WAC for the San Antonio Express-News.

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