MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

The Mountain West from top to bottom:

No. 8 Utah (11-0, 7-0 MWC) vs. No. 16 Brigham Young (10-1, 6-1): Utes' 12-game winning streak ties Alabama and Texas Tech for nation's longest.

No. 16 BYU (10-1, 6-1) at No. 8 Utah (11-0, 7-0): Cougars 8-0 in November road games under coach Bronco Mendenhall.

No. 15 Texas Christian (9-2, 6-1) vs. Air Force (8-3, 5-2): Horned Frogs hoping for fifth 10-win season in seven years under coach Gary Patterson. Before 2000, TCU had four in its history.

Air Force (8-3, 5-2) at No. 15 TCU (9-2, 6-1): Falcons playing ranked team in consecutive weeks for first time since 1973.

Colorado State (5-6, 3-4) at Wyoming (4-7, 1-6): Steve Fairchild needs victory to become winningest first-year coach in program history.

UNLV (5-6, 2-5) at San Diego State (1-10, 0-7): Rebels seeking first three-game winning streak in five years.

New Mexico (4-8, 2-6), season over: Lobos lost five consecutive conference road games for first time since 1996.

Wyoming (4-7, 1-6) vs. Colorado State (5-6, 3-4): Devin Moore needs 20 yards to become school's all-time leading rusher.

San Diego State (1-10, 0-7) vs. UNLV (5-6, 2-5): Aztecs have lost 10 games for first time in program history.

FIVE BEST PLAYERS

1. Max Hall, QB, BYU: No one close to his numbers. Should win MWC Offensive Player of Year.

2. Jerry Hughes, DL, TCU: Clear leader for Defensive Player of Year.

3. Austin Collie, WR, BYU: No receiver within sight of his 15 touchdown catches.

4. Brian Johnson, QB, Utah: On verge of taking Utes to Bowl Championship Series game.

5. Paul Kruger, DL, Utah: Key part of nation's No. 11 defense.

THEY WROTE IT ...

Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal assistant sports editor Ed Johnson, on New Mexico coach Rocky Long's resignation: "His teams battled BYU, TCU and Utah but ultimately went 7-19 against those three Mountain West powers. If you can't beat them, you can't win a conference championship. His No. 1 concern when he was a Lobo quarterback, he said, was that the program be on top. His No. 1 concern as UNM's coach was the same. But it never happened. 'And,' he said, 'I don't see it happening with me as head coach.' ... He understands being OK is not good enough, not for the fans, not for his players, not for himself. And so the old Lobo stepped aside."

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan, on San Diego State coach Chuck Long: "He cannot continue like this indefinitely, or much longer. He cannot keep pounding his head against the wall and portraying it as progress. SDSU football has reached so low an ebb that Qualcomm Stadium officials are wondering about the wisdom of keeping the Aztecs as a tenant. Something has to give, and soon. If the university administration is unable or unwilling to buy out the remaining two years of Long's contract, maybe some rich boosters should put the man out of his misery."

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe, on BYU being an underdog to Utah: "From a national perspective, it's either Utah wins or Utah loses. That's natural, considering how the Cougars' 32-7 loss at TCU knocked them out of the top 10 and prime position for their first BCS bid. The Utes have remained unbeaten, earning credibility by defeating Oregon State and TCU. BYU's signature win was against who, exactly? Washington? UCLA? Northern Iowa? So here are the 10-1 Cougars, enjoying their best record to this point of any of coach Bronco Mendenhall's four seasons, and they're the extras in this production."

THEY SAID IT ...

Rocky Long, on resigning as New Mexico's coach: "Because I'm a damn good football coach, I don't care what anybody says. And there's nothing special to sell here, other than I love this place and it's a wonderful, unique place. But if you want to compete with the big boys, you better start acting like a big-time program. And that's not just the football team or the football coaches, that's the damn fans."

San Diego State's Long, on upcoming staff changes: "I know fans are looking for hope. They look for hope, and they look for something to cling to. We have to give them that; I have to give them that. Everything is on the table. I need to give it careful thought. There has to be some significant change."

Wyoming running back Devin Moore, on rushing for 91 yards in a 22-14 loss to UNLV: "I didn't have the game I needed to have to help us win. I think I made a couple bad reads and just feeling kind of down about it. Really feel like I let the team down, man."

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL