By Irv Moss
Denver Post Staff Writer
Take it from coaches Kyle Whittingham of Utah and Gary Patterson of Texas Christian. It might be best to bring your lunch, dinner and a snack to get through some Mountain West Conference football games.
MWC newcomer TCU (3-1, 2-0) has joined the conference with a bang by defeating Utah and Brigham Young, teams expected to contend for the championship. But it’s almost as if the Horned Frogs want extra exposure as the new team on the block.
TCU’s 51-50 overtime victory at BYU last week required 4 hours, 42 minutes to play. The week before, TCU beat defending MWC champion Utah 23-20 in an overtime game that lasted 3 hours, 28 minutes. The Frogs’ season-opening game at Oklahoma lasted 3:54. Utah and Air Force chipped in with a 3:27 game last week in Salt Lake City.
Whittingham has some suggestions on how to shorten games.
“I think in Division I-A, we should get rid of the clock stoppage after first downs,” Whittingham said Tuesday on the MWC conference call. “I think that would solve a lot of problems. I also would like to see them add a two-minute notification at the end of each half.”
Other coaches in the MWC have indicated that games lasting three hours or longer are too much of a good thing. BYU’s Bronco Mendenhall said he believes the length of the Cougars’ game against TCU contributed to a number of injuries.
Footnotes
San Diego State became the final MWC team to find the victory column this season, beating San Jose State 52-21. After the game, Aztecs coach Tom Craft said he has to find a way to lighten the offensive load being carried by sophomore quarterback Kevin O’Connell, who is completing 70.3 percent of his passes. … Wyoming (3-1, 1-0) has positioned itself for a run at the MWC crown. The Cowboys have played just one home game and are in Laramie for their next three, starting Saturday against Nevada-Las Vegas, after which they host TCU and New Mexico. … Wyoming coach Joe Glenn is enjoying the give and take about rumors that he will bolt after this season for a higher- profile job. He quipped Tuesday that he’s watching the NFL for future openings, then added, “I’m just glad to be here.” … MWC teams (5-6) are tied with the Atlantic Coast Conference for victories against teams from other conferences that receive an automatic Bowl Championship Series bid.
Irv Moss can be reached
at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
