WAC:
"Rams
Rule"by Dan Shanoff,
CNN/SI
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 1998
New Mexico's Graham Leigh threw 24 TDs in '97—and ran for eight.
(Bob Rosato) | |
| Projected Order of
Finish
|
| Mountain
Division | Pacific
Division |
| 1. Colorado
St | 1. BYU |
| 2. Rice | 2. Utah
State |
| 3. SMU | 3. New
Mexico |
| 4. Wyoming | 4. San Diego
State |
| 5. Air
Force | 5. Fresno
State |
| 6. Tulsa | 6. UTEP |
| 7. UNLV | 7. Hawaii |
| 8. TCU | 8. San Jose
State |
|
| |
|
|
Offensive Player of the
Year
|
|
Graham Leigh, QB, Sr., New
Mexico
| | Does it all. Threw for 2,318 yards and 24 TDs, and ran for
528 yards and 8 TDs in '97. Cushiony non-conference
schedule should make him even more dangerous in
November.
| |
|
Defensive Player of the
Year
|
|
Phil Glover, LB, Senior,
Utah
| | Leads, with great athleticism, an imposing defense that
must carry the Utes.
| |
|
Newcomer of the
Year
|
|
Mike Anderson, RB, Jr.,
Utah
| | Juco transfer needs to provide immediate dividends since
the Utes' top two runners, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Juan
Johnson,
departed.
| |
|
Coach on the Hot
Seat
|
|
Dave Rader, Tulsa, 2-9 in
'97
| | Coming off his worst season in 10 years, Rader must prove
he can make this program
succeed.
| |
|
Conference
Game-Breaker
|
|
Michael Perry, RB, Sr., Rice
| | Runs rampant in an option system. In '97, he racked up
1,034 yards and 10
TDs.
| |
|
Most Underrated
Player
|
|
Damon Savage, WR, Jr.,
Tulsa
| | Caught 66 passes for 1,084 yards last season, but the
team's miserable record diminished his effort. The tag-team
at quarterback last season between John Fitzgerald and Mike
Wall didn't help stabilize Tulsa's offense, but both return
in '98 and their
combined experience should yield better stats for Savage and
more wins for the Golden
Hurricane.
| |
|
Best
Name
|
|
Amadeo Viola, LB, Jr., San Jose
State
| | Runner-up:
LaDouphyous McCalla, DB, Sr.,
Rice
| |
|
Toughest
Schedule
|
|
BYU perenially piles up tough non-conference games to open the
season, and 1998 is no exception, with matchups at Alabama
(Sept. 5), vs. Arizona State (Sept. 12) and at Washington
(Sept.
19).
| |
|
Creampuff
Schedule
|
|
New Mexico keeps things light out of conference with games at home
against Idaho State and Utah State and on the road at New
Mexico
State.
| |
|
Red-Letter
Games
|
| Colorado State vs. Colorado (at Denver), Sept.
5 | | As CSU has ascended and CU has fallen, this game has become
more of a rivalry, though Colorado still leads the all-time
series 52-15-2. This year the Rams will beat the big bad
Buffaloes for the first time in eight
years.
|
|
Rice at Purdue, Sept.
12 | | A contrast in styles: Owls' option attack vs. Boilermakers'
"Basketball on
Grass."
|
| BYU at Utah, Nov.
21 | | Pacific Division title will be on the
line.
|
|
|
Drop This Name to Make Yourself Sound Smarter at the Water
Cooler
|
|
Mike Anderson, RB, Jr.,
Utah
| | Stepping into the depleted Utah backfield, he'll get many
carries for many, many
yards.
| |
|
Going
Bowling
|
Locks: BYU, Colorado State,
Utah
Maybes: Rice,
Wyoming
No
Way: 11 other
teams
| |
|
Top Three
Storylines
|
|
Grab an
Eraser
| |
Air Force, Colorado State, UNLV and Wyoming are moving
from the Pacific to the Mountain Division. BYU, New Mexico,
UTEP and Utah are heading in the opposite direction. And
you thought time zones were
confusing.
|
| Snub-a-dub-dub
| |
The
WAC is the Bowl Alliance's unwanted child. The new rating
system, with its emphasis on strength of schedule, should
continue the de facto policy of
exclusion.
|
| Break on Through
| |
BYU has been to the mountaintop--or as close as a
WAC team can get to the national championship--as recently as
1996, when the Cougars earned an Alliance bowl bid.
Colorado State has the talent and veteran presence to reach
that
level.
| |
|
