This is not a surprise but thought I'd post just in case you didn't catch it.
We took that broad question and went to opposing coaches to ask for their honest assessments on the hottest topics for each Mountain West team (teams are listed in order of predicted finish). Last week, we hit the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. This week, we looked at the AAC, C-USA and MAC.
Here's an unfiltered breakdown of how opponents view their conference brethren.
Mountain Division
Boise State Broncos
Air Force Falcons[/paste:font]
Air Force's perennially undersized defensive line ranked 31st in the FBS in tackles for loss (7.0 per game) and 19th in sacks (2.7 per game) in 2015. Coach, can you talk about how the Falcons overcome lack of size?
"They are quick enough and they slant and stunt well enough that it makes them hard to block, even when you have angles." -- Mountain West head coach
The Falcons' top target when they throw (12.1 attempts per game) is Jalen Robinette, whose 24.7 YPC would have been among the nation's best, had he qualified. Coach, can you talk about covering Robinette?
"I think he's the best receiver in the league. He's always one-on-one because of their offense, and ... he has all the advantages." -- Mountain West head coach
Utah State Aggies
USU is known for its attacking 3-4 D (111 sacks since 2013, 11th in the FBS), but its most experienced returner has just 13 career tackles. Coach, can you talk about the losses on defense?
"I thought last year they were going to take a step back, but they were just as good. They're transitioning to a more consistent program." -- Mountain West head coach
The Aggies ran (481 rushes) more than they threw (403 passes) and gained nearly a yard more per carry than opponents (4.5 to 3.6). Coach, can you talk about their running game?
"Their offensive line is a veteran group -- wide and long. Devante Mays runs well inside. He's a big-play threat." -- Mountain West head coach
New Mexico Lobos
With a triple-option run out of the pistol formation, New Mexico ranked ninth in the FBS with 252.2 rushing YPG in 2015. Coach, can you talk about the Lobos' version of the option?
"They find all sorts of different ways to end up in a triple-option look, but at the end of the day, it's still stop the dive, the QB and the pitch." -- Mountain West head coach
The Lobos' 3-3-5 defense was 24th in the FBS with 25 takeaways, but it gave up big plays (75 plays of 20-plus yards, 17th-most in the FBS). Coach, can you talk about their aggressive defense?
"It's feast or famine. If a guy doesn't get into a gap, you have a chance for a home run." -- Mountain West head coach
Colorado State Rams
Mike Bobo's power-run offense surged thanks to Izzy Matthews, a sophomore who helped Colorado State average a whopping 251 rush yards in the final five games of 2015. Coach, can you talk about Matthews?
"You have to gang-tackle him. He's strong and usually makes a guy miss. He does a good job of advancing after first contact." -- Mountain West head coach
The Rams must find three D-line starters for the new 3-4 scheme, but they return their top three LBs, led by senior Kevin Davis (14 TFLs). Coach, can you talk about Davis?
"You have to be aware of where he is. You make sure you're not in the wrong one-on-one matchup with him." -- Mountain West head coach
Wyoming Cowboys
The Cowboys' pro-style offense is built around Brian Hill, who ranked ninth in the FBS with a school-record 1,631 rush yards. Coach, can you talk about Hill?
"He's an incredibly talented downhill runner. You have to get him going east and west, and you have to gang-tackle him." -- Mountain West head coach
An inexperienced secondary must improve to make up for a pass rush that was second-worst in the FBS (10 sacks). Coach, can you talk about the young DBs?
"I think there'll be dramatic improvement. The free safety [Andrew Wingard] is as good as any. When you watch them on film, you can tell there's some athletic ability." -- Mountain West head coach
West Division
San Diego State Aztecs
Led by LB Calvin Munson (15 TFLs) and CB Damontae Kazee (8 INTs), the Aztecs notched the second-most takeaways (34) in the FBS last year. Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"Those guys [Munson and Kazee] are great, but they don't rely on one guy. There's so many athletes on the field." -- Mountain West head coach
Sophomore QB Christian Chapman impressed in his only start (203 yards, one TD), but SDSU threw the seventh-fewest passes last season, so he won't be asked to do much. Coach, can you talk about facing Chapman?
"This isn't to offend him, but when you go against San Diego State, you first say, 'How are we going to stop the run game?'" -- Mountain West head coach
San Jose State Spartans
The team's West Coast offense ranked 10th nationally in third-down efficiency (47.5 percent) and 18th in red zone efficiency (69.6 percent). Coach, can you talk about defending the offense?
"You have to do a really good job of first-down defense. If they're always in second-and-medium, that's when they take their shots and run reverses." -- Mountain West head coach
SJSU boasted the nation's second-best pass defense (157.8 YPG), but teams won't throw if the run D doesn't improve (200.8 YPG). Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"When you're running the football with a lot of success, if you're halfway intelligent, you know you don't have to throw it." -- Mountain West head coach
Nevada Wolf Pack
Fresno State Bulldogs[/paste:font]
Fresno State's pass-happy offense sputtered with four different starting QBs and finished 107th in the FBS (178.3 YPG). Coach, can you talk about the struggling passing game?
"They yanked [QBs] so much. I don't even think they knew on Monday who the guy was going to be." -- Mountain West head coach
The Bulldogs had 21 players who made their first career starts in 2015. That youth showed on defense, where they ranked 116th in rush yards allowed (234.7) and 115th in rush TDs (32). Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"They are extremely aggressive. When you're youthful and you play that defense, you're going to give up a lot of big plays." -- Mountain West head coach
UNLV Running Rebels
We took that broad question and went to opposing coaches to ask for their honest assessments on the hottest topics for each Mountain West team (teams are listed in order of predicted finish). Last week, we hit the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. This week, we looked at the AAC, C-USA and MAC.
