In the preseason team poll, the Cowboys were picked to finish fourth out of 10 teams. UW garnered 213 points to trail only Boise State (296), Nevada (244) and Fresno State with 231 points. Nevada, Fresno State and Hawai`i will begin their first season competing in the MW in 2012.
Wyoming ended its 2011 season 8-5 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West. It was Wyoming’s first eight-win season since 1998. The Cowboys’ five conference wins and second-place finish in the Mountain West tied for their best finish since joining the conference in 1999.
Boise State was predicted to capture the 2012 Mountain West football title, the league announced today at its annual Media Days being held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The Broncos garnered 27 first-place votes, and earned a total of 296 points in a poll of media members. Boise State posted a 12-1 overall mark in 2011, en route to top 10 rankings in the final USA Today/Coaches’ (6) and Associated Press (8) polls.The Broncos return five starters from an offensive unit that ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense (44.23 ppg) last year and ninth in total offense (481.3 yards per game). Three starters return for the Boise State defense, which ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (18.7 points per game) and 16th in total defense (320.85 yards per game). The Broncos are led by preseason all-MW performers Mike Atkinson (DL), Mitch Burroughs (RS), Joe Kellogg (OL), Matt Miller (WR) and Jamar Taylor (DB).
Nevada, which enters its first season in the Mountain West, totaled 244 points for second place in the preseason media poll. The Wolf Pack posted a second-place finish (5-2) in its final season in the Western Athletic Conference, ending the 2011 campaign with an overall 7-5 mark. Nevada returns six starters on an offense that finished last season ranked sixth nationally in total offense at 506.7 yards per game and eighth in the country in rushing offense at 247.5 yards per game.Fresno State collected 231 points and two first-place votes to capture the third spot in the preseason poll, while Wyomingwas chosen fourth at 213 points.
San Diego State claimed fifth position with 173 points and the remaining first-place vote, followed by Air Force at sixth (170 points) and Hawai‘i at seventh (116 points). Colorado State (111 points), UNLV (63 points) and New Mexico (33 points) rounded out the poll finishing eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively. Three University of Wyoming student-athletes were named to the 2012 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team.
