In no particular order, here are the 10 biggest questions facing the Mountain West entering the 2013 football season.
I will leave it to the conference teams to provide the answers.
• Can the Mountain West build around five returning quarterbacks who ranked among the nation’s top 17 in total offense last year? (And that doesn’t include Boise State’s Joe Southwick.)
• San Jose State and Utah State posted breakout, 11-2 records in their final year in the Western Athletic Conference. But can they overcome the loss of their head coaches this year in their return to the Mountain West?
• How will San Diego State’s defense (nine returning starters) hold up in back-to-back games against the OSUs, Sept. 7 at Ohio State and Sept. 21 vs. Oregon State?
• Will Boise State be Boise State? The Broncos return only four starters on offense and four on defense.
• Can Colorado State find a way to get to a bowl game in Jim McElwain’s second year as coach?
• Will UNLV coach Bobby Hauck win enough games to keep his job? The former Montana coach and Colorado assistant is 6-32 in three seasons with the Rebels.
• Can untested Ohio State transfer QB Taylor Graham (son of former NFL QB Kent Graham) live up to all that hype at Hawaii?
• Who wins the “Border War” on Oct. 19 in Laramie? Colorado State and Wyoming posted identical records of 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference last year.
• Can Air Force find replacements for eight departed offensive starters, including running back Cody Getz (1,248 yards rushing)?
• Will Fresno State senior QB Derek Carr follow in his brother David’s footsteps and develop into an NFL first-round draft choice?
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280, tkensler@denverpost.com or