Here's an unfiltered breakdown of how opponents view their conference brethren.
Mountain Division
Boise State Broncos
Air Force Falcons[/paste:font]
Air Force's perennially undersized defensive line ranked 31st in the FBS in tackles for loss (7.0 per game) and 19th in sacks (2.7 per game) in 2015. Coach, can you talk about how the Falcons overcome lack of size?
"They are quick enough and they slant and stunt well enough that it makes them hard to block, even when you have angles." -- Mountain West head coach
The Falcons' top target when they throw (12.1 attempts per game) is Jalen Robinette, whose 24.7 YPC would have been among the nation's best, had he qualified. Coach, can you talk about covering Robinette?
"I think he's the best receiver in the league. He's always one-on-one because of their offense, and ... he has all the advantages." -- Mountain West head coach
Utah State Aggies
USU is known for its attacking 3-4 D (111 sacks since 2013, 11th in the FBS), but its most experienced returner has just 13 career tackles. Coach, can you talk about the losses on defense?
"I thought last year they were going to take a step back, but they were just as good. They're transitioning to a more consistent program." -- Mountain West head coach
The Aggies ran (481 rushes) more than they threw (403 passes) and gained nearly a yard more per carry than opponents (4.5 to 3.6). Coach, can you talk about their running game?
"Their offensive line is a veteran group -- wide and long. Devante Mays runs well inside. He's a big-play threat." -- Mountain West head coach
New Mexico Lobos
With a triple-option run out of the pistol formation, New Mexico ranked ninth in the FBS with 252.2 rushing YPG in 2015. Coach, can you talk about the Lobos' version of the option?
"They find all sorts of different ways to end up in a triple-option look, but at the end of the day, it's still stop the dive, the QB and the pitch." -- Mountain West head coach
The Lobos' 3-3-5 defense was 24th in the FBS with 25 takeaways, but it gave up big plays (75 plays of 20-plus yards, 17th-most in the FBS). Coach, can you talk about their aggressive defense?
"It's feast or famine. If a guy doesn't get into a gap, you have a chance for a home run." -- Mountain West head coach
Colorado State Rams
Mike Bobo's power-run offense surged thanks to Izzy Matthews, a sophomore who helped Colorado State average a whopping 251 rush yards in the final five games of 2015. Coach, can you talk about Matthews?
"You have to gang-tackle him. He's strong and usually makes a guy miss. He does a good job of advancing after first contact." -- Mountain West head coach
The Rams must find three D-line starters for the new 3-4 scheme, but they return their top three LBs, led by senior Kevin Davis (14 TFLs). Coach, can you talk about Davis?
"You have to be aware of where he is. You make sure you're not in the wrong one-on-one matchup with him." -- Mountain West head coach
Wyoming Cowboys
The Cowboys' pro-style offense is built around Brian Hill, who ranked ninth in the FBS with a school-record 1,631 rush yards. Coach, can you talk about Hill?
"He's an incredibly talented downhill runner. You have to get him going east and west, and you have to gang-tackle him." -- Mountain West head coach
An inexperienced secondary must improve to make up for a pass rush that was second-worst in the FBS (10 sacks). Coach, can you talk about the young DBs?
"I think there'll be dramatic improvement. The free safety [Andrew Wingard] is as good as any. When you watch them on film, you can tell there's some athletic ability." -- Mountain West head coach
West Division
San Diego State Aztecs
Led by LB Calvin Munson (15 TFLs) and CB Damontae Kazee (8 INTs), the Aztecs notched the second-most takeaways (34) in the FBS last year. Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"Those guys [Munson and Kazee] are great, but they don't rely on one guy. There's so many athletes on the field." -- Mountain West head coach
Sophomore QB Christian Chapman impressed in his only start (203 yards, one TD), but SDSU threw the seventh-fewest passes last season, so he won't be asked to do much. Coach, can you talk about facing Chapman?
"This isn't to offend him, but when you go against San Diego State, you first say, 'How are we going to stop the run game?'" -- Mountain West head coach
San Jose State Spartans
The team's West Coast offense ranked 10th nationally in third-down efficiency (47.5 percent) and 18th in red zone efficiency (69.6 percent). Coach, can you talk about defending the offense?
"You have to do a really good job of first-down defense. If they're always in second-and-medium, that's when they take their shots and run reverses." -- Mountain West head coach
SJSU boasted the nation's second-best pass defense (157.8 YPG), but teams won't throw if the run D doesn't improve (200.8 YPG). Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"When you're running the football with a lot of success, if you're halfway intelligent, you know you don't have to throw it." -- Mountain West head coach
Nevada Wolf Pack
Fresno State Bulldogs[/paste:font]
Fresno State's pass-happy offense sputtered with four different starting QBs and finished 107th in the FBS (178.3 YPG). Coach, can you talk about the struggling passing game?
"They yanked [QBs] so much. I don't even think they knew on Monday who the guy was going to be." -- Mountain West head coach
The Bulldogs had 21 players who made their first career starts in 2015. That youth showed on defense, where they ranked 116th in rush yards allowed (234.7) and 115th in rush TDs (32). Coach, can you talk about the defense?
"They are extremely aggressive. When you're youthful and you play that defense, you're going to give up a lot of big plays." -- Mountain West head coach
UNLV Running Rebels
