It's been a pretty interesting opening weekend in college football.
I'll do a quick run-down of games of note, starting of course with the Lobos.
Coach Rocky Long said this morning on the Mountain West Conference media conference call that he figured the second, third and fourth quarter near-meltdown by the Lobos was caused by a combination of UNLV adjustments and an emotion letdown by New Mexico. He said he sensed on the sidelines that the team lacked the intensity and focus it needed to close the door on the Rebels.
Clearly, that translated to some problems on the field.
He said he felt lucky to walk away with a 24-22 win, while UNLV coach Mike Sanford said his guys felt robbed.
They play Idaho this week on a short turnaround, like the Lobos and Missouri, and Sanford said it will be tough helping his players get over how close they came to upsetting New Mexico.
Both coaches praised the atmosphere and fan support at University Stadium, especially considering the holiday and heat. It was the fifth largest crowd in school history at 37,533.
Speaking of heat, it did take a toll on the Lobos but Long said no one showed long-term ill effects this morning. The temperature hit somewhere around 80 degrees and humidity was around 40 percent during the game.
Four guys -- Hank Baskett, Quincy Black, Gabriel Fulbright and Mike Mohoric -- had to get two bags of IVs after the game. All four suffered cramps during the game. Baskett said he was sweating so profusely that trainers had a hard time wiping his arm and keeping it dry long enough to insert the IV. He also mentioned taking more than a dozen hydration tablets during the game, but it just wasn't enough.
The guys all returned to the locker room about half an hour after the game to change and meet with the media. They looked fine and said the IVs did the trick, although the saline felt "a little icky," according to Baskett.
Long said none of the guys showed ill effects this morning after reporting to trainers. He also said DonTrell Moore was a little sore, as is normal after a game, but did not show any knee problems following his big debut.
Elsewhere in the Mountain West Conference
TCU announced it is for real with its 17-10 win at Oklahoma.
I don't care who you ask, nobody really believed that the Horned Frogs were capable of this kind of upset. Those loyal to the program figured they might be able to play them close, but TCU did what Texas hasn't been able to do in years.
Coach Gary Patterson, who once was an assistant here, was immensely proud of his team. He called it a great win for the program and a major confidence boost, but he is now trying to focus the team on its next game against cross-town rival SMU. After that, TCU faces Utah in what could be a very interesting game among early conference title contenders.
Utah hung onto its undefeated status by the skin of its teeth, beating Arizona 27-24. I think the Utes are still working out some kinks and it remains to be seen whether they will be anywhere close to the team they were last year.
Air Force pulled off a 20-17 win over Washington State in Seattle, an impressive feat as the conference tries to pad its resume against Bowl Championship Series schools. The Falcons don't typically boast a heavy non-conference schedule, so this was a big game.
Wyoming battled Florida in The Swamp but lost 32-14. It could have been much worse. Coach Joe Glenn said he was proud of his team's effort and tipped his hat to former Utah coach Urban Meyer for the job he already has done at Florida.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said he was thrilled to get his first game over with, but he wasn't happy that it ended up being a 20-3 loss. The Cougars were playing one of the best Boston College teams in years, so it's not really an indication of how good his team can be this season.

We've got a lot of great stuff planned this week leading up to the Lobos' game Saturday at Missouri. Check out the Tribune and this blog daily for updates.

Posted by ilimon at 12:43 PM | Permalink